Happy Birthday Nan.

My beautiful Nan is 86 today and I couldn't be more proud of her. My Nan and I share the same name and we're very alike personality wise, forever smiling and laughing at similar things. Throughout my life my Nan has never not been there for me, literally since day 1, there isn't a day which I can't recall she wasn't there either looking after me or I've rang her. My Nan was even the one who held me at my parents wedding in 1993. After that and while my parents worked, all I can do is recall her coming up to me or me being at her house watching the TV and playing with the endless amount of animals she's had. She used to walk me to primary school and back everyday until I was old enough to walk home alone. She always recalls the day of the horrible blizzard in the 90's that I fell over in and started to cry. She had millions of pictures of me as a child in her collection, along with my cousins who spent everyday that I did at my Nan's house. We were all never apart really, I still recall the double pram she used to put me and my Cousin Nicki in and made the boys walk, but to be fair they are older. Even when the day came that I was to enter year 7, I still made sure I went to my Nan's after school most days for tea and I still do, I'm 18 now.

This few months have been the hardest for all us. On November 23rd in the early hours of the day my Nan suffered a series of mild strokes, which because of the amount were more dangerous than they seemed. She was taken to Fairfield Hospital in Bury as it's a stroke specialist place and she had to have this special drug which would thin out her blood. However, it wasn't as simple as it seemed. This specialist treatment isn't meant to be given to people over 80, and my Nan was 85 at the time, the consequence of the drug was that it could cause another bleed which could have killed her. So, even if my parents didn't decide to tell me until I got home, when I think about it now, it was probably the best choice. However, this doesn't mean I took it well. All I can remember was seeing my Dad lying down speechless and me on the floor, crying hard and trying to rip my hair out. I ran upstairs and rang Tom, it was all I could do, thankfully he was there for me and made me feel a little better, it made me feel so secure when he put his coat straight on and was ready to come to see me at the drop of a phone call, but I wasn't going to rest until I saw my Nan.

On the car ride there, I began to feel my body come back to reality and I stopped crying. It was a fearful drive to the hospital as it was so far away from my house. However, it did let me compose myself. When we got there, I followed my family patiently until we reached the "Acute Stroke Ward" on the first floor of Fairfield Hospital. I had to wait as it was strictly two visitors at a time as she was in the vital ward area. When I walked in her eyes lit up and her heart beat on the monitor started to rise dramatically. This was my main worry at the time. She was really hot as her blood pressure was high and the drugs were messing with her system. She was desperate to fall asleep and she couldn't even recall most things going on. Her speech was unrecognisable and the machines were beeping and there were pipes everywhere. It was just a horrible sight and I'm glad I won't have to witness this again. As we were alone, I managed to get her heart beat from 130 to 90, which is more normal. However, when it came to leave, I didn't really want to but I knew she needed her rest. After I got home, I got in the car and drove straight to Tom to tell him what was going on, he was worried about me and Nan.

In the same week, my Nan got transferred to Oldham Hospital, so she was closer to home and a lot easier to visit. Once she had reached Oldham, the improvements just kept coming. Everyday she had something new to show us, gaining a little more strength in her body everyday. My favourite surprise was the day when she all of a sudden lifted her bad arm up and waved at me when she saw me through the window. It made me so happy to know that there was hope and she was going to be okay. Everyday I went to visit she made me so happy by telling me the lastest thing she'd donw with Richard the physio man. When the time was coming close for her to leave the hosptial, we all got to sit in and watch her in the physio area. Richard got my Nan to walk! She walked around the room with two people helping her, but she was still walking! I couldn't believe it, I felt so proud.

The day came that she was leave the hosptial, but it wasn't home she was going to, it was Butler Green in Chadderton, a 'care home'. With their developments with physio and domestic help, my Nan managed to gain more strength and confidence in gaining her independence back. We got her out for Christmas which was a lovely break for her and a nice treat for us to know that she was being properly cared for by us. But that's enough about that.

On January 21st, my Nan finally got to come home properly, 2 months after the incident, she got to finally go home, to her own home and not ours! She couldn't believe it and neither could I! It was a lovely day, because I promised her that she'd be out by her birthday, which is today! And I didn't break my promise, she is at home and happily being looked after by her endless family who are around there most hours of the day.

I just wanted to write this to show how proud I am of her after everything and how much I love her.
Happy Birthday Nan xxxxxxxxxx