5C's Que Pasa

Once again many thanks for all of your support and encouragement.  It really truly helps.

Dad for certain has nothing broken.  They did yet another chest x-ray to check his ribs and he is fine.  Just very very sore and bruised.  He was joking with us last night when I called.  I told him he has used up all of his nine lives and he better start being more careful.  He agreed.  Colin called him ‘Crash’ which made him laugh.  He wanted to go for a walk but they could not find a portable oxygen tank so it did not happen which I think is for the best.  Seems like the entire place needs to get  better organized.  I know that they only moved into the new ward Tuesday but certain basic things should be in place.

A photo taken last night by my brother so I could see how Dad looks. Other than the bandaged arm and I'm sure many unseen bruises he is fine. The white and mauve afghan was a gift from Santa. Every patient received one. I always read about people who spend the year knitting for the less fortuante and now Dad is a recepient. Mom used to knit hats and mittens for the homeless who slept out in the cold.

Just another day at the beach. This is a local fellow likely going down the beach to his farm or very possibly just enjoying a nice ride.

Caeli is better as I have had her on rice for 24 hours and that seems to have settled her stomach.  I am beginning to think that various critters are dropping things in our yard and she is eating them.  I found something that looked like a dried prune on the pea gravel and some pieces of tacos.  Perhaps birds or cats are just picking things up from the nearby restaurants and dropping them here.  I can’t watch her 24 hours per day.  Nor can we watch Carmeh 24/7.  We got a lengthy email from our vet telling us to keep her under house arrest as long as we could.  Carmeh is going antsy.  She seems fine and is acting fine and will be on Metacam for another week but we can’t keep her a prisoner, it would upset her too much.  So no walks for a week or so and no jumping up and down but she is allowed to walk inside the RV and in our yard.  Hopefully tomorrow we will take Caeli for a walk and carry Carmeh.  She has no pain and seems totally normal but as the vet says anything could rupture a disc, like a twisting movement or a jump and she would be paralyzed.  We have decided to restrict her as best we can but let her have some movement.  It is a tough call but we would rather see her live out her life free and happy than in a pen.  Carmeh will be 12 in August.  Sadly blog reader and fellow RVer Sandie made a comment on my last post telling me about her fur baby who is now suffering from a severe back issue.  They are not even sure that Scooter will regain use of her back legs.  Sandie, the two times that Carmeh went down, our vet gave her acupuncture and she was up and walking again.  Try and find a vet who will her some special treatments.

Not too many clouds last night.

Still very beautiful though.....Dad told me that the thing he misses the most is seeing my sunsets on the computer. Sadly none of the sibs are equipped to show them to him at the hospital.

I did manage to make us a fabulous dinner. Some soy protein turkey cutlets, fresh steamed green beans and BBQ'd zucchini, our favorite caesar salad and jasmine rice which I chose not have.

We had some late night excitement with two Class C’s pulling in in the dark.  They were somewhat in shock from doing the road in the dark.  Two young couples, one from France and the other a German/?French couple are their way to Costa Rica.  Now that is a journey.  Not sure how long they will be staying….

...but for certain there is no more room at this inn. There is one spot there in the middle and that is reserved for our friends arriving Monday.

I am still working out the best way to get the PayPal donation working for baby Romina, just need a bit more time to get it together.

That is how Queen Elizabeth described 1992.  That is how I am describing 2014.

I can’t even begin to convey what has transpired the past few days.  It has not been an easy time.  As you obviously know I have not been posting.  In fact I had a wee crying jag tonight but have gotten myself together thanks to a wonderful husband and some vino blanco and here I am late Saturday night sharing my story with you.

Wednesday evening was just a normal family night hanging around the RV.

