Spinning

This year was going to be my quiet year. Because I hurt my hands shoveling snow I only worked 3 or sometimes 4 days a week instead of full time. We went on a family vacation to Bar Harbor and Kevin and I had a few days away in Muskoka at a lovely B & B. Tori went back to University as scheduled. All according to plan.

Then chaos.

My dad was taken to the hospital on September 19 when my sister noticed his speech was garbled. He was diagnosed with a stroke that day but the doctors felt something wasn't right. The next day more tests and the diagnosis was changed to a brain tumour. He spent 3 days on a stretcher in emerg before being moved upstairs. The care he received in emerg was good but you must remember that they don't carry pillows and blankets for long term stays and that stretchers are not meant for tall men. The second night I stayed with him to help out and let my mom get some rest. Once he was moved to the ward there were many more tests and finally the recommendation for the gamma knife as his weak mitral valve and lung cancer rendered him unsuitable for invasive surgery. He underwent this procedure at Princess Margaret at 6 am on October 4. Kudos to Leanne for getting my parents there at that hour. This shot was taken just before 7 am. The next day was their 55th wedding anniversary.

Since then he has had good days and bad days. Mostly he just wants to sleep. His speech is still hard to understand most of the time. He understands us but we don't always understand him. It is so frustrating for everyone. His spirits are good considering the circumstances.

So you can imagine what my days are like now. Work 3 days, travel to my parents for 2, back home to get caught up and pay attention to the dogs, back to my parents, back to home and work .... I feel like I am on merry-go-round spinning out of control a lot of days.

Last week Connor was in Florida with his cousins and Kevin was in New Brunswick on business so things really spun faster without their weight to anchor the ride. And tomorrow I leave for BC so I can drive back with Caitlin who feels the need to be here with all that is going on. So in less than 10 days our family has covered most of the continent. Coast to coast to coast and now we are filling in the middle.

I am getting off the merry-go-round and onto a roller coaster through the mountains of the northern US.