It's been months since I've written here and my life has certainly changed since my last post. So here goes:
I worked very hard on the Southwest Washington Walk to End Alzheimer's. And all the work certainly paid off.
On a beautiful fall day, Sept. 22, we had 111 walkers at the Port of Kalama's Marine Park. We had sponsors, Cowlitz Indian Tribe drummers who also blessed the Walk, and even Hawaiian dancers. Kalama High School students from the band and leadership class provided wonderful music and lots of help. Mom would have been proud.
The only thing I missed was Martha, who texted me the night before the walk to say she wasn't coming. She claimed that she wasn't feeling well, but I don't believe it, because the day after the Walk, she went to Mr. Bill's for breakfast.
It was during the Walk that I was going to tell Martha I was moving. I got a job at the Whitman County Gazette in Colfax where I grew up and packed up everything and moved. I told the nursing home folks I was moving and gave them my new address, but I wanted to tell Martha in a special way, to let her understand that I needed to do this. I started my new job on Oct. 1, just a little more than a week after the Walk.
As I was packing the Monday after the Walk, there was a knock on the door and Martha walked in. A UHaul truck was parked in the driveway so it was obvious what was going on. But she acted so offended that I hadn't told her and claimed she only stopped to see how the Walk went. When will the lies stop?
I had gathered a few things for her and put them in a box. And my friend, Dennise, who was packing me up, happened to be at the house when Martha arrived and heard the whole conversation. Martha asked if she had to sign some papers to take care of Mom and I said no, nothing had changed. But the next day, the nursing home folks called to say Martha had informed them that she was to be the first one to be called if something happened to Mom. I said I would talk to Martha and get it straightened out and that I was still the Power of Attorney and Martha wasn't. So I called Martha who was just getting out of school. This is the day before I was to leave for Colfax. I told her I had talked to the nursing home and that I will remain the first to be informed if something happens to Mom. I reiterated that she was not the Power of Attorney and she had no authority to do anything. She claimed she was never asked to be a Power of Attorney and I replied that wasn't true, that she said at the time she didn't want anything to do with it. That's when she hung up. I tried calling her back, but she wouldn't answer her phone. It made me sad to leave town with that phone call the last conversation we would have. But I can't control her actions, only she can.
As I was packing along with getting ready for the Walk, my little Yorkie boy, Mattie, got really sick. The Thursday before the Walk, I took him to the vet, Dr. Katie. I just had a feeling he was going to leave me. He couldn't walk and wasn't eating or drinking. Dr. Katie took an x-ray and said she had never seen anything like it. Mattie's little spine was so deformed that she said she was surprised he had lived as long as he did. She said she couldn't do anything for him, so they brought him to me wrapped in a soft towel and I held him as he left me. I told him to find my Abby and she would take care of him until I could be with them. My heart still is heavy with his loss as I write this. He was such a sweet little soul. He was only 11 months old.
Three days after the Walk, early on the morning of Sept. 26, another beautiful fall day, Lizzie (my little Yorkie girl), Gigi, Dennise and I took off for Colfax. We had a good trip and arrived safe and sound, although pretty tired, in Colfax early in the afternoon. Friends met us and unloaded the things in the truck into two storage units. Gigi and Lizzie seemed to like our new temporary quarters which was the home of a high school classmate. The day after we got to Colfax, I met a friend in Naches who took Dennise back to Longview. And on Monday, I started my new job at the Gazette.
Wow, I felt so good to be back home.
I felt a little sad about leaving Mom, but I also know that I have done all I can do for Mom. And I know in my heart that she would want me to do this. I didn't feel one bit sad about leaving that house and I don't care really what happens with it. That never really was my home.
The second day of work, I came down with a cold which only got worse as the week wore on. My upper back began hurting, indicating that I probably had walking pneumonia. By the following Monday, I was very sick and missed work all week. By Friday, Oct. 12, I thought I felt better, and was going to try to go to the office. God had other plans.
