Sitting Vigil

Time is on my side but I can’t trace time.
Time marches on but where has the time gone?
Ain’t it funny how time slips away?

A combination of clichés and song lyrics can not describe the emotions of a family as they watch time takes its toll. We got the panicked call on Sunday that Nettie, the Other Nana, Renee's grandmother, was being taken from the nursing home to the hospital via ambulance. Again we find ourselves at Baptist Hospital East.

Nettie is racked with pneumonia, fluid has built up around her heart, kidneys have ceased to function, oxygen levels dropping. Still her grip is like a vice. Just try to pry the bag she holds away from her, you’ll lose, amazing.

Ninety two years is a long time. According to government statistics the life expectancy of a female born in 1917 was 54 years. Exceeding expectations does not make this any easier. Sons and daughters and grand-children and great-grand-children hover and try to ease the suffering of both the patient and each other. Just like Nettie, no one wants to let go.

Last evening we got to see the spark in Nettie's eyes when Renee woke her to let her know Cassidy was there. Elation came over Other, she brightened the whole room and for a minute we all forgot about the time.