February 13, 2008
I was uptown this afternoon for an appointment when Arend walked in at two o'clock - totally unexpected. This is how our conversation went: "Hi, Hon. Helen Spence called from the Seniors Centre and said that Dad has a badly infected leg and he has to go to the hospital right now." (Daddy was at the Seniors Centre to have his monthly toenail-cutting.)
I headed home, Arend headed to Daddy's. He helped Daddy get his pajamas, a few toiletries and all of his medications together while I hunted at our home for Daddy's insurance forms (only to find out that the policy had lapsed on January 9th). We then had to decide which Emergency Room to go to - Chatham or Newbury. Finally we decided on Chatham in the hope that Dr. Button would be able to visit him there if he were admitted.
We ended up waiting three hours to see the doctor, but then things moved along a bit quicker. Dr. Denys (now there's a good Dutch name!) said he needed to be admitted and treated aggressively to prevent the infection from entering his bone and/or his bloodstream. If it were to progress that far, then there would be the possibility that he would lose that leg - not something we want to think about. Daddy was a little disappointed with being hospitalized, but didn't put up much of a fuss. In retrospect we see that Chatham was the right choice because it will be easier to visit him there . I already knew that I was going to be in Chatham for most of the day Thursday plus Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings, so I will be able to visit him a lot and Arend will be able come on his own since we can use both cars - ours and Daddy's.
He's a little concerned about the insurance part of it, but we said that we will worry about that later. The hospital will send him a bill and then we'll see how much the insurance company will pay - if anything. Dr. Denys said that he would, hopefully, only be hospitalized for a couple of days; if it turns out to be a long-term hospitalization, we will probably have to see about getting him transferred to Port Huron, Michigan so that his insurance will pay.
Anyway...that's the story for now.
February 14, 2008
This morning started off as a normal day. Arend went to work and I worked on some decorations for the PTA/Willing Workers dinner. Once I was finished, I went to the church to help with the actual decorating. Around 12:30 Arend called to tell me that Daddy's nurse had called to ask us to bring one of his medications that the hospital pharmacy did not have. Since I was in Chatham, I told Arend where the medication was and asked him to bring it when he came to visit Daddy.
Just about ten minutes after. Arend called again. The nurse had called to tell us that they had found Daddy unresponsive in his bed. I was devastated. I was convinced that everything that had happened to Daddy was my fault because I hadn't gotten him an appointment with Dr. Button a couple of weeks ago when he had asked me to do it. The ladies who were decorating the church were very compassionate and insisted that one of them should go with me to the hospital rather than me driving there by myself. Sharon Burggraaf prayed with me which surprised me but which I appreciated very much. Diane Bergsma went with me to the hospital.
When we got to the fourth floor, I asked to speak to Rhonda, the nurse who had been talking to Arend. They told me that she was with a patient in crisis to which I responded, "I hope that patient isn't my dad!" They asked me if my dad was Mr. Meeks and I said that he was and they confirmed that he was the patient in crisis. Not what I wanted or needed to hear!
Diane and I walked down to Daddy's room, but we couldn't go in because there were so many people in there with him. Finally Rhonda came out to talk to us and said that he was doing a lot better and we could go in to see him. He looked pretty normal, but he was "out of it", not really aware of what had happened to him. They were getting ready to transfer him to ICU so Diane and I were allowed to go with him. Diane was a great comfort to me, insisting on staying with me until Arend got there. Once he arrived, she called Sharon to come and pick her up at the hospital.
Daddy hadn't been in ICU very long when some x-ray personnel came to take him for a CT scan of his head. We followed him to the elevator and were told we could wait in the ICU waiting room until he came back in 30 minutes or so. Well, we waited and we waited and we waited, but he never came back up that elevator. Finally after two hours (!) we buzzed the nurses' station and asked if he was back. Sure enough he had been back for some time. In fact, he was nearly done eating his dinner! I guess they brought him back up in a different elevator! By then he looked and sounded very good except for feeling cold. Arend asked the nurses for a heated blanket for him and that warmed him up a lot. (Those heated blankets were some of the few good memories I have of my extended stay in the hospital in 2006.)
We talked to Dr. Iyer and his medical student, but they were not able to give us anything definitive yet.
