blue skies

Tuesday June 3rs - The last few days have had it's ups and downs… but today is definitely an up day. Yesterday morning Mom was in so much pain and was feeling so nauseous and miserable that it seemed like a major setback. I'll admit that I was freaking out internally but aside from a few private ‘moments’ kept it together.

It was a busy day with an MRI, lots of doctors popping in, blood being drawn, nurses in and out - a hospital is not somewhere to go and rest! Then there were lots of phone calls and messages with the public health unit and struggles to get in touch with Dad's doctor as he needed a prophylactic antibiotic. The office was not answering their phone so Kirsten popped in on her way here to light a fire under them… finally today after another phone message and an email, they let us know that they sent the prescription to their pharmacy. I was able to get it to dad before coming into the hospital this afternoon.

look at the ☀️ sun... So much smoke.

Kirsten held down the fort overnight - apparently the night nurse was a bit of a Nurse Krampet and made Kirsten wear not only a mask, but a face shield. Which is weird, as none of the doctors wear anything other than a mask to come in! I asked the infectious disease doctor about it this afternoon and he said that she shouldn't be contagious anymore so I guess it's just protocol? There’s an upside though - she's in a quiet private room with a comfortable sleeping chair! Today's nurse is efficient and kind. I hope that the same overnight nurse isn't here tonight - Kirsten had a rough night trying to sleep with the shield!

I have to remember to ask the nurse to clarify on the instructions that Mom is to get painkillers overnight as for some reason Nurse K, figured they were unnecessary 🙄 which left mom in a bad state this morning.

Anyway, after getting home last night and doing evening chores (the dogs were ecstatic when I got home), I soaked in the bath for ages then had one of my favourite effort-free comfort foods - pasta with a jar of tomato sauce in the instant pot. I just had to dump the jar, plus some water into the pot, stir in the dried pasta, then set the pot to cook for 4 minutes. Easy and oh, so comforting. I gobbled a giant bowl!

I'm back to the hospital for the night tonight, this time armed with some healthy snacks. Greek yogurt with fruit, sliced cucumber, dates with peanut butter and dark chocolate, and some roasted tofu. I did have my third hamburger since Saturday though! I picked up burgers and frostys for a quick lunch for Dad and I - I figured getting us both some realish food would not be a bad thing.

I sort of screwed up though as I didn't realize that Dad couldn't have any dairy products for 6 hours before and 2 hours after the special pill… so he's under strict orders to not eat anything other than crackers and peanut butter until 8pm!

Mom and Dad's neighbors have been lovely, sending Dad food and checking in on him. As Kirsten pointed out - everyone jumps to help the man, but if the roles were reversed, there wouldn't be as much help for the woman! I guess everyone assumes that men are helpless… and maybe some of them are. Luckily for me, Carm easily holds down the fort so I don't worry about him at all. (although I do anyway!)

I did another screw up the other day by posting my blog about what was going on. It seemed like some people had not been notified so they found out on my blog. I felt so stupid, especially as Mom had given the okay to post, but I didn't confirm with everyone else that they had notified everybody. What a terrible way to find something like this out.

Meanwhile, at home, Carm is holding down the fort! He's considering going to the rally on his own - it would be his first time driving and setting up the trailer by himself. Of course I'll worry like a maniac while he's on the road, but have complete confidence in his ability to take care of himself. We had already arranged for Pat to stay at the house to keep tabs on the plants outside (which is another topic), and Grace, but now she's agreed to care for the dogs as well. That will free me up to continue to care for mom.

Okay, back to the plants! We took them outside last week, oh, maybe the week before, when we had a few nice days, but unfortunately the weather turned back to cold and rainy so everything is struggling. We've lost some vegetable plants that Carm carefully planted in the garden, and those plants that are still alive do not look robust. I think the weather is going to transition to blazing hot in the next day or two which won't help them much either!

Typing with gloves on is a challenge, especially on my phone, but today I remembered to bring my tablet. It took a bit to get the hang of it, but now I'm typing like normal.

Awesome!

“Mom feeling a bit better today and luckily not in much pain”

“a summer day”

“Getting a parking space”