When the Universe conspires to give us a hand.
Sometimes events organise themselves like pieces of puzzle getting together and fitting like a glove. I guess that’s what we call destiny or something meant to be…
When the doctor said that they did not have hope of recovery for my mother, it was hard to hear and it changed everything. In a matter of a few days, we had visited the room where my mother was going to spend the rest of her life, I had gathered the necessary paperwork and she was transferred soon after, the day before Christmas.
She will be sharing a room with another lady who will be in the same kind of situation. For now, she is still by herself and that is the condition that made it possible for the manager to give us permission to take mum out for the day. After her visit, she will stay in isolation in that room for one week and receive a corona virus test by the end of it.
Mum arrived around 10 the morning after Christmas. The ambulance I had ordered was very efficient and friendly. It felt a little weird to welcome mum knowing that this time she was a guest in her own home. My sister and her family had arrived three days earlier to spend Christmas with us. We were really happy to have her among us for a few hours.
Finally we could kiss her, touch her and be with her for a little longer than 30 minutes. I gave her a haircut, a massage. Her wheelchair fitted perfectly under the table and we were all gathered for one fated meal as a family.She was able to eat by herself with a little help. I noticed her hand was trembling when holding her glass. I remember how active mum was, always doing things in the house or in the garden – knitting, sawing, writing, doing crafts, mending and fixing bits and pieces in the house or outside…and now, hardly using her hands – one paralysed and the other underused…
We listened to some music and songs she liked and she even moved her head and lips as if wanting to sing along… The retirement home agreed to carry on speech therapy. I guess there is hope here at least and it would be nice to hear her sing again for real one day.
The day went by fast but was just long enough for us to enjoy her presence and for her to also enjoy seeing her grandsons.
I took her to her bedroom to choose which clothes she wanted to take with her to her new “home”. I placed the label with her name on them, like a mother preparing her child for summer camp. It felt weird and sad because of course, I knew I was preparing her bag for a very long camp…I don’t know which is worst or the saddest. Losing my parents in an accident right here and now without getting a chance to say good bye or losing them slowly and seeing them degenerate, having lost them the way they were anyways.
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