Visiting Columbia

Last Friday, I got an email from a girl named Megan who was worried about her grandmother Peggy, who is a friend of mine. She said that Peggy fell and was put in the hospital for tests. That was all I knew. Peggy is 72, and she and I are friends from Macy's. She and I have done some stuff together. She went with me to visit my Mother in Laurens in the nursing home. She thought Mother was nice. I went with Peggy to the mountains to get apples. I have visited Peggy many times at her house, and we have gone out to eat a lot. She is a very feisty woman. She has a pacemaker and a replaced knee. Her husband passed away a few years ago, and she has gone through a lot of family problems. A few hours later after the email from Megan, I got another email from a guy named Ron from Macy's that Peggy was at Baptist Hospital room 312. I thought that was a little strange, because Peggy lives close to Lexington Hospital. It turned out later that Baptist takes her insurance better than Lexington. Saturday night, I got a phone call from my friend Ne'cole, who also works at Macy's. She and a friend named Kelly went to visit Peggy after work Saturday, and she said that they were very worried about Peggy and thought she had a stroke. I asked her if she thought I needed to come down from Greenville, and she said yes, so I did. I drove down yesterday and went to the hospital, not knowing what I would find. Peggy seemed okay, but she was really mad at her doctor and the food. Not really unusual, but then I found that she had indeed had a stroke. Her ability to comprehend words and being able to write was affected. She also leaned to the right. But, she can talk and see, which are two things my Mother couldn't do. She is going to need some therapy, and she will need to learn how to read and write again. I told her that she will need to channel her anger into getting better. Pray for Peggy. I spent some time with friends here. And visited the hospital again last night with our friend Mary, who later took me out to eat. I'll go there again this morning to see if Peggy has calmed down some, but I doubt it. She has a lot of responsibilities at home with Megan and Megan's baby, but some others in her family are going to have to step up and take responsibility, because Peggy is going to have to work to get better herself. I hope to have a little time with Joni this afternoon. My priorities have changed since leaving Macy's. Friends are very important. God bless us all.