5C's Que Pasa

Two weeks ago on Sunday April 27th I flew to Edmonton where I joined my family at the University of Alberta to honor my Mom’s memory.  After she died last July, her body was donated to the Anatomy Department.  She was a teacher and she gave her body so that the teaching could continue, this time by medical students.  I had no idea what to expect and I was overwhelmed with the two hour memorial.

It truly was a way to say goodbye.

The program...

The University has a common burial site where Mom's cremated remains are interred with other donors.

The site is marked by a single stone which bears the inscription shown here.

There were the usual remarks but one that stood out was by Bryan Frobb, Class of 2016 in Medicine.  He explained how much it meant to the students to have the donated bodies to work on and with how much respect they were treated by the students.  It brought tears to my eyes.

The short video above is just a minute of “Con te Partiro” ( TIme to say Goodbye ) performed by the Medical Students Orchestra. This is when my tears started to flow.  Mom loved music and I remember listening to music in our home and most special of all was attending the symphony with Mom and Dad.  We had seasons tickets.  I never expected to hear music on this day.  How special.  Sadly Dad was unable to hear most of the ceremony.  His hearing aid wasn’t working with the sound system.  Hopefully this and other clips will work for him on the computer.

My Dad and some of our family. There might have been about 150 people there.

After more words by the Dean of Medicine we were treated to a song by the University’s Courtyard Choir.  Mom loved to sing and she was a member of the Edmonton Opera Society.  I remember, as a child going to dress rehearsals with her and being backstage with all the excitement.  Then in a few days Dad, I and the other kids who were old enough would sit in the theatre and watch Mom on the stage.  I know that that is where my love of theatre and music and singing come from.  I can’t sing anywhere near as well as she did but I sure try.  My tears continued to flow.  I could not have planned a better memorial myself.  “The Seal Lullaby” was introduced as a way to say goodbye.

Dr. Christine Webber, a Professor of Anatomy gave a wonderful talk.  She spoke for quite a while and then she started to relate a personal story of a family member who had also donated their body to the program.  She broke down and cried during her speech which is what I have an excerpt of here.  Extremely moving…..

More comments from other students and another song.  I was too moved to video it, I just wanted to be in the moment.

Mom's name along with 57 others was read aloud.

After the minute of silence for the donors, the bagpipes playing Amazing Grace were supposed to be played however the person could not be there.  I think that would have been too much, I would have been sobbing.  Next a prayer, the Responsive Prayer was said with those us in the audience responding with “We Remember them”.  I had never heard this before and found it very comforting.

I have been rereading this a lot in the past week.

The Chaplain was a lovely person and her closing remarks were so special that I am including the entire video here.  She started by saying that she was not going to use her prepared notes but rather speak from the heart, which she did.  She was very honest about why she felt she could not donate her body to science and then why she changed her mind.  She too came to tears.

The memorial ended with each family being presented by a long stemmed yellow rose.  Mom’s flower. Birthdays, Mother’s Day, any occasion and often for no reason at all Dad would present Mom with a single yellow rose or a bouquet of them.  When any of us see a yellow rose we think of Mom.  I have the rose here which I am in the process of drying. It is the perfect momento of a very special afternoon spent saying adieu to my Mom.  She will always be in my heart.

Later that night, while in my room at Dad's, Mom's cat, Angel came to spend some time with me.

Last September, a few months after Mom had passed, I travelled to Edmonton to help clean out Mom’s clothing and other items. We found a box at the back of her closet. When we opened it it was obvious that Mom had purchased this as a gift for me.

Rather then put it outside ( it is a weather resistant resin ) we have placed it inside our home. Sometimes as I pass by I think it's one of our girls.

Thanks Mom.  I love it, one of my best gifts ever.

Tags: Family

I have nothing to post so I’m going to cheat and just put in some of the shots that Colin has taken this past week.

That same home he did last Monday. The sofas are a different shade of purple than the walls.

Quite the staircase. Note the curved kitchen cabinets. That must have been a challenge for the carpenter.

Steinunn Thorarinsdottir is a very talented sculptress from Iceland who will be showcasing fifty of her pieces on site at Mission Hill Winery from May until October. Colin was hired to photograph both her and the owner of the winery as they decide on where the various scupltures would be placed. This one is sitting with his feet in a small pool that is part of the winery.

