The beginning...

My grandfather, we'll just call him Mr. C, is currently 87 years young.

About 6 years ago, my grandmother, his wife of 50+ years, passed away due to complications from multiple health problems. He lived alone after her death, and has steadily declined since.

In 2006 he came down with a series of urinary tract infections and then in early 2007, a double bout with pneumonia. That left him a lot worse. He went through two hospital and rehab stays, and in between stayed with my husband and I to recover. When he was strong enough (March 2007) he returned home.

Although he has been in relatively good health, his chronic conditions are now making life incredibly difficult to manage and he has lost most of that ability. When he fails to manage his health properly, he ends up with acute situations and needs some heavy duty managed care.

He is currently living with us again, this time in South Carolina. It's the longest he's lived away from home and the longest I've cared for him hands on, full time, 24/7.