The (social) medium was the message — it meant a lot to ‘Grannie’ Dorothy
Chelsea MacDonald and her grandmother, Dorothy, lived in the same Hamilton building when Chelsea was growing up — different apartments, same building — and Chelsea remembers the eager joy she felt at the prospect of visiting (she didn’t even have to go outside) or getting a visit from her precious “Grannie” and playing the card game Skip-Bo.
“There are so many fond memories,” Chelsea told me the other day when I got together with her at Dorothy’s home for the last several years, Parkview Nursing Centre. “She (Dorothy) always had my back. When I was trying to apply to college, she paid for my application.”
About 15 years ago Dorothy was hit by a car, the result of which she lost her hearing. And then, about six months ago, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and chose against treatment.
Chelsea, 24, was devastated. She didn’t know what to do.
“I wanted her to feel as special as she made me feel all my life.” And then it struck her. “The idea came to me when I was into a bottle of wine — you can write that — and it came to me full-blown.”
She got on Facebook, the Bunz Trading Zone, and she posted: ISO (In search of) people who will write letters to my grandmother who is in a nursing home and recently diagnosed with lung cancer. She does not want to do chemotherapy, so I want to make her last year(s) enjoyable.”
“She is deaf and stubborn so
she is often not able to participate in activities. Please PM me for address.”
The response was instantaneous and overwhelming. Cards and letter, pictures and postcards of encouragement began pouring in for her grandmother.
“I was asking for nothing more than a word of encouragement and kindness from people.”
Dorothy, who had worked at the Dare cookie factory and had a pension from them, was so touched. She kept the letters, notes, pictures and postcard in her room. She even hid some of them, Chelsea suspects. “It lifted her spirits, so much.” More than 40 letters and cards came at last count, and as of last week the response from the FB post on Bunz continued unabated.
“She was glowing. It gave her a whole new energy.”
Susan Chapman, community engagement co-ordinator for The Lung Association in Hamilton, happened upon the post and was so moved she emailed me and thought maybe I could do a story. She had no previous connection to Chelsea. So the three of us decided to meet at Parkview and we chatted before going to visit Dorothy. Susan had prepared a beautiful package of some of Dorothy’s favourite things — scratch lottery tickets, Trident gum, corn twists and chocolates. “She likes her treats,” Chelsea told me. “She loved reading, she loved The Spectator and the Ticats.”
Chelsea, who works as a case manager at Martha House, showed me some of the wishes and words of encouragement Dorothy received. Messages in one medium — the old one of paper and pen — prompted by the new one of interactive online social networking, i.e., Facebook.
The sentiments were beautiful, heartfelt, for a woman the people who sent them did not even know.
When Chelsea went upstairs that day, Wednesday, June 21, to see if Dorothy was ready to receive us, she returned disappointed to tell us her grandmother was not feeling well enough and had fallen asleep.
Sadly, I must tell you, Dorothy MacDonald, 83, died later that day, surrounded by the cards of love and comfort that her precious granddaughter had flushed out of what might seem at times like an indifferent world, but one obviously with hidden depths of feeling.
Chelsea is naturally brokenhearted.
“If I had to describe her,” Chelsea told me, “I would say Roseanne. From TV. Brash and outspoken.”
With a golden heart, especially for her Chelsea, who encourages people to continue now by donating to the Lung Association and/or volunteering at a nursing home.
Here is the text of one of the letters: “You do not know me — my name is Laura. I will be your pen pal. I hear you like chocolate. Me too! I like British chocolate. For some reason it seems to taste better. It is a chilly day out, but I have the window open to catch a breeze. I really need fresh air. Hopefully the window can open where you are. Do you enjoy music? I’ve been trying to teach myself piano the last couple of years. It’s a slow goal, but I hope one day it falls into place.
“I have a little cocker spaniel dog named ‘Bee.’ She has just come into the room to say hello. She’s one of those dogs who will eat anything! I got this card in India — the ladies make them by hand for extra income. I hope you like it! Don’t feel like you need to write me back. I just wanted to add something to your day with a card. Take care, Laura (heart shape).