Apr 08, 2017
Que pasa and Mommio update
I just want to thank you all for your emails and blog comments. I don’t think that I could have got through this last week and a half without your tremendous support. While Colin was back in Canada I did manage to get my travel records updated and most importantly I got my emails up to date, more or less. I even got some laundry done and tidied up the RV a bit.
We had freezing temps when we arrived and even had the heat on for a while. The next day it was sweltering and today we have wind warnings and the RV has been rocking.
I also managed to get the A/C unit broken or at least I thought that it was. I ended up calling the office and they sent someone around who got someone else who knew about electricity. The someone was so tall that the top of his head brushed the ceiling of our rig. Turns out that somehow the breaker tripped and shut the A/C unit down. That was an easy fix but I still want to know why it happened.
This was taken a few years ago as the girls hunted for crabs. That is Carmeh doing the digging while Caeli waits for the crab to appear.
On the way to the laundry room yesterday I came across a dog pen with two chocolate dachshunds. They were lovely doxies but I just couldn’t bring myself to pet them or stay and visit for more than a moment. Turns out that they had a third girl which had to be put down a few weeks ago, she was almost twelve just like Caeli. I saw another go past earlier today. My heart is still very very tender and sore.
It turns out that there are two sets of people here in Las Vegas that I know and another who is a blog reader who reached out. Thank you for offering to visit but I really needed the last few days on my own. Plus I was either on the phone or chatting online with Colin most of the day. I did need to be here to go over some ideas re Mommio and to encourage him.
This was taken in Kelowna when we just had the RV on our beach site and still lived in the house across the road.
July of 2009 was her last visit to Kelowna.
So what can I tell you about Mommio. Colin was told by his brothers this last Wednesday that he better get to Winnipeg ASAP so instead of driving home and then flying to Winnipeg he left this last Thursday. He found her looking very frail and lost. One day she was at her home and the next she was in hospital. It seems to go back to her stopping her meds which led to her not eating and going downhill. She immediately perked up when Colin showed up and even began to eat. He managed to get her hearing aids and asked the nurses to put them in everyday. Suddenly there was better communication. He sat by her bedside and chatted when she was awake. He even brought a few of the girls toys and she cuddled the toys as she slept. She was lonely and in a foreign environment surrounded by loud noises and people she did not know. I stayed up late last night pulling out photos of her and Colin and he took the bus very early this morning to Walmart and at 7AM they were printing out photos. He got to the hospital in time for breakfast and taped the photos to the wall. She said “now I don’t feel alone anymore”. So that is what Colin has been doing plus much much more. She loved her TimBit treats. I also suggested getting her some Ensure with the extra protein and she is actually enjoying it. He also got her a bunch of magazines to look at. She had nothing and was just laying there staring into space with nothing to connect her to the present and to reality.
We drove the RV to Winnipeg in June of 2015 to visit Mommio. Three days before we left Carmeh had become paralyzed. What a trip that was! Now the girls are gone and Mommio is not doing well. This was the last time that I saw Mommio.
Meanwhile it has been decided (not by us) that she can never go back to living alone and so her apartment was being cleaned out. She is on a list for a care facility of some sort. She of course needs to be assessed and to start eating and walking again before that will happen. I don’t have too many details but at supper last night they announced that they were moving her to another room as she no longer needed such direct and constant care. Boy, Colin sure must have perked her up. Sadly the room is old and smells and is most depressing. She had a bad night last night and the nurse told him that she was calling his name in the night to come and save her. So many challenges ahead. Yes there is family back in Winnipeg but Colin and his Mom have always been very close.
Mommio at 100 in October 2014.
On her 101st on October 29, 2015, Colin went back to Winnipeg for a second time that year. He never ever missed celebrating her birthday.
So Colin did the best he could and tried to set some routines for her and the nursing staff. He did all he could do for now. He is on his way back to Vegas tonight and I’m sure that it was most difficult to leave his Mom laying in that hospital bed all alone and like a tiny doll. We will take a few days to regroup and to relax and then head home and decide what we can do next regarding Mommio. We love her so much and know how difficult it must be for her to suddenly go from being 100% independent to 100% dependent. There is nothing wrong with her physically, she just become weak and unable to be on her own. Colin is most concerned at how frail she has become since he saw her last October. She has lived a long life and will possibly go into a decline due to her care and surroundings. It is so very very sad. There is not much we can do as we live so far away.
Mommio and our bird Cheikka in 2009
Carmeh loved Cheikka while Caeli merely tolerated her.
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Good thoughts for Mommio and you all. Hope you can get her settled into permanent surroundings soon that will allow her to relax and enjoy life once again. Thanks, Contessa for your lovely and candid thoughts on all that happens in your lives. It takes a special person to share so much of themselves with so many……..Hugs and stay well.
Nice that Colin was able to be with his mother for a while, hope things settle down a bit for her.
Hugs from George and Suzie
Loved all these pictures. It captures the essence of Mommio.
It’s good Colin flew there to see and asses the situation for himself.
So hard when lives unwind like this. No easy answers.
Thanks for your update… Keep remembering all the good times you had with your fur babies and enjoy pictures. They live in your heart. Glad your mother in law is doing better. I too have a 102 year old mother in law that fell at Christmas and broke bones in hip. She is in an assited living center till she is better and can not wait to go home. Take care and i enjoy our blog..
So very hard to watch our parents age and become frail and scared. Hugs to all of you. It took me about six months before I could pet another dog besides Skitz. Give yourself time.
So sad about his mom. Even sadder is the facilities in that they will not do any more than absolutely has to. I would bet his mom would be much happier in a home close to your home and would likely do much better with Colin closer. Bless Colin for getting there when he did. I think perhaps, she just needs to be stabilized and have something to look forward too each day, that alone with keep depression at bay…. Good luck, and hope you both can go see her soon. I think if she saw you both she would perk up…DOUBLE!!! I can see by the photos she loves you both so much and has so much fun with you both.
Sad that we don’t have enough care facilities that can give 100% care.. Hoping she makes the move and slowly regains her strength.. Hugs to you and Colin!
Love the update and all the pictures! Mommio looks so stylish. So glad that Colin got to spend time with her. Good idea about getting photos printed off for her and the other nice treats. I’m sure she appreciated it. The pic of the girls digging in the sand made us chuckle. Thinking of you all! xoxoxo
Hugs…..hang in there. I know what a rough time this is for both of you. I was wondering if you would drive the rig home while Colin was with his Mom. My aunt and uncle moved to a wonderful assisted living place in Pentictan. They have an apartment but can also eat in the dining. Have a movie theater, beauty salons, curling facility….everything you can think of. My uncle passed away and while my aunt misses him a lot, she is doing well because she has lots of friends and activities. I also know how difficult and time adverse it can be to get someone into a place in a different province. I hope you and Colin can both go back and spend some time with Mommio as soon as you get home.
You write such good stories/updates. Have such good ideas for care. But you have just been thru all of that with your father.
It is good to be alone and process what life has thrown at us…. It will be good to have Colin home again.
So love to see pictures of ‘the girls’
Take Care, God Bless
She is lucky to have a doting son and daughter-in-law. Sending you all my best.