Saturday, July 6, 2013

Moving on the Hottest Day

I've been busy for some time now with plans and preparations for my mother's move.  Her move was delayed by several weeks.  Originally it was tentatively planned for mid-June.  In retrospect it worked out better having the move early this month as it gave me a bit of time to recover from my whirlwind trip to eastern Canada and New York.  I am also thankful that mom only had two rooms of stuff to be moved, (albeit there are too many things for those two rooms).  Two and a half years ago is when I had to sort through a lifetime of her accumulated treasures and try to fit it into two small rooms at the first facility.

When you move a parent from one facility to another, there are so many things to do besides simply packing, unpacking and finding a place for everything. There are also the interviews, financial aspects, preparing for services needed (hair, dentist, doctor, shopping, etc.), filling out paperwork, making sure all the right documents are on hand and transferred, notifying the insurance company about the move, transferring telephone service and making sure your parent has funds available on hand to them each month for their needs. Then there are the side arrangements just to get out of town:  preparing the car, the hotel accommodations, and thinking about meals while away (fast food is not so good for diabetics but are often the standby for a quick meal), looking after extra snacks for my mother who always has a list of "wants" when I visit since she cannot just get these things for herself.  Last but  not least, there was a shopping list and shopping for her needs (toiletry articles and such like).


This time there were a few additional things to purchase. We wanted to give mom some flowers and a card welcoming her to her new home.  We also needed a small stand or table her mini-refrigerator so it could be lifted off the floor for better accessibility.  We tried to get the new home to "loan" us one but couldn't wait around for their answer.  We had a hard time to find a new one in the right size but managed to pick up something from a local thrift store. We also decided at the last moment to buy a new 32 inch flat screen television.  Mom already had a smaller  flat screen television but I thought with her poorer vision it would be a nice treat to have a bigger screen.  In addition, the dresser top was quite large and a new, larger television fit perfectly onto it.


After all the excitement of the move and high expectations, mom's first night in her new home was not up to expectations.  She was in a tremendous amount of pain and this was largely due to the facility not being properly prepared.  The ceiling track had not been charged up in advance and so was unusable.  The bed itself had no trapeze overhead to help with her transfer and they had to bring in a manual lift which wasn't big enough and squeezed her causing pain.  I was very disappointed and was feeling quite low about it all.  The good news is that the management immediately met with us and we discussed the situation.  I was happy for the proactive approach and hope that things will improve in a significant way very soon.  However,  I think some of the issues will continue to be issues until the new occupational therapist (OT) starts working and does a full assessment of the needs.  I will also want to keep an eye on the lack of certain other medical supplies (over the bed table stands, etc.) and see what I can do to fill in these gaps.

Other than that the facility itself is beautiful and the staff seem very kind. I didn't have time to take photos but I did have a look around at some parts of the facility.  It is very high end and more secure than where she lived before. Mom also has a view of the river and the courtyard from her window.


The move took place over the hottest days of the summer thus far and I was exhausted over the hectic two days of activity. Thank goodness for air conditioning.  However even good things have their down sides.  Over the course of my sleeping I was awakened with deep cramping in my leg.  I've noticed that cold can cause these very deep, painful cramps which nothing can help.  I unplugged the air conditioning unit at the hotel as it was too high for me to set lower.  I was able to get back to sleep.

After day 2 of reorganizing her room and finalizing paperwork for the administration, I was able to get back home late last night.  I couldn't call mom as her phone hook up was delayed.  Due to to last week's flood disaster in Calgary,  I was told that many technicians from the province were dispatched to Calgary to try and help with needs there. The best I could do was to get mom's phone service operational on Day 2 of her move in. I was anxious about her not having a way to communicate with me after the trials of her first night and I did a lot of praying for her. I asked her to call me as soon as her phone was operating.


Mom was able to call me before noon today and she sounded like she was doing fine.  I called her in the afternoon and she didn't seem to be too needy on the phone. I hope she wasn't pretending for my benefit but I am trusting she will make the best of this move.  The staff were able to help her today and she had met some new residents so we are both anticipating a positive experience ahead. I think by the time I visit her next month she will be feeling more settled and hopefully things will be well underway (hopefully completed) with the OT assessment.

For more Skywatch photos, click here.

(All photos taken on the drive back to Vancouver.  Bridge photos are taken on the new Port Mann Bridge connecting Surrey to Port Coquitlam).

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I hope my Canadian friends enjoyed Canada Day. I had a nice relaxing day and stayed in since I will be very busy soon.  My regular readers will know that it has been raining a lot where I live.  But suddenly the weather turned very warm a few days ago.  I think most people are happy about that.

Even though the temperature were very warm, I was craving some cream of broccoli soup. I very seldom eat cream soup and I never eat Cream of Broccoli soup so am not sure where that craving came from. So I googled a recipe and came up with this. First time I've made it and it was quite good.


Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 chopped onion 
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped 
  • 3 cups of chicken stock 
  • 8 cups of broccoli florets (I didn't have 8 cups. I used about 3-4 cups but if you want your soup to be greener or have a full broccoli flavour, I suggest you use the recommended amount). 
  • 3 tablespoons butter 
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour 
  • 2 cups milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
  3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. Season with pepper and serve.

A Few Days in March ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers. I hope Spring is treating you well so far. It's been roller coaster weather where I live with mostly ...