The Gallery Opening

Some unique and creative pieces and glazes. She wheel throws her work and then reshapes some pieces into interesting shapes and functions.

The Centennial Gallery will be moving to a new location. Just down the hall from where they presently are to actually to a really good location which will attract the eye of all the people visiting the Calgary Tower elevator and restaurant, the Rocky Mountaineer and the Vertigo Theatre.

Ashley had a wonderful show, a great turnout and a successful sale. She is doing amazing work right now with interesting thrown sculptural pieces and creative glazing techniques.

Ashley's show is opening

The Centennial Gallery is opening its long awaited (by us) show of Ashley's work. As many of you know, our daughter Ashley is an accomplished ceramic artist.

The Grand Opening is tomorrow...Sunday 12:00 to 3:00 pm. June 20

Click on the image to enlarge the 'ticket'.

The Centennial Gallery is at the base of the Calgary Tower.

Friday morning

There ws no change when we went up to the hospital last night. Connie had been there earlier and left a picture of herself, Olive, Mat and Alyssa. Mum enjoyed looking at the picture again when we showed it to her. She smiled and took a long time looking at the picture with her reading glasses on.

I think she lives in the moment. Not the last moment, but the present and I am not sure she is fretting about the next moment.

It was nice to see that Melissa was on the ward. She is an RN and the neice of Archie and Bev's Cora. She has met Mum and had Olive under her charge last Sunday. We had a nice chat about things, she will be watching out for her.

Mum had a little pain last night, we aren't sure what it was from but the nurse took care of it quickly.

We expect Dean and Leah to go up to visit her today. I know she will enjoy that.

One week and some has gone by. Not much has changed, her speech has not improved. She seems resigned. It is difficult to understand her sometimes, she tires easily and when she can't make herself understood, she just shrugs and smiles.
Will post tonight after our visit.

Thursday

Wednesday evening; no change, no better, not significantly worse. Mum was very tired and the feeding tube is back in. The nursing staff is doing everything they can to make her comfortable. We asked her later if she remembered the physio experience, she just smiled and said. "What's the use?"

The nurses change her sitting angle and give her sponge baths, and they make her feel fresh.

Bev and Archie came in and visited with her just after dinner time. She remembered that visit when we arrived around 7:30 pm. The nursing staff tell us that she is getting enough rest and that people should visit if they want to. They have a quiet time on the ward between 1:00 and 2:30, but that doesn't apply to Mum. Every visitor is important.

Olive has always been a great "visitor" to those who needed her company and attention. She loved to visit her ailing friends and family through all her years and now she is getting some of that good and kind karma back.

Bryan writing on Wednesday morning

Bob & I saw Mom at around 10:00 AM and she was in the middle of her first physio session. They had her sitting up, with lots of assistance (2 in front + 1 behind) and tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to stand; the theory being that - if you don't use it, you'll lose it. So, for the forseeable, it looks like she will have a visit from physio every morning.

Apart from that, she seemed very tired/worn out so Bob & I didn't stay too much longer; however, I think (not know) that perhaps mom is starting to understand her predicament; however, she still does not know where she is (other than in a hospital) and her short term memory is non-existent. However, her spirit seems intact and her sense of humour is still with her so...all is not lost.

Lastly, her ability to swallow is spotty at best. Apparently she had some thickened liquid for breakfast but yesterday, she could not handle it so, again, one step at a time. Consequently the feeding tube is back in her nose.

Birds Monday morning

I rook a walk with Ginger and my sister Heather along the Bow River ridge. It was a perfect day for birds, We saw pelicans landing on the water. In the shrubs along the path we saw and heard and American Goldfinch, a Purple Finch and a little brown warbler with a beautiful song. Of course I didn't have my binoculars on to catch the finer details to get a name on the songbird but we enjoyed the song. Oh, and these are not my pictures because I didn't have the foresight to take my camera either. However these are accurate renditions of what we saw. Next time I go armed.

Updates on Olive... Post Number 1

Late Thursday night
Some sad news, Olive has been taken to the Foothills hospital in Calgary with a rather large stroke. She is in the first 24 hours of care with the very capable stroke team, so not much is known right now. It was not the kind of stroke that would benefit from the 'clot busting' drug and she is in level 2 care. More news when we get it.
So for some of you who were expecting to see us soon...we will not be travelling anywhere for the forseeable future, at least until we know what is going on.
Update Friday
She is aware of her surroundings and has movement in at least 75% of her body, communication is difficult, it was a left brain stroke. I will get this wrong I know, but her stroke doc called it 'deep ganglious bleeding', not a clot. My apologies to the 'medicos who will read this'.
It has been 24 hours since the event and Mum's recovery seems to be underway. She was moved to a very nice room with a drop dead view of downtown, not that she can appreciate that right now, but things are moving along. ( I know that is a terrrible adjective for the view from a hospital window, but amusing none the less).
When we left her this afternoon, she was sleeping in Emerg, difficult to understand, no feeling in her right arm and leg, and very very muzzy headed and groggy.
When we returned after dinner, she was awake and quite cheerful in her new room and with movement in her right hand which bacame progressively stronger as we spoke. She was however, in Toronto most of the time and it was in the 1970's. We quizzed her as did her nurse and she grimaced at her mistakes and eventually came up with her great grandson's name. We left her to sleep and will return tomorrow when they will have a feeding tube in as she has no swallowing response and will aspirate any liquid.
They will be testing as the days go by to see if there is further bleeding, but we think things are stable now and if she recovers to a functioning degree, i.e. able to sit in a wheel chair, it will be a number of weeks. Although I am sure they have lined up a slew of physios and speech therapists to assess and begin treatment.
We have no idea right now where she will end up. She is, after all, a stranger in a foreign land and if BC will have her back I am sure she will want to go home to Vernon, however she will be cared for very well here until then. We haven't even thought about extended care as we are so early in the process.
If anyone has pearls of wisdom to offer us about eldercare we would appreciate your input as we are all heading that way on greased rails. .
Update Saturday
Stopped in this morning for a visit with Mum.We went up one at a time. Bryan took up flowers and chatted with her for about 45 mins, She tires easily and drifts in and out. However, her cognition is good, she knows who we are and that she is in a hospital. She made a mistake about the location of the hospital and thought she was in Kelowna and accepted the fact that it is really Calgary.

She knows everybody in the pictures I took up. I didn't take one up of Dad, I was unsure about what decade she was in and I didn't want her to grieve all over again. But since she is in 'the now', I will take up a few pics of him this afternoon.

She has good use of her left hand and can hold things and read with her glasses on. At least I think she is reading.

I gave her a sponge bath and washed her face and put cream on her, the nursing staff hadn't done that yet and Mum was anxious about what she looked like. I left all that stuff in her drawer in case anyone gets up there for a visit and wants to 'freshen' her up a bit. It helps pass the time in a hosptial visit for those who find hospital visits difficult. ( Her hearing aid is in her glasses case).

Bryan and I are taking turns going up to her room. She kicked me out after about an hour.

Fortunately there is a great off leash park just down the street and so Ginger gets a couple of good walks in and we don't have to pay the onerous parking fees $1:50 per half hour or portion thereof and then accelerates at random. And it is CASH only. One night we had built up a $10.00 ticket in no time. We suggest to anyone visiting that you park for free on the north end of the access road along the east side of 29th ST in the 1 hour zone just across from the emergency entrance, that is all a good visit takes anyway.

Thanks everyone for your kind notes which I have been reading to Mum and for your visits. It matters a lot that she knows you are thinking of her and smiles as each letter is read out.

Wendy