The last few days have been interesting. We took Monte back to port Alberni as planned on Dec. 31st. We stayed two nights in our fave hotel and met with Pat, the man who will be helping Monte over the next couple months. We also had a meeting with his case worker there who will get him set up with the psychologist etc...On the second evening we went out for dinner and I could see Monte ramping up in agitation and anxiety and felt pretty strongly that he isn't quite ready yet to be totally on his own. Until his medication evens out in the next while he is still at some risk of having anxiety get the best of him. I suggested, and so did Bill, that he come home again for a week..just to give him a little more time. Plus in Port Alberni he has an appointment on the 9th that gets the ball rolling with all kinds of help if he needs it. So, he is back with us for another week. He is so much easier to have around now. A lot calmer.
The first morning in the hotel there, we were having coffee in bed, doing emails etc...and we received a short email from a friend of ours in Bamfield that Ted, our dear friend, was in the hospital with cancer. I called the Port Alberni hospital and found out he was in that one. In the afternoon Bill and I went in to see him and found a very sick friend. He never did wake up and I would say he isn't going to last more than a couple of days. Such a shock and so hard on his family. We stayed with his sons (4 grown heart broken men) for several hours. These people have meant so much to us. Ted is 83 and ready to go but he leaves behind sons, one in particular is going to break. He is so fragile anyway and has suffered a lot of losses in his life. He just isn't ready to live without his dad yet. I feel so bad for him.
Bill has two friends. Believe it or not!! They are both in their late 80's. He has never had "friends" before and this is such a funny thing to watch him experience. Every week, on Thursday, they meet at a pub for lunch. Bill, I swear, would miss his own kin's funerals not to miss lunch with these guys. Well he talked one of them into buying a macbook laptop. Last week he asked Monte to go with him to lunch to help Claire get on Facebook. So he did. It was very successful. Last night Bill phoned Claire to confirm today (as if they wouldn't meet somehow) and Claire asked if "that Monte" was coming with him and if he was could he show him how to get out of Facebook! hahahaha....so funny.....so Monte said of course he would go. Poor Claire is stuck in Facebook...jeez!
THE TRIP OVER TO PORT AND BACK IS UNBELIEVABLE BEAUTIFUL |
Now starts the mass of appointments. Hair, teeth, doctor, eye doctor and probably a funeral, a trip to port etc...I must get my google calendar out and make a plan. I also need to lose a few pounds to get ready for the 24 hours of flying and airports that is going to happen on Feb 1st. Getting to Singapore is harder than getting to Australia. I shall be back here for another update in a couple of days. TTYL
So sad about Ted. He is such an awesome person. Definitely 'one in a million'
ReplyDeleteYour pictures made me miss there a lot!
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