Month: September 2017

Now comes the uncomfortable part of dealing with Father’s things.

Father’s Will is now in the Probate process, and the Estate is under my control.  You can contact me if you wish.

There are people asking me about his property (real property and otherwise).  All of his property will be dealt with according to his wishes.  The lawyer will send a copy of the Will to everyone who is to have access to it.

The house cannot be sold yet.  All is suspended until the Will completes Probate.  There have been many people expressing interest in purchasing the house.  This can’t and won’t happen until sometime next year, I should think.  How long is Probate?  I was told upwards of a year after application.

If you have property / belongings at Father’s house, please talk with me.  No, it won’t be sold off or taken away.  I’m in no hurry to start liquidating.  If there is something that has value to you and you wish to have it, again – talk to me.  For example, Glenn stored his Coca~Cola memorabilia there.  Les, his son, will collect these keepsakes when the time comes.  If Father owns you something, contact me.

On that note, we may have a yard sale at some point.  TBA.

In the mean time, Laura is living there and looking after things – the house, Cash, the chickens, the yards, etc.  Please do not go to the house to talk about stuff.  She’s not going to steal stuff!  And she’s not able to sell / give you stuff.  Laura was there for Father during his last days and made this time comfortable and without worry.  Please make her feel the same.

In the mean time, we wait.

Thank you, Sherryl, for sending this.

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Father has passed away.

I just heard from Laura.  He apparently passed at 7:45AM (MDT) this morning, Sept. 11, 2017.  The coroner and others are now (11:33 MDT) at Father’s house talking with Laura.  She said she has to take care of documents and such and will call me back.  I”ll update here when I know more.

I visited the lawyer today to discuss carrying out Father’s wishes.  Most legalities are or will be completed.  Anyone mentioned in Father’s Will will be notified by the lawyer.  It is now in Probate review and will take a while to complete.  Most say it will take up to a year … or more.

In the mean time, I’ve asked Laura to stay in the house and look after it, Cash, the chickens, mail, and anything else important.  Neither of us know the duration of this.

Above all, Father was so concerned about Cash’s fate:  If Cash went to another house, he’d likely escape and run back here, the only home he’s ever known, since puppihood.

There was a viewing today.  Les, Tammy, Laura, Isobel, Carley, Sherry, Lou, Tammy’s Mom, and I were there.  We met at Woodlawn Mr. Cheam Funeral Home, Chilliwack, at 4pm.

I went in to identify him.  (This is apparently an crucial part.)  Yes, that was Father.

Continue reading “the viewing”

I got a call from Laura and one from Ally, a social worker with Fraser Health.  I was out cycling and missed their call.

He was in hospital today for a fever – Laura thought it best to have him brought in – and is back home (or should be by now).

I called Ally back, and she told me that doctors really don’t know just how much longer Father has.  I guess it’s her job to keep me informed.  Laura told her that she keeps me informed all the time.  This is true now but only since my last visit a couple of weeks ago.  Before that, nothing.  Nonetheless, I’m informed now.

Anyway, Ally said he wasn’t getting treatment per se but, rather, pain control to keep him comfortable for ”however much time he has left”.  She tried to speculate as to how much time that was.  I suppose many people as that question.  If you’re The Lord, then yes you might give it a shot.  But we really have no accurate idea.  So I just told her that I knew he was slipping fast last time I saw him.  I said that it only matters if someone is looking after him (Laura) and that he”s not in any pain, is comfortable.  Time isn’t the important factor here.

He’s lost half his hair and is very quiet.  Laura says he hardly says a peep, but Laura walked into his room at the hospital, and he looked directly at her.  He knows.  At home, Cash licked his leg, and he didn’t cuss at him like he didn’t know him like last time, so that’s good.

This is the first time Laura stated that he doesn’t have much time left.  She has always been of the mind (outwardly, at least) that he’ll pull though … somehow.  This time isn’t one of those times.  He asked Laura to pray and tell The Lord to bless him.  Only very few times in my life have I heard him refer to The Lord.

Keep him in your prayers, please.

Laura called me to tell me Father is doing well at home.  He’s not able to get out of bed, so for sure not able to walk just yet, but he’s recovering and gaining strength.  An occupational therapist might be used to get him some exercise with his legs.  He might not be able to walk again, but he could also surprise everyone.

He’s eating apple sauce and other foods to get his health and strength up.  Home care staff from Fraser Health (BC government medical care in that area) come to help him turn over and to make sure he’s clean, etc.  He had some bed sores on his legs … or hips? … but they’re not open sores, so he’s doing well in that.

