The Squamidian Report – Mar. 4 / 06
Issue #196
Also in this issue:
The Joy of Getting Involved in Our Health Care System
Hi All,
I had intended to write a bit more for last weeks issue when I got home than what I did write but I ended up a bit distracted by the two feet of snow in our driveway that needed to be cleared. Sue had done a pretty good job of getting it to the point where she could get the car out of the garage so she could pick me up at the airport. Out here, when it snows, you need to clean it up as soon as possible because the few snowfalls we get will inevitably be followed by rain. By Monday it was raining hard and all the snow was compressed to half its original height but had doubled in weight. So instead of concentrating on writing about the week in Ontario we worked at finishing up the shoveling job. However, I’ve finally gotten around to posting some pictures. Here is a web page with a few shot taken at the 80th birthday bash.
Unlike the construction industry back in Ontario where rain will shut things down, out here it is snow that shuts things down. Everyone just works right through the rain, but dump a foot or so of snow on the ground and pretty well everything is brought to a stand still. So I ended up with time off from work. Not at all a problem. In fact, it was quite welcome.
And speaking of work, have you ever screwed up, only to have it be a good thing in the end? I guess I sort of did. This area has more than it’s share of low-lifes that run around vandalizing and stealing things. You may remember that several of the excavators belonging to the company I work for had their windows smashed out not too long ago. Well, early this week someone managed to get past the bars guarding the windows on the office trailer parked at the shop. They broke in and stole all the portable two-way radios that were in there. I had started bringing the radio I use home each night to charge it up because we were winding down at Britannia and therefore the hydro had been disconnected to the trailer we were using. In the preparation for my trip back home I had forgotten to turn my radio and it’s charger in. So except for the radios hard wired into the company trucks, that portable radio was the only one not taken in the break-in.
My time off from work only lasted a couple of days. I ended up having to do the machine work at a new house being built in a small development in behind Hospital Hill up by the Smoke Bluffs. The interesting thing about this site is that the granite bedrock is just below the surface so when the foundation was excavated it was not smooth flat hole. The bedrock was simply cleaned off leaving an irregular, sloping surface that the footings would be pinned to. That creates quite a challenge for the foundation forming people, as they have to fit the concrete walls to the rock surface. It also makes it difficult to run weeping tile and storm and sewer lines. It’s a good thing our building codes only require 18 inches of cover over pipes because often that’s all you can get. To go any deeper requires blasting. Of course, that is because this house is being built up on a ridge area. If it were being built down on the flood plain there would be stumps and trees and silt and shmoo under it, for who knows how far down.
And just so you know, that 2 feet of snow that came down last weekend has pretty well melted away, we are back to normal west coast life.
doug
****
Part 2
Jan. 1/06
New Year’s Day in Mexico! This is a first. Michelle and I didn’t get too much sleep last night and it wasn’t
from partying. Dad had been so mixed up
with day and night since he napped too much.
We had given him a metal bucket and wooden spoon to bang on if he needed
us during the night. We had tried a whistle but he didn’t always have strength
to blow loud enough for us to hear in this big house. Mostly he was cold and needed to be recovered. His left arm was
no help to cover himself up while laying on his right side. Other times he thought it was morning. A trip to the Red Cross proved to be very
helpful. They supplied us with a wheel
chair and offered to assist in any way they could. Dad liked the wheel chair and the house was perfect for getting
around in it. He was so afraid of
falling on his long walk to the living room where his comfortable chair and TV
awaited him. The solar power gave him
about a movie and a half a day and the rest of the day he looked out the
window.
Jan. 2/06
Dad slept much better last night and so did we. After breakfast we piled into the car, spent a couple of hours on the beach. This time we were more organized taking beer and snacks along. Then Dennis took us for a scenic drive past the ritzy section of San Carlos where lots of Americans have built their winter homes. We continued along the water past beautiful resorts and then headed inland off the main highway onto a back road. This was one of the many places over past years Dennis had camped with his trailer. The road wound through scrubland passing a Mexican ranch where we stopped and chatted with him. Dennis had a favourite spot to show us. A steep hill appeared and the road went straight up. We had faith in Dennis after all this was “his” country! Up we went and then stopped on the crest of the hill. Here was an amazing panoramic view of mountains and valleys. It was breathtaking. I’ll send some pictures along for you to enjoy.