We stayed with him until visiting hours were over then left, telling him that we would be back tomorrow. Off to Wendy's for supper.
What a day!
February 15, 2008
I have gotten to the point that I am afraid to look at the call-display when the phone rings. If it says "Blocked Call", I start to shake because that is how the calls from the hospital show up on call display.
Thankfully, there were no phone calls from the hospital today except for Dr. Martha Clendenning telling me that the scans showed the possibility of a secondary seizure as the cause of his unresponsiveness. He will have to have an EEG in Sarnia to get a more accurate picture.
When I got to ICU I went to Daddy's room only to find that there was another man in that room now. When I asked where Daddy was they told me he had been moved to PCU, the Progressive Care Unit. That meant he must be doing a lot better, and he was! He was happy to see us and happy to feel so much better.
I went to the church to help out with the dinner and Arend stayed at the hospital until I was finished at the church, then he met me at the church and we went to Wendy's for supper. (I told Arend "No more Wendy's hamburgers for me after tonight. I like them a lot and don't want to get turned off of them!"
February 16, 2008
Another day, another room...in fact, he got moved back to the exact same room that he was in originally, but another bed. We could tell today that he was feeling better because he is getting impatient to get home. At the rate he is going, he should be home quite soon, I think.
The nurses had mentioned that he needed some other tests, but since Monday is a holiday (Family Day A.K.A. McGuinty Day) not all departments of the hospital will be open. We'll have to wait and see.
While we were visiting Daddy, Matt and Viktoriya came. He was very glad to see them! They arrived shortly before his dinner arrived and Arend and I needed to leave to go to the church for the dinner. That worked out very well because Matt and Viktoriya could keep him company while we were gone. When we came back from the dinner, Matt and Viktoriya had been gone about half an hour. Good timing!
We spent about an hour visiting with him and telling him about the dinner. He was sorry he missed it, and so were we. I think he would have loved the food as well as the decorations! Of course, he had seen some of the decorations since I made them at home.
We are very thankful that he is doing so much better and we are just as eager as he is for him to be home.
February 17, 2008
Sunday, and I didn't go to church! Actually neither of us went to church in the morning because it was too icy. Arend went in the afternoon, but I stayed home. I just couldn't risk falling and injuring my hip.
After church Arend spent the afternoon and early evening with Daddy at the hospital. I called and talked to him since I couldn't see him in person. He sounded very good and a bit impatient about getting home.
We'll see what Dr. Clendenning says tomorrow.
February 18, 2008
Since today is "Family Day" Daddy was afraid he wouldn't be discharged, but Dr Clendenning calling this morning and said that Daddy could go home. He will still need to have an EEG but that is done as an outpatient in Sarnia. I asked about having it done in Port Huron so that his insurance would cover it, but Dr. Clendenning said that I would have to arrange that myself. When they call from Sarnia, I will ask about that.
Because of the seizure, Dr. Clendenning said Daddy won't be able to drive for six months. I guess she will notify the Ministry of Transportation. Daddy won't be happy about that because it takes away some of his independence. I think he will adjust to it, though.
No Rotary tonight since it's a holiday, so he won't have to explain why he wasn't at the meeting. Next Monday Arend and I both have to be at the congregational meeting, so neither of us will be able to drive him to Rotary and then pick him up afterwards. After that, though, I will be home every Monday night, so that won't be a problem.
February 20, 2008
The EEG department at the Sarnia hospital called with an appointment for Daddy on March 18th. That's a lot farther away than I expected. I asked about having it done in Port Huron, but since it costs less than $100 I decided that we would just have it done in Ontario.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Travels With Charlie - Chapter 5 - How to Export/Import a Car
Today Daddy and I made another trip to Port Huron, Michigan. This one was to set in motion the process of exporting his car from the United States to Canada.
We had done a lot of reading about it on-line and Daddy had talked to the Border Services people as well as Transport Canada several times, so we knew that we had to tell the U. S. Border Patrol 72 hours ahead of time that we were exporting his vehicle. We figured that the best way to do that was to take the car across the border into the U. S. and tell them that this was the car we hoped to export.
