For those that have read
Mossy's post on our week, this will, hopefully, fill in the blanks.
I'm sure most of you are wondering why it's
Mossy's "In-Law Rescue, Part II". Well, I posted all about In-law Rescue, Part I on another blog but will copy it here for your reading enjoyment:
January 3, 2008
My Mom hasn't been feeling well for the past few months. The doctor has done a number of tests that insist she has a clean bill of health and yet, she is not doing well.On her birthday (Dec. 28th) I called to send her my love. My Dad stopped me in my tracks with "Mom is not well at all." Now, my Mom is a house on fire. This lady at 77 years of age has more energy, vim and vigour than I ever did. She cannot sit still and she loves to clean and putter around the house (amazing the weird way genetics work... wish I had received that gene). Anyway, Dad said she was sleeping a lot, had no energy and was forgetting and mixing up things. She didn't want to do anything at all. That is NOT my Mom. Dad was quite worried and the more my siblings and I spoke to Mom, the more worried we became, too.
My parents decided to drive home so that Mom could see her family doctor. After much haranguing by one of my brothers, they decided to fly home -- much to the relief of all of us. So, first thing Sunday morning (the 30th), Mossy and I flew down to Ft. Myers. We arrived around noon, helped Mom and Dad pack up the house and their belongings and then were on the road by 6:45 the next morning, driving their van home.Mom and Dad flew home and Mom saw her doctor right away. We're still not sure what's wrong and she's not getting much better, but she's not getting worse, either, so I guess that's a small blessing.Mossy and I took 2 days to drive their van home. We made it to Wytheville, Virgina that first night (after 14 hours of driving)...had a crappy sleep in a nice hotel and then started off 2008 by driving another 12 hours and making it back to my parents' condo in Pickering by 6 pm. We were tired. We were punchy. But, we had fun on the drive.Thank God Mossy and I enjoy each other's company enough to spend all that time together and still like each other enough to cuddle in bed that night."
Since that time, the news about my Mom's health hasn't been great. Mom contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion about 30 years ago. Because of her active lifestyle and "clean" living (never smoked, doesn't drink, keeps her weight down, etc) the Hep C went into remission for an amazing 30 years.
However, now it's back, it's killing her liver...and killing her.
It could be 6 months, it could be 6 years, no one knows. All we do know is that she's not going to get better on her own and there's nothing they can do to cure her. So it's just a matter of time.
Mom and Dad have a home in Newfoundland and, with the doctor's blessings, they went to spend the summer there. Last, June, my Dad drove their van down by himself and once he was there, Mom flew down on her own to meet him.
My Mom had a great time. All their
rellies (cousins, etc) are still there and everyone treated my Mom like precious cargo. They spoiled her rotten and made sure that she and Dad were well looked after. Even with that, though, Mom's healthy is still declining. Her cognitive abilities are slowing down. She becomes confused and forgets things. She has a nap every day and when she wakes up, you have to remind her of what day it is and that it's the afternoon, etc.
For the return to Ontario this fall, they had originally planned that Dad would put Mom on a plane, I would meet her at the airport in Toronto and Dad would drive home. Well because of Mom's decline, neither Dad nor Mom felt comfortable with Mom flying on her own. So we made plans that I would fly down on the 30
th (again, the 30
th... how weird is that?) and fly home with Mom on the 3rd, stay with her at the condo and my Dad would drive home. No problem.
Mossy made a comment on Friday the 26
th that he wished he was coming with me. I told him that I wished he was going as well. I have to admit, I was a bit worried about flying to
Newfie and being in a wee small town down there while 6 months pregnant - the closest hospital being just over an hour away. So, Mossy got the time off work and we booked him a flight as well.
Anyway, to make an already too long story a bit shorter - it ended up that my Mom and I flew home on the 3rd, and Mossy and my Dad drove their van home (and that, Larry, is why Mossy didn't fly home). Mom and I were both relieved that Dad would have company on the drive as it's a long one. I was more relieved, however, when I saw him back in Pickering, safe and sound.
Neither one of us had slept well. At my parents' place in
Newfie, the bed we were sleeping on was slightly smaller than a double and the mattress had to be 30 years old. Not only did it have the saggy divot in the middle of the bed, but for some reason, our feet were higher than our heads.
For those in the know, sleeping while pregnant is a challenge in the best of times... sleeping in a bed like this was impossible for me. I spent most of both nights we were there either sleeping in the lazy boy or on the couch. Neither of which were comfortable. Oh, did I mention that because my Mom is always cold, my Dad had the heat quite high? I'm too warm right now period. Can't get cool unless the room is frigidly cold (will let Mossy tell you how cold our bedroom is most nights...ha ha ha take that as you will). So from the 30
th to the 2
nd, I was overheated, overtired and stressed. Fun!
The last night in Gander was spent in a hotel.
Niiiiiice beds...
lotsa pillows....frame construction and, we're pretty sure, a clogging convention going on in the room above us. Oh and the thermostat was locked, so I couldn't cool down the room. Scratch a third night's sleep.
Mom and I caught the plane and Dad and Mossy started the drive. My next 2 1/2 days were spent taking care of my Mom. Sounds pretty easy, but it was actually mentally exhausting. I won't go into detail but I have more respect for my Dad now than ever. Taking care of someone that gets confused and lost is hard work.
Poor Mossy wasn't sleeping well on the drive home, either.
By the time we met up with each other yesterday afternoon, we were both so exhausted - mentally and physically - that we could barely speak.
However, our mission was accomplished: Mom and Dad are home, safe and sound. Mossy and my Dad enjoyed each other's company (and how many father-in-laws and son-in-laws can say that?) and Mom and I had a nice time. When we went to leave, Mom put her arms around me and just kept saying, 'I love you, I love you, I love you. Thank you, my dear. I love you so much." I told her that it was fun and no big deal, however,
I'm not sure I could do it again. Does that make me a bad daughter?
Mom sees her specialist next week and will find out if she can go to Florida for the winter. I won't be able to fly with her then (I'll be too pregnant to be allowed on planes) so we'll have to come up with another plan. Maybe one of my siblings will be able to go. At any rate, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
For now, we're home,
Mossy's back at work and I'm still trying to recuperate while trying to get my house back in order.
That's the whole, long, drawn out story.
And yeah, Larry, it is actually 4 languages in 5 provinces:
Newfie, Cape Breton-
ish, French and English. And I can speak them all ;)
Pretty neat, huh? Gotta love 3D ultrasounds. That's my baby. It's in my tummy right now. I watched Chip rub his/her eyes and wiggle around and cover his/her face with his/her hands and yawn and fall asleep.
