Today I went to the airport to drop off my wonderful cousin, Nyoka. She has gone back home to America, after extending her stay in Trinidad for an extra week. She was here to help our 94 year old grandmother who has hip surgery.
The month of May has been all about granny. I don’t live close to her, so I have made quite a few trips. No problem though because I know she would do the same for me. I hope I never know what it is to be bedridden or have any sickness. If I were ever sick, I hope that I have Nyoka or someone very similar to her to take care of me. She is patient, gentile and very attentive. The things she has done in these past three weeks will last her in blessings for the rest of her life, even if she never does one more good thing. It takes a special kind of person to care for someone, especially when they are immobile. Nyoka has always been kind and thoughtful, and her relationship with granny is unconditional, but I felt like if the dictionary had video the way she cared for granny would be the visual definition of love. It was extraordinary to witness.
Yes, I helped and so did other family member, still it cannot be denied that Nyoka was on a different level. I realized early on that she wanted to take the lead; I allowed her because I knew her visit was short, and she would not be comfortable unless she had the opportunity to care for granny herself. She was the doctor, and I was the nurse.
Now that Nyoka is gone, and I have to go back to work the process of granny’s care is going to change. Granny has started therapy, and she will have a Home-Care Attendant. Everything will be managed by her very willing son, who can give Nyoka a run for her money. I will, of course, continue to visit and overnight when I can though I will be haunted with the feeling that I need to do everything just as Nyoka did.
What is most important is that granny is improving. She is like a bedridden superman. However, the thing about Superman is that he only stays down for so long and then he is back on his feet saving the world, and that is just want Frances Joseph will do.
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