Living in a nursing home, her infections are controlled by oral antibiotics. No intravenous tubes are allowed. Grandma gets oral morphine every four hours to control her pain, and antibiotics tablets pounded into power form for her to consume a few times a day. This helps to manage her infections. We have been managing the infections rather well and keeping them at bay since leaving the hospital. Its been two weeks since she has been off the strong intravenous antibiotics at the hospital and we are surprised too that her body has been strong enough to starve off the infections. Its great! 

But today, we had a fever scare. I arrived in the morning as usual to find Grandma having breakfast in the common area. She was even asking for an extra egg and she was in good spirits. After breakfast, she even took part in a round of balloon tennis with the rest of the residents. Seeing she was in good spirits, I asked if she would like me to take her for a walk around and to visit her friends at the day centre. She said 'Yes'. Great. I was excited, I love thing her out of her ward area and just to wonder around so that she could experience a change of environment. She had a great time chatting with her friend Lay Ha, and she even took part in another round of ball games. 

So it was totally unexpected when I found her shivering. Her mouth was chattering, her hands were shaky and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably. I found a care staff to take her temperature, it read 38.2 degrees. Thats when I took her back to her room and had the nurses take over to look after her. Grandma looked really pale and weak and she was still shaky. I was probably turning green inside too. I would like to help her, but there was nothing much I could do except assist with the cold compress. Texted the family of course, updated her condition and kept everyone informed. 

But who would have guessed, in a short span of two hours, she bounced right back into a healthy glow, regular temperature, regular blood pressure, and she asked for lunch. Wow! She was even receiving visitors and chatting with everyone in her bright and chirpy manner. 

Every day is indeed a blessing that I appreciate. But its not just about grandma, life is a precious and vulnerable commodity. We should love and live every moment. Grandma's bounce is not just about the power of medicine to fight of infections, but I am sure her mind is stronger than many of us. She loves life. She loves conversations, she loves people around her. Sometimes I would like her to rest more, but then, she has limited time, and talking to people is what she enjoys most. Conversations to her might be better than the best that medicine offers.