Please Pray for My Grandmother Dorthea Hoke

Friends, last night my mom called me to let me know that my paternal grandmother had a severe heart attack and was in the ICU. I was shocked and very sad at this. She is a very stubborn Cajun woman and was feeling chest pains throughout the week, but wouldn't go to the doctor. Finally my grandfather called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. The doctors told my grandfather this morning that there was extensive damage to her heart and that her prognosis isn't good. My mom and dad got in the car this morning and drove to Texas, where my grandparents live, to be with her. My mom said she would call me with an update to let me know if I should come down and see my grandmother.

I grew up going to visit my grandparents in Texas at least twice a year for a week or two as a family. My dad's parents are divorced and remarried so we spent time with each couple while there. My grandmother's family is from Texas and Louisiana, from Cajun background. That was a wild experience in and of it's self. Always great food and lots of it. I was allergic to so many things but one thing that I was always assured of was that Grandma Dot would make me a lemon meringue pie, hold the meringue. ( I was allergic to eggs). This pie was for me and me alone. I looked forward to it with such anticipation and usually cleaned it up in the week that we were there.

My grandma Dot is a gardener of a magical sort. She could have grown Jack's bean stock if it would have been real. She can revive half dead plants off the side of the road to flourishing and producing plants in no time. Her yard is filled with all sorts of plants and trees you feel like you should stay on a path and enjoy the scenery. She has lemon and lime trees, a peach tree that she found half dead that blooms in January and she picks fruit off in March. She always says that tree is "plum confused".

She is a "cat lady" but not in the dirty way. They stay outside and eat the left overs. Trust me these cats stay close to that backdoor. My grandmother isn't afraid of snakes or terrible husbands. She treats them the same..."you beat them with a stick till they leave." She has been married to Ray, her fourth husband for almost 20 yrs and I think that he is there to stay. He is a very nice man and treats her very well. A nice note to end on that's for sure. Ray was in WW2 and has thrilled us many times with telling war stories. He was amazing.

I remember roaming about her property and playing on the front porch for hours on in. I remember feeding her horses veggies and even a llama at one point. I remember going down to the fishing cabin on the river and going out on the boat with Ray to check the trout lines. There was a huge garden at that house as well and we always ate lots of Jambalaya there.

My grandmother's house still looks the same as it did when I was growing up except for new carpet and an additional room that Ray built. All the pictures and deer antlers are in the same place. My old photo's are still in view so as to embarrass me when Steven saw them for the first time on a family visit. My brother and I are the only grandchildren so when we show up, the neighbors come to see us and see how we have grown. When Steven and I went to visit they came to see Shiloh and how she had grown and I felt warm fuzzy inside about that.

I just got off the phone with my mom and my grandmother. They are keeping her pretty drug up and imobilized because they have a baloon in her running up her femoral artery into her heart to aliviate some swelling and pressure. Of course my grandmother is saying that the nurses are being mean and that she just needs to get up. That's my grandmother. She sounds very weak and my mom said that the nurse told her that she isn't out of the woods yet. There is talk of putting her on a ventilator to let her heart rest and to get more oxygen flow. I pray that this doesn't happen. Many people do worse after they are put on a vent. Please pray that God would heal my grandmother's heart. My mom is going to wake up early enought to speak to the Dr. in the morning and give me an update on the situation. I might try to make a quick trip down on Friday and come back on Mon. I will see though. I am praying for a miracle for her.

Grandma Dot, Ray, Shiloh, and Me in her yard

Blessings