I'm back. . . and where I've been

For Spring Break I took a trip to Louisiana to visit my grandmother, who has been suffering from a strange condition. She has had near-constant recurring UTIs, but more disturbing has been her severe memory loss. My siblings, mother & I were summoned to visit her by relatives who feared that she wouldn't know us if we did not visit soon. A day or so before our visit, she was hospitalized upon the discovery, by my aunt, of a staph infection in her hand that the nursing home where she has been by doctor's orders neglected. It is perhaps a testimony to her physical strength that she was able to recover from the infection. Incredibly, our visit marked a turn for the better. She was able to remember things--specifically, she remembered that we were coming and asked my aunt if she had seen me on the evening I was supposed to arrive! She conversed with us almost like normal, with only a couple of lapses of memory like losing one's train of thought. She particularly enjoyed glimpses of my son and daughter--her only great-grandchildren (so far). On Friday, before we left, I told her my new news, and she was "tickled," as she said. My husband and I discussed the possibility that knowing the news would give her some hope--something to look forward to, perhaps.

Unfortunately, she was released from the hospital to the nursing home the same day, and relatives have said that she had taken a turn for the worst as of yesterday. I am left to wonder whether the downturn is because she is away from the IV in the hospital, or because of the psychological pain of being in that environment. It is a sad condition. I am left to wonder why she was not treated sooner for the staph infection--was the nursing home staff unconcerned because of the possibility that they would, by neglecting the infection, provide a bed for a new resident? This is cynical on my part, I know, but as a nurse told my aunt, a healthy young person may have been able to wait for a doctor's visit to see about the infection, but not a weakened 77-year-old woman. Her own parents lived well into their 90s and retained their mental faculties; I hate to think that she would accomplish less, or that her mind would deteriorate while her body remained strong (relatively speaking).

I was able to spend only one evening with my aunts and cousins, and only one full day in Louisiana, though I would have liked to spend more--the other two were spent in transit. We have been rather estranged because of distance and circumstance, misunderstandings among siblings, hard feelings because of missed visits, and any manner of petty things. But we are not ones to hold grudges, at least not for long. Interesting that this week's gospel reading should have been the prodigal son. . .

At any rate, I am back now, with obligations fulfilled, though perhaps only minimally and not quite satisfactorily. But such is contemporary life, when in spite of our increased ability to travel quickly, the demands on our time are such as to limit even further our ability to spend time as we would like to do--particularly when sentiment and not profession motivates us.

Update--I didn't need to read this account of a nursing home experience, but on the other hand, it answers some of the questions in my post. I really wish there were a way for my grandmother to go home NOW. If this is what she is facing daily, it's no wonder her mind does not want to resist the decline.