Grandma Carolyn

The rest of March was spent primarily with our family in Topeka. Towards the end of February, Grandma Carolyn (Max's great-grandma and Kelby's maternal grandma) had a stroke. We went up straight away to be with the family and to hear what was to be expected following her stroke. She didn't give up. They put in a drain to remove the swelling from her brain and even with that in, she came to and was communicating with us. It was a time where we just stopped whatever else was going on and focused on being with our family, appreciating the gift that they are to us. I'm so glad that we did that. Some of the weekends we were there, we could do as much as talk with Grandma and squeeze her hand and tell her we loved her. Other weekends, she was not responding and we would just spend time with Kelby's parents, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I don't have any photos to document the waiting room time or the times sitting in the ICU. I don't have a picture  of Max giving Grandma his ball to play with. But we do have the memories of it and I think I can speak for Kelby as well when I say that we don't regret a minute of our time in Topeka. At the end, Grandma's lungs were too tired. She couldn't make them work on their own anymore. On March 25th, with her husband and all her children around her she left this world.

A true testament to what kind of woman she was, the visitation lasted an hour and a half longer than it was supposed to because people were lined up out the door to come in and talk with the family and pay their respects. The night was perfect and the day of the funeral was as well. It was perfect for her. She loved so many people and always made you feel welcome. She always treated me just like one of her family born grandchildren. And she never tried to force herself on to Max and would just wait until he was ready to come to her. Which he did. He crawled up to her feet and started playing with her shoelaces. She got a good laugh out of that. 

She is missed dearly by us all. May she rest in peace.