Kaleidoscope

 

Look/see into Budapest; Berlin revisited; 38^th wedding anniversary Danube cruise;  long distance international train rides; new friends; Hungarian goulash, German meatballs with pickled red cabbage, pork knuckles with sauerkraut and potato balls; then home to the good old US of A.  Old Hank at the front door, meowing his indignation at being left for a month; I’m emptying suitcases - Hungarian cashmere pashmina’s, Berlin & Hungarian Starbucks coffee mugs, Appleman Stop/Go mugs, little Hungarian dolls, wooden toys, and chocolates, lots of German chocolates.

Wednesday 3:50 pm.  Arrived home in San Francisco.  So good to be home.  Sleep.  Short term objective – sleep.  Long term objective – more sleep.  The first afternoon home is a blur now.

Thursday 8:00 am.  Checking emails; finding bearings; what’s happening in the US world.

The familiar sound of Skype comes on.  Kristy is calling.  “I want you to know that the on-call doctor from Laguna Honda called yesterday.  Grandma came down with a urinary infection and it was suspected, pneumonia, also.  She was taken to UC Hospital.  But I was concerned because the doctor said they were not giving her aggressive treatment.  However, she is being made as comfortable as they could make her.  You might want to get in touch with the doctor.”

In a couple of hours we were at the hospital talking to medical staff.  We even had a meeting with the social worker, nursing supervisor, ward nurse, the nurse Anne Hughes, who has a PhD in the care of Alzheimer patients and the on-call doctor taking care of Grandma on this particular day.  We were supposed to meet with her regular doctor at some point.  Waited for him for two hours but he did not show.  We were told by Anne Hughes that she thought it would just be a matter of hours or days.  Grandma was very close to the end.

Went home, Don called Pat in Fresno and Barry in Colorado.  I sent emails to Kristy in Arizona and Matthew in Las Vegas.  Matthew drove the 7 hours to San Francisco.  Kristy, Jon and the three children drove from Phoenix and arrived Monday a little past noontime.  More phone calls to and from Grandma’s siblings – Esther, Mona, Gilbert, Joe.  Emails, updates, return calls.

More visits to the hospital; more conferences with staff; Mom’s regular doctor still missing.  It’s been a week now since we first went to see Grandma in the hospital.  We have yet to see her regular doctor.  More phone calls, probably more meetings.

Jon left this morning to get back to Arizona.  He has a Church youth retreat to take care of.  He’d fly back on Monday to SF.  Matthew had left on Tuesday noon.

The scene keeps changing but also staying the same.  Grandma waits. We wait. And through it all, life goes on.  I hear Kristy homeschooling Roc and Shekinah at the dining table.  Don continues to try to get hold of the Social Worker who has been our lifeline to the hospital, but even she has now become unavailable.  I think of what I’m making for lunch that the 11-year old and 6-year old grandchildren will enjoy.  I made a hit this morning with the French toasts and bacon, lots of bacon.  (Their mother is almost vegetarian!)

And what am I doing writing this blog?  Seeking normalcy and refuge.

 

PS:  Finally met with Dr. Starks, Grandma’s regular doctor, together with the Nursing supervisor and the charge nurse.  His prognosis – nothing radical is going to happen in the next weeks or so.  For the last two days, she ate 50% of her meals.  Good development.  We also learned later from the hospital chaplain that he noticed that Grandma was sitting up in her wheelchair this morning.