The past month and a half have had their fair share of ups and downs. As noted in my last posting, Dave asked me to marry him on December 27th. I was so happy that I'd finally found my prince charming and he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. The next day, on Dec. 28th, we flew home and I was met with the news that my Grandpa Lyons, whom I love dearly and saw almost every day it seems like throughout my childhood growing up in Spokane, had been diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in his brain. He and my grandmother were in Yuma, where they spent their winters and were going to fly back to Spokane the next week. They made it back home on Jan. 5th and on Jan. 6th, my Grandpa was taken to the hospital via ambulance because he wasn't feeling well. That for him was huge, since he didn't like hospitals. He stayed there for a while and then returned home, which is where he wanted to be all along. Hospice was helping my Grandma to care for him while he was there and my mom stopped everything she was doing to be at my Grandma's side. I am fortunate enough to have been able to spend a few days with him while he was in the hospital and a few more days with him this past week while he was at home. His health declined rapidly and he had a hard time talking when he was in the hospital, which was very frustrating to him, and it was almost impossible for him to walk and stand. This was extremely hard for him and his loved ones to take in, as he'd always been the type of person that was out working in the garden or around the house... he was never one to sit still for long. When I visited him this last week, he spent most of his time sleeping. He didn't have much of an appetite and was not really talking at all but still was able to interact a little. The highlight of my trip was when I finally got my engagement ring via FedEx. I was so excited when it came and he was awake at the time. I was able to show it to him and I got the biggest brightest smile out of him that I'd seen in a while, and also the last one that I would see from him. For the remainder of my stay there, he mostly slept and didn't really interact with others. He became more agitated and confused and then stopped waking much at all. I left on Saturday morning (Feb. 7th) to return home to Seattle and gave him a big hug and kiss and held his hand for a while and told him that I loved him. Of course, I left crying... I had a feeling in my gut that that was the last time that I'd see my grandfather. No more than 15 minutes had passed when I got home when my phone rang and it was my mom telling me that Grandpa had just passed away. I knew it was going to happen, but I never imagined it would hurt this bad. It takes everything I have to not burst into tears at random moments. I can't even imagine how my Grandma is feeling. (This made me think about my future and how much loving someone enough to want to spend the rest of your life with them can hurt so bad as well.) I loved and still love my Grandpa so much and I know he had a long (he was just shy of his 86th birthday) and good life full of wonderful memories that everyone will cherish. I wish him peace and happiness wherever he is and one day hope to give him a great big hug and kiss again. Rest in Peace Grandpa! I love you!
