Angie’s life was never the same after the months in the Drake Center even though she returned to her life with Deanna. From that time extra care needed to be taken to ensure the skin on her bottom would be kept healthy. This meant she would need to be re-positioned often. In addition, her new feeding tube and the port in her belly needed to be cleaned. So, for Angie to return to Deanna’s, Deanna would need more training and have more work to do. Plus, Angie wouldn’t be able to go out for long periods of time, because she simply was not able to sit very long. Deanna rose to the occasion with enthusiasm. And it worked well for a couple more years. Angie loved Deanna, her children, and extended family. I was relieved and able to live another of my dreams.
At this same time Angie’s brother, John, was flying as a pilot for Emirates Airlines and he and his wife were living in Dubai. One day when I was still in Turkey, I received a surprise email from them. It was a picture of an ultrasound with the name Ellie Justina written underneath. Ellie was my mother’s name so I started crying straight away. What a cool way to tell me I was going to be a grandma, right? I cried for days because I was so excited and happy. And when they asked me to come work in Dubai, I said yes. I trusted that Deanna would continue to treat my daughter like her own child and take good care of her. So, I took a job at Dubai Women’s College and off I went to teach English as a Foreign Language and be an involved grandma. Life was good for all of us!
The job was hard work, but I loved it. The Emirati students would teach me a lot about their culture, my colleagues were supportive and quickly become great friends, plus my son and his wife, Yolanda, were fantastic. Baby Ellie was just simply a bundle of joy. I’d read books to her and she read right along with me. It was the sweetest thing ever. In addition, the city of Dubai was simply amazing, so there was always something new to discover. Thanks to Skype, I could keep in touch almost face-to-face with Angie and my other family and friends back in Cincinnati. Life felt like one blessing after another.
In January of my second year in Dubai, my second granddaughter, Ava, was born. I was there for her birth! This was another miracle for me. I was so happy to be there then. I could work and spend time with my son, his wife and my baby granddaughters. This time together allowed me to become best friends with daughter-in-law and much more connected to my oldest son. I knew I was very lucky, but at about this same time I also started to have concerns about Angie’s life at Deanna’s house.
Deanna was in love and her focus was changing. I could sense that she was getting burned out and wanted more time for herself. Her priorities were changing, which was very understandable. So that spring, I sensed that it was time to check in with St. Joseph Home again. When I called to check on her place on the waiting list, they told me that there was no room and that there would be no room for the foreseeable future. It was time for me to come back to Cincinnati.
By the time I arrived back in the US in July of 2013, I had already started researching suitable places that might work for Angie, but none of them felt right to me. Then out of the blue in early fall, I got a call from the director of nursing at St. Joseph Home saying that a place had opened up unexpectedly and was I interested. I immediately said yes. I went to see Angie and Deanna to tell them. I took Angie for a visit. I wanted her to see it before moving her there. Angie was okay with it. Deanna was surprised and unhappy with my decision because it really did take her income away from her. Deep down though, she knew she was burned out too. So, in early November my daughter moved into her room in Cottage 6 with her new roommate, Millie. It felt like a miracle to me. And it certainly was an answer to our prayers.