We're back in Big Flats. There was some snow in the Pennsylvania mountains, but nothing too tragic. And now, I need to do my laundry and pack up my car for the trip to Buffalo tomorrow.

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Yesterday we left Champaign in the late afternoon, arriving at Tim & Kelly's after almost two hours. Sadly Kelly was ill, but managed to be quite welcoming. She went to bed early, then we boys played three rounds of San Juan, a card game that manages to be strategic without causing the analysis paralysis that plagues Puerto Rico, it's predecessor.

We went to bed at about 1:30 AM, then slept in as the residents got up and went to work. Dad and I got on the road at about 10 AM, driving all the way to Grove City, mostly through bad weather. It was never terrible, but there was light snow or freezing rain for most of the distance.

Also, the car's windshield cracked, and I think my GPS is to blame. I feel rather badly about that. It was cold outside and hot inside the car, which stresses the windshield, apparently to the extent that the weight of the GPS got to it. Sorry, Dad.

At any rate, I type this from Bob & Jean's, who held a nice dinner for us upon arrival. Afterwards we sat in the living room and compared photos and told stories, which was fun, but also discussed the legal arrangement for my grandparents, which was not as much fun.

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This morning Steve had carpal tunnel surgery, so he's not to be alone for a while. I volunteered to stay with him this afternoon while Dad and Mary went to see the grandparents one more time. Mary pointed out that she can see them anytime, which is true, but I thought it would be nice if the brother and sister could see their parents together. While I love my grandparents, I realize that their children undoubtedly love them more.

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This morning we went to see Grandma and Grandpa H again. Grandma is still fine, we arrived just before her lunch, which she ate with good appetite. They're planning on moving her out to the assisted-living center by the end of the week.

Grandpa is…not so good. He's developed a nasty cough, which they think is pneumonia, but they're not certain, because he's dehydrated enough that nothing is showing up on X-rays. He's on antibiotics anyway. In addition, his levels are still not where they should be, and his blood pressure is very low. Like 80/40 low this evening. We woke him when we arrived, and he was not as mentally acute as we'd like to see. He knew where he was, but couldn't remember his specific problem; that is, he figured he'd been hospitalized after a fall, but didn't remember that the problem was his electrolytes. He did check if Mary had taken care of some financial matters that he'd requested, which is at least a good sign.

We went back to Steve & Mary's, made some sandwiches for lunch, and ate them on the drive to Potomac and Gram. She was in fine health and fine spirits, and glad to see us. Just a few minutes after we arrived, Uncle David showed up too. So while we worked in a desultory manner on a puzzle that had been left incomplete by Frank and his family, Dave and I told each other some of our war stories. It's a shame we only had the afternoon to visit with her. But I am confident that I can come out again and see her, while it's not so clear with the other grandparents.

Tomorrow we see Dad's folks one more time, then we start heading back to Big Flats. First stop is Tim & Kelly's place, where we'll spend the night. I'll need to be ready to drive for many hours the next day, so I can't stay up all night playing games, as much as I'd like to.

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We're at the hospital right now, "we" being my father, Aunt Mary, and myself. We're in Grandpa's room, and he certainly looks a lot worse than he did when last I saw him, which was a good six years ago. He's lost almost all of his muscle mass, his skin is weak, he's covered with bruises from the falls, and he'ss still somewhat confused. The confusion is hopefully because his salt levels are still very low. Hyponatremia cannot be corrected too rapidly, as just duping enough sodium into the blood to restore normal levels will cause all sorts of hormone imbalances that lead to heart failure or central pontine myelinolysis which is exceptionally nasty.

Dad gave Grandpa his Christmas presents while we were here, some popcorn. Except that Grandpa says he hasn't been eating as much popcorn as he did last year, so the popcorn Dad gave him last year is still in the fridge at home. Whoops.

In case I didn't make it clear, this is pretty fucking depressing.

UPDATE: Next, we went to the nursing home where Grandma is staying. She's not there for an IV (like I had thought), she's there because she's still on supplemental oxygen. They are trying to wean her off, but it's taking time.

Grandma was in much better shape than her husband. She's wearing a brace to reduce her hunch as her fractured vertebrae heal, but she gets around with a walker. Mentally she was in fine shape, a good conversationalist as usual. She was looking forward to getting out and living in a somewhat more independant manner again. She was also obviously concerned about Grandpa.

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Yesterday Dad and I arrived at Deb & Topher's at about two PM. Their kids didn't reall remember me, unsurprisingly. B is an elementary-schooler and was quite polite. A is younger and enjoys imaginatative play. E was wearing a hat and cape and running laps around the house. Just visualize a low-pressure, high-temprature gas, and you'll get the picture.

We all had a grand time. Shortly after we arrived, the adults were all being boring talking in the living room, so the kids got a box of plastic train tracks and a box of tinker toys. After a few minutes of laboriously pulling out the pieces needed, they wised up and dumped it all out on the floor. Well, there were too many engineers in the room for tinkertoys and trains to remain a children-only sport, so the adults got down there and started building too.

For dinner, Deb cooked up some delicious chicken and rice; Topher's father had a heart attack a few years ago, so they'd learned heart-healthy recepies for him. I feel a bit bad that I barely ate any, because I was too busy running my mouth at dinner, and then we had to leave to reach Champaign before bad weather set in. (Plus it was getting close to bedtime for E.)

It's a shame it'd been so many years since I saw them. I hope it won't be five years before my next visit!

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I'm posting this from the Wi-Fi in the Winsor at Savoy, which is the assisted living center that Grandpa is living in, and that we intend to move Grandma into once her IV is taken out.

However, Grandpa isn't here. At the moment, he's in a local hospital. Two nights ago, he fell several times, and seemed poorly oriented. The Winsor staff sent him to the ER. After much hemming and hawing, the docs decided that he was suffering from hyponatremia, which is a sodium shortage. He should be in the hospital for another day or two while they get his blood chemistry back in balance.

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I just learned that cousin Fay's grandmother died a few days ago. My condolences to her family.

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We're at a Best Western today, having just stopped for the night. I was willing to keep driving, but Dad would rather we get an earlier start tomorrow. Our first destination is Deb & Topher & Children, or as I like to refer to them, the "A-B-C-D-E Cousins".

We're going to spend the afternoon with them tomorrow, then drive south to Champaign to see Grandma and Grandpa, and Steve & Mary. At some point we'll drive to Potomac to see Gram, but I'm not clear yet which day that will be. On Tuesday we'll leave Illinois, but stop over at Tim & Kelly's place for either a couple of hours or overnight. Then it's back to Big Flats, intending to arrive on the 8th. On the 9th I go off to Buffalo, with my car stuffed full of, well, stuff. I expect to come back down to Big Flats over MLK Day Weekend, to take more with me, including possibly a caravan with Dad's bigger car to carry my table. Or I might just rent a U-Haul.

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And we're off, on a road trip to Illinois. Posting is likely to be infrequent, depending on the internet connectivity of my relatives.

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