Grandma Topham

On Sunday, April 8th my Grandma Topham fell.

Her bones in her back had been collapsing in on themselves and would pinch her nerves and make it so she couldn't feel her legs. It happened suddenly while she was on a tile floor and she got a big gash on her head, and because she was on heavy blood thinners to avoid blood clots she bled out a lot.

This all would have been sad but okay...except when they got to the hospital and got to checking things out it came to light that, due to other health conditions, her organs were shutting down, and then later that week they found that some main something in her heart wasn't working at all.

So the fall and blood loss hastened what would have been happening over the next months anyways.

She was able to wake up and talk to or at least recognize and acknowledge each of her seven children as they arrived from all over the country (and world, one coming from Singapore).

I flew out to Phoenix Thursday night.

My goals were to be helpful to my mom (a nurse who had been running herself ragged missing sleep because she wanted to make sure her momma was being taken care of right) and my grandpa (I lived with him and grandma for a time and I love them dearly).

Grandpa and grandma were married for almost 62 years, since she was 16 and he was 19.

I was there for less than 48 hours, but those hours are a treasure that I am so thankful for.

I was able to visit with many family members, get mom and grandpa real food and make sure they ate it, and sit with grandma and hold her hand for hours.

We got her out of the hospital and home Friday evening (hospice medical care).

She passed away Saturday morning.

I flew home Saturday afternoon.

From home the next couple days I was able to make up the funeral program and my family picture scanning hobby came in handy as I was able to send some pictures to be printed and picked up for a display of things from her life. 

Curt and I and the kids flew to Phoenix on Wednesday, the funeral was Thursday, we all traveled up to my grandpa's hometown in southern Utah on Friday, had the burial on Saturday, and flew home on Sunday.

It was a whirlwind week full of beauty and sad things.

 {grandma was an artist...so many things crocheted and embroidered and created...see the art I made from some of her doilies here in our Michigan house master bedroom and the dining room of our current home }

{their ward put on a lovely luncheon for the family after the funeral}

 I got some pictures of grandpa with his kids and grandpa with his siblings. 

{there was a stage at the church and Evie the born performer couldn't help herself}

{ice cream at grandpa greats}

On the way out of town we stopped by to see my aunt's beautiful new home.

The kids were all mainly enthralled with the pool.

We took a detour to the Grand Canyon on the way, and hilariously this is all we could see.

 

{some dumb kid climbed over the fence and jumped out onto this tall island, hopefully he didn't fall to his death on the way out} 

The clouds cleared as we left the Grand Canyon area we had paid to get into, and we luckily found this scenic turnout.

{this used to be a service station that my great-great grandma ran}

 

{this was the house on the edge of town grandpa grew up in}

 {and the view from the side of that house}

{cows being herded down main street}

And then I drove home to my mountains to stay the night before heading home on an early flight.