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Sunday June 8th

early AM… Yesterday, after a painfully long day waiting in limbo, Mom finally got her discharge papers at 6pm… She needed a few sign offs, the pivotal one being the clearance from physio. She came in around 11:30 am and got mom up and down a flight of stairs - she did great! After that the doctor came, and then we had to see him AGAIN later to get the final clearance.

A quick stop at the pharmacy and we pulled into the laneway. Dad was already outside ready to greet her. With a bit of steadying help, Mom made it into the house, checked out her back garden from the window then climbed up the stairs to her bedroom with just a bit of help from me. It was great to get her settled in comfortable real clothes - no more hospital gown! - and into her comfy bed.

By the time we got her settled, the home care nurse was here to set up her IV antibiotics which she'll need for a few more days before switching to oral antibiotics.

It was such a relief to get her home that I will admit to stepping outside her room for a few tears of relief! My stress level is pretty much back to normal 😀 And joy of joy's I was able to have a shower! And not being trapped in the room is heaven, plus I’m up and down stairs which is getting my blood flowing 😉 I'm so used to exercising that it feels weird to be so sedentary.  I started doing lunges, squats, and wall pushups the other day just so my muscles didn't atrophy from being in a recliner chair for so many hours!

It's also nice to have access to real food as I don't know how much longer I could stomach Tim Horton's food! I love(d) the breakfast egg & cheese on a biscuit but don't mind if it's a while before I have another one. I'm pretty sick of hamburgers (I had 3 between Saturday and Thursday), and if I never have another Tim's wraps (breakfast or otherwise) I won't be sad. Yesterday I had a scrambled egg bowl which I thought would be a healthier choice - NOT - it was some scrambled eggs served over 2 hash browns and doused with some sort of slightly spicy sauce… it was okay but I won't order it again, not because it wasn't healthy, but because I didn't like it enough, or if I need to in a pinch I would just ask for the sauce on the side, or maybe skipped all together..

We were ‘lucky’ to be in an isolation room for the whole week, even though they had taken down precautions a few days ago - the nurse left the sign up but we didn't have to wear PPE anymore - it's so much easier to sleep without a mask and rubber gloves! But the room was quiet as there was a double door and certainly felt isolated… and let's talk about THE chair for a moment! It was fantastic. It reclined fully (if I pulled it away from the wall enough which I was too stunned to do one night), and it had a handy swivel table which I could eat at, plus it nicely held my tablet. I was pretty comfortable!

Dad is pretty happy that Mom is home - it had been a long long week for him without her here, and we just couldn't manage getting him to the hospital - I think he wore a path down the driveway with his pacing. One day he walked over 8000 steps without going for a walk. I can only imagine how hard it was to be away from her… hopefully he can relax a bit now. I think it would have freaked him out even more if he had seen how sick she was…

The public health nurse was in touch and will set Kirsten, Dad, and me up to get a vaccine that will protect us against meningitis since we are giving home care. Hopefully I can hopefully get that set up with my doctor early this week.

Meanwhile, Carm is having fun at the rally, although he does admit to missing me… he said the novelty has worn off a bit without me there. We are so used to spending all our time together that the absence leaves a big gap. And Pat is still with the dogs :-) They love her so it's no hardship for them that we are gone!

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7:30 pm Well! My stress levels went through the roof not long after I typed up the above. I got a text from Pat that Lupa was sick! She had been outside, vomited, then lay limp in the grass. Pat had to carry her inside. We were both freaking out but I couldn't run home right away so Pat kept an eye on her and I called every 15 minutes to get an update. The great thing about technology, specifically FB messenger, is video chatting. I could see Lupa and her behaviour so together with Pat we could monitor to see if we'd have to take her to the emergency vet. After 30 minutes she was starting to be more alert and after a few hours she was fully back to herself. What the heck could have gone wrong? She's never been sick before. At one point early on she had no control of her bowels and was pooping where she lay. Very scary! It was a relief to see her on the back of the loveseat later in the day.

The nurse came by in the afternoon to get Mom's IV set up again - they'll be by daily until Tuesday. Apparently she has to keep the ‘pic line’ in for 2 weeks though so she won't be unstuck from tubing for a while yet!

Kirsten and Nissa have come and gone. They did a big grocery run for us so we are well provisioned for the next while. They also brought supper :-) A yummy Costco chicken with their dilly salad hit the spot. Real food! Hurrah!

A stream of neighbours were at the door today bringing beautiful flowers and well wishes - Mom and Dad live in a fantastic neighbourhood where they all keep an eye out for each other. Dad had lots of meals brought over to him, the lady across the street came over and weeded Mom's front garden, and the neighbors on the other side kept a special eye out for him all week.

Awesome!

“Mom home!”

“lilacs at Mom and Dad's”

“yogurt and fruit for supper - no more Tim’s”

“turning the corner”

“chicken and salad”

“sore glutes after a million stairs”