Grandpa Grose

I got a call on Saturday night from my mom while I was at dinner with my friend Sarah. She told me that my Grandpa had fallen while he was at a funeral and broke his neck, and my dad was on his way up to the hospital. Those were all the details she had at the time but told me she'd call me if she heard anything new. I remember my heart just sinking.

A few hours later my mom called me with an update. She said that my dad had returned from the hospital and told her my Grandpa was in really good spirits and shape, considering the fall. I guess he was at a funeral earlier that day and had leaned up against a wall to support himself. Turns out the "wall" really wasn't that at all, but rather a door that wasn't latched. He ended up falling head over heals down 8 or 10 stairs. Initially he went home really sore but that was that. One of my uncles ended up deciding he needed to go to the hospital and a few x-rays later they discovered he had clearly broken his neck.

A surgery and a few pain pills later, here's my sweet Grandpa. Happy as ever! He was in great spirits through the whole thing and has made an INCREDIBLE recovery. You can definitely tell that my Grandpa is a very loved man. When I went and visited him on Sunday I counted 16 family members in his little room. Every time the nurses came by they'd be a little surprised at the party going on in room 2202!

He's such a funny guy. He kept telling the nurses they should've just installed a "zipper" on him so he wouldn't have to go through all the surgeries anymore. He also said when he left the hospital he was going to go right back to "riding my fourwheeler", meaning his walker, of course ;)

He was incredibly excited on Thursday about his balloon horse we picked him out at the gift shop. He said it could be his ride home. Doesn't look too weight-bearing to me...He also had a huge grin on his face when the nurse came and brought him his lunch that day. Apparently he'd been ordering a cinnamon roll the last couple meals but they were all out. But they'd managed to snag him one for his last day and he was so happy he could hardly stand it.

My Grandpa Grose is an amazing man and such a wonderful example to his family. I've never heard him say a single negative thing about another person in my ENTIRE life. He is so dedicated to his family. I can't remember a single piano recital or choir concert of mine he didn't attend. I've lost count at how many first cousins I have, so to have him there to support me always meant a lot. He is the perfect example of living a Christ-like life. He served multiple missions with my Grandma before she died and he is always either at the temple or doing family history work online in his spare time. I watched him bow his head and say a silent prayer before he ate his lunch, even though I heard him say just a minute before how hungry he was.

If I'm half the person he is when my life is over I'll be happy. I'm so grateful it wasn't his time to go, yet. The world isn't quite ready to let him leave and neither am I!