Sunday, March 4, 2012

(posted by Greg)

Not a lot new to report. Monica's seems stable at the moment as a result of the Bev treatments. Physically, she is not changing much (either for the better or for the worse). She still has difficulty walking because of her right leg and is basically unable to use her right arm. So, Marley and I have to help Monica with some basic tasks (opening jars, putting her shoes on, putting on her coat, etc). However, mentally and spiritually Monica is still fine. (This is a real blessing for us - everything would be so much more difficult and stressful if Monica was a complainer or whining!)

Monica continues to visit her mom regularly. Oma is doing remarkably well and is even moving from the extended care section of Magnolia Gardens to the independent living section. If she can do all right with a little less care, this should be stimulating for her. She will have small one-bedroom suite on the ground floor which has a small patio in the courtyard. The activities and companionship in this section should suit her current condition. She continues to be "game"- she went on an outing to the local casino last week and came home with more than she went with.

Before Monica got ill and while we were coping with being empty nesters, she was in the habit of finding interesting things to do for us to do. The typical routine was: she would find something interesting, she would pressure me into going and we would invariably have fun. She has been doing a bit of that again (I bring home the Georgia Straight and other papers and she goes through them looking for fun events.). Last monday, she got me to go with her to UBC where there was a free talk being given a Jesuit priest who is an astronomer at the  Vatican. Once again we followed the formula. I kept saying "are you sure you want to go?" (half hoping she would say no). She kept insisting that she did. I took her and (I shouldn't be surprised but was!) we had a blast. The talk was very interesting (a blend of medieval history -Galileo and Copernicus etc, intersting information about astronomy and some stimulating thoughts- not a bad combination.). 

The speaker, Brother Guy, had already spoken at a couple of places around town. The introducing prof asked the audience (which was quite large and itself an interesting mix of people) how many people had already heard him speak. About 1/2 the audience put up their hands indicating that they had heard him before and had come for another talk. This was a good sign and the speaker proved to be a good and interesting speaker. At the end, Bro. Guy was  asked by someone in the audience why the Jesuits should support his work. His answer was really thought provoking. I would have liked to have heard him speak of spiritual matters as well as it was obvious that he has been able to reconcile his scientific side with his spiritual side.

The trip to UBC was interesting too because we were using the wheelchair for Monica. Once again, I was made aware of some of the difficulties that people with disabilities face: i.e. we couldn't easily find the ramp into Hebb theatre and had to be careful as there were a lot of construction areas which weren't wheelchair friendly.

This coming week will be busier again. Tuesday is a visit to the lab followed by a Dr.'s appointment. Wednesday is the support group and Thursday is the next Bev treatment. I think Marley leaves on Friday evening for a 1 week visit to her boyfriend for Spring Break.