5C's Que Pasa

As for me, I really need boots and a huge down filled full length coat.  My leather jacket, thin cotton pants and closed toe shoes just aren’t quite what I need at the moment.  I used to be a Girl Guide but I have to say that I was not prepared this time.  When I got back into the van after 9 hours in the hospital I saw that my water bottles were frozen solid.  Someone made a comment that I take the bus, but it is at least a 3 -4 block walk to and from and that is too much for me dressed the way I am  plus considering the amount of stuff I carry to & fro each day, just overall too much for me.  I shall perservere with the van but very cautiously.

Well, well, well!  Had I not been doing copy/paste I would have lost the above paragraph.  It seems that I also have a certain amount of space that I am restricted to per post.  Sigh! Onto the gong show.

First thing this morning I asked why we were still doing the isolation routine when his last IV antibiotic had been administered last Thursday??  The decision was being made on last Thursday’s blood work.  So I asked the charge nurse to check with infection control and within 10 minutes I was informed that he was no longer in isolation.  Wonderful!  Well that feeling lasted all of two hours.  It seems that the powers that be decided that Dad’s room needed to be ‘deep cleaned’.  It was 100 times worse that I imagined.  No one cared that he was exhausted and in bed but he had to vacate his room for 2.5 hours and sit in the hallway while it was being cleaned.  I could and one day may write a book about what took place but in the interim I shall attempt to be brief ( not easy for me 🙂 )

Everything had to come out of his room including the photos on the wall.  Everything was wiped with these small Cavi – Wipes and then placed into plastic bags.  All of his clothing, sweaters and shawls and ‘shoes’ were sent home to wash.  I asked about the special mattress we had purchased, okay they would wipe it as well as his chair cushion.  I have to say that the charge nurse was beyond rigid. So all of his things were in small plastic bags and then placed outside on the hallway floor!!!  Yes the very very dirty floor.  What about my things, well they were placed outside on the floor but not in bags, just directly on that dirty surface, including my coat and purse, etc.  So then I was told that he would be stripped just as he returned to the room and redressed.  He would have to go barefoot until his shoes were washed.  So in my forthright manner I asked if I should also be stripped so I could return to the room with him.  That flustered them.  They did suggestion I wash my clothes and dry clean my purse and leather jacket before tomorrow!!!  I reminded them that just 10 days ago when he was in an acute state with his ecoli infection that they actually took him and his bed down to x-ray and back with him only wearing a mask and no cleaning involved and now they were going beyond the logical.  They did not get it.  I had to call my sister to come ASAP to come get his things and have them washed pronto.  So poor Dad is sitting on a tiny chair in the hall trying to eat his lunch.  I am going between him and the person cleaning the room and supervising.  He keeps asking me when can he go back to bed, he is frail and exhausted and just wants to rest.  I become more upset.    I ask a passing nursing instructor on her take of the situation.  Yes Contessa you are correct.  Bugs do not grow on newspaper and he can have it back.  Actually he is living in his own germs and bacteria and all that was necessary was to wipe down the hard surfaces, certainly not his pen and toothbrush, etc.  Of course he can keep his sweaters and shoes.  Of course you do not have to move your things as you have been in and out so often.  Actually  I ask, what about the staff in and out and so on and so on.  It was a gong show.

He finally got to bed 2.5 hours later and fell asleep immediately.  I spent the next several hours putting his room back together as I seethed.  What a huge waste of time.  So I left after 9 hours and my sister arrived within an hour of my leaving.  Dad remains somewhat confused tonight.  He kept saying something about having to move somewhere in a car.  He had no idea why I was there and was surprised to learn that I was driving his van and staying in his condo.  I so hope that when I see him Tuesday morning he will be back to normal.  Actually hopefully I will be back to normal also.

Colin found this 2004 photo of me and my parents. Cloii who is on Mom's lap died in Playa Los Glorias and that is our sweet Carmeh on my lap at about 1 year old.

Well it seems that I can only do a post if I restart my computer before I enter this site.  Let’s hope that this will work tonight.  Although I kept hitting ‘save draft’ last night, it did not work.  In addition to that, tonight I will keep doing a copy/paste.

I also have discovered that I can leave comments on blogs under Word Press.  Anything to do with Blogger and Google is a no go.  It all stems from the fact that my computer is so old that no browser supports this dinosaur.  No one knows the password so none of the software has been updated in at least 10 years.  Amazing that it runs at all.  Please know that I am reading all of your posts and am especially enjoying those that detail your travels in south and warmer climates and of course in Mexico.

