2003-07-10 - 7:54 p.m. - the road trip...
I got back this morning exhausted from my road trip back from NY. It was faster on the way home, 12+ hours as opposed to 14+ hours on our way there because we got caught in a huge thunderstorm around Ohio. The trip went across 5 states, about 800+ miles. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and finally New York.
Here's a map of the trip:
I called work and asked if they needed me, letting them know that I just arrived from the 12 hour road trip. My boss said it would be OK if I stayed home today which was good because I needed the time today to recover. Although I did not drive the whole trip I got little sleep during that 12 hours. I had maybe an hour and a half of sleep time before it was my turn to take the wheel. I drove the "graveyard shift" from 1 am to around maybe 5:30 am.
The whole rental and road trip thing was a pretty good idea though. The original plan was for my mom and uncle to just fly over, leaving all us grandkids behind. It was a way of taking all of us together and it worked out pretty well.
As far as grandma's health, her condition seemed to have stabilized. She was
being kept at the Intensive Care Unit in the hospital near my uncle's house in
NY. She did not fall into a coma like we feared she might have. She could barely
open her eyes and she could not talk at all however. If you talked close to her
ear it she could recognize voices however. Like if you asked her to squeeze your
hand she would. Sometimes she would seem agitated and restless like she wanted
to talk but couldn't. You could see that despite her condition, that she was
fighting. When my sister was singing to her you can even see her try to sing
along. Though my grandma could barely open her eyes you could see the well of
tears coming from them. It was very difficult for us to see her this way. I was
able to snap a picture of grandma before the nurse on attendance told me I could
not take pictures in the ICU. It should give an idea on her condition:
As for the rest of the family, we had a nice time despite everything. It's a
shame that it takes something like this to bring us all together. My
grandfather is doing surprisingly well, looking much better. He's up and about,
able to stand and walk with assistance, contrasted to last Christmas where he
was bedridden. I can only hope and pray that my grandmother has similar success
in her recovery. His mind so sharp and coherent too. It reminds me of the way he
was before he had gotten sick. I can see his happiness with the presence of the
family. Anyway here's a picture of Grandpa who seems to have an almost Zen-like
peace:
My uncles and my cousin Randy are a different story altogether. I can see
where I get my passion for women and my often perverse humor. It was like a
contest to see who could score the cheapest laughs. I'll spare you the details,
but needless to say I miss being with them. My uncle's house has an indoor pool,
so my cousins and I got our swim on. I think I'm getting old because every part
of my body ached after all the swimming and diving I was doing. But still we had
our fun. :)
From left to right: my cousin Randy, me, my cousin Rhonda and my
Sister Giselle.
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