Today, we will look at my Mom’s progress and her current transitional status.
Mom, or Mama C as she is known at the temporary care, is now 9 days into her stay at the Warm & Cozy care home. Although she misses her home and all her freedom while there, she seems to be doing quite well at the care home. Both Denise and I have noticed on our frequent visits that the care home aids do a great job with all their residents. In the photo below you can see how Mom has rebounded and looking fresh and clean after her morning shower. Had Mom been able to stay permanently at this care home and moved to a private room, we would have been happy to let her stay there. A permanent stay is not an option, so let me tell you how the search for something else has been going.
Mama C. at Warm & Cozy Temporary Care Home – Photo by Don Cheke
Denise and I have visited three other private care homes. Doug has been looking at what is available and setting up appointments for us to visit, which we had agreed to do. The three homes we looked at were horrid. They were all run by an outfit that called themselves Northern Lights Care Homes, that might now be called A-1 Care Homes, a change we learned about that seems to have come about when one of their unattended residents froze to death in one of their numerous homes. We didn’t know this until after our tours. The three places were quite run down when seen in person. It was obvious that they only had one aid on duty at a time looking after 15 residents. There appeared to be no activities scheduled and they did not offer all the care that we felt Mom would require. After the last one, we both felt like we needed a shower, and feared we were leaving with bugs crawling on us. Yes, they were that bad!
Both Denise and I were open to visiting other care homes, but during a later discussion with Doug, Denise mentioned that it was too bad that we couldn’t get Mom into the Terrace section of the place she has been living at for the last 4 years. The Terrace is connected to the Villa where she lived but offered a few more services for a thousand dollars more. She would still require additional help which could be provided by outside services. Denise and I had felt that the extra cost was beyond what Mom could afford but Doug, after learning of the Terrace and seeing the pictures I sent, expressed that this was the place he would like to see her in, and that he would worry about the finances, saying that he could help meet the financial need. With all of us advocating for Mom’s needs, a place for her at the Terrace might not be too far off. As it is with all these senior places, there are long waiting lists, but Mom has actually been on the Terrace waiting list for a few years, as she put her name on it when she moved into the Villa, thinking a future move might be needed. It is my understanding at this point that she is second on the list and that most folks going there want a one bedroom, as opposed to the studio suite that would suit Mom fine. The studio suites seem to come up quicker than the rest, and because Mom is currently still renting a one-bedroom suite in the Villa component, moving her to a studio will free up a more in-demand one-bedroom suite. That’s my thinking anyway. Our family is hoping that a move to the Terrace will occur before Mom has to leave the temporary care home which is free for the first 30 days and $3600 a month after that for a maximum of two months (so three months in total).
Although Denise and I have been as busy with Mom-Care as ever, answering questions, visiting homes, and visiting Mom, the huge pressures of actual eldercare has been removed. Denise is having a harder time letting go than I am, but I already feel a great relief – not having to fix her tech, get her groceries, run her around to appointments, and so forth. When she is finally settled in a permanent home, I will be happy just to visit her when I am feeling like it. Even now, visiting her at the temporary home is more enjoyable because I am not required to do any of the heavy lifting. When she has needs to be met, I just remind her to call Doug, and he will manage it through the system he is setting up for her.
Next steps will be to wait for a place at the Terrace and then pack up her previous suite and share what items we can amongst the family. Mom is continually working on her list about what she wants to take to her new place and what she wants others to have. For instance, she said that she would like her china cabinet to go to my daughter, Emma, and she said that Emma could have everything in it. I am sure Emma will go home with much more, since I don’t really want anything, just as I imagine my two brothers probably don’t. I don’t imagine Mom has any money stashed anywhere, so no need to flip through all the pages of her books, like you hear about occasionally. 😊
I will keep you posted when additional news is available.
Below are a couple of pieces of art that I created in May. I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t given up on my art, although it has felt like I have for many weeks now.
Trees 051626 – Created by Don Cheke
Trees 051626 was created first by creating a five or six color horizontal watercolor in my painting program. I blended the meeting edges to add some feeling to the mix. I had attempted to paint some new trees over the new background but was not happy with the result. As I often do, I decided to look back at my old pencil drawings and there I decided that I would snag the trees from one of my favorite tree drawings and place them into the new painting. I converted the drawing component to a silhouette-like look and immediately liked what I saw. I hope that you do too!
Barn 052526 – Sepia Version – Created by Don Cheke
Like I did for the Trees painting before, I created a new color background for this barn drawing/painting. After the background was complete, I decided that I wanted to take my old barn drawing and place it in this image, which had originally utilized greens and golds and brown to mimic landscape. I could never fully remove the background from the original pencil drawing, so placing it over the new background and blending it in did not work well. With a continuing desire to make this piece work, I decided to try some of the effects filters in one of my photo editing apps. When I tried the sepia filter, I was sold – it looks so good with all the colors blending into what you see above.
I hope that life is treating you well! Remember to stay positive and spread the joy!
Donald B. Cheke – Saskatoon, SK