Dec 26, 2011

Christmas Miracle !

Mom got her tube out about noon on the 25th!!!  Still in ICU/CCU, but that might change today.

Her first words were 1) she wanted to get her hair done and 2) she wanted the blue Pashima shawl I had got her for her 8oth just a few days back!!

I would say she is close to being back to normal!!

Colin & I spent Christmas Day just relaxing.  We did mange to have over 10 visitors, it is so nice to have special friends so far away from home.

We started the day with a long beach walk, this fisherman was checking his nets.

Then it was time for a delicious pancake brunch.

We had a family Christmas chat about 4:30PM with everyone at Dad’s.  Everyone is happier than they have been in a very long while.   I did miss chatting with my brother but he had headed back to the hospital.

I will NOT be going back to Edmonton at this time.  Mom is still under constant care and everyday from here on in is going to be changing.  Plus I do not want to infect her with any germs I may be carrying right now and I am also still trying to recover from my July surgery.

Later in the afternoon it was then time to start the second of our traditional Christmas dishes...

...along with our annual bottle of Christmas champagne.

Cheers everyone! We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this season.

Earlier in the day is had got rather warm and I had changed into a sundress to sit in the sun while Colin played guitar. Hmm, looks like it is ready to eat.

Certainly not a complete dinner meal but more than enough for us. We don't eat as much as we use to but managed to enjoy the same favorties we have had for 25 Christmas dinners, potatoes romanoff, scalloped carrots with dressing and dill salmon.

I actually didn't see the sunset last night as I was on the phone with Colin's 97 year old young Mom. Both her and the sunset are beautiful.

I think we had the perfect Christmas Day, it was indeed a miracle of sorts.

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Dec 25, 2011

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Warm Christmas wishes to you all from a coolish Mazatlan.  65F at 10AM is too cool for us. More heat please Santa!

Caeli obviously enjoying her Dec 24th beach walk. I have only walked for 10 minutes on the beach in the last week.That will change starting today!

The locals are finding it a bit chilly. They are out watching the waves.

At least these guys are properly attired!

It was a perfect day to stay in and bake christmas cookies....

Carmeh thinks so too!

...then we had a visitor!

One of our beach vendor friends, Filomena came by with Christmas gifts. She is the one I have helped sell eyeglass neck chains over the past few years. How sweet of her. I plan on giving the one with the angel to my Mom.

Back to the cookies..

15 dozen later.....done!

Another marvellous Christmas Eve sunset! Many went into Mazatlan for a church service but we decided a quiet evening at home was in order plus I am getting just a bit of a sore throat and did not want to aggrivate it with chilly panga crossings.

So we settled in with mucho vino, lots of music and total relaxation.

...and cooked the perfect shrimp dinner.

Merry Christmas

Joyeux Noel

Wish you were here to enjoy some of the cookies. Maybe next year!!

Mom is still in ICU, well actually CCU ( coronary care ) I found out.  Still intubated and semi sedated.  Doing as well as can be expected, so they say!  Nothing is likely to change for her today. Various members of the family plan to pop in and out to check on her.  Love you Mom!

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Dec 24, 2011

Mom update….

Yesterday was not such a great day for my Mom.  Here is a copy paste from my sister who was at the hospital….

ok, she was taken out of sedation about 9 am this morning.  Her saturation and volume levels were getting up to where they should be.  Update from 3:30 pm today.  She has and still has a breathing tube but has done most of breathing on her own.  She was in pain they gave her meds – staying on top of that.  She had restless leg syndrome, but is getting her meds for that.  When we saw her, she became more agitated so we left very soon.  They are going to sedate her tonite so she can sleep and the tube will stay in so there are no problems. They told us better to wait to take it out, then do it too early and have to put it back in.  She was given 2 pillows, was more comfie.  They said what we saw today was normal.   40% of patients leave icu after 24 hours, and 60 % stay one or two extra days.  We think she will be in the 60%  The doc told dad Thurday nite that the surgery went better than expected.  So, thats about it.  No one will go tonite because we dont want her agitated, trying to communicate.  Dad and I will go again tomorrow around 1 pm.   The nurse told dad she will seem like a diff. person by then.  So, all is well, and I thought the staff was great – better than the royal alex.   Taking very good care of her.  If you have questions, call me or email.  Dad is exhausted and has some calls to make tonight still.  No worrying allowed –
Lise
PS.  Honest – she is doing well.

Just spoke with my Dad about 15 minutes ago…….Mom is still being kept sedated and remains in ICU.  The surgeon plans on doing some tests this morning before deciding if he will allow her to wake up.  I won’t have any updates for several hours.

