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[wheeliebear75]

Some time ago my grandmother started having a LOT of problems. I think that this all STARTED sometime between Thanksgiving & Christmas of 2009. At Thanksgiving she was fully coherent & talking about plans for Christmas & asking my aunt (her daughter) to take her out so she get some shopping done at the early part of December. When my Aunt went to go pick her up about 5 days later things had apparently gone HELL WEST & CROOKED. She had apparently suffered some "mini-strokes". And although my Aunt & cousins tried to allow her to stay in her home it didn't work out. Grandma kept having more of those mini-strokes despite the medication the Dr.s put her on to "stop them". So because she was in need of TRULY 24/7 (like unless she's sedated & asleep you can't take your eyes off her for even a second) care & often physically it's still more than 1 or 2 even well trained staff can handle. So Grandma went from being in her own home & fully functional, to having my Aunt & cousins coming in at several times a day so she was never alone for more than say 3 or 4 hrs except at night, to what was essentially a group home (this was so she'd be able to get out & go do activities like bowling or bingo), to a nursing home with a 5 to 1 patient ratio, to a 3 to 1 patient ratio, to where she pretty much had her own staff within this facility (Aunt & cousins are paying a FORTUNE for this high level of upkeep). Now since she's stopped talking altogether which has apparently been caused by yet MORE mini-strokes she has been placed into hospice care.

In the beginning I was VERY upset by the fact that my family would put my grandma into ANY "facility"! I felt like she wasn't being treated the same as I was when I got hurt. When I got hurt BECAUSE of the brain injury & Children's not knowing exactly how well I'd heal/recover at some point the subject of where I could be placed was brought up to her.....and she made sure that I'd never end up there. She even got my aunt & HER cousin + other family & close friends promise her that they'd never let me end up there. So how then was it fair to my grandmother? Well....it ISN'T! Fair? Not by a long shot! But I can see where the canyon of differences starts too. I don't throw food, I don't start stripping til I'm naked as a jay bird if I'm not watched, & I wouldn't be using the nightstand drawer for a restroom OR reaching down into my own diaper to play with my poop.

I'm so very sorry that we couldn't stop these mini-strokes from continuing. And I know this is going to sound quite selfish to some.....but this whole situation with my grandmother makes me worry about MY future. I mean OK my grandma has been sitting on the couch knitting or crocheting while watching "the Price is Right" & soap operas for decades.....so she wasn't USING her brain. But she didn't have things in her history that would put her at a higher risk for having a stroke. I've heard that those who have had a SIGNIFICANT head injury are somewhat more prone to having strokes than their non-brain injured peers.....this does NOT bode well for ME. My scans still show the tale tale markings of a major accident.....most neurologists or radiologists who don't KNOW my history & are just there as a consult guess MVA....nope just got my head hit really REALLY HARD! So if I'm "in a high risk category" & all THIS has already happened to my grandma......um.....hullo THIS worries ME!