Day at the Beach with Mom (Yep, You Read That Right)

Jul 9 2011 in by The Unit Known as Shandi

We took Mom to the beach today. She told me several weeks ago that she wanted to go. We have a wheelchair van, a Hoyer lift, a power wheelchair, portable oxygen tank, and a son that is a medic. I called my brother this morning, and he was on his way up. He said (before I told him my hairbrained idea) that he was heading to the ocean today, to feel close to Mom. She has always loved the saltwater, first in her birth state of Florida, and now here, on the Pacific Ocean.