Enjoy Christmas Eve everyone.

2:45PM  No change, Mom still sedated and intubated in ICU.  Dad is at her side.

6:00PM…..Mom still under sedation and with tube but Dad not so happy with nursing staff.  Nor I, they would not speak with me.  dad does not understand what is happening with Mom and the nurse just says she is doing as well as can be expected.

9:00PM….no answer on the ICU phone, even via the hospital operator….will try in 15 minutes…..

10:05PM////Mom awake, agitated and still intubated but no contact with Dad….for some reason the hospital would not take Dad’s calls, finally I got thru two scrooges….no angels on duty tonight!!!  At least Dad can go to sleep now.  Me too.

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Dec 24, 2011

MY DAY !

This morning we woke up to high tide, taken from the front window. You can see some shrimp boats out there.

I did have a great day yesterday.  First thing that happened was an email from RV2 saying fresh shrimp were being sold in the park.

Can't get any fresher, these were caught just a few hours before coming direct to us. We have been trying to get fresh shrimp for a month now. Perfect start to the day. 150 pesos per kilo. We got 2 kilos.

Then I'm off to the big city. My day for pampering, booked long ago.

Tippy Toes is a beauty and hair salon that opened about a year ago to rave reviews.  The owner Debbie Rodriguez has been a hair dresser forever, it is actually a family vocation.  Debbie went to Afghanistan in the early 2000’s to help.  She along with others created the Kabul Beauty School in order to train the young women there, allowing them to become breadwinners for their families.  Deborahs’ book Kabul Beauty School will be studied by our book club here on the Isla in the New Year.  She has graciously agreed to meet with us afterwards and give us an update on all the people involved.  Here is a very colorful link with photos of her life in Afghanistan.

Deborah moved to Mazatlan a few years ago and now is training some young local girls to do nails and a variety of other services.  Check out the website for service details and prices.  Tippy Toes focuses on cleanliness and sterilizes all tools.  You can even book appointments online.

I started with a pedicure.

As you can see the shop is bright and colorful. This is my before shot! One of my favorite things is that beverages are served, from freshly brewed cappuccino to vino to cerveza!!

My after shot with Debbie!!! Great lady! Great shop!!

Then I meandered down a few streets to the Plazuela Machado to meet mi amore for a late lunch.  I felt so good and happy and so alive to be wandering around this great city.  There were not too many restaurants open at 2PM but we found one.

This is located right next door to La Bohemia.

Colin settled on a huge dorado sandwich for 60 pesos.

I chose the shrimp quesadillas which were so full of shrimp and cheese that I could barely finish my meal. The best I have had by far. Of course I also sampled their margaritas, not too bad, plus it was 2 for 1 time!!!

The first think I did when we got back home was to take a nap!!!!   I just loved my day.  Later in the evening we watched a Christmas movie surrounded by the warmth of our Christmas lights and decorations.

Then we got a surprise visit from some RV2 carollers.

They spent the day preparing for the event.

Their plan was to vist the children in the village and hand out candies.

More details can be found on Roger’s blog.

I am going to post separately today about my Mom so you can just check that post for updates.

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Dec 23, 2011

A new day!

My mom is still sleeping after a 7 hour surgery.  Her ICU nurse reports that all her vitals are normal but that she has not woken from the surgery yet. They think she should wake up in a few more hours. Dad plans to be sitting there when she opens her eyes. One really has to be thankful to the surgeons.  To do two seven hour surgeries per day, the devotion to their profession, the strength of mind to keep at it, hour after hour, very special people indeed!

During these past few days the preparations for the Christmas hampers for 40 families here on Isla de la Piedra have been moving forward.

Tres Amigos RV2 hosted another happy hour raffle last Tuesday. We all donate raffle prizes and then buy tickets.

Then a name is pulled and you get to choose a prize from the great donations. 2500 pesos was raised that evening.

Mother Nature obviously approved.

Behind the scenes a committee had been delegating many of us with small tasks all directed towards gathering items for the hampers.

The bags are stuffed full, fresh fruits, rice, beans, nuts, even a fresh chicken and many other items. The families who receive the baskets are chosen by someone from the Isla who is aware of the most needy.

Another couple here in the RV park coordinate toys for the children here on the Isla, then they sort them out according to age, etc. Thanks Ken & Joyce.

Once again the RVers brings them all down in the fall. I think that is why we have such large RV's, so we can fit all this stuff in. Remember we had already done a clothing donation in November.

It certainly has been a busy last few days. I for one, intend to take today off for me and me alone!

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