And 2018 left much like it came in - with a feeling like nothing is going the way I want it to. The lump in my throat was coming out as tears. Even my computer was having sympathy pains . . . it didn’t freeze up but it became v-e-r-y slow and Fred has abandoned me. He's not here to help me! He's always been there to help me and make things better!
Yes, I do miss him desperately!
Even before I saw the crematorium folks, I dove into an inextinguishable state of over activity and doing on the paperwork.
Fred was special to me but I guess he was special to others as well. Apparently, the Condo had a minute of silence for him and so many folks expressed their sympathies!
By the time my nephew, Luke, came down from Calgary four days later, I was well entrenched in “getting all my ducks in order” and I didn’t even know what that meant – a whirlwind of activity with no particular direction or plan of action – no order.
Luke and I took Fred out to his favourite restaurant for lunch; although we left him in the car we ordered his favourite meal and devoted it to his memory.
I appreciated having Luke with me during those first few days. There were lots of things to be done but I really didn’t know what. He dug in and helped!!
Moving On – Never Ending
My road with Alberta Health Services continues.
For a Service that professes to be Patient-centered, the patient/family presence seemed to be left out of the equation.
Ø I’m working with the Quality Council for this zone trying to reinforce that the patient/family relationship needs to be a part of everything they do.
Ø I’m doing facility visits with a staff consultant (Engagement and Patient Experience) to monitor how/if they are including families in their work.
Ø But the most exciting work has been producing a training digital story video about part of our experience. Good Surgery . .. Tough Recovery is slated to use in staff training.
I’m going to keep travelling
And Life Goes On
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