GML

GML at Meridian State Park

My Grandma Linda passed away early Saturday morning.  She had been declining in health for a long time due to a rare brain disease called Olivopontocerebellar Atrophy (OPCA).  Basically, from what I understand, an important part of your brain starts shrinking and you lose the ability to control your own body (coordination, swallowing correctly, etc).  Though the disease had been taking it's toll on her for a while, it just suddenly took off over the past two weeks and caused her to be completely bedridden and her body just began shutting down.  She passed away peacefully, thankfully.

Me & GML

The hardest part to think about is that she was so young.  65.  But that disease stole so many precious years from her, made her body so much older than she really was.  She loved chocolate, going to the casino, watching Ultimate Fighting and Bull Riding, she was one of the first grandmothers I knew to have a Facebook page (and navigate Twitter to keep up with me and all her favorite celebrities!).  This is a woman who raised a set of twins (one being my mother) starting at the age of 18, and two other kids not long after that.  She worked for General Dynamics in the 80's-90's.  She and my mom were basically Lucy & Ethel, always getting their hands in something... cake decorating, owning a nail salon, selling antiques, working in the home health industry... so many different things!  She was really special, and will be so greatly missed.  But we are all glad to know that she is no longer trapped in her failing body, she is free!