An update on Grandma Tanya
Since Grandpa Gena P. came back to St. Petersburg, I've been getting more information about what happened with Grandma Tanya since she had a stroke.
Thing is, he has been kind of circumspect about certain details, and I didn't really feel like pushing my grandfather too hard. But, as it's often the case with journalism, sometimes you need to ask the same question several times, and certain details start coming out anyway.
He has been in touch with Grandpa Gena V., and there are some good news, in that she walks around and can take care of her bodily functions and such. And a therapist still comes to her apartment once a week. But her mental state... Grandpa Gena said that, from his own conversations with her and his conversations with Grandpa Gena V., she has moments when she sounds perfectly fine and normal, but then, as Grandpa Gena G. put it, "it's like she switches to another computer program' and "goes off in another direction." I tried to get him to elaborate on what that means, and, the best I can tell, it means that she loses coherence.
He told me that Grandpa Gena V. is afraid to leave her alone when he has to go out to get groceries. That part my grandfather didn't spare any details on, but I'm not entirely comfortable putting them in a public post, so...
I can tell that Grandma Tanya refuses to take medications she was prescribed. And even after Grandpa Gena V. tried to mix them in her foot, but somehow, she always finds it. And neither of my grandfathers could even guess why, but... saying "that can't possibly be helping" feels so trite.
Suffice to say, all of this has been pretty tough on Grandpa Gena V., and Grandpa Gena G. has been trying to provide moral support. Which... I imagine is an interesting position to be in, but Grandpa Gena G. has always been a good guy who liked making people feel better.
"Your grandmother comes from a strong stock," he told me after he finished relaying the latest update. "And she's a tough lady. She will get better, you'll see."
"I mean, we have to hope," I replied. "What else can we do?"
"Exactly."
And Grandma Tanya has always been a stubborn, willful woman... But I remember what her mother, Grandma Valya, was like in the final years of her life, what she was like the last time I saw her. That thought haunted me ever since I found out about the stroke, and it haunts me still.
Thing is, he has been kind of circumspect about certain details, and I didn't really feel like pushing my grandfather too hard. But, as it's often the case with journalism, sometimes you need to ask the same question several times, and certain details start coming out anyway.
He has been in touch with Grandpa Gena V., and there are some good news, in that she walks around and can take care of her bodily functions and such. And a therapist still comes to her apartment once a week. But her mental state... Grandpa Gena said that, from his own conversations with her and his conversations with Grandpa Gena V., she has moments when she sounds perfectly fine and normal, but then, as Grandpa Gena G. put it, "it's like she switches to another computer program' and "goes off in another direction." I tried to get him to elaborate on what that means, and, the best I can tell, it means that she loses coherence.
He told me that Grandpa Gena V. is afraid to leave her alone when he has to go out to get groceries. That part my grandfather didn't spare any details on, but I'm not entirely comfortable putting them in a public post, so...
I can tell that Grandma Tanya refuses to take medications she was prescribed. And even after Grandpa Gena V. tried to mix them in her foot, but somehow, she always finds it. And neither of my grandfathers could even guess why, but... saying "that can't possibly be helping" feels so trite.
Suffice to say, all of this has been pretty tough on Grandpa Gena V., and Grandpa Gena G. has been trying to provide moral support. Which... I imagine is an interesting position to be in, but Grandpa Gena G. has always been a good guy who liked making people feel better.
"Your grandmother comes from a strong stock," he told me after he finished relaying the latest update. "And she's a tough lady. She will get better, you'll see."
"I mean, we have to hope," I replied. "What else can we do?"
"Exactly."
And Grandma Tanya has always been a stubborn, willful woman... But I remember what her mother, Grandma Valya, was like in the final years of her life, what she was like the last time I saw her. That thought haunted me ever since I found out about the stroke, and it haunts me still.