Good news; today was the last day my mother had to go to the hospital for injections!

But first, here are a couple of critter pictures from the DSLR, yesterday.  I didn’t upload them until today.  There were very few, but a couple I really enjoyed, that I hope you enjoy, too!

Yes, I am an immature child that loves to catch the deer with goofy faces.  😀

I tried to snag a picture of a squirrel posing so perfectly on top of the limestone cross.

I didn’t quite manage it, but I think I like this better…

This morning’s trip with my mom to the hospital took a lot longer, for good reasons, and she was having one of her good days, so it was much more pleasant, too!  When I got to her place, she was ready and waiting for me to put the brace on her leg, which was awesome.  She did comment on how the bump on the inside (a knob with a dial that applies pressure to her knee, to straighten it) gets in the way of her other leg, so she has to walk with her legs farther apart.  My response was good!  That’s what it’s supposed to do!

Well.  At least until her knee starts to straighten out.  The dial will need to be checked and adjusted after a while – if she keeps up wearing it!

We had a pleasant drive to the next town, with beautiful views of frost covered trees glistening in the sunlight.  She did comment again about how ridiculous it is to drive so far, every day, just for an injection.  While I understand why it’s being done, and I think she kind of does, too, she had a point.  So when we got there (this time, I gave in and used my husband’s disability placard so we could park closer to the door; the distance she had to walk yesterday was really hard on her!) and I let them know she was there, I also asked if someone was available to check on her eye and see about getting the prescription to replace the injections.  After explaining the situation to the nurse, she was more than willing to see what she could do about it.

Later, the same nurse brought the blood pressure machine to the waiting room for my mother and took her vitals.  She looked at my mom’s eye, but this was the first time she’d seen it.  Thankfully, I’d taken a picture of it a couple of days ago, which helped.  She had us go to an examination room (all of this is being done in the emergency section of the hospital) for a bit more privacy for the injection, then she had us go back to the waiting room while she got the on-call doctor.  The one that has seen my mother before was not in, so we had no idea who it would be.

I think we waited less than 15 minutes, in total.  The doctor came over and took my mom back to the examination room.  He had lots of questions, trying to figure out why my mom was on the first blood thinners at all, and why she was now getting these injections.  Had she had heart surgery?  Valves replaced?  Nope.  We explained as best we could. Then he left, and we could hear him consulting someone on the phone nearby.  A few minutes later, he was back with a few more questions, then off to consult again.

I must admit, my mother showed tremendous restraint from her usual behaviour.  Not only did we once again have a non-white doctor – Middle Eastern, no less! – with a strong accent, but one that was dressed VERY casually (I once got a long story from her that culminated in her concluding that because doctors and nurses don’t wear white uniforms anymore, it means hospitals are dirty, and that’s why we have viruses…).  However, it was a male doctor, and he asked her lots of questions, looked at her eye and listened to her heart.  The expressions on her face were very conflicted!

One thing I did notice happen a lot today; more so than other days – while talking to my mother, more and more, people would turn and start talking to me, instead.  Now, I can help by explaining things that are harder for her to explain, due to her limited English medical vocabulary, but don’t ask me what her symptoms are or how she’s feeling!  She’s sitting right there.  She may have trouble expressing herself in English sometimes, and takes a while to get to the point, but she’s not senile.  She’s not deaf, either.

I’m reminded of a time I accompanied a friend to a medical clinic.  She is a wheelchair user and drives an adapted van; she just needed someone with her for a bit of assistance.  When we got to the clinic, the person behind the counter looked right past my friend and started asking me the questions.  Hullo!  Just because she’s in a wheelchair, that doen’t mean she doesn’t understand her own care needs!  I’m just along for the ride!

Though I do have to give the people at the hospital some slack, after seeing some of the inpatients they are caring for, several of whom are younger than my mother.  It may just be what they are most used to.

The end result was, my mother got her new prescription!  No more trips for injections.

I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

We took advantage of the situation and I helped her do some grocery shopping, and she took me out for tea at a lovely little café.  Then it was off to her home town to get her new prescription, though they could only give her a few days’ worth.  She’ll have to come back next week to get the rest.  She can do that herself, using her walker, if she has to.

I have been talking to her about getting home care to help put her brace on in the mornings.  I hope she’ll be able to get that arranged quickly.

Meanwhile, my older brother will be visiting her tomorrow morning, so he’ll be able to help her put the brace on.

We’ll still have to keep tabs on her and that eye; it’s better, but after I took another picture and showed it to her, she even commented that it still looks pretty bad!  The good thing is that there is no pain, nor is her vision affected.

Phew.

By the time it was all done, it was almost 5 hours before I got home – scaring a deer away from the house in the process!  It came back, though…

At least I’m guessing it was Hungry Girl that had run off.  She’s been coming over by herself more often.

Excuse me while I giggle happily at her silly tongue face.  I got several of them, but that one is the best!

This one looks like she’s having a conversation.

I also got a good shot of a male redpoll today…

Pretty little thing!

Meanwhile, I got other good news.

First off, I got the mail before coming home and WE HAVE OUR NEW HEALTH CARE CARDS!!!!  WHOOT!!! Finally!

Or, to be more precise, my husband has two health care cards, and my name happens to be on the second half of both, along with his.

Apparently, husbands and wives still don’t rate individual cards in this province, but wives are added to the list on the second half, like dependent minors.  So he and I have identical cards, with his name and address on the first half, and both our names and individual numbers on the second half.

They still needed me to send them a copy of my marriage certificate to use my married name, though.

Arglebargle.

Whatever.   At least we have them now!

Then I got a phone call from our insurance company, letting me know that the problem with my coverage has finally been fixed!  It took them a while to track it down, since everywhere else in their system, it showed me as being covered.  It was now done, she told me, and I should have no problem!

Conveniently, my husband had phoned in some prescription refills of his own, so I headed into town to pick those up, and had the pharmacy get my insurance checked out, too.  Sure enough, it was all fixed!  So I got my own prescription refilled, too.  Just one, though.  After seeing my new doctor and going over the results of my blood work, it was decided to go with just one right now, and see how it goes.  My goal is to be off that one, too, though the doctor seems dead set on me being on it for the rest of my life, along with statins.

Not if I can help it!

*sigh*

I feel a wonderful sense of relief today.

I look forward to being home tomorrow. 😀

The Re-Farmer