Not a great Christmas Day for the family...

My Mom's side of the family had our annual Christmas Dinner yesterday at my Uncle's home. I had to work, so we didn't make it. (it was a couple of hours away) My Mom phoned me last night with some bad news. My Uncle has recently done some remodeling on their home. They have this big new bonus room where the kids were playing. It is not yet completed so right now it is a concrete floor with a ping-pong table & such in the room. My Great-Grandmother who is 89 years old had just arrived to the family gathering, (she didn't even have her coat off yet!) when she heard the kids out in the room playing & wanted to say hello. There is apparently a step down to enter into the room. She made it fine & was talking with the children. She turned to go back into the room & when she went to step up she must have misjudged her footing somehow & "Granny" fell. ("Granny" is what we call her.) At first she thought maybe that she could get up, but quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. My cousin is a Paramedic. He was at the dinner. He came out & assessed her & stated that he was afraid that she had broken her hip. At that point it was decided to call an ambulance. My Uncle & his family live WAY out in the country. They knew just getting the ambulance there would be an ordeal, but they had no choice. Many first repsonders & Paramedics showed up & after over an hour the ambulance came. Granny was freezing on that cold concrete floor, so my Mom had gotten her pillows & blankets & was on the floor with her holding her hand; comforting her & trying to keep her warm. My Grandma; Granny's daughter was allowed to ride in the front of the ambulance & went with Granny to the hospital & begged everyone else just to stay at the dinner, eat & "try" to have some sort of Christmas as usual & that she would call as soon as they had an initial report. The dinner continued. However, my Mom said that everyone was totally miserable, nervous & "out of sorts". My Grandma; "MeMa" phoned & said that Granny's hip was in fact broken. They weren't sure if she could make it through a surgery, as her lungs are not in great shape & having to intubate her could make extubation a very long, if ever process. Anyway, this morning it was decided that they would move forward with the surgery. The only other option was for her to be bedfast at a nursing home & for her that was not an option that she was willing to consider. My Mom just called & the surgery is over. Thus far, she has hung in there. They are preparing to move her from recovery to the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor's have said that she will be in the hospital for at least three weeks & then it will be necessary for her to receive continued care in a rehab unit for at least an additional three months. Currently, prior to this fall, she lived in her own home by herself. This will be a big adjustment for her. We will just have to wait & see how things go over the next few weeks now. She is very thin & has no reserves. This will be a big concern during her recovery period.

Jen