These sculptures are made of cast steel ( the rust colored ones ) and cast aluminum ( the white ones ).

Fabulous work.

Steinunn Thorarinsdottir  website shows more of her extraordinary work.

A quick mention here for the new readers of my blog, “Que Pasa” sort of means ‘what’s up’ in Spanish.  The purpose of my blog is to let you know the happenings in our lives.  The title “5C’s Que Pasa” refers to me Contessa, Colin and the girls Carmeh and Caeli.  Our first two doxies were called Cloii and Channel.  So we have been known as the 4C’s for many years.  Where does the 5th C come from, you might ask?  When I started this blog back in 2010, we had a parrot, who we rescued while RVing in Acapulco and brought her back here to Kelowna,  and then we had to give her away for a reason I hope to be able to share with you one day.  Two winters ago we had another parrot for a few months while on Isla de la Piedra whom we chose to set free via a rehabilitation to the wild program in Mazatlan.  So the C’s go from 4 to 5 and back to 4, we always have room for another C.

After all of Carmeh’s antics yesterday, Colin and I had to leave the girls and head into town for yet another meeting.  We have not been happy with our investment advisor for the last three years but due to circumstances that I can’t tell you about yet, we just let whatever happen, happen, as we had no time to supervise our investments.  Last fall we began to question and much more strongly since we got home.  Our meeting was to make some changes, from the first company to the new one we met with.  I have spent hours on the phone today and it is going to cost us just under $6000.00 to make the change.  We have decided to take the loss as we can improve our investment growth.  The new company figures we can make 12- 15 % safely per year with strong investments.  So we signed on.

Our heads were spinning and on the spur of the moment we headed to a restaurant.  We don’t eat out here at home.  Actually I can’t remember the last time we ate out here in Kelowna.  Well we did once last year when friends Jannose & Colin visited but I think that was it.  We tend to do take out and enjoy our meals at home.

So we headed to the Ozeki Japanese Restaurant to eat in for the first time. A real treat for us.

Salmon teriyaki for $13.00. I had double the veggies and Colin had the rice which it usually comes with. So much better fresh & hot in the restaurant. Loved their white house wine from Mission Hill, our major employer since we have been home.

We finally spoke with our vet, Dr. Susan Wales, about 8:30PM. last evening. From our conversation and the description of Carmeh’s antics all day yesterday, she thinks that Carmeh is frustrated and likely feeling better.  After some discussion we decided to return our home to the usual stools located here and there and give her the option of going where she wanted to.  So today we moved things back into place and she has been free today.  The only precaution was just to give her a 2 block walk for a few days and then build her up.  So this morning she got her walk and did well but this evening she went back into her shoulder bag to be carried.  She did well in it until Colin let her out for a short while to roam off leash in a grassy area.  Carmeh did not want to return to her bag.  So it seems that she is feeling much better.  Love all of your comments yesterday, most of you were right on the money.  She was ready to be freed to do her thing.

At one point this afternoon, I found her on the window seat which she had not had access to for close to two weeks. She sure looks content.

We still haven’t planted our new flowers.  The last three mornings have been very cold with frost.  We were going to try this afternoon but we are dealing with high winds ( gusting to 40km/h ) and whitecaps out on the lake.

Dad’s admission to hospital has now been changed from today to tomorrow and now Monday.  There was a comment yesterday about the program he was being admitted to.  I don’t have any details mostly because he does not, other than it is a new program in Alberta, less than a year old.  The admission is to a rehab unit in a hospital and it is from 4 to 6 weeks, possibly longer.  Dad is really looking forward to this time as he will be assessed from head to toe by a variety of specialists and supposedly treated for whatever they find.  In addition he is to have daily physio to restore his balance so he stops falling.  Nice to have all of this happen in one place without  having to drive from one MD’s office to the other.  All of us hope that this will be the answer to giving him more strength and to ease all the miscellaneous aches and pains he has.  Dad will be 84 in June.

