"Ingat Ka" ("Take care")
My Grandmother, Isabel is one of, if not the toughest, most strong-willed person I've ever known in my entire life. In recent years especially, she's been in and out of hospitals for any number of reasons - heart attack, broken hip, stroke, pneumonia, you name it - and she always came out of it smiling. I hope I can stay that positive in the face of that kind of adversity, at any age, let alone at 91.
When Mom passed away, Grandma, Lola Isabel (Dad's mom) moved in with us, so she's been here with us for well over 20 years. She's raised children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. Tonight, Grandma is moving back to the Philippines. After her first big pneumonia scare this year, we were prepared for the worst. Dad called me the Saturday when she went to the hospital (my brother and sister both texted me just minutes before "Grandma is in the hospital"). It was the Saturday of Sakura-con, so if anyone there with me remembers when I left the group to talk on the phone for about half an hour and came back nearly in tears, that was when I heard. Dad said Grandma decided that when she got better, she'd move back to the P.I. for all intents and purposes "to live out the rest of her days."
I can't help but worry. She's been in and out of Harrison so much this year that she qualified for government programs paying for her hospital stay and treatment. I'm not sure about health care back home, but Dad assures us that "as long as you have money, you'll be taken care of." But since she's moving back, she'll no longer be getting Social Security. So I just have to trust that her other kids will take as good care of her as Dad has, and really there's no reason to believe they wouldn't. Most importantly, this is what she wants. She's been here with us in the states for nearly all my life, and she has a ton more family back home that she only gets to see once, twice a year tops.
My brother wrote a post about how this will probably be the last time we see Grandma, which is terribly depressing. I hate thinking like that. She just turned 91 this month, and considering she's two weeks out of the hospital for her latest bout with pneumonia, she's in great shape. Doctors say she's more than well enough to travel and live there again.
This is running long, so I'll end it by saying, I'm really going to miss Grandma. I hope I can go to the Philippines and see her one day soon (and I've never been back since I was born). I pray for her safety in both the flight home and re-adjusting to living somewhere new (well, old). I know the Achevarras back home will take as good care of her as we have. Like she always says to me when I leave Dad's house, ingat ka.
Grandma, center, two of her children, and her stateside grandchildren and great-grandchildren (note: 3 more great-grandchildren have been born since this picture).
When Mom passed away, Grandma, Lola Isabel (Dad's mom) moved in with us, so she's been here with us for well over 20 years. She's raised children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren. Tonight, Grandma is moving back to the Philippines. After her first big pneumonia scare this year, we were prepared for the worst. Dad called me the Saturday when she went to the hospital (my brother and sister both texted me just minutes before "Grandma is in the hospital"). It was the Saturday of Sakura-con, so if anyone there with me remembers when I left the group to talk on the phone for about half an hour and came back nearly in tears, that was when I heard. Dad said Grandma decided that when she got better, she'd move back to the P.I. for all intents and purposes "to live out the rest of her days."
I can't help but worry. She's been in and out of Harrison so much this year that she qualified for government programs paying for her hospital stay and treatment. I'm not sure about health care back home, but Dad assures us that "as long as you have money, you'll be taken care of." But since she's moving back, she'll no longer be getting Social Security. So I just have to trust that her other kids will take as good care of her as Dad has, and really there's no reason to believe they wouldn't. Most importantly, this is what she wants. She's been here with us in the states for nearly all my life, and she has a ton more family back home that she only gets to see once, twice a year tops.
My brother wrote a post about how this will probably be the last time we see Grandma, which is terribly depressing. I hate thinking like that. She just turned 91 this month, and considering she's two weeks out of the hospital for her latest bout with pneumonia, she's in great shape. Doctors say she's more than well enough to travel and live there again.
This is running long, so I'll end it by saying, I'm really going to miss Grandma. I hope I can go to the Philippines and see her one day soon (and I've never been back since I was born). I pray for her safety in both the flight home and re-adjusting to living somewhere new (well, old). I know the Achevarras back home will take as good care of her as we have. Like she always says to me when I leave Dad's house, ingat ka.
Grandma, center, two of her children, and her stateside grandchildren and great-grandchildren (note: 3 more great-grandchildren have been born since this picture).