September 7, 2007
Grandma's Angel of Death
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Manuel, Orange, California, December 18, 2005
It was the beginning of December when I received a phone call from my father
in Orange, California. He explained to me that my grandmother had a heart
attack and that she was in the hospital. After the phone call, I packed a
few day's worth of clothing and started the six hour trip to California.
Upon my arrival at St. Joseph's Hospital, I checked in and visited my
Grandma Sally. She seemed to be doing okay, but had to stay in the hospital
for testing and for shortness of breath. I stayed with her that whole
weekend then had to make the trip back to go to work. I did this for three
weeks -- each week I visited her she began to look worse and her breathing
was getting shorter. The last week of her life I can recall the doctor
letting us know that she had cancer and her lungs were hardening, unable to
take breaths. After weeping for some time we lied to her and told her she
would be fine and be out in time for Christmas. That last weekend I can
clearly remember being in the room with her and noticed her staring at a
chair, but at the time I did not think anything of it. She would ask me to
stay with her because she was scared. I asked her why she was scared and she
explained to me in Spanish that there was a guy in black sitting in the
chair by her feet sticking his big tongue out at her and throwing spider
webs at her. I could tell she was scared. That evening I grabbed her holy
water from home and bought some saints for her room. It was a very
uncomfortable feeling when I would go into that hospital room seeing my
grandmother focusing on that chair. I eventually had her moved to a room in
front of the nurse's desk. The following morning they transferred her out to
a hospice where she died two days later. My dad says she would tell him she
could hear singing right before she died.
