Grandma's Ordeal

A Case Study in Answered PrayerGreat Grandma & Ryan, June 2009

You might recall a blog entry I posted in February '09 about Great Grandma R.'s 80th Birthday Bash. Here I describe our spunky Grandmother as a high-tech, polka playing, golfing, bowling, volunteering, coffee-drinking world traveler. Now in her 81st year, she hasn't slowed down a bit. In early February she embarked on a Grand Circle Safari to South Africa. Things went wrong, however, on only her 2nd day there. She was settled in the back of a tour bus when the leadfooted bus driver hit a bump and up Grandma flew, smacking her head on the luggage rack above her. She was instantly in excruciating pain in her back. They took her to a nearby hospital which deemed it necessary she be transferred by ambulance to the regional back care hospital in South Africa. There it was determined she had a lumbar compression fracture and needed surgery. So there is Grandma, on the other side of the world {by herself} in need of major back surgery with who knows what quality of medical care. Uncle Jim flew out to be with her shortly after surgery, distraught to find Grandma in a state of confusion and stricken with pneumonia. Oh dear. We prayed hard, wondering how this was all going to turn out and fearing the worst. Meanwhile, Grandma received outstanding care from a skilled physician and nurses that didn't leave her bedside. It turns out her confusion was remedied by adjusting her pain meds and her bout with pneumonia thankfully short lived due to a positive response to antibiotics. She was on the mend. Now how to get her home? She must be in a "turtle pod" back brace as Grandma calls it and must lie down unless she's walking or sitting for a very short period of time. It was decided she would be accompanied by a traveling nurse who flew with her in a pod in the plane (a step up from 1st class!) to Atlanta, then on to Chicago and an ambulance ride home to a skilled nursing facility. (Thank goodness for trip insurance!) She is now recovering and receiving physical therapy until she is able to return home. I talked to her this weekend and she is sounding stronger, working on walking without her walker. She is an incredibly strong woman and we are so glad to have her home, and are so thankful for answered prayers.