The first place we went, the guard looked at me incredulously and said, "You can't take the car into Canada now and then come back in 72 hours, take it across the border into the U. S. and take it back immediately! You aren't exporting it if it is already in Canada!" I talked at length to him about it, trying not to get upset. Finally he said, "I'm not an export agent, so it would probably be best if you go around to the other side of this building and talk to an export agent who will be able to tell you what to do."
So off we went to the other side of the building where a lot of people were also waiting to be interviewed by border agents. The line was almost out the door, so that gives you an idea of how busy it was. Finally one of the agents asked if there were people standing in line who "just" wanted to export a vehicle. Three groups of people raised their hands, Daddy and I among them.
The first man in the new line wasn't importing one vehicle, he was importing SIX vehicles! Rather than risk getting the vehicles mixed up, the agent only worked with that man first. Eventually it was our turn and I explained that my father was in the process of immigrating to Canada and that his car was going back and forth across the U. S. - Canada border at least once a month and that we had not applied for the 72-hour waiting period yet. "That's not a problem," he said. "We'll go over your documents now, copy them, stamp them and in 72-hours you'll be ready." How easy was that?
So, any time after the 72 hours are up, we can go to Sarnia (Ontario) and start the process of importing the car into Canada. (I don't know whether we have to go back into the States with it before we do that or not, but you can be sure I will make a phone call or two to make sure we do it in the proper order!) Once we get the "O. K." from the Canada Border Services, he can take the car to the Ford dealer in Thamesville (Ontario) and have the necessary changes made - like changing the speedometer and odometer to metric, changing the headlights so that they are on during the day (daytime running lights) and have an emissions test run on it. After all of that is completed, he can take it to the licensing bureau and get the license plates for it.
It seems like a convoluted way to do things, so we will be really happy when everything is completed and people won't say to me when I'm driving his Pennsylvania-licensed car, "Wow! You sure are a long way from home!"
We had done a lot of reading about it on-line and Daddy had talked to the Border Services people as well as Transport Canada several times, so we knew that we had to tell the U. S. Border Patrol 72 hours ahead of time that we were exporting his vehicle. We figured that the best way to do that was to take the car across the border into the U. S. and tell them that this was the car we hoped to export.
The first place we went, the guard looked at me incredulously and said, "You can't take the car into Canada now and then come back in 72 hours, take it across the border into the U. S. and take it back immediately! You aren't exporting it if it is already in Canada!" I talked at length to him about it, trying not to get upset. Finally he said, "I'm not an export agent, so it would probably be best if you go around to the other side of this building and talk to an export agent who will be able to tell you what to do."
So off we went to the other side of the building where a lot of people were also waiting to be interviewed by border agents. The line was almost out the door, so that gives you an idea of how busy it was. Finally one of the agents asked if there were people standing in line who "just" wanted to export a vehicle. Three groups of people raised their hands, Daddy and I among them.
The first man in the new line wasn't importing one vehicle, he was importing SIX vehicles! Rather than risk getting the vehicles mixed up, the agent only worked with that man first. Eventually it was our turn and I explained that my father was in the process of immigrating to Canada and that his car was going back and forth across the U. S. - Canada border at least once a month and that we had not applied for the 72-hour waiting period yet. "That's not a problem," he said. "We'll go over your documents now, copy them, stamp them and in 72-hours you'll be ready." How easy was that?
So, any time after the 72 hours are up, we can go to Sarnia (Ontario) and start the process of importing the car into Canada. (I don't know whether we have to go back into the States with it before we do that or not, but you can be sure I will make a phone call or two to make sure we do it in the proper order!) Once we get the "O. K." from the Canada Border Services, he can take the car to the Ford dealer in Thamesville (Ontario) and have the necessary changes made - like changing the speedometer and odometer to metric, changing the headlights so that they are on during the day (daytime running lights) and have an emissions test run on it. After all of that is completed, he can take it to the licensing bureau and get the license plates for it.
It seems like a convoluted way to do things, so we will be really happy when everything is completed and people won't say to me when I'm driving his Pennsylvania-licensed car, "Wow! You sure are a long way from home!"
