The Afternoon Visit
From a visitor’s perspective, it started as a regular visit. A daughter and two granddaughters surrounded her bed- their weekly visit. Unaccustomed to her inability to follow conversations and her fluttering eyes, blinking in and out of consciousness, the ambulance was called. Upon arrival of the Maimonides Hospital, it was discovered that the grandmother was bleeding in the brain, caused by a fall two or three nights prior. Accusations were thrown around as to whose fault it was, but the importance of the situation was quickly grasped. Other family members soon filled the waiting room. What had started as a habitual visit had turned into a crisis. Because most of the relatives were not fluent in English, the youngest granddaughter acted as a translator between the men in white coats and the anxious kinfolks. It wasn’t until almost three in the morning before the youngest granddaughter returned home, still shaken by the situation that had just occurred.
For that granddaughter, such an experience was a life changing one. It forced her to reconsider how precious life is, how in a matter of hours one’s life can be in danger. It taught her to treasure all the time spent with her family. It taught her to be patient with her parents, and to respect them more. It taught her to enjoy life and to cherish every moment- it taught her to be optimistic. That grandmother had to undergo three surgeries because the first two were not successful. She ended up staying in a hospital for a span of four mouths. Although she now lives at home, she is tended by a full time nurse. Prior to the fall, she was already afflicted with Alzheimer and the three brain surgeries did not assist the grandmother in recovering her memories. Consequently, she is unable to complete basic functions such as using the bathroom or brushing her teeth and is often unable to recall her daughters’ or granddaughters’ name and face.