Hannibal Lecter
06-11-2008, 06:41 AM
My Dear Forum Family,
I have been keeping tabs on things here a bit more than usual of late, and hope to contribute more often as time goes on.
I do need to share this. It has been an interesting and difficult past few weeks.
Several weeks ago, my 76-year old mother fell ill. A trip to the hospital via ambulance accomplished nothing, as both the lung x-ray (she smoked since her early teens) and CT of her head came back clear. Since the local hospital treating her was inundated with transfers from another facility from the other side of the county they couldn’t admit her. They sent her home with oxygen and advised to wait and see if the symptoms subsided.
Several days later she had lost most of the use of her right side and couldn’t walk. Back to the hospital, and a repeat CT scan proved what we suspected all along – a fairly massive stroke.
Please keep in mind that she weighs 88 pounds at this point in time.
She was transferred to HealthSouth, an aggressive rehab facility two-and-one-half hours away. Upon her arrival, routine bloodwork showed elevated cardiac enzymes that indicated a heart attack had also occurred recently.
Across town to the hospital. An overnight there before being shipped back to HealthSouth. Several days of aggressive physical rehab. A series of smaller strokes. Back to the hospital. A heart attack. Another stroke, this time taking all of the movement in both arms and also her speech.
HealthSouth declined to readmit her, citing her health as being too poor to withstand their level of rehab.
May 30 they transferred her to the rehab wing of a nursing home about a half-hour from here. About ten minutes after her arrival she passed, probably a massive heart attack.
I managed to get to the facility about ten minutes after she passed. Two of my three siblings were already there waiting, and third was coming in from out of state.
I hate to lose her, but at the same time I know it is what she wanted. She was tired from a lifetime of taking care of everyone around her. She had lost her husband, both of her sisters, and most everyone she grew up with. Three of her four children still lived near her, but all four are independent adults living good lives.
Mom wanted to be cremated; she always said that the thoughts of a bunch of people staring at her dead body creeped her out terribly. No wake (or viewing, depending on what part of the country you hail from) and no funeral services. She wants her ashes put on her mother’s grave (we checked and cleared the specifics with the cemetery).
In lieu of a service, we are having a party, a celebration of her life. No dark colors allowed, only bright ones with purple being preferred (her favorite). Mom also had a thing for hats (she owns a bunch, mostly gifts) and so hats are mandatory at the event.
Some people in attendance admittedly won’t understand why we are choosing to celebrate in this way; if they don’t understand it I can only postulate they really didn’t know our Mom as well as they might have thought. She was a fun, vibrant, passionate Lady who always loved a good party.
She will be missed.
None of this is intended as a prayer request; I am blessed in so many respects I would deem it selfish and inconsiderate to ask such a thing. What I will ask instead is that you celebrate with me the life of my mother, the fine Lady that was so instrumental in making her children responsible and caring adults.
During the course of her illness I found out that the facility where I have been working for the past year or so is closing and I will be out of a job. I found out via telephone from a good friend in the facility who thought I deserved a heads-up; two minutes after the call ended I was delivering a repaired computer to a local business and they offered me a job.
We quickly worked out the particulars, though they had to run the job opening in the local paper for two weeks before making hiring decisions. I waited somewhat impatiently, knowing that at any time my current job would end and didn’t want to be a long period of time without income.
At lunch one afternoon I received a call that the closure date for the facility was being moved up several weeks; they just didn’t have the money to stay open. After ending the call I was putting my cell phone back into my pocket and it started ringing again; it was the head of HR at the new job asking if I could come in the following day for an interview and then start the following Monday.
So, here I sit at the new job. Good pay, great benefits, and exactly one minute and thirty seconds from my driveway to my parking spot out in front of the building. I am now the IT System Administrator for a state agency, with eighteen days a year vacation, fifteen sick days, and fifteen holidays. I guess the best question is: when do I actually work? ROTFL!