Jan. 3/06
Our local email café turned out to be a gem. The manager, named Jesus but pronounced “Hey Sus”, couldn’t help us enough. He even made CD’s of classical music for us since Dad was missing his favourite music. Then we were off to Guaymas for groceries, a CD player, flashlights and candles. We were constantly buying candles as only two rooms in the house had lights. So as not to take so much time buying groceries Dennis sent us off in different directions in search of items. He was a good organizer. There wasn’t much time for clothes shopping but I did buy a pair of jogging pants and a Mexican blouse in about two minutes flat. We ran a tight ship! Of course we had to stop on the way home for beer and ice.
Jan. 4/06
During the night Michelle felt a tremor. She sat right up in bed wondering if she had been dreaming but was quite sure something had happened. The rest of us slept right through it. Dennis said we should leave the building immediately if we feel any shaking and that got us thinking how we would get Dad out quickly. After breakfast we went our separate ways. Michelle and Seth hiked into San Carlos (about 45 min. one way) to do some emailing and tourist things. Ward and Mae hopped on Dennis’s trail bike and headed for a canyon nearby. Dennis spent the day working on his deal to buy some land in San Carlos and Dad and I stayed home at the hacienda. We call him El Senior (Lord) I gave him a footbath and a pedicure, which he enjoyed very much. He said he felt like a rich person getting all this attention and living in such a mansion. It was nice to have some quiet time with everyone away. Around 3:00pm they started to arrive back with their tales of adventure. That evening we were invited through friends of Dennis for supper to a real mansion overlooking an incredible bay. The houses were stacked up and down the mountainsides. They were from the states but have lived here for 7 years. After dinner we sang songs and told stories of what we do and where we came from. They also confirmed the fact there were two tremors one earlier in the evening and one when Michelle woke up.
I hope everyone is enjoying my trip to Mexico. It is hard to make the story short so if you find it long I understand. For an update on my Dad, he is here in Nova Scotia and doing quite well. He is amazing his doctors and us. His home is warm and comfortable. When I tuck him into bed he smiles and says he feels like an egg before it is hatched as I pull his down comforter over him.
Next week, part 3.
****
As you know on January 24th at about 7:40a.m. I had a fall while I had Teddy out for a walk in the bush. I stepped on some black ice. When I realized I couldn’t walk, I phoned Lorne as I always carry my cell phone when I walk. While I waited for him I called Teddy to me and put his leash on him, as I didn’t want him to take off while we waited. Lorne grabbed the tractor keys I drove back to where I was waiting. He was lucky, there was enough room to turn around so he could back the trailer right to me. He helped me into it and put Teddy up beside me. When he got to the driveway he backed right to the rear door of his car. The seats are leather so with his help I slid in far enough to support my leg. He went into the house and got the car keys and my purse and we headed to the vets office as Teddy had an appointment to be neutered that day. I had the paper work all ready so Lorne just had to take him into the office and sign him in.
In the mean time I phoned Cindy so we proceeded to pick her up and go to emergency at St. Mary’s Hospital. There were only 2 other people in emergency so it wasn’t long until I was on a stretcher, but then it was hurry up and wait. It took forever until a nurse practitioner came and saw me and ordered x-rays and I was finally given something for pain. The x-rays showed a broken femur, the upper bone in my left leg, the break is right in the knee. I also suffered a sprained right wrist and a badly bruised shoulder. Then the fun began. There were “no beds” at either hospital but the operation had to be done at Grand River. I was told to go home and go to Grand River in the morning. As everyone knows there was no way I could go home. They finally made arrangements for me to spend the night at “Victoria Place” which is a nursing home. The private ambulance in this area had to transport me 3 blocks from St Mary’s – cost $139.00. My night stay was $90.00 but at least I was looked after. The next morning the same ambulance took me to Grand River (another $139.00).
They knew where they were to take me and I had the x-rays in an envelope with me. When we got there we were told that section was closed for the day. He was phoning to find a bed and was told there wasn’t one available. He also said there was no doctor to order x-rays. At that I said “I have the x-rays here”. A voice behind me said “You’ve got the x-rays?” Yes. An arm came out and grabbed them. They were up on a lighted slide and the voice said “Give me the phone”. Then he said “I want a bed. I don’t care if you haven’t got one – find one – close emergency if you have to.” Then he said “I’m not sending a 79-year-old woman with a badly broken leg home – I’m operating on her tomorrow afternoon.” Which he did. I was so lucky that Dr. Hupel came along at that particular moment. It took a couple of hours but they found me a room by myself and the staff were all very caring and despite being very busy certainly did their best.
