The Good with the Bad
I've been layin' low these days.
On saturday, August 19th at about 6pm, I said goodbye to my Grandma. It was sudden, but not whole unexpected. She had been in and out of the hospital for the past couple months and, even though she walked into the hospital that monday under her own power, we knew it was just a matter of time before she would not leave.
Grandma didn't have a DNR on file, but she made it well know to her family that "when I'm gone, I want to stay gone.." That morning she had a heart attack, and was revived with CPR and the hooked up to a ventilator, which is how we saw her when we went early saturday morning to the cardiac ICU. Once she had stabilized, we requested that she be removed from the vent and allowed to breath (or not) under her own power. Grandma was a strong, independent, sharp woman, and she did not wish to be kept alive on a machine, nor be religated to living in a "home" or in the care of someone else. She was ready, and she made sure we knew it.
That didn't make it any easier letting her go.
Fortunately, though, rather than her passing in the early morning with no one around, she was surrounded by family, and we were able to say our good byes. We love you, Grandma!
Sunday was the PLRA XC race. I debated whether to race or not, but decided that Grandma would want me to keep on keepin' on, and would be REALLY pissed if I used her as an excuse to not race. :)
I dedicated my race to her, and could hear her in my ear every time I started to slack off, or succomb to the pain or fatigue. With grandma's help I got my first win of the year!! (ever, really..) It felt really good to win at Pontiac, the course I regard as my home course. In the starting grid there were two guys that had beaten me previously, and it was nice to beat them as well.
My thoughts continue to go out to those injured in Sunday's race. It was a brutal on, and I hope everyone mend's quickly!
Keep on keepin' on!
On saturday, August 19th at about 6pm, I said goodbye to my Grandma. It was sudden, but not whole unexpected. She had been in and out of the hospital for the past couple months and, even though she walked into the hospital that monday under her own power, we knew it was just a matter of time before she would not leave.
Grandma didn't have a DNR on file, but she made it well know to her family that "when I'm gone, I want to stay gone.." That morning she had a heart attack, and was revived with CPR and the hooked up to a ventilator, which is how we saw her when we went early saturday morning to the cardiac ICU. Once she had stabilized, we requested that she be removed from the vent and allowed to breath (or not) under her own power. Grandma was a strong, independent, sharp woman, and she did not wish to be kept alive on a machine, nor be religated to living in a "home" or in the care of someone else. She was ready, and she made sure we knew it.
That didn't make it any easier letting her go.
Fortunately, though, rather than her passing in the early morning with no one around, she was surrounded by family, and we were able to say our good byes. We love you, Grandma!
Sunday was the PLRA XC race. I debated whether to race or not, but decided that Grandma would want me to keep on keepin' on, and would be REALLY pissed if I used her as an excuse to not race. :)
I dedicated my race to her, and could hear her in my ear every time I started to slack off, or succomb to the pain or fatigue. With grandma's help I got my first win of the year!! (ever, really..) It felt really good to win at Pontiac, the course I regard as my home course. In the starting grid there were two guys that had beaten me previously, and it was nice to beat them as well.
My thoughts continue to go out to those injured in Sunday's race. It was a brutal on, and I hope everyone mend's quickly!
Keep on keepin' on!
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