Sunday, December 2, 2007
The Case of the Missing Remote Control
Before my tale begins, you need to know a bit about the routines that have been established since my dad moved to Ridgetown in July of this year. He comes for lunch around 12:30 each day and after lunch is over, he stays and reads the London Free Press newspaper. Then he goes home for a bit, returning around 6:00 for dinner. On Sundays, since we don't get home from church until around 4:00, he doesn't come till then. After we have "tea time", Arend has a nap and Daddy and I go watch TV from 5:00 to 6:00.
At 4:55 today, we went into the family room to watch our usual show (Sue Thomas F. B. Eye) but we couldn't find the remote. Arend was upstairs, but not asleep. I called up the stairs to ask if he had seen the remote control. No.
He came downstairs to help us look. We looked in the family room, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room; but we couldn't find it anywhere. When Arend had watched TV last night, he had been brushing his teeth, so he looked in the bathroom to see if he had taken the remote in there. No.
Seeing the cordless telephone where the remote usually is, I asked Arend if he had brought the cordless phone downstairs today. No. That made me think that probably Arend had absent- mindedly taken the remote upstairs last night and put it on the phone base instead of the actual phone. Arend went back upstairs to see if that was where it was. No.
Daddy thought it might be in my purse (of all things!), but I knew it wasn't there because I had just emptied my purse this morning before we went to church.
Where could it be?
Finally I went back into the bathroom and started opening drawers and...Voila! There it was - in the shoe polish drawer! Arend had polished his shoes in the family room and must have (absent- mindedly) picked up the remote with all the shoe polishing equipment and nicely put it away in the drawer!
Daddy and I missed the first ten minutes of the TV program, but at least the remote was found!
At 4:55 today, we went into the family room to watch our usual show (Sue Thomas F. B. Eye) but we couldn't find the remote. Arend was upstairs, but not asleep. I called up the stairs to ask if he had seen the remote control. No.
He came downstairs to help us look. We looked in the family room, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room; but we couldn't find it anywhere. When Arend had watched TV last night, he had been brushing his teeth, so he looked in the bathroom to see if he had taken the remote in there. No.
Seeing the cordless telephone where the remote usually is, I asked Arend if he had brought the cordless phone downstairs today. No. That made me think that probably Arend had absent- mindedly taken the remote upstairs last night and put it on the phone base instead of the actual phone. Arend went back upstairs to see if that was where it was. No.
Daddy thought it might be in my purse (of all things!), but I knew it wasn't there because I had just emptied my purse this morning before we went to church.
Where could it be?
Finally I went back into the bathroom and started opening drawers and...Voila! There it was - in the shoe polish drawer! Arend had polished his shoes in the family room and must have (absent- mindedly) picked up the remote with all the shoe polishing equipment and nicely put it away in the drawer!
Daddy and I missed the first ten minutes of the TV program, but at least the remote was found!
Friday, November 9, 2007
To Go or Not to Go to Hamilton
Today I was supposed to go to Hamilton for a Board of Directors meeting at the Teachers College. All day I felt a bit under the weather, so I finally called Arend and said that I had decided not to go. Then I called Daddy and told him that we weren't going and that he could eat supper here instead of having to go out somewhere.
I called the College and talked to Allard Gunnink, explaining that I wasn't feeling 100%. I asked him to tell Christine van Halen that I wasn't going to be there tonight.
Immediately after I made those phone calls I started feeling better and by supper time I was almost giddy. It's almost as if I was not supposed to go. It has given me a bit of an eerie feeling. Now I am going to be watching the news to see if there were any bad wrecks on the 401 or 403 around the time we would have been traveling those roads. I'll also watch the weather reports to see if there was freezing rain anywhere.
I'm not superstitious, but I know there is no such thing as coincidence. God is always in control.
I called the College and talked to Allard Gunnink, explaining that I wasn't feeling 100%. I asked him to tell Christine van Halen that I wasn't going to be there tonight.
Immediately after I made those phone calls I started feeling better and by supper time I was almost giddy. It's almost as if I was not supposed to go. It has given me a bit of an eerie feeling. Now I am going to be watching the news to see if there were any bad wrecks on the 401 or 403 around the time we would have been traveling those roads. I'll also watch the weather reports to see if there was freezing rain anywhere.
I'm not superstitious, but I know there is no such thing as coincidence. God is always in control.