Colin was supposed to do a photo shoot last evening ( after our special dinner ) but the clouds came in.  This is a time sensitive assignment as the shot is to used on a bill board.  The forecast is not promising.  Oh well, other jobs are looming on the horizon.

What else?  Colin had an ER dental appointment for pain but they could not find the problem .  Grrr…..  My time machine back up is messed up again.  Lynne do you make house calls to Canada?

Overall life is great….Carmeh is well and that is the most important of all.  Adios for now….time to go make us some dinner and of course feed the girls.  Oh yeah….love my new camera.

Tags: 319, CJPS, The girls

First Carmeh escaped the yard ( she isn’t even supposed to be walking ) under Colin’s watch ( I was out walking ) and was brought back by a neighbor and a few hours later Caeli escaped under my watch ( I was dealing with a window washer and Colin was out at an appointment ) and I was called to come and get her.

I think today, Wednesday, was a new level of stuff to deal with for me today. I won’t say stress cuz I know that it can and does and has gotten much worse.

We have our windows professionally cleaned two times per year. Please note that the back stairs have been fenced off. That is Caeli snooping around.

It was a busy day for both of us but Colin’s day was loco.  First he had an appointment just a few miles away and then he had to drive to Peachland  ( 45 minutes with no traffic ), then back here to get me ( another 45 minutes ) and then back again to Kelowna for another appointment, which we both had to attend ( 28 minutes ), not to mention back home again.  He then had a view shot to take for a client at 6PM who needed the photo ASAP for a billboard ad, but the clouds came in.  Bummer.

Meanwhile as soon as Colin left for his first appointment in the morning, Carmeh started to act up.  She just would not stop moving.  Before he left Colin did his best to barricade things so that she had some freedom of movement but safely for her back.  Boy did she move.

These are the front steps and she is supposed to use the ramp coming and going. Well on the up part, which is where her injury affects her she used the ramp for the first step and jumped off and used the stairs the rest of the way to the top.

If I had not been out to speak to the window washer, I would have missed this one. She came out the dog door ( top right ) to the back steps and on seeing that they were blocked off, she did a really smart thing, in her mind. She came down to the step between the quail ornament and the doggie statue and scrunched under the glass rail and jumped down to the grass. What the heck? Then she did the ramp/stair combo at the front of the house back inside and did this descent once again. Finally I got smart and blocked the doggie door.

How am I supposed to get any work done? Five minutes later I look outside to see where she is and find her. She has jumped onto a chaise. The phone rings.

Five minutes later I look for her again and she has jumped up onto a chair under the patio table. Grrrr. By the time I go and get my shoes on and go find her she has jumped up elsewhere.

Then I get a call….. could I please come and get Caeli, she is in their yard!   So I haul Carmeh into the house where everything is sealed off or fixed so that she can’t jump up.

Back in the house, five minutes later I return with Caeli to find Carmeh on another chair. I am about ready to give up.

This is not working.  Is Carmeh feeling so wonderful that she has gone loco or what?  This is not her normal behavior.  Is she stressed because she can’t go to the 2 places in the house that she likes to reach by jumping up on stools?  Either she has to go in a pen which Colin refuses to do and actually so do I or we let her be free to do what she wants.  We have received so many wonderful suggestions for her care in the blog comments and I thank you.  I like the idea of leaving her on Metacam longterm and see what transpires.

I wondered if Carmeh was upset because the window washer was in & out and even on the roof at one point.

It's not like we aren't making an effort to keep her from jumping up.....the pillows stop her from jumping up from the floor.

...and hurting herself.

We are beyond exhausted and I am not getting much work done at my desk.  Meanwhile I am dealing with the ever changing admission date of my Dad to a hospital in Edmonton.  He is being admitted for 4 – 6 weeks, for an assessment as to why he keeps falling plus an overall body check.  This is a great thing as one team will be checking all aspects of his body and problems.  Rather than go from one Dr. to another for various parts of the body, they are all going to assess him as a whole. However his admittance date has been changed three times in the last 24 hours.

At the moment, 8:30PM, Wednesday, we are awaiting a return call from our vet.  She works long hours and never seems to stop.  We are fortunate to have her in our lives.  Meanwhile, it is a dog’s world!

Tags: medical, The girls