Well not quite. I was still in the sneezing part of my cold. Thank goodness that is over and done with. But really Colin, I had no idea you were taking this shot. Better watch out, I will be stalking you 🙂

Our life here on the Isla changed in an instant on Thursday morning when Carmeh, our oldest at 11.5 years could not move. She was coming down from sitting in the sun on the dash ( using 2 stools ) when she could no longer move. Thank goodness Colin saw what was happening and when he went to pick her up she screamed, a sound I will never forget, so much pain and perhaps fear. She could stand but not move so I immediately gave her a double dose of Metacam. We also started icing her back. Our vet is as hour behind us time wise but was there for us when we called. There was nothing more to do than what we had done. They were there for us as wee needed them. Who has a vet that is so available from wherever we are at no charge!! Fabulous people.

Meanwhile we are totally devasted by what has transpired.  While Colin sits with Carmeh, I take Caeli out for her morning walk.  Normally she would not walk with just me, she wants the entire family together.  However ‘Shorty’ showed up.  He is a cute short but longish beach dog that all the females love.  No one saw him last year but there he was today, ready to inspire Caeli.  He walked the entire beach with us and ran circles around me.  Caeli was so happy to follow him.  He just needed a lot of love and cuddles from me.  He totally responded to my commands.  He made our walk possible.  My heart was breaking.  When we got back, both Colin and Carmeh were in the yard and she was walking!!!!  Had she just experienced a pinched nerve or???  She does have back issues and it is just a matter of time before she could rupture a disk.  We have to be so cautious but at the same time she does need a life.

We kept Carmeh and of course Caeli confined all day.

We had made arrangements with friends who live on the Isla to meet for dinner and as they had preordered this fish meal we felt we had to continue on with our plans. So we crated the girls inside the RV and went out for a few hours down the beach to El Velero restaurant.

It was a wonderful meal and this talented group were playing for the table next to us. Turns out that the sunset was fabulous but our backs were to it. This quartet played for over and hour and we lost track of time and had to walk home along the beach in the dark, but oh what a great few hours.

High tide is upon us at 8 AM on Friday. Carmeh seemed much improved with a great deal of energy. We had planned to take the girls in for their anal glands yesterday so Colin took them in.

The vet in addition to doing the anals gave Carmeh a shot of B12.  He strongly believes that this helps with inflammation and want us to give her a B tablet every day.  He also insisted on restricting her movement.

That means a ramp.

Ishmael found us two narrow pieces of board that Colin screwed together and then covered in scoot guard. He then added high board pieces at each end and then added the yellow rope to stop the girls from crossing over to the stairs. We also added a block at the top of the stairs and the fencing at the bottom so that they had no choice but to use the ramp. It took a few times but they now have the hang of it. A tad more tricky for us to go up and down. However we will do anything to preserve their longevity.

I did not go to the vet with Colin as I had so much paperwork to catch up on.  Just as he was returning from Mazatlan I got a call from my sister asking why I had not called back Thursday night.  I never received that first message so it was good that she called again.  Bottom line, Dad fell on Thursday night.  He says he was not trying to stand and move on his own ( which he is not allowed to do ) but obviously he did.  I suspect that he stood to reach something, perhaps his urinal, used the bed table which is on wheels and went flying,  he fell face down.  Fortunately he had a room mate who called for help which took some time to arrive.  Twenty x-rays later and despite the immense pain later he is break free.  I told him that he has used up all of his nine lives and has to be careful.  He agreed.  Meanwhile he is on heavy pain meds.  So needless to say I have spent the last day and part of today on the phone.  Both with the vet and the medical staff for my Dad.

Meanwhile life carried on around us, the sun rose and it set again.  It really has been a horrific past few days.  Carmeh is going to be okay, this time, and so it seems will my Dad.  Both have a lengthy recovery time ahead of them.

..the end to another day on the Isla!

Forgot to mention that Caeli had us up at 3AM to go out and vomit.  She repeated the process all afternoon today so we are now dealing with two sick dogs and a problem with Dad back in Edmonton.  I won’t even mention the problems I have been dealing with getting him settled into his new room.  Things like no commode, etc.  Definitely and annus horribilis, if not just the past few days.  No wonder my hair is falling out.

After the morning walk on Wednesday we finished putting up our inside Christmas decorations.  Of course one thing led to another and in the end we managed a deep inside clean of the RV.

The stockings of the 5 C's have been hung with much care.

