All day Thursday and all day Friday, I told the ComCare workers, my friend Norm, and even Roger that I had a bad feeling about leaving on Saturday. When the time came around for me to leave on Saturday, I told both Norm - who had come to see me off - and the morning ComCare worker that I was really worried about leaving; I even considered postponing my flight - the feeling was just that strong that I shouldn't leave.

About two hours ago, I got a phone call:  Gram was in the hospital.  She'd had a bad coughing spell that just wouldn't come under control. She was coughing up a lot of phlegm, and then, she was coughing but not bringing any more phlegm up, even though the stuff was clearly causing her problems.  After an hour of trying to help Gram, both Norm and the worker told Shari and her mother that they needed to call an ambulance.

Now, I can understand that Diane (Shari's mother) would have problems dealing with this kind of situation.  She's not a very strong woman when it comes to having to deal with bodily fluids, and that's okay; lots of people can't handle such things. But Shari has had this problem with Gram before, so it's fair to assume that she would handle the situation accordingly.  Finding out that Gram had to go through this for more than an hour was quite a shock, and I was extremely angry with Shari for not taking action.

I called Shari a little while ago.  She told me Gram had been coughing, but then the spasm settled down - until they got her into bed.  Then, it started again. I asked Shari why she hadn't called the ambulance before then, and she said, "Holly, I just froze. I panicked, and I froze, even though I knew I needed to call the ambulance."  Okay, I can deal with that.  I'm still pissed off, but I can deal with that.  Hey - it happens to even the most on-the-ball people, sometimes, right?  So, okay; I've given her the benefit of the doubt, and I'm calming down, now.

As of this posting, Gram is in Emergency.  She's been throwing up almost from the time she got there a few hours ago, and she's running a fever.  I am on emergency standby, now, waiting to hear back from Shari about Gram's condition. Shari is working on trying to get in touch with her uncle, Gary, who has PoA (Power of Attorney) and who will know if Gram has a DNR in place in the event that Gram's heart fails.  I'm hoping and praying that she's going to pull through this, but I have to confess that there's a part of me that's scared she won't. Gram is 90 years old and in the final, advanced stage of Parkinson's Disease; I'm not sure that she has the strength to fight, anymore. In fact, I'm not sure she even wants to fight; she's been wanting to go Home for a long time, now, but she's held on because she's been worried about what will happen to Shari.  I can't shake the feeling that what she's going through right now is going to prove to be a lot stronger than her still-formidable stubbornness...

Shari, if you happen to read this, I'm sorry I tore such a strip off you. I know very well that a person can suddenly freeze when they're facing a crisis they've faced many times before.  It happens to lots of people - it's happened to me, too - and it wasn't fair of me to jump on you about it. I reacted without thinking of how you must be already be feeling, and I'm sorry.  You know that I'll be on the first plane out if I need to be...

To anyone who may read this over the course of the night, please add Gram, Shari, and Shari's family to the list of people you hold in your thoughts and prayers.  When I know more, I will come in and post an update.  Thankyou in advance...

EDIT 12:41AM:  Shari just called, and good news: Gram is okay, and she's on her way home!  No information, yet, as to what happened or what's going on with her fever, but at least the doctors were able to determine that it's okay for Gram to come home.  Shari's told me I can stand down, now (and I apologized to her directly for reaming her a new asshole), so I'm off to bed for much-needed sleep.  Catch y'all later!