Holland, MI

What a week. I got a call from Mikey on Monday afternoon and he told me that him and Ry were on their way to Holland because Grandpa Metzler had 3 seizures that morning (he was still in the hospital recovering from his surgery last Wednesday). I was on the phone from then on trying to figure out what we were going to do. It ended up that my dad got a flight into O'Hare later that night and was going to rent a car to drive, but instead Justin and I picked him up and we all drove to Holland together. It was nice to have a few hours to chat. We got to the hospital at 3am and it was really hard seeing Grandpa laying there like that. He was not awake and joking around, so it was not him! He had just had another seizure not long before we got there, but luckily has not had any since! I can't tell you on this blog that he looked bad, because when he gets home and reads this I don't want to lose my spot as favorite grand-daughter :) Anyways - we went home to get a nap and shower around 3:30am and when we got there Gramma was up and showered and ready to go! I ended up sitting and talking with her for a few hours and then I showered and we went back up to the hospital. Luckily Ry and Manda kept Justin for me so he could sleep in (and so could Ry!)- thanks guys! When we got there and she started talking to him, he turned his head towards her and lifted his hand to her too - that was very promising! I went back to the house later that morning to try and get a nap in and then when we got back to the hospital at 3pm he was sitting up more, he knew us when we came in and was starting to try and talk. He had some applesauce with his pills crushed up in it and said "this tastes like shit" so we knew he was feeling a little better! Tuesday was a good day - if you would have told me at 3am that we would be talking to him in 24 hours I would have said you're crazy, but we prayed and had hope and it worked. After dinner and the beach (see below), me, Mike and Ry went up around 10pm to say goodnight to him. He had just gotten a bath and looked really good! Funny story - we walked in and Mikey said "You look good Gramps" - grandpa said "it's hard not to compared to the other day"...well, his oxygen mask was on and he mumbled the compared to the other day part and I thought he said "compared to your other grandpa"...they are always ribbing eachother back and forth! We started laughing and when grampa realized what we thought he said he was smiling too :) We told him we went and saw his boat and talked about fishing and the bet him and Mikey have going about if the Tigers will make the playoffs...it was a good night. Yesterday he was on more meds and they said he was a little confused, but when I walked in he said "there's my favorite grand-daughter" - I looked at the doctor and said that I don't think he's confused at all :) Justin and I left yesterday afternoon. There is not much we can do and Grampa needs his rest. There is a blot clot on his brain, but it's not big enough to operate and right now they are waiting for his body to clear it on it's own. They also have him on drugs to fight any potential infections and are trying to make sure he does not develop pnemmonia (he had a little big in one lung, but not bad). Justin got to see him too - and blew him kisses bye when we left. I talked to Dad today and he is still awake and talking; they are going to do another scan today to see if the clot is going away. They are also going to try to get him sitting up in a chair if his headaches don't get too bad (caused by the clot). Please keep him in your prayers! I know that most of the "fans" of our blog don't know Grampa, but a lot of you do! He is an amazing guy - him and my Gramma have been happily married for 60 years so far! What an inspiration :)

Here are some pictures from Holland when we were not in the hospital....

Here is a link to the rest of the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brooksfam.blogspot/Michigan

Everyone at Aunt Joy & Uncle Jack's house for dinner - they live right on Lake Michigan...it's beautiful!
However, not so kid friendly!!!! Glad Aunt Manda followed him into the kitchen :)
Great Gramma Metzler and Justin - he helped her smile the last few days....
Papa and Justin - I love this one!

Mommy and Justin
My Daddy and my baby - I love this one too!
Justin playing on the beach
"Red" - me, Mike, Ry and Manda don't think it deserves the name "Big Red" - it's not very big at all :)
My little angel at sunset on Ottawa Beach
I love this one too. :)