Memories of My Grandma

When I was only about four or five years old, my grandmother — my mom's mom — had a stroke. This severely limited her ability to do things, and she was more or less in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. When I remember her best, she could walk a bit with a cane, and even navigate stairs (very carefully) — but my mom says that for a while at first, they had to have a lift chair installed in the house to get her up and down the stairs.

Back then, though, I think stair lifts were a little bulkier than they are now, and my grandparents had an old house so there wasn't a lot of room on the stairs. Also I doubt the equipment was as good back then — we're talking about more than 20 years ago, after all. So as soon as my grandma could comfortably navigate the stairs again, they got rid of the lift.

I was only ten when my grandmother died from her final stroke, but I have some very fond memories of her. I used to love to push her wheelchair; I particularly remember doing this when we used to visit Skytop, an old golf resort in the Pocono Mountains, every summer. I can also remember buttering her rolls for her at dinner, which she couldn't do because the stroke had severely limited the mobility of her right hand.

I didn't know her for very long, but I was devastated when my grandmother died. I miss her all the time, particularly when I smell something or see something or do something that reminds me of her!