Now if I can get this thing on by butt fixed I’ll be able to get back to living. The nurses have been coming every day for over 2 weeks now, cleaning and flushing it. While it has gotten smaller there is still a large lump and more heads coming on it. It leaves me very tired. Some of the nurses think it will have to be surgically removed. I went back to the fracture clinic today (March 3rd). My knee has healed up beautifully. I can now put a slight amount of weight on it – which will help for balancing. I go back again in 7 weeks. Dr Houple said I should see my family doctor about the other problem but I haven’t the energy yet to go and see him (the office is not wheel chair friendly). Time is a great healer so hopefully before too long I will be back walking Teddy and feeling a lot better.
A great big THANKS to all my family and friends for the wonderful birthday party. The house was wall to wall people and I loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes and support. I can’t help but improve fast. Love to all,
****
Hi
everybody!
Well, it
was a nice clear day to drive Doug back to the Pearson airport last Sunday. I
waited till late in the evening before I heard from him to say he was safely
home in BC. We joked before he left that maybe he should take my old snow
blower home in his suitcase in case they had snow when he got back to Squamish.
Well, lo and behold upon arrival in the big city of Squamish he found himself
knee deep in the soggy white stuff right in his own driveway. He phoned me to
say “Can I borrow your snow blower?” in a pathetic sounding snow bound voice.
We both laughed about the situation. Doug said he’d just have to stay in the
house for a couple of days and it’d all be gone anyway. No sense in shoveling
that heavy wet snow when the rain would take it away in short order. That’s the
bonus of living in a milder climate. All you have to do is sit tight for a
couple of days and Mother Nature clears the driveway for you! LOL! By the way,
I still have my 10hp blower for sale if anyone is interested. Just make me an
offer and we can make a deal I’m sure! LOL!
*
It was
sure good to see Doug again. We spent a day together and had a chance to get
together a couple of more times for a coffee and a chat. I’m sure Vivyan and
Lorne were happy to see Doug too. The gathering for Vivyan’s birthday was a
nice time on Saturday. It’s always nice to see the Brubacher family together.
As I’ve said before, I admire large families that like to socialize with as
many members as possible a few times a year. So many families don’t bother with
each other later in life and that’s sad. It’s especially heartwarming to see
all the generations that meet at these get togethers. Vivyan looked especially
lovely and it was nice to see her smiling after all she’d been through. I guess
having the love and caring of her family around her certainly helps with the
healing process. Keep your spirits up Vivyan and Carole and I hope you get well
real soon! I’d also like to say how much I enjoyed seeing and talking to Cindy
again as well. She and I always have a good little chat when we meet. The food
that night was terrific as well although I didn’t stay for supper I’m sure the
main meal was spectacular as usual. I thank Lorne and Vivyan for the
hospitality and to those of you who supplied and cooked all the eats and did
all that work, I thank you as well! It was a good time!
*
Well,
with March coming in like a Lamb I guess we can expect it to go out like a
Lion. On the other hand, with the mixed bag of weather we’ve had this winter
one never knows what the end of March will bring. Hopefully the weather will
continue to improve and be mild and snowless by then. I’m sure we’ve all had
enough of this year’s winter stuff and look forward to Spring.
*
We
received some wonderful news this morning (Friday March 3). Our niece, Carole’s
brother Brian’s daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby boy at 6:35am at Grand
River Hospital. They named him Carter and he weighed in at the 7 lb mark.
Carole and I were the first to visit the new parents and baby in the hospital
and take a few pictures of the little guy. He’s made his parents proud and no
doubt the new grandparents will be extremely proud as well. Babies bring a
smile to everyone’s face and this little guy sure did that today.
*
Thanks to
all for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you again next time in The
Ontarion Report.
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
A child
should always say what’s true
And speak
when he is spoken to,
And
behave mannerly at the table:
At least
as far as he is able.
Robert
Louis Stevenson
A Child’s Garden of Verses, 1885
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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