Kellie Salvage
April 13, 2014
English Comp l
Moving Nana In
My grandmother had been living on her own since 1992, which is the year my grandfather passed away. She was always active, and had more of a social life than I did. One of her favorite things to do was go to Foxwoods on the bus with all her friends to play bingo. She also took daily walks downtown on her own. My father was checking in on her one day and noticed that her stomach was distended. He called my mother saying she looked as if she was pregnant. Although my grandmother appeared to be healthy, we soon found out she was not eating correctly. She was living off of Ritz crackers and cream cheese. This diet of hers put her in the hospital for a week. This is when my family decided, that at 85 years old she could no longer live on her own.
There was absolutely no questions when it came to where she would live. My family knew that moving her in our house would be a major change, but a nursing home or assisted living were never an option. In order to do so we had to make her as comfortable as possible. My father decided to change our living room into her bedroom and our dining room into our living room. Fortunately, both of my parents are retired, so there is someone always home with her.
Nana moved in a little over two years ago and if anyone’s life has drastically changed, I would have to say it is hers. She no longer goes to Foxwoods, which was her favorite thing to do and she can no longer walk to the grocery store because we moved her from the city to the country. Sometimes I wonder if we moved her a little too soon, but I don’t think there was ever going to be a set time to do so. However, she loves sitting outside on the deck and watching the birds. She enjoys them so much that insisted we get her a bird, which is what we did for Christmas.
It has certainly been a rollercoaster ride since moving Nana in. There are some days where she is just miserable for no reason, but then other when she is happy as a clam. My sister and I are in the medical field, and