Just a quick entry in between the stuff I'm SUPPOSED to be doing. ;)
When my grandmother was very ill, just before she died, she had something the doctor's called "Sundowners Syndrome." Basically her body clock was all out of whack and she couldn't sleep for more than 10 - 15 minutes at a time. Our family was "on call" around the clock because grandma would try to get up and walk around - but her legs weren't working and she kept falling down. This situation drove her nuts, us nuts, and especially her daughter nuts. My aunt, grandma's oldest daughter, was on the verge of sundowner's herself!
Finally, we all agreed that grandma should be loosely restrained in her bed so my aunt could get some sleep. None of us wanted to do this, and it broke our hearts, but the doctors reassured my aunt that it wasn't cruel, and most importantly it would keep Grandma from harming herself. That night we all went to our own beds and my aunt fell into a deep sleep on an air mattress located next to Gram's hospital bed.
In the middle of the night we were jolted awake by the sound of something huge hitting the floor over and over again. Everyone jumped up and ran to the front room where grandma was sleeping, only to discover she wasn't in her bed. She was sitting in the front foyer hugging a huge copper urn and she was banging it on the floor. We were flabbergasted. For a moment all we could do was stare at her in bewilderment. The urn was extremely heavy and here's our 80+ year old ailing grandmother slinging it around like a frying pan. One of my cousins finally helped her up and got her back into bed. All of us were standing around looking at her when it occurred to me to ask: "Grandma, how did you get out of bed?! How did you get out of the arm restraints?!"
With a long absent twinkle in her soft brown eyes Grandma leaned close to us. We leaned in closer to her. She whispered in a secretive voice ..."Well I am part Indian after all!"
When my grandmother was very ill, just before she died, she had something the doctor's called "Sundowners Syndrome." Basically her body clock was all out of whack and she couldn't sleep for more than 10 - 15 minutes at a time. Our family was "on call" around the clock because grandma would try to get up and walk around - but her legs weren't working and she kept falling down. This situation drove her nuts, us nuts, and especially her daughter nuts. My aunt, grandma's oldest daughter, was on the verge of sundowner's herself!
Finally, we all agreed that grandma should be loosely restrained in her bed so my aunt could get some sleep. None of us wanted to do this, and it broke our hearts, but the doctors reassured my aunt that it wasn't cruel, and most importantly it would keep Grandma from harming herself. That night we all went to our own beds and my aunt fell into a deep sleep on an air mattress located next to Gram's hospital bed.
In the middle of the night we were jolted awake by the sound of something huge hitting the floor over and over again. Everyone jumped up and ran to the front room where grandma was sleeping, only to discover she wasn't in her bed. She was sitting in the front foyer hugging a huge copper urn and she was banging it on the floor. We were flabbergasted. For a moment all we could do was stare at her in bewilderment. The urn was extremely heavy and here's our 80+ year old ailing grandmother slinging it around like a frying pan. One of my cousins finally helped her up and got her back into bed. All of us were standing around looking at her when it occurred to me to ask: "Grandma, how did you get out of bed?! How did you get out of the arm restraints?!"
With a long absent twinkle in her soft brown eyes Grandma leaned close to us. We leaned in closer to her. She whispered in a secretive voice ..."Well I am part Indian after all!"
What sweet memories. I think of my grandma every day. Without a doubt she resides in the best parts of each of her family members. And you know what? It turns out we, too, are part Indian after all! :)
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