Somehow while in Winnipeg the end of October Colin lost his guitar knee support. It just somehow seemed to disappear from his hotel room. So he bought some foam and with an electric bread knife and some Pam to ease the cutting he fashioned himself a custom support.

Then at the end of the day, the park brought us our last load of pea gravel that we shared with our neighbors, Paula & Jurgen.

So we all dug in, literally, to get the job done!

I suggested to Paula that she get her large cocos removed as I was concerned that they might drop on her head as she gardens.

As you can see it was a very overcast day, perfect for working inside and out and getting things crossed off the list.  It felt good to get it done but yet another day of no personal free time.  The day just ebbs and flows, one never knows what is going to happen next.

Shortly after spreading the gravel we had a local Isla family drop in.  The baby is seven months old and was a premie born without a right  hand.  The family has been able to find a hospital in Los Angeles willing to finance the entire procedure of a new hand.  However funds need to be raised to cover the costs of 3 visas to the USA as well as airfare there and back.  Hard to say how much they will need but likely between $3000.00 to $5000.00 USD.  The family is putting on a fund raising breakfast on Dec 27th and wanted to invite the entire  RV Park to attend.  Sadly I think it will take much more than breakfast tickets at $10.00USD/100 pesos each to raise that kind of money.  The owner of the RV park just happened to be on sight and he offered to pave the way with the visas which will help immensely.  Meanwhile if any of you feel inclined to donate please let me know and I will set up some sort of donation site, perhaps through Paypal.  I asked permission to take the following photo.

Grandmother, baby Romina and her mother. I never even noticed the missing hand until the subject of the visit came up.

If each of you my readers donated $10.00 we would have more than enough money to get this family to that hospital in Los Angeles.  I won’t set anything up officially until I get an idea of your response.  You can make a comment on the blog or email me, address found at the top right corner of this page.

Two cruise ships in port yesterday. The one on the left in the distance is heading to Puerto Vallarta and the one on the right is on the way to Cabo San Lucas.

In my book I would have to rate it as a crappy day.  Everything seemed to go sideways or very wrong. First off I need Renee and Greg D to send me an email….seems your Verizon email has changed.  Would love to be in touch with you both.

The best part of the day was our regular great beach walk.   Then the phone calls from Edmonton/Dad started.  Dad has been waiting since September for the transfer down one floor to his new ‘hospital’ room.  The ward he is on has been condemned but the transfer has been delayed for one reason or another.  I was informed in October that he would be having a private room.  I was given the room number and before I left in November I snuck past the construction barrier to check it out.  Good enough I thought.  However yesterday morning he and my sister who was there to help with the move were informed that he had to be in a two person room as someone needed the private room more that he did.  It is much more crowded.  However the staff are considering it to be a private room as the patient who is supposed to be in the next bed is AWOL.  Well that will be until a new patient is found  😥

Looks pretty crowded to me. His bed table needs to be moved so his walker can be brought to him so he can stand and walk to the washroom to the left of the shot or to move back to the bed. Apparently his call bell barely reaches where he is sitting.

Later I got a call from the unit coordinator explaining why he did not have a private room.  Half an hour later I was called by the transition coordinator telling me that Dad was finally on the wait list for a nursing home ( he has been in hospital since August 2nd ).  What this means it that he is now paying $49.50 per day while staying in the hospital until he is transferred and will start paying $ 60.00 per day.  They consider it as if he already has been placed in a nursing home.

Sadly he is on the list for a home as far as way is possible from all of the family.  The reason being that he has a chest tube that needs to be drained and only ONE nursing home in the entire city is able to deal with this.  This tube was designed for people to stay in their own homes and drain the tube themselves  😯  Makes no sense to me.

About five phone calls later I am done with Dad for the day but realize that my plant man never showed up.  Santiago knew I was leaving after 12 noon and I had requested seven special plants plus soil.  I left anyway and it turns out he was a total no show.  Not much I can do but hope that he shows up with my plants on his regular day on Sunday.

Meanwhile we were both off to the great city of Mazatlan.  I to get my hair done and Colin to do some errands including pick up some symphony tickets for us.