Laura says she hopes he’ll be able to get into his wheelchair at some point so as to wheel out to the deck to see his garden and chickens and such.  I’m hoping he’ll be able to do so soon.  As was proven in the hospital, his legs have become very weak while laying in bed without any activity.  Besides, fresh air always does people good.

This from Laura:

 

Not sure what it means precisely. 

Here’s a list of pictures taken of Les.  If you have any to add, send me the pics / videos or a link to where they are.

https://allansplace.ca/d/documents/pictures/Canada/family/Les%20Johnston – These are pictures and videos taken since his health issue started.  Keep in mind it”s pictures of Les as well as everything else.</li>\r\n <li><a href=”http://allansplace.ca/d/documents/users/Aizlynn/Father%20in%20hospital/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Aizlynn”s (Angela”s) pictures</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf anyone has any other pictures to share, let me know.’, ‘pictures’, ”, ‘inherit’, ‘closed’, ‘closed’, ”, ’90-revision-v1′, ”, ”, ‘2017-09-04 10:05:00’, ‘2017-09-04 16:05:00’, ”, 90, ‘http://www.lesjohnston.ca/2017/09/04/90-revision-v1/’, 0, ‘revision’, ”, 0),

Nurse Laura was too busy to talk to me.  So Margaret, the head nurse on the floor Father is on in Chilliwack hospital, was sure there was no way that Father could get home before Wed. next week.  Finally, after a few attempts at speaking human to her, I said, “I’m not a very commanding person when it comes to conversations – never have been – so, please, just let me speak for a minute.” –  Silence  – I explained that I didn’t want my father to die in hospital.  He should do so at home.  She softened her stance and sounded like a real person, just trying to control the conversation to obtain a desired outcome.  Is there any way of making this happen – like if I were to arrange to borrow, rent, or purchase a hospital bed so he could be transported home?  Yes, absolutely, if you can arrange it on your own, we’ll work with you on that. –  Sigh  – Bossy-boots power woman trying to ride over my ass with a steamroller.

Don’t be heavy, mamma; I’m your brother.

Lisa at Discount MediQuip out of Chilliwack, BC, was the very opposite.  “Yes, I can find a bed for your father from somewhere.  Just give me a minute.”  Within a minute, she came back from putting someone in a headlock (I’m sure figuratively) to get a bed for me.  The long and the short of it is that Father’s bed will be delivered by 2pm today.  Cost: $220 ($30 delivery, $30 setup, $150 rent for one month, $10 mandatory mattress cover.)

Laura (henceforth Father’s friend, not nurse at hospital) says Father will be delivered by patient transport at 4pm today.  Father was happy and ate lunch.  Yay.

The kicker was last night was when Father asked Laura if he should die in the hospital or at home.  It broke my heart to hear this.  No, Father, I don’t believe you are going to die in hospital.  You’re going home so that you can live there with your dog Cash, your 43 chickens, your beautiful back yard full of flowers, and Laura looking after you.  That’s what you’re gonna do.

Laura called last night, freaked about Father’s medication and overall treatment (or lack of).  She says the hospital staff aren’t feeding him (just leave the food on a tray 4 feet away), aren’t giving him his medication for swelling and seizures, have disconnected his fluids IV, and leaving him in the supine position every day (rather than sitting up).  He’s developing bed sores on his hip and legs.

I called the hospital last night and spoke with Zee, a nurse; she says that he’s taking his meds but has been disconnected from the IV.  She doesn’t know why and says I should call Dr. Heather Leyen at 8am in the morning.

I did that, and her voicemail states that “unless you’re cancelling an appointment, don’t bother leaving a message because it won’t be returned.”  How do you like that.

Dr Heather Layen voicemail 16047922266_2017-09-01_09-08-35 e1.wav

So I phoned the hospital and spoke with a new nurse, Laura (first day with Father), inquiring about him.  She said she’d check into him and for me to call back in 45 minutes.

In the mean time, Laura (Father’s friend, not the nurse) is waiting to see Dr. Enyvari, Father’s “regular doctor”.  (In fact, he’s a walk-in clinic doctor who only accepted Father as a one-off.)

I’ll keep you posted.

Father is home sleeping in his newly delivered bed – at home.  Yay.  All is well once again.  Hopefully: 

• he’ll eat well
• he’ll have his meds regularly
  • dilantin for seizures 4-5 times per day
  • dexamethasone twice a day for swelling
• stand up and stretch his legs now and then

Laura and the Fraser Health home care people can make sure he’s cleaned up when needed, feel well enough to talk with people again.  Laura can get some respite when needed.  All this can be done at home, not in the hospital.

I’ve kept Aunt Isobel and Aizlynn up to speed with what I know.

(Now it’s time to take care of myself – ear infection – earache, vertigo, and nausea.)

This from Laura: