Open up a newspaper and you’ll read about it, buy a container of milk and you’ll see it, turn on any cop drama TV series or action movie, it’s there. And now, it happened to MY family. I am STILL in shock.
My grandfather, newly widowed since my grandmother’s death just 8 months ago, was always an independent, strong, and smart man. Since her death, Poppy has been slowly showing his age, as he is 85 years old. He has been forgetful and sometimes seems a bit confused. We truly had no idea how serious this was until last night.
Poppy went missing at about 5pm yesterday evening. When my aunt went to check on him at 6:00, his television was on, his house seemed a bit a mess, the car was gone and Poppy wasn’t around. By 7pm, there was still no sign of him, no one had any idea where he was, and we began to worry.
My family searched near his house, near our house (45 minutes away), circled highways and hospitals in between the two locations. At 12:30 am, an official missing persons report was filed.
Finally, at 2:30 am, the Sheriff visited my aunt. Afraid of what she would learn when she answered the door, the Sheriff informed her that Poppy was found 2 ½ hours north, in Massachusetts! He had been in an accident and was hospitalized.
Throughout the day today, my whole family is numb. We learned more and more info as the day progressed, and as my parents and aunt and uncle drove up to Massachusetts to see him. Poppy was in an accident (luckily no other car/pedestrian was involved). He flipped over, got pinned inside his car, and the Jaws of Life removed him. They airlifted Poppy to the nearest hospital, and he has 2 broken ribs, a fracture in his neck, and is being monitored for a spot on his lung. Poppy had been recovering from pneumonia, so the doctors suggested that he stay in the hospital in Massachusetts through the weekend for further monitoring and care.
None of us can believe that this has happened. We will do what we have to do for Poppy, and deal with whatever dementia or Alzheimer’s he may have, but it is just numbing to think about the last 24 hours. This could have been so much worse, we are very blessed, and I am thankful to God (and my grandmother, who I believe was with him when the car flipped over).
Jennifer
Wife to Paul, Mom to Juliana (8), Anthony and Louis (1) and Joseph (7 months)
www.nevaland.com
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 at 3:49 am and is filed under Health, Jennifer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.