At the moment, I am attempting to watch the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid [Los Blancos have just scored @ 15:04 EDT]. Meanwhile, my grandfather is at the hospital laying on what will presumably become his "death bed". On Wednesday, the decision was made to discontinue treatment of his various ailments and he was transferred from the Intensive Care Unit of Northeast Georgia Medical Center's North Tower to a basic patient room in the facility's South Tower. From my perspective, it is clear that my grandfather has no intention of going "gently into that good night" as he has continued to "rage, rage against the dying of the light." I apologize for my selfish and, most likely, incorrect use of Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night" but those two lines have resonated heavily upon me during this period. This weekend was meant to be a joyous and celebratory weekend in which my younger cousin would be married. Instead, it has become a somber Memorial Day weekend filled with the anxiety that comes from not knowing when a loved one will pass on.
Personally, I am in professional purgatory as I await what comes in regards to my grandfather's being. I was scheduled to begin my new job on Tuesday (May 31) but I have now postponed my start date in response to my grandfather's situation. As for my previous (or current) position, I informed my colleague and supervisor that he should refrain from scheduling me for the foreseeable future until I am better acquainted with my employment situation. In other words, I am without a job while actually in two jobs. To be honest, it is an odd situation to be in given my recent struggles with unemployment.
In regards to my grandfather, I find his situation to be rather disturbing. As far as I can tell, the hospital is starving him to death as he has not eaten anything of any particular substance in well over a week--his only source of nutrients coming via an IV drip while he was quartered in the North Tower of NGMC. In my opinion, the hospital has given up on my grandfather and they have manipulated my family by using their authoritative position. I feel that if we had requested a transfer to one of Metro Atlanta's larger medical facilities (e.g. Emory or Grady Memorial), then my grandfather would have a greater chance of surviving. SERIOUSLY, AT LEAST GIVE THE MAN HIS DIALYSIS TREATMENT!
Perhaps, I am working my way through the various stages of grief but I cannot fathom a world in which my grandfather is no longer in it. Anyways, that is where I am at now and it is where I will be for the foreseeable future.