Big changes at Tippy Toes with some pretty major renovations. Mani/pedi's on that side of the gate and hair on this side.

I have noticed a lot of extra loose hair each time I combed my hair or washed it. Debbie confirmed the worse.  I have some breakage from my last color in Kelowna but the worst of the worst is that my hair is falling out, directly from the root.  She says that all of the stress I have been under ( Dad, etc ) has likely been the cause.  Wonderful.  Anyway she did the best she could without further damaging my hair.  Good friend that she is, she made sure I had some chilled vino blanco to calm my nerves.

After Colin's errands he turned up for his cut. Gotta love Tippy Toes.

By the way Debbie has recently published her sequel ,Margarita Wednesdays, which follows her bestseller Kabul Beauty School.  A very talented lady indeed.  Plus she already has a book deal for two more novels.

We left the salon and did a few more errands and had a very quick meal at one of our favorite places at the Plazuela Machado, Beach Burger.  I did not have a margarita, still have not had one….just waiting for a while.  White wine will do for now.  Rushed home to the girls.

Some elaborate decorating on Sixto Osuna in Mazatlan.

First time we have left the girls here and they let us know it.  Forgot to mention that  I found a tick in Carmeh’s ear the other day.  So of course she was having a slight reaction, a hot red area and a bit of a blister.  We plan to take them both in on Thursday to the vet for a check.  I have removed many ticks over the years ( even thought they are on meds for ticks ) but this is the first time there has been a reaction.

Caeli just yawned the entire thing off 🙂

We spent the rest of the evening putting up our inside Christmas lights.  Lots of conversation, Christmas music and vino….an okay ending to the day but still not a good day.  Thank goodness there is always a tomorrow.

Yesterday ( Monday ) we finally got to meet Grant who we had not yet met and Janet and their dog Boo on the beach this morning. The dogs got along just as well as the adults did and we had a fun walk quite a ways down there and back again.

Next up was the case of the missing 5 gallon water jug.  When you want water here you just put your empty bottle outside with the 12 pesos on top.  In our case we bring our own 5 gallon jugs ( 2 of them, that way we have water as we dry camp south ) as we are able to use them in our water dispenser and the water guy just tips his jug into ours to refill it.  He them carries the heavy 5 gallon container and places it exactly where we like it on our site.  After our beach walk this morning we went out and saw that our water container was missing and we had a different one sitting outside of our fence.  After a few moments of thought Colin decided to go get our bottle back.  Being as the Isla is not too large he soon tracked down the fellow way back in the colonia.  We got our bottle and the special top back.  It is still a worry as this fellow is not the usual water truck that we have been dealing with here for years and years.  There are a few of them on the Isla but this fellow is blatantly moving in on our usual person’s route.  Something will have to be done  😡

Thankfully the next thing on the agenda was my first 90 minute massage here on the Isla.  It was also my last for this year.  I had a fantastic massage but Maria is off to Canada for three weeks so I have to wait until January 12th for my next session.  I will be counting the days, believe me, she is that good!

Later Bob aka Mr. Fix It dropped by to repair one of the RV mirrors.

Shortly after he left, Ishmael showed up to plant all of my new plants which I did not have. I did have four to get him started plus he re dug all of my soil and added some really good new soil to the mix. I followed behind with fertilizer and water. He also weeded for me.

...and did some pruning. He is worth every peso I pay him.

Rae dropped by for a quick visit.  You can read about her day here.  She tried to help me with my Magic Jack which does not seem to get my phone to ring when a call comes in.  It worked fine in Kelowna with repeated tests.  Neither of us could find anything wrong and had no way to test the system, so another day we will try again.  At least I know if I missed a call plus if I am at the computer the screen will flash asking me to accept the call.

By the time I cleaned up the yard and finished watering it was time for the nightly twilight show.

Almost a repeat of last night.

Let me know when you have had enough and I will stop posting these shots.

You can just make out the end of the color in the sky.

I just thought I would give you a quick peek of our lights. Colin will certainly have some better shots in a week or so.