About an hour ago. She'd been in increasingly ill health, and I just learned she'd been admitted to the hospital yesterday with congestive health failure. She was in her 90s.
My parents were going down to Binghamton to see her Saturday, I was thinking of joining them. Unfortunately, it now looks like the purpose for our trip on Saturday will be a funeral.
I last saw "Grandma B" about two or three month ago. She had taken a fall of some sort at the nursing home, and looked, to be honest, horrible. Teeth missing, half her face bruised.
But that visit, she turned out to be the most like the grandmother I remembered, in years. Every new person who showed up at her room, she had a new story about the bruises ... she'd been fighting with her husband (grandpa died years ago) ... she'd gotten into a fight at a bar (she didn't drink) ... she'd been in a boxing match (yeah right) ...
And it wasn't the dementia. It was Grandma B, back to her old self, if only briefly, teasing her son, her grandsons, poking fun. She railed on my dad, making fun of him for various things ... on one of my brothers, for not having been to see her in some time. Some seriousness to what she was saying, but lightness and humor too. Good old Grandma :)
We all knew this was coming ... but I wish I'd had one last chance to see her.
edit: Thanks all for the kind words and condolences coming in over Twitter, AIM, Pownce, email and phone. Your thoughts are appreciated.
