Back at home--and happy about it

Now that lovely Rita is back in Asotin, she is having a chance to re-connect with all of her friends in the Valley. She told me that on Tuesday her friend Ellen came over and together they said a rosary; that was heartwarming to hear about. Today, Kate has arranged to pick her up and bring her to her beauty parlor for another one of those beautiful hair-dos that Kate always does. These, along with numerous other expressions of kindness and concern from others, such as Joyce, Virginia and Ingrid, have really lifted her spirits. Last night, I drove from Pullman to Asotin and spent the night with her. I found her eyes sparkling and her manner lively, even though it's clear that she's not feeling completely comfortable. Thank you, thank you to everyone.

The kind folks at the Tri-State Hospital Lifeline program put that equipment back into the house. Mom had had it set up for a short time before deciding to move into Evergreen Estates Retirement Center. Now that she is going to have to be alone for periods of time during the day, it was important, we all agreed, to get it back in place. My mind is a lot easier because of it, for sure.

On Monday, there was a bit of a scare with one of her medications. While getting her Monday dose out of her Sunday-through-Saturday pill box, she accidently dropped the Wednesday dose on the floor. Neither of us noticed it until a bit later, when I saw two capsules on the kitchen floor. One of them had been broken open, leaving a dusty pile of medicine on the floor. The other one seemed as if it might have been slightly bitten by one of the dogs, but it hadn't been pierced. I wasn't sure how many capsules make up each dose, so I checked the pill box. The remaining pill box sections each had three capsules, not two. Yipes! Could Zen or Yoda have eaten one of them? That quite distressing possibility had me madly making calls to confirm that the Wednesday pill box section should have had three capsules in it. Only when I was on the phone with Peg for the second or third time did I finally spot the third capsule at the edge of the kitchen floor. It was whole. Thank goodness!

So then began a quest for a replacement for the broken pill. We would need to track one down before her final dose on Wednesday. I called almost all of the pharmacies in the Valley, but no one stocked that medication. I called my Pullman pharmacy; they could order it for the next day. Ruminating, I realized that billing would be SO complicated, and this medication is $60 per capsule. Finally, a wonderful woman at Albertons Sav-On pharmacy in Spokane where Peg had originally gotten the prescription stepped up and offered to play a truly kind and generous role. They agreed to run over to the post office with a single capsule and mail it overnight mail to Mom's P.O. Box in Asotin. It got there in time, and we owe a big, big thanks to the pharmacy staff there.

I won't be able to get down to Asotin tonight because of an evening meeting, but I may go down tomorrow evening, unless Mom is doing so well that the commute just seems silly. I definitely will be going down for the weekend, though.

March 30, 2008

Never one to let grass grow under her feet, lovely Rita has temporarily returned to Asotin. Her next chemo treatment will be on April 11th. This lapse between treatments gives her the opportunity to go to her home and get out of the snow which is still plaguing Spokane.

On Saturday, cousins Jonna and Vicky drove from the coast to see mom. They had quite a harrowing trip having decided to leave their homes on Friday night rather than Saturday morning. They got caught for about 45 minutes when Snoqualamie Pass closed, then proceeded to Spokane where they planned to get a hotel room for the night (so as to not awaken mom and me). Oops! Forgot that the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is in town! They had to drive all the way to Coeur D'Alene to find a room. They both laughed about it knowing they could have found rooms in Moses Lake, Ritzville or Cheney! What a trip! They graciously offered to drive mom back home which saved both Charm and I the drive. Thanks cousins!

We want to thank all of you who have written or called to express support for mom. She does fatigue easily so we ask for your understanding if she doesn't respond to all calls or visits. All in all she has handled this challenge as she has everything else in her life...with humor and strength!