I was a bit lost with the story until I ran through the story a second time, then it started to make sense. It was quite unfortunate the mother had such excruciating pain, however she was still kind despite that. It reminds me of my grandma because she had few health problems that hindered her quality of life. Despite that she was always thinking about others.
Thank you! Yes, the story is a bit convoluted. I wanted to tell it in a non-linear manner, and I'm not sure how well I succeeded in making that clear, but I'm glad it made more sense the second time through. And I'm glad you got the right impression from the grandmother even though the character development was kept a little hidden, but she is based on my own grandmother who was very sweet.