Trash Day

Yesterday started as a good day, I got off work an hour early compared to my usually 1230 finish I had an 1130 finish. Grabbed my cell-phone and low and behold I had two new voice mails. And Like 4 missed calls. Upon looking at the missed calls they were from my grandma's cell phone, and my mothers. When this combination of missed calls comes up on my cell phone that means that something has happened. I was right.

My first voice mail was from my mother, crying her eyes out. My grandfather had fallen in the garage at his house and they had to call 911, because there was blood everywhere. And I was to call her as soon as I got the message. Next message was from her again saying that they (her and grandpa) where at the ER, and he had no broken bones just lots of swelling and bruises. And that he would be released shortly to go home. Second message brought a relief to me, however, Grandpa falling, never a good thing. I think I made it to Warrensburg in record time after leaving Lee's Summit. I didn't even care as I drove through Lone Jack. I didn't slow down, must have been a lucky day.

I had to go to mom's office first to get some money for some Hydrogen peroxide so that I could clean up the mess in the garage, by mess I mean blood. Mom said that the ER people wrapped his right arm up in gauze and whatnot, and that I would have to clean it for him later. Which was fine. I'm used to having to clean wounds for them. With dad out of town, I have no other choice.

Went I got to grandma and grandpa's house, he was still in his bloody shirt from when he fell. I took him to his bedroom and helped him change into a clean shirt. Mom was right he was all bruised and swollen. His left elbow has a knot the size of a golf ball on it and some of the skin broke, so there a scab. On his right arm he is bandaged up from the middle of his forearm, all the way to his shoulder. He looked pretty tired from the whole thing.

Grandma told me what had happened while I helped fix lunch. They had gotten up around 8:30, and while they were drinking their coffee, Grandma remembered that it was trash day. (They had forgotten last week to set the trash out). Grandpa said that he would go put it out. So he left to go take care of it. After 10 minutes or so, he never came back. Grandma opened the front door and saw that the trash was at the curb, so she thought that he must be in the garage sweeping. (For some reason my grandfather sweeps his garage 2 or 3 times a day). After another 5 to 10 minutes of him not coming inside, so started towards the garage. As she got to the door, he started pounding on it for the otherside. She opened it and he was laying there covered in blood. She tired to help him up (which now she knows that she shouldn't have because she could have fallen), and then called my cell phone. When she couldn't get me, she called mom's office with no luck. Finally she got ahold of a neighbor who came right over. She (the neighbor) got ahold of mom. When mom arrived she called 911, and the firetrucks came and the EMT's.

Where did all the blood come from? Well grandpa's skin is so thin, that when he fell, his skin basically tore right down his arm. He was bleeding so much that he soaked through several towels of my grandma's (which were white).

I'm thankful that he didn't break anything or that grandma didn't fall trying to help him up. She has a huge bruise on her arm from where he grabbed her to get up. Her skin is about the same.

Grandma was having problems dealing with the stroke, now she has to worry about him falling. I know its only a matter of playing the waiting game. It's just important now to spend every moment I can with both of them.

They helped raise me, I spent my summers with them every year when I was in school. Time to cherish my moments.