My father died on June 18th of this year - he was just shy of 87.

[applegrove]

17. My grandmother was with my grandfather when he died in an institution

Last edited Fri Oct 4, 2019, 03:11 AM - Edit history (1)

out of town. She thanked the doctor in such a way that the doctor cried. She went back to the motel alone that night. At one point that night she saw grandad flying away waving bye bye. She blurted out this story at dinner the next week. She was not someone given to blurting or visions. And we all shed a tear. So too he when he had altzheimers' and had been incoherent for such a long time he suddenly had a clear rememberance of getting off the boat after WWII and seeing my grandmother through the fog and he said "and there was my Margaret" and he cried. I don't think there are too many mistakes in how we naturally handle things or what our brains give us at important times. Back when we lived in villages it was all we had as resources. I call it evolution but you could call it religion and we would both be right. Both comforting things. Now the weird part. When my grandfather had Altzheimers' in Ottawa he would often say to my grandmothet I'm going home to mother. His mother was long dead and had lived on King Street in Brockville. When he went into nursing care in ottawa, granny had protected us from the worst of it in an effort to protect him, he was pretty soon deemed too violent. He had had a brain injury in WWII but was capable until he got altzheimers'. So he was moved to an asylum on King Street in Brockville. That's where he died... mere blocks from where he was born and 1.5 hours from Ottawa where he had lived for 50 years. What we find comforting gives those we love comfort too. We are all in this together. Your father was giving you a gift... one more time and comforting you.