Originally, mom and I were supposed to go to dinner with my Grandma this weekend to celebrate their birthdays. Mom called her to figure out plans, only to find out Grandma is going to San Antonio for the weekend instead. Hmm, before I go any further, I think a little genealogy lesson is in order. Parts of my family are a little weird, so identifying the people involved here will help this make more sense.
Family Members:
Grandma: My dad’s mom.
Cookie: My aunt / dad’s older sister.
Jonesy: Cookie’s ex-husband. (Marriage #2)
Ken: Cookie’s husband. (Marriage #3)
Jeffrey: Cookie’s grandson.
Misc Info:
Cookie and Jonesy are still very close. After they got divorced, they obviously lived apart for a while. But then Cookie moved back in with Jonesy and lived with him for a few years until she met Ken. Jonesy moved down to San Antonio to be close to her after Cookie moved down there when she married Ken. Ken is 2 years older than my Grandma, and he has Alzheimer’s. Cookie & Ken have been married for @ 3-5 years, I’m not sure exactly.
Details:
Okay. This is what I know so far, from what Grandma told my mom this morning. Cookie & Ken were at their house when Ken fell and broke his hip. Cookie ran into the kitchen (I assume to call for help?), and she slipped and fell. She hit her head when she fell, and the injury caused her to have a stroke. The two of them live alone, and Ken couldn’t move/get up with the broken hip, and Cookie was passed out. They were both laying there on the floor for at least a DAY. My cousin Jeffrey went over to visit, and found them on the floor and he called for help. Both Cookie & Ken are now in the hospital, obviously.
The doc’s don’t know yet if there will be any mobility issues for Cookie due to the stroke. She hasn’t started therapy yet, and they’ll get a better idea of any physical issues after she’s began that. Apparently she’s talking okay, so there hopefully won’t be many long-term effects. She got pretty lucky, especially considering the delay in getting medical attention after her stroke.
Cookie is an alcoholic. Neither she nor Ken will admit it, but Grandma is fairly certain that the two of them were drinking prior to their accidents. Cookie told Grandma she has a vague memory of pushing Ken, and that’s what caused his fall, but she can’t remember for sure.
As if all that isn’t bad enough, apparently my uncle Jonesy is now in hospice care. I think mom said the problem was his heart; but regardless, they don’t think he has much longer to live.
I don’t know yet if we’re going down this weekend to visit or not. I think if we do, it will be more because of Jonesy than anyone else. That sounds bad, I know, but that’s not how I mean it. With Cookie being alright, there’s less of a need to rush down to visit than if the stroke had done some bad damage. We can let her recover some before going to visit, so she doesn’t have to deal with even more people milling about in her hospital room. And honestly, mom and I have never met Ken; so I don’t feel any family-responsibility to go visit him. Cookie and Jonesy married when I was a young kid, so he’s who I remember being my uncle for most of my life; so there’s greater familial care/duty there.