I took the girls outside so they could do their business about 7 a.m. I sat on the steps enjoying a beautiful fall day, looking at the gold hills of the Palouse. But when I tried to get up, my body wouldn't respond. I just couldn't get up. The friend I was staying with went to Pullman to shop and when she came back, and I was still on the steps, she called 9-1-1. I pleaded with her not to call them because I have no insurance, but the EMTs came. They checked my blood pressure and then took blood and my blood sugar was 800. Normal levels should hover around 100. They immediately took me to the Colfax hospital. After more tests, chest x-rays and and I don't know how many other tests, the doctors decided that I indeed had pneumonia and probably had diabetes. My mind just couldn't wrap itself around all that. Then the doctor informed me that his superiors were too nervous to have me stay in Colfax and they wanted me to go to Spokane. I just kept thinking about the cost and how I was going to pay for it and on and on and on. The Colfax ambulance was not available so I rode in a MedStar helicopter. Great. I had never been in a helicopter before and I certainly didn't want my first ride to be as a patient, but I didn't have a choice. So into the back of this helicopter I went with two wonderful men hovering over me making sure I made the trip to Spokane. I got into the Sacred Heart ICU later that evening and immediately was greeted by an army of nurses and doctors. They pumped fluids into me and began insulin and checking my blood sugar hourly, or almost hourly. At the time, I didn't really even realize I was in Intensive Care and didn't understand until my friend, Susie, told me later. I remained in the hospital for 11 days. I received excellent care and the best part was that I received Communion every day. Susie came to visit me almost every day. Leanna Brake called almost every day and Fort Wright College classmates, Diane Lobe and Lauriel Kramer Fouquette, came to the hospital to see me.
Three days before doctors said I would probably be discharged, the friend I was staying with called to say that I couldn't come back to their home and I had to make other arrangements. I was so hurt and shocked, but I contacted another friend and got a place to land that night. I made arrangements for the girls to stay with a friend in Spokane and Susie brought them from Colfax to Spokane the next day. Susie worked hard to make my new home as welcome as possible. She stocked my cupboards with pots and pans and silverware and food and brought a couple of chairs and an end table and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. By the time she got me home, it was warm and almost inviting, as inviting as an old single-wide trailer in a trailer park can be. But it's a roof and shelters us from the weather and keeps us warm.
My friend, Mary Perry, kept the girls for more than two weeks as I recuperated at home. I was on oxygen for several days after I got home. Susie came every day to check on me and Tonijo checked on me too. I went back to work on Oct. 31, thankful that my dear publisher kept my job for me.
God is so good to me. I know I am blessed to be alive and healing. It will take me a while to get completely well, but I am getting stronger every day. I give myself insulin shots in the morning and evening after checking my blood sugar levels. My blood sugar has settled down to the point that the docs have decreased my insulin by 20 units a day. The goal is to be able to quit the insulin at one point.
Gigi and Lizzie are still adapting to life here in Colfax. And I LOVE it. I love seeing old friends almost every day, renewing those friendships. And my job is going very well. I am feeling more confident in my writing skills. I love my publisher, Gordon, and my editor, Jerry. God is good.
Martha keeps in contact a little better, although I think she begrudges me this move. And Mom is still the stranger in the nursing home. She has had three skin tears recently and I called to leave a message with the social worker about my concerns about it. Mom will not end up like Grandma Dora. That I am certain. If something happens to Mom, like Grandma Dora getting injured, I will contact an attorney and sue their ass. I will not hesitate.
Nursing homes need to have a different role than they do now. But that's for another blog post.
I spent Thanksgiving with the Hopkins family and had the best time. I thought about friends on the West side, but not for long because I was genuinely happy. And with Tonijo's baby, little "Peanut," on the way, it's going to be a great New Year.
I have a small Christmas tree on a chair in front of one of the windows that cheers me up on these long nights. And I decorated the front porch with tiny solar lights and some little trees.
So that's my story. For now. God has more plans, I know. All I have to do is say, "OK, Lord, take the reins." And then listen.