HONOLULU, Oct 24: Democrat Barack Obama took time off the campaign trail on Friday to visit his gravely ill grandmother and help her around the house in a highly unusual move just 11 days before the election.

“I want to give her a kiss and a hug,” Obama told ABC before arriving in Hawaii where his 85-year-old grandmother, known affectionately as “Toot”, lives and where Obama spent a large part of his childhood.

“And then we’re going to find out what chores I can do, because I’m sure there’s been some stuff that’s been left undone,” he said.

On arriving on the island, Obama headed straight to the apartment complex where his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, lives.

She and Obama’s maternal grandfather cared for Obama during much of his childhood, and Obama has often paid tribute to Dunham on the gruelling campaign trail.

Dunham, who broke her hip earlier this month and suffers from osteoporosis is the US presidential hopeful’s sole remaining link with his tight-knit immediate elder family after his mother died of cancer more than a decade ago.

“Without going through the details too much, she’s gravely ill,” Obama said in the ABC interview aired on Good Morning America.

Besides her hip, Obama said: “She had some other problems that were getting worse. You know, we weren’t sure, and I’m still not sure, whether she makes it to election day. We’re all praying and we hope she does.”

His compassionate leave comes with Republican John McCain searching for a sudden shift in momentum and new polls showing the Democrat well positioned in the vital battleground states set to decide the November 4 election.—AFP