Marina James Blog

July 24, 2009

Wow.. It has been 7 months since I have written on my BLOG. It is time to be more consistent with this...
I hope all of you have been well and continuing to eat your organic fruit and veggies ( especially right now) with the cherries, peaches, plums in season.. I am addicted to the cherries right now. I figure it is fine to be addicted to the cherries since they won't be in season too much longer.
This has been a challenging time for me as my AMAZING 92 year old Grandfather " Allan Oliver Nelson" passed away last Thursday night. He has been like a second father to me and I am so grateful for what he has shared in my life. He was an avid athlete ( runner) and influenced me to making exercise a HUGE part of my life. I remember thinking of him often when I did my First ( and ONLY) marathon in Hawaii 9 years ago for TNT ( Team in Training). I kept hearing his voice in my head... you can do this and finish.. I am here rooting you on...
When he retired from the foreign service he went to work at Korbel Champagne for 31 years as a tour guide. I remember drinking Korbel Champagne as a child when we were celebrating some occassion as a family. It wasn't until earlier this year when my grandparents came back from their annual time away in Maui, Hawaii that he had a bad fall in the house. This fall set him up ( he went down hill from there). My grandparents had been coming into the GYM that I train at on a regular basis to workout with me and work on balance. I guess this just wasn't enough and this is WHY it is so important to practice some form of balance on a daily basis as you get older. My grandfather ( my brother and I call him Papu) had a bad fall and broke his shoulder and fractured his hip. He went from being in the hospital for a few weeks to a local rehab to recover. We weren't sure if he was going to make it home. I am so grateful that I made the time to either visit him at the hospital, rehab on a daily basis or call him daily to see how he was. I always brought him the Press Democrat to read when we visited so he could stay atune to the local happenings. I would also bring him fruit and other goodies since he was quite limited to the choices at the hospital and rehab. I have told Dan ( husband) & family & friends that if I am ever in the hospital again ( they will have to go to whole foods or make and bring me my green smoothies) to help my body recover. I just can't eat the hospital food. I focused on Papu while we visited and connected with him in a new way. We have always been close but I feel that this time together brought us much closer. The family finally made a decision to bring him home to continue to recover. We had a nurse & physical therapist come out to the house to help. It seemed that Papu was continuing to decline. I think he was happy he was finally at home and sleeping in his own bed and around loved ones ( my grandmother of 68 years , my mom , uncle, brother, sister-in-law and great grand children) but he just wasn't feeling well. He did make a request that he wanted to take a drive out to the ocean. It was a bit of an ordeal to get him in my mother's van but we did it. We were all with him that day. He was a bit grumpy and in pain but I think he enjoyed his time out. He was quite winded getting back up the stairs when we got home and had to use his oxygen tank. This was a hard time for me to VIEW his body decline so fast and see my Strong & Vibrant grandfather getting smaller & skinner and weaker every day. It was last Thursday that I headed out to see him as I knew I was going to be out of town for a few days and wanted to see him since he was continuing to decline. I drove out to their house and learned that he had stopped eating much food or drinking liquids. This was not a good sign. He requested " ensure" which we didn't have so I made him a quick milkshake of milk , bananas and ice which he loved but wasn't able to keep this down for long. I sat with him and held his hand for awhile. My mom's dog ( Sequoia) came into the room and wouldn't leave his side. Animals are very psychic and she knew that he was ready to leave his body. Papu was with it until the end. When it was time to leave, I told him that I loved him which he replied " I love you Marina", I also told him that I would be calling him over the weekend. I left around 9:15 and got home around 10 pm. I had some strange feelings as I drove home but ignored them. I was just heading to bed around 11 pm when the phone rang and I knew before Dan handed me the phone. It was my mom calling me to tell me that Papu had passed .
I just couldn't cry at first. His tired body was ready to be healed. I have cried since this evening and BOY.. Do I miss talking to him on a daily basis.
I am so so grateful for this connection with such an incredible soul and what he brought to my life.
His memorial will be on Sunday " Celebration of Life" with friends and family. I am looking forward to being with everyone and talking about how " Papu" touched our lives. I am also amazed how my family, friends, clients have sent such loving and supporting e-mails, flowers, cards, letters, and phone calls during this time in my life.
Thank you all .. and thank you for letting me get this out on my BLOG.
This was a wake up call to start writing again about what is important in my life and share it with all of you.