It is beyond freezing here.  A high today of -14C with a windchill of -23C/9.4F, yup that cold and it is only going to get much worse over the next few days.  Saturday the police dealt with 230 crashes.  I don’t understand how people who live in this climate forget how to deal with it when it arrives.  The normal high at this time of year is 0C and the normal low is -9C, we are way below that.  The snow is here to stay.  I am doing pretty good driving, being cautious and alert.  That certainly helped me deal with my first ever drunk driver on Sunday AM.  He ended up crashing into a barrier just after I cautiously passed him and I was so shocked I never even thought to call the police.  Heck I even forgot I had a cell phone.  I did check via my mirrors and I could tell that he was not hurt.  I had written all the details for you yesterday, twice and lost both of them but it was not a fun experience.  It took a few blocks to realize this was a drunk and not a kid having fun in the snow at 7:30AM.  Took me a few hours to get over it.

The weather is cooling down so much in Kelowna that Colin has had to take the RV out of storage and put it in a site in the RV park so we can plug it in to keep the pipes from freezing.  Thanks Steve for helping Colin back it in.  Not only that, he had to hire someone to come in and heat tape the water pipe into the house as well as insulate our soft water tank.  Normally our lines are blown out by Oct. 23rd and the water softener is brought into the house.  We always leave the heat on low while away.  With highs still in the minuses for the next few days he had to act fast.

Whatever we are going to be charged for this service, I have to say that this fellow went out of his way to help us. Thanks for the photo Colin.

…but I can’t post tonight.  I have been wiped out three times now.  Extremely frustrating.  Will try tomorrow.  I am coping with the weather and the driving.  Police here responded to 231 collisions yesterday and I wasn’t one of them 🙂

Colin checked me in at 5:10AM and off I went to join the very long line for security.  After 20 minutes in line I was paged to head back to the check in counter.  You can imagine all the thoughts going through my mind.  Seems that my checked suitcase had been chosen for a secondary check.  They required my lock combination to open the bag to check the contents.  I gave them my combination after receiving a lecture as to why I should not lock my suitcase.  Back to the line for the security check and now I was once again at the end of the line.  Finally it was my turn.  I always explain that I have had hip surgery and I am the bionic woman.  I had the choice of getting a personal and up front pat down or going through the very latest in a scanned check.  I did that and still ended up having to have a pat down.  Despite arriving 90 minutes prior to departure I was startled to discover that my flight was boarding and once again hearing my name being paged.  Now what?  Once again it was related to my checked suitcase which by the way I had to pay $25.00 to check in plus tax.  West Jet now charges for any checked bag!  I was asked the same question about the lock combination.  I explained that I thought it had already dealt with and could they please check that my suitcase was cleared to be loaded on the plane.  They claimed that it was and yes I was able to pick it up.

So as we are landing it is very clear that it is snowing.  The runways are under a layer of snow and were being plowed as each flight was landing.  I see several aircraft being deiced prior to take off.  OMG, what am I doing here.  Fortunately I had placed  my newly purchased closed toe shoes in my carry on.  I was soon taking off my sandals and putting on my socks and new shoes.  The friend picking me up was delayed.  No wonder, considering it was the first snowstorm of the season and vehicles traveling the highway were driving at just a notch above a crawl.  Then there were the accidents.  Merci beaucoup Denise, I so appreciate the time and the efforts it took you to pick me up. We had just enough time to meet another classmate from our graduation class of ’71 for a quick breakfast.  Once again a slip/slide to the car in the ever falling snow and finally I am safely delivered to Dad’s condo.  I quickly dropped off my luggage and headed down to the garage to head out to the horrors of the streets.  I had promised that I would be here to help Dad with lunch.  Well I was 20 minutes late but I did get there.  Those tires sure made strange noises as they fought the ice.

So glad I am not driving.

 I have to say that I was surprised to find Dad in better shape and spirits than what I had expected.  We had a good 80 minutes and then he was ready to get back to bed and to sleep.  He was asking me many questions about his finances, always a good sign.  I stayed for another hour but as the snow was still falling I thought I better head out and do my grocery shopping and get back to the condo, unpack and have some wine.  Yup, I had put some in the fridge before I left here two weeks ago.

So how cold is it? Very!!  It did not take more than 30 seconds for me to recall the bitter cold.  However today was mild to what is coming over the next few days.  I really really should have brought boots.  There is a lot of snow.  I saw 2 snow blowers being used and many shovels.  By tomorrow afternoon they say that we can expect  up to an additional 12cm/4.7inches of snow.  Wonderful! Not!  At 4PM today it was -14C/6.8F with the windchill factor included.  The normal for this time of year is a high of 0C/32F and an average low of-8C/32F.  Murphy’s Law, Contessa is in town.  After only 3 hours at the hospital the windshield was caked with ice. Carumba!!

Taken from Dad's condo.

 I have to thank my friend Libby, whom I went to nursing school with, for her lengthy and detailed email on how to drive and what to do, etc. I printed it out early this morning and kept reading it on the flight.  Thanks to her I was able to cope today.  Libby you probably saved my life today.  I really have no idea how I managed.  

I had planned to leave here just after 7AM Sunday morning to head to the hospital to help Dad with breakfast and later lunch.  But I am not a totally dumb  blonde, if the snow is heavy I will wait for more traffic to clear the snow and make some paths for me to follow.