My thanks to you all for listening, and I will see you all here much more often in the coming weeks... :D
Hannibal
I have been keeping tabs on things here a bit more than usual of late, and hope to contribute more often as time goes on.
I do need to share this. It has been an interesting and difficult past few weeks.
Several weeks ago, my 76-year old mother fell ill. A trip to the hospital via ambulance accomplished nothing, as both the lung x-ray (she smoked since her early teens) and CT of her head came back clear. Since the local hospital treating her was inundated with transfers from another facility from the other side of the county they couldn’t admit her. They sent her home with oxygen and advised to wait and see if the symptoms subsided.
Several days later she had lost most of the use of her right side and couldn’t walk. Back to the hospital, and a repeat CT scan proved what we suspected all along – a fairly massive stroke.
Please keep in mind that she weighs 88 pounds at this point in time.
She was transferred to HealthSouth, an aggressive rehab facility two-and-one-half hours away. Upon her arrival, routine bloodwork showed elevated cardiac enzymes that indicated a heart attack had also occurred recently.
Across town to the hospital. An overnight there before being shipped back to HealthSouth. Several days of aggressive physical rehab. A series of smaller strokes. Back to the hospital. A heart attack. Another stroke, this time taking all of the movement in both arms and also her speech.
HealthSouth declined to readmit her, citing her health as being too poor to withstand their level of rehab.
May 30 they transferred her to the rehab wing of a nursing home about a half-hour from here. About ten minutes after her arrival she passed, probably a massive heart attack.
I managed to get to the facility about ten minutes after she passed. Two of my three siblings were already there waiting, and third was coming in from out of state.
I hate to lose her, but at the same time I know it is what she wanted. She was tired from a lifetime of taking care of everyone around her. She had lost her husband, both of her sisters, and most everyone she grew up with. Three of her four children still lived near her, but all four are independent adults living good lives.
Mom wanted to be cremated; she always said that the thoughts of a bunch of people staring at her dead body creeped her out terribly. No wake (or viewing, depending on what part of the country you hail from) and no funeral services. She wants her ashes put on her mother’s grave (we checked and cleared the specifics with the cemetery).
In lieu of a service, we are having a party, a celebration of her life. No dark colors allowed, only bright ones with purple being preferred (her favorite). Mom also had a thing for hats (she owns a bunch, mostly gifts) and so hats are mandatory at the event.
Some people in attendance admittedly won’t understand why we are choosing to celebrate in this way; if they don’t understand it I can only postulate they really didn’t know our Mom as well as they might have thought. She was a fun, vibrant, passionate Lady who always loved a good party.
She will be missed.
None of this is intended as a prayer request; I am blessed in so many respects I would deem it selfish and inconsiderate to ask such a thing. What I will ask instead is that you celebrate with me the life of my mother, the fine Lady that was so instrumental in making her children responsible and caring adults.
During the course of her illness I found out that the facility where I have been working for the past year or so is closing and I will be out of a job. I found out via telephone from a good friend in the facility who thought I deserved a heads-up; two minutes after the call ended I was delivering a repaired computer to a local business and they offered me a job.
We quickly worked out the particulars, though they had to run the job opening in the local paper for two weeks before making hiring decisions. I waited somewhat impatiently, knowing that at any time my current job would end and didn’t want to be a long period of time without income.
At lunch one afternoon I received a call that the closure date for the facility was being moved up several weeks; they just didn’t have the money to stay open. After ending the call I was putting my cell phone back into my pocket and it started ringing again; it was the head of HR at the new job asking if I could come in the following day for an interview and then start the following Monday.
So, here I sit at the new job. Good pay, great benefits, and exactly one minute and thirty seconds from my driveway to my parking spot out in front of the building. I am now the IT System Administrator for a state agency, with eighteen days a year vacation, fifteen sick days, and fifteen holidays. I guess the best question is: when do I actually work? ROTFL!
My thanks to you all for listening, and I will see you all here much more often in the coming weeks... :D
Hannibal