My sweet Grandpa

THE BEST GRANDPA OUT THERE... HE WILL BE MISSED MORE THAN HE WILL EVER KNOW

I went to see my grandpa in the hospital tonight. It all started on October 19th when my gpa fell off a step stool and broke his hip. They had 2 choices: put a pin in his hip or do a total hip replacement. The pin in his hip was not suggested bc he would have muscle atrophy from not being able to be weight bearing and total replacement he can put weight in it right away so they said that would be better. He went in for surgery October 20 and did well with the surgery but the anesthesia cause him to go into cardiac arrest. He had a heart attack right on the table.  They obviously were not expecting this. Even though he's 95 they did tests before and thought he was strong enough.

I called my mom that morning and just asked if everything had gone ok and she said "um not really". They heavily sedated him bc they needed him to be calm and knew if he was awake at first he would freak out. He isn't one to love feeling helpless. We were not sure of his status for hours.   The family was faced with a decision to do another procedure to possibly put a stint in his heart but decided against it thinning gpa isn't strong enough to handle the anesthesia and trauma again. They decided to let nature take its course and if he died of a heart attack in a week or in 5 years then they were willing to risk not possibly killing him now. He's just too old.

Not knowing how long he would last I decided to go to the hospital Saturday afternoon. Honestly it was really hard because he didn't look like himself. He had a huge tube shoved down his throat and his face looked distorted with all the other tubes/ stickers in his face. His hair was matted back and his head was tipped back. They had him heavily sedated for healing purposes. I obviously didn't get to talk to him and I mostly cried and i stared and randomly touched his foot. I left his room sad and kind of lost. My mom and I talked in the waiting room for a bit and to see my mom cry was really hard. We were crying because poor grandma didn't know what was going on and reverted back to her childhood and asked for her mom. My grandma has kind of lost it. She has semi amnesia. She can remember things from her past but any memory present day or in the last decade is basically gone. My grandpa did everything for her. He dressed her, fed her, and just completely took care of her. She basically lost most of her eye sight and can really only make out that there is something in front of her but she can't really see it. They would just listen to TV and music, eat their lunch and go out to dinner every night.

Sunday morning things seemed a little better. They decided to wake him up and slowly take him off oxygen. He was doing pretty good and was finally awake. Kim went there to see him and said she had a great conversation. He was totally being himself. He's completely mentally with it (which makes it harder bc he hates where he is at and just wants to be home taking care of my grandma. Before he could talk he wrote a note to my uncle tony saying "when can I go home?" Kaleb has a special relationship with my grandparents. At Sunday dinner he apparently was completely taking care of my grandma by getting her food and sitting by her. He's so tender hearted and seriously takes such care of them. My grandma seemed confused the whole time. She doesn't quite know what's going on but she realizes grandpa is now not around and she seemed unsettled.

My mom spent most of her time at the hospital. Sunday night seemed a little more promising.

Monday morning at 7:40 my grandpa suffered another heart attack. When they revived him they broke ribs because they hit him so hard. He was in a lot of pain. Kim decided to bring kaleb down because it was not looking very good for a recovery. I just had this pit in my stomach all day. I kept thinking I needed to go see him again. I almost didn't go because kace was having a rough night and the kids were needy but i went up at 8:30pm. I had such a great conversation with him. They had just given him a bath so he kept saying "they gave me a bath". He looked much better than when I saw him on Saturday but you could tell he was in pain. I asked him how he was doing and he said "not good". Anyone who knows my grandpa knows that he never would admit if he was in pain so I knew he was hurting. He kept pointing to his chest bc they had bruised it. We talked about all the people that had come by. He asked me how my kids were doing and I told him they were crazy. He laughed but the laughing was painful for him and caused him to cough (it kind of sounded like the death cough). He held my hand the entire time. I told him that he needed to hang on and he said he was trying but you could tell it wasn't going to be much longer. He complimented me and asked if I was running any marathons and then I just told him how much i loved him. He told me to take care of my kids and give them hugs. I gave him a kiss on the forehead and then on the lips and said "I love you gramps" and he responded "I love you more" and I responded I love you the most and he ended with I love loads. I just broke down. I had a feeling that was it.

I called my mom and told her she needed to go up there. She was already on her way. I honestly couldn't stop crying. Driving was kind of dangerous bc I was tearing up so much. He was so sweet and totally mentally with it but you could tell he was physically struggling a ton. My mom also cried and she doesn't cry.

I was nervous to call my mom in the morning to see how the night went. When I talked to her she was on her way to the hospital bc they'd called her to let her know they had to intubate him because his breathing was so labored.  He couldnt really talk anymore but was awake. They had to make the decision to keep him on machines but his internal organs were shutting down. Once they took him off he took a couple breaths and died. My grandma held his hand the entire time as he passed to the other side. They truly are like the notebook love story. They live for each other.


October 27, 2012- grandpas funeral. The night before was the viewing. I left tay home with twins and i took kace. So glad I did bc our kids would've ruined the mood and Tay would've gotten bored. It was nice to just be able to focus on family and grandpa. He was an amazing man! Golfed 3 days before he fell. Wanted to be so self sufficient and do it all on his own. Stubborn man but so sweet.

I had the hardest time approaching the casket. Seeing my grandpa but knowing he wasn't really there was tough. Emotions just flooded me. I thought of all memories I have with this amazing man. He used to take us to mcdonalds on Saturdays to get hashbrowns, loved going to el mercado Mexican restaurant, went swimming all through the summer, picked raspberries, hit golf balls in back yard, picked pine cones, got mint leaves and put them in sprite, played the McDonald land game, watched "today's special" "America's funniest home videos" read the comics, watched grandpa do crossword puzzles, always ate pickled veggies, taffys and licorice, Sunday dinners at grandmas and then at my moms, etc. so many amazing memories. He was such a huge part of our life!

After attending his funeral I realized even more so how amazing he was. He didn't get baptized til he was 38.
He was a bishop, business owner, avid golf lover, and very involved gpa and dad.

Memories:
Mcdonalds hashbrowns on saturday morning, el mercado Mexican restaurant, putting in his house, swimming, picking raspberries, picking mint leaves and drinking them with sprite, picking pine cones, etc

I called Tay on the Saturday after my gpas surgery in a panic and full blown tears and just said "Tay I don't think he's going to make it. He's in the ICU right now". Tay immediately started hysterically bawling and saying "why baby why?" he was screaming and crying and kept saying "what happened?". Finally after about 30 seconds I realized he was over reacting quite a bit and finally I said "babe u know I'm talking about my grandpa right?" Tay thought I was talking about Stockton. I felt so bad because for a minute tay thought his son was dying. I've never heard a reaction like his before and now I know how much my husband loves his children and how tender hearted he is. He really would do anything for his family and is the most loyal kind daddy out there. I'm so blessed!

This was the very last picture taken of my grandpa.  I know it's not good of him but I will cherish this forever and always.  I well up anytime I look at this picture.  He tried so hard to be strong this last night but he knew he was going.  Man I love this guy!  I know he's in a better place now and we are the ones suffering.  It is so tough seeing and being with my grandma now.  She is so lost and doesn't remember a ton.  He was her rock and everything.  He truly was the best example of how you treat your wife.  I learned so much from him and he will always be one of my hearts biggest treasures. 

I love you grandpa Keith Temple!