Eldercare – Part 4

On July 30, 2026, I received a telephone call from a staff member at St. Volodymyr Villa letting me know that they had a suite available in The Terrace for my mom, and that it would be ready for her to move in on August 15. This, of course, was the great news my family had been waiting to hear. You may recall that The Terrace is a three-story building attached to The Villa, offering enhanced services for an additional $1200.00 per month above the rent. That amount includes three meals a day, one cleaning per week — usually just a quick sweep — and supplied bedding that is washed weekly. The Terrace staff also keep a closer eye on the residents and will go looking for them if they do not show up in the dining room for meals. Although my family wondered whether that extra $1200.00 per month was excessive for what it supplied, I assured them that divided by 30, it was only $40.00 per day — really, just enough to cover meals. The rest was a bonus: having the staff keep a closer eye on Mom.

Mom will still need and receive the services my family put in place when we first deemed them necessary. You will have read about these services in the last eldercare blog posts. To reiterate, they include:

Three visits per day from Home Care, a branch of the Saskatchewan Health Authority. These visits include:

• A morning visit from a nurse to dispense her medications, as well as a visit from a care aide to give her a sponge bath, help her put on her compression stockings, and help her get dressed.
• An afternoon visit from a nurse to dispense pain medication.
• An evening visit from a nurse to dispense her medications, as well as a visit from a care aide to remove her compression stockings and help her get ready for bed.

Other care items, which require a fee, include:

• Drivers to take Mom to her various appointments, which are usually with one type of doctor or another.
• A domestic worker who comes every two weeks to do Mom’s laundry and clean her place.
• A spa bath at the Villa every Tuesday and Friday.
• For groceries, Mom gives Doug/Dave her list, and one or the other orders everything online from Save-On-Foods, which delivers for a very small fee.

Let’s look at the lead-up to the move, and then the move itself.

For the two weeks leading up to the move, my wife, Denise, spent many days going through and sorting Mom’s stash of keepsakes and other such paraphernalia. Lots of reflection took place during the process. Take, for instance, the chat Denise and Mom had when they came upon an old wristwatch in one of her memory boxes. Mom told Denise that it was the first watch she ever had, one she received from her father when he sat her on his knee and presented it to her. Mom talked about how that is the only memory she has of him showing any real affection for her — this from a guy who was typically mean and abusive.

Discussing these things with Denise after each day, we agreed on how good it was to look back on Mom’s treasures and remember who she was and all the good she did throughout her life. We still see much of that in her if we look closely, but we also see so much decline, especially over the last few months. The change — or the decline — has become so obvious.

That said, it was just two days ago when Denise relayed a story about Mom sitting in her assigned seat in The Terrace dining room and thinking how she wasn’t too keen on one of the other tablemates. After supper, Mom and the other resident were in the hall heading back to their rooms when the same tablemate stopped her and apologized for being less than friendly. She asked Mom if they could sit and chat for a while, and Mom being Mom, accepted. They ended up having a good chat about the difficulty in their changing lives and having to give up their independence. I don’t doubt that, in true fashion, Mom gave her an Al-Anon ear, as I call it, and a kinship was established.

My two brothers, Dave and Doug, along with Doug’s husband, Kal, arrived from Calgary on Sunday, August 16, and Denise and I met them at The Villa Monday morning to begin the huge task of moving Mom from one place to the next. Because the two buildings are connected only on the main floor, we had to use two separate elevators to get her belongings from the second floor of The Villa to the second floor of The Terrace. While the three boys, along with Denise, were packing and loading carts, I wheeled load after load over to the new place.

While the move was going on, Doug and Kal went shopping for a new single bed and other essentials for Mom’s suite. Because they operate a staging business in Calgary, they were able to use their expertise to set Mom’s new place up in fine style — new pictures and all. The new place allowed for a layout similar to the old place, so that made the transition for Mom a bit easier, at least I think so.

I should mention as well that Emma and Adrian came on Saturday to haul a load of garbage to the dump before they left the next day for a camping trip with their children in Cypress Hills, SK. Denise, too, made numerous trips to Value Village to drop off many things that Mom had to part with due to lack of space in the new suite.

On the morning of the 19th, we all met at The Villa to load the things Dave, Doug, and Kal were taking back to Calgary and to say goodbye. Everyone had mixed feelings about the move, but we all agreed that it went well and that it was for the best. We all realize that moving Mom to The Terrace is not a panacea — that by some magic all will now be okay. After all, Mom is still who she is — a hoarder of sorts, but not clinically so — and she is still on the decline. But, and this is a big but, Mom will have many more eyes on her and will be freed of some responsibilities that had become too much for her, such as cooking and cleaning. If she continues to decline, someone at The Terrace will notice before it becomes a trip to the hospital that raises the flag.

With the move now complete, hopefully we can get back to normal life, whatever that entails. Hopefully, Mom will be settled for a while — home sweet home at The Terrace.

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Shining Through – Photo by Don Cheke

You’ve got to love synchronicity…

The other day, I was sitting on my balcony. It was a very cloudy day — barely any blue to be seen. I was listening to music, and just as the ELO song called “The Sun Will Shine on You” started to play, the sun popped brilliantly through a clear spot and warmed me greatly. Some call it coincidence; some, like me, call it synchronicity. It was over in about twenty-five seconds, long before I could get my camera out to capture the moment. In lieu of that, I snapped a few pictures and did a bit of photo editing so I could share the moment with you. In the image above, I added a bit of a starburst to enhance the image — an attempt to relive what I felt.

Remember — The sun will always shine on you!

Donald B. Cheke – Saskatoon, SK