Left Coast Adventures, Part 1
May. 21st, 2004 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqThursday, May 20, 2004: Stress, then Relaxation.
Today was the beginning of one of my more ambitious vacations. There would be (of course) the usual visiting with my Vancouver friends, but I was also going to attend a weekend long SCAdian camping event called May Crown (where the king of An Tir would reveal themselves by beating up a bunch of people with a stick).
But first came the stress. I had to attend a meeting at Foothill's hospital about my Dad's health status. Me, my siblings, my sibling-in-laws, my Dad, his doctor, the nurses and the assorted therapists, councilors and other professionals where all crammed into a wee room to discuss my Dad like he wasn't there.
Now the thing about health care workers is they always want to cover their ass and they never want to make a life decision for you even when the only option is an obvious one. So we heard them tells us about my Dad, one by one. The story is always the same: Your dad needs constant supervision; It takes at least two people to get your Dad out of bed and into a chair. Your dad doesn't do his therapy unless trapped like a rat in a corner.
So after the meeting we all go to the hospital cafeteria to discuss things just sibling-to-sibling. Lots of stuff needs to be done, but my Brother and Sister are still holding out hope that Dad's condition will improve. I think it's possible, but unlikely - he's had eight years to come to terms with his stroke and he hasn't done so yet. Now that Mom's dead he's pretty much given up and is now waiting to die (and has said as much to us). He needs a psychotherapist, but he comes from an age where that was something to be ashamed of. Frankly he needs to admit to himself that he has a problem and he won't (or more likely can't) do it.
Aside from agreeing that my Brother was going to move back to Penbrooke and my Sister was going to take over looking after my Dad (if he came home at all), not much was settled.
Now I was cutting things pretty short as far as my flight was concerned. I left the hospital at 9:20 to get to the Airport for my 10:50 flight. I made it to the airport with enough time to buy a newspaper and a candy bar I ended up not eating. The newspaper lasted the whole flight only because the crossword puzzle was harder than normal. I ended up taking the bus to Carmen and Josh's place and along the way I continued to stalk this really cute girl who was ahead of me in line at the Westjet check-in in Calgary. We shared the same flight, then caught the same two buses to get into Vancouver. Sadly, she didn't get off to catch the Arbutus bus.
Along the way I saw four teens on the bus. Two girls, two guys. All of the good looking in a way that made me pine for my lost youth. I hope they were couples and were having the time of there lives because I want someone to be able to say that they enjoyed high-school. Lord knows nobody I know can claim that. High-school is not kind to geeks.
We ended up having sushi and ice cream for lunch and Swiss Chalet for dinner (and ran into Jen, Sheldon and Emma who also went to the restaurant, but were clear on the other side of it so we didn't see each other until we finished eating). Afterwords we watched Zoolander which was really really awful - I mean it really stank on ice.
More later...
Today was the beginning of one of my more ambitious vacations. There would be (of course) the usual visiting with my Vancouver friends, but I was also going to attend a weekend long SCAdian camping event called May Crown (where the king of An Tir would reveal themselves by beating up a bunch of people with a stick).
But first came the stress. I had to attend a meeting at Foothill's hospital about my Dad's health status. Me, my siblings, my sibling-in-laws, my Dad, his doctor, the nurses and the assorted therapists, councilors and other professionals where all crammed into a wee room to discuss my Dad like he wasn't there.
Now the thing about health care workers is they always want to cover their ass and they never want to make a life decision for you even when the only option is an obvious one. So we heard them tells us about my Dad, one by one. The story is always the same: Your dad needs constant supervision; It takes at least two people to get your Dad out of bed and into a chair. Your dad doesn't do his therapy unless trapped like a rat in a corner.
I say "Your all pussyfooting around the subject without actually saying it so I will - Dad, they think we can't take care of you and that you should be in a home.Well, there was a lot of hooting and hollering from my relations about that, but when things had settled down the hospital people sounded a lot different - like they were working with their hands tied behind their backs but were now released. Yes, your father does belong in a home; He'll get a lot better care there; If he improves he can always leave the home, etc. etc.
So after the meeting we all go to the hospital cafeteria to discuss things just sibling-to-sibling. Lots of stuff needs to be done, but my Brother and Sister are still holding out hope that Dad's condition will improve. I think it's possible, but unlikely - he's had eight years to come to terms with his stroke and he hasn't done so yet. Now that Mom's dead he's pretty much given up and is now waiting to die (and has said as much to us). He needs a psychotherapist, but he comes from an age where that was something to be ashamed of. Frankly he needs to admit to himself that he has a problem and he won't (or more likely can't) do it.
Aside from agreeing that my Brother was going to move back to Penbrooke and my Sister was going to take over looking after my Dad (if he came home at all), not much was settled.
Now I was cutting things pretty short as far as my flight was concerned. I left the hospital at 9:20 to get to the Airport for my 10:50 flight. I made it to the airport with enough time to buy a newspaper and a candy bar I ended up not eating. The newspaper lasted the whole flight only because the crossword puzzle was harder than normal. I ended up taking the bus to Carmen and Josh's place and along the way I continued to stalk this really cute girl who was ahead of me in line at the Westjet check-in in Calgary. We shared the same flight, then caught the same two buses to get into Vancouver. Sadly, she didn't get off to catch the Arbutus bus.
Along the way I saw four teens on the bus. Two girls, two guys. All of the good looking in a way that made me pine for my lost youth. I hope they were couples and were having the time of there lives because I want someone to be able to say that they enjoyed high-school. Lord knows nobody I know can claim that. High-school is not kind to geeks.
We ended up having sushi and ice cream for lunch and Swiss Chalet for dinner (and ran into Jen, Sheldon and Emma who also went to the restaurant, but were clear on the other side of it so we didn't see each other until we finished eating). Afterwords we watched Zoolander which was really really awful - I mean it really stank on ice.
More later...
