NANA's BOOKS

by Danna Shirley

Nana’s collections encircle the room, line the window sills, the shelves, the bookcases; some even hang from the ceiling like wind chimes. Anytime there was an occasion for a gift, Nana got a bell or an angel or an oil lamp or a framed “Mother” plaque or anything Model A.

Nana always claimed those collections were everyone else’s; books were her collection—lots and lots of books! She was an avid reader and taught two of her three daughters (Nan and Danna) to love reading as well.

Eventually, her eyesight began to fail due to macular degeneration. In the mid-1990s she had cataract surgery and cornea transplants in both eyes. At this point large print books were much easier for her to read. They weren’t easy to find but her daughters would peruse the thrift stores, the yard sales, the Good Will, etc. and buy up all they had. The Napa Library had book sales regularly and we would search for romance and western novels. Nana didn’t like mysteries. She always went to the back of the book to find out what happened; she couldn’t wait. Sometimes we would buy her a brand new large print and she would scold us for wasting our money. She could read a book in two or three days.

Nana was also able to read the newspaper which she did every day. Sometimes she needed a magnifying glass but that didn’t deter her. She cut out interesting articles to keep in her little file box for future reference. She would pass along tidbits to the kids and grandkids. Most of the time we were unaware of the subject matter until she passed it on FYI. I was glad she kept up with current events because I sure wasn’t. We had our differences about politics and religion but it was okay to share articles about vaccinations, nutrition, and education.

Then the worst thing happened! On December 1, 2014 Nana either fainted, slipped, or stumbled in her bathroom at 3:00 a.m. and struck the side of her face against something. When I arrived to help her up, there was blood, lots of blood on the floor and door frame. She had a laceration on her right temple and her right eye (the good eye) was dripping blood.  We learned later that she had also fractured her eye socket and cracked a tooth.

When the ambulance arrived I told them she had Kaiser coverage (15 miles away) or if they felt she needed immediate care, take her to Queen of the Valley (3 miles). Queen of the Valley won out. Five hours later she was transferred to Kaiser in Vallejo and five hours after that she was in emergency surgery to reattach her cornea. They sent us home that afternoon with eye drops and pain meds.

After several trips back to Kaiser over the next two weeks for ophthalmology appointments, the doctors didn’t give her much hope of regaining her sight. One doctor even told her, “If we can’t get the eye pressure and pain under control, we’ll have to remove the eye.”  

She hasn’t read a word since the accident which is a double tragedy because she loves to read. Books have been her life. Now she sits and holds her head. Very depressed.