The Best Medicine

My grandfather's condition worsens. My mother and all her siblings were at the hospital all evening again today. Granddad is kind of in and out of it. Mom says he has that look in his eyes and she thinks he can see the light. If you lean right down close to his face and talk to him he still comes around a little, enough to say yes or no. More fluid on his lungs now and his breath rattles in his chest. My mother doesn't think he'll survive the night. My aunt thinks he's still got a day or two. They're telling him to rest, telling him not to worry about them, hoping his passing will be soon and peaceful. Mom called earlier in the evening from the hospital and we thought she was going to stay until it was over, but then she came home. Almost everyone came home. Two of my aunts are spending the night with him. If he's still here tomorrow night my mom and another aunt will sit with him all night.

There is something to be said for a quick death, an accident, or a malfunction with the body that instantly whisks your spirit away. Sickness is hard. Looking after your dying parents is beyond hard. It has taken a toll. Last night when my mother and aunt were leaving the hospital they couldn't get the car door unlocked. They tried and looked for other sets of keys and didn't know what was going on . . . until they noticed they were trying to get in the wrong car. Apparently, there were two identical cars parked side by side in the hospital parking lot. They had a good laugh about that. Tonight at the hospital my mother and the same aunt decided they would go to the second floor chapel and call home. Palliative care is on the fourth floor. They went down the hallway to the elevators, pressed the button, and waited watching the numbers light up above the elevator doors. The first floor number one lit up solid. My aunt panicked, "Oh no, we don't want the first floor! It's on the second!" Meanwhile, they hadn't even got on the elevator yet, they were still in the hallway on the fourth floor. They laughed so hard all the way down to the second floor, they nearly peed their pants.

Outside tonight there is the most amazing light show taking place in the sky. The Northern Lights have been streaking across the sky for hours. They're so bright the yard is lit up as if by moonlight. This is the strongest I've seen the lights in a long time, maybe forever. I like to think it's because we need their beauty now more than ever. I like to think they're stronger to help us be stronger. I like to think they've come to take Granddad home.