Crazy as a Fox? Bat? No, More Like a Pheonix

In A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, one might be led to believe that Pheonix's grandson is dead. When Pheonix goes to the store to get the medicine for her grandson, the nurse says, "Yes. Swallowed lye. When was it?-January-two, three years ago-?" If someone swallows lye, it is dangerous but can be treated with the exact medicine the grandmother went to the store to ask for. It certainly would not take two or three years to go away, so it begs the question where is the grandson now and why has he not gotten better? I believe it is in the cone of reality to say that Pheonix going to get the medicine for her dead grandson is a defense mechanism. She wants to act as though he is safe and sound at home patiently waiting for his medicine, but that is not the reality. Maybe something happened, like the grandmother couldn't get to the store fast enough to save her grandson and by going every week to fetch the medicine, it is her own personal penance. Because she blames herself for the death of her grandson, she can't face the reality of his death and would rather live in the world in her head where he is still around.