Thanksgiving in Canada
October 8, 2007
Today is the Canadian Thanksgiving. It is rather quiet here since no one was able to come for the holiday. That's okay, though. We know that it is difficult to get to visit with all of your family members when there are so many people wanting you to spend time with them. We have always been content to see our children whenever they are able to visit, whether or not it is on a particular holiday.
Yesterday we were able to spend most of the day in Strathroy with Maynard (Arend's brother) and Susan and their family. It has become a tradition for us to go to Strathroy for Thanksgiving. It all started when all of our children were small and has continued into the next generation. Everyone brings a part of the meal, but Susan cooks the meat (turkey and ham this year), the potatoes and gravy, vegetables and apple sauce. The rest of us supply salads, desserts and sweets for coffee and tea times. Usually I take pecan pie and a seven layer vegetable salad. As usual we were completed sated by the end of the meal since there is ever so much food available! You certainly don't leave there hungry!
After dinner the 20 people present each stated what he or she was thankful for this year. It was quite interesting to hear what each person had to say. Perhaps the nicest one was what my dad said...that he was thankful that I had married into such a nice family. He is not the only one! I am always thankful for the Smids; they have treated me like one of them from the moment I first met Maynard and Susan on December 31, 1971 - six months before Arend and I married.
The one disappointment yesterday was that John, Nadia and Noah couldn't be with us. They had started out on their way to Strathroy, but realized about 45 minutes into the trip that Noah was too sick for any of them to really enjoy themselves. As a result, they called and said that they were going back home. When I talked to John later on in the afternoon, I could hearing Noah fussing in the background and could tell that he wasn't feeling 100%. Poor little guy.
Today is the Canadian Thanksgiving. It is rather quiet here since no one was able to come for the holiday. That's okay, though. We know that it is difficult to get to visit with all of your family members when there are so many people wanting you to spend time with them. We have always been content to see our children whenever they are able to visit, whether or not it is on a particular holiday.
Yesterday we were able to spend most of the day in Strathroy with Maynard (Arend's brother) and Susan and their family. It has become a tradition for us to go to Strathroy for Thanksgiving. It all started when all of our children were small and has continued into the next generation. Everyone brings a part of the meal, but Susan cooks the meat (turkey and ham this year), the potatoes and gravy, vegetables and apple sauce. The rest of us supply salads, desserts and sweets for coffee and tea times. Usually I take pecan pie and a seven layer vegetable salad. As usual we were completed sated by the end of the meal since there is ever so much food available! You certainly don't leave there hungry!
After dinner the 20 people present each stated what he or she was thankful for this year. It was quite interesting to hear what each person had to say. Perhaps the nicest one was what my dad said...that he was thankful that I had married into such a nice family. He is not the only one! I am always thankful for the Smids; they have treated me like one of them from the moment I first met Maynard and Susan on December 31, 1971 - six months before Arend and I married.
The one disappointment yesterday was that John, Nadia and Noah couldn't be with us. They had started out on their way to Strathroy, but realized about 45 minutes into the trip that Noah was too sick for any of them to really enjoy themselves. As a result, they called and said that they were going back home. When I talked to John later on in the afternoon, I could hearing Noah fussing in the background and could tell that he wasn't feeling 100%. Poor little guy.
Travels With Charlie - Chapter 4 - Port Huron
October 3, 2007
Today Granddaddy had another doctor's appointment in Michigan. This time, though, it was in Port Huron just across the St. Clair River from Sarnia, Ontario. Granddaddy had not been too happy with the location of the doctor's office in Detroit when he went in September. That doctor's office was located in an area of the city that seemed to be somewhat poor and run-down. The doctor's office in Port Huron was in stark contrast to what we had experienced in Detroit. This doctor's office was in a nice area of the city and the office itself was incredibly well-decorated with dark wood paneling and furniture, lovely paintings on the wall, carpet on the floors and very nice examining rooms.
After Granddaddy's appointment, we went and did a little shopping for things that we aren't able to find in Canada. With the Canadian and American dollars "at par" right now, shopping is a bit easier because we can compare prices more quickly. You will be surprised to read what we bought - instant grits, refrigerated pie shells, dried beef in glass bottles, vanilla wafers and lamb's wool. Although it takes about 75 minutes to get to the border in Sarnia-Port Huron, it is still worth the effort to get things you would really like to have.
When we were coming back into Canada, we talked with the border services guard at the kiosk where we crossed over, asking her about what we needed to do to import Granddaddy's car. We already had a pretty good idea of what was required, but it is always nice to have that information reinforced. Once we get the "Recall Clearance Letter" from the Ford dealer in Lock Haven, we will be ready to move onto the actually importing of the car. Little by little we are getting Granddaddy more Canadian-ized.
Today Granddaddy had another doctor's appointment in Michigan. This time, though, it was in Port Huron just across the St. Clair River from Sarnia, Ontario. Granddaddy had not been too happy with the location of the doctor's office in Detroit when he went in September. That doctor's office was located in an area of the city that seemed to be somewhat poor and run-down. The doctor's office in Port Huron was in stark contrast to what we had experienced in Detroit. This doctor's office was in a nice area of the city and the office itself was incredibly well-decorated with dark wood paneling and furniture, lovely paintings on the wall, carpet on the floors and very nice examining rooms.
After Granddaddy's appointment, we went and did a little shopping for things that we aren't able to find in Canada. With the Canadian and American dollars "at par" right now, shopping is a bit easier because we can compare prices more quickly. You will be surprised to read what we bought - instant grits, refrigerated pie shells, dried beef in glass bottles, vanilla wafers and lamb's wool. Although it takes about 75 minutes to get to the border in Sarnia-Port Huron, it is still worth the effort to get things you would really like to have.
When we were coming back into Canada, we talked with the border services guard at the kiosk where we crossed over, asking her about what we needed to do to import Granddaddy's car. We already had a pretty good idea of what was required, but it is always nice to have that information reinforced. Once we get the "Recall Clearance Letter" from the Ford dealer in Lock Haven, we will be ready to move onto the actually importing of the car. Little by little we are getting Granddaddy more Canadian-ized.
Travels With Charlie - Chapter 3 - Granddaddy's Birthday
Ignore the date on the website. Something is really crazy here!
On October 2, 2007, Granddaddy (AKA Charlie) celebrated his 86th birthday. While this was a momentous occasion, it was even more exciting because he celebrated it for the first time in Canada.
Actually his birthday celebration covered a much longer span than a birthday normally would. You see, it all began on Sunday evening when Matt called to say he was coming to Ridgetown to sleep since he was in southwestern Ontario taking notes of soybean development for Monsanto, his new employer. He had done exactly the same thing the week before, calling to tell us he was in the area and would like to spend the night and visit with all of us. What a nice treat it was to see him twice in seven days!
Tuesday, Granddaddy's actual birthday, was a normal day except that Arend and I took him out for dinner at Rossini's restaurant in Chatham. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and then returned to Ridgetown for cake and ice cream. Granddaddy always has room for dessert, even if he couldn't finish his main course. Hm-m-m, I guess that's were I got it!
While we were enjoying our dessert Charles and Rhonda called to wish him a happy birthday. Almost immediately after, Will called to do the same. To extend Granddaddy's birthday even more, John called on Wednesday with his good wishes.
All in all, it was a fun time.
On October 2, 2007, Granddaddy (AKA Charlie) celebrated his 86th birthday. While this was a momentous occasion, it was even more exciting because he celebrated it for the first time in Canada.
Actually his birthday celebration covered a much longer span than a birthday normally would. You see, it all began on Sunday evening when Matt called to say he was coming to Ridgetown to sleep since he was in southwestern Ontario taking notes of soybean development for Monsanto, his new employer. He had done exactly the same thing the week before, calling to tell us he was in the area and would like to spend the night and visit with all of us. What a nice treat it was to see him twice in seven days!
Tuesday, Granddaddy's actual birthday, was a normal day except that Arend and I took him out for dinner at Rossini's restaurant in Chatham. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and then returned to Ridgetown for cake and ice cream. Granddaddy always has room for dessert, even if he couldn't finish his main course. Hm-m-m, I guess that's were I got it!
While we were enjoying our dessert Charles and Rhonda called to wish him a happy birthday. Almost immediately after, Will called to do the same. To extend Granddaddy's birthday even more, John called on Wednesday with his good wishes.
All in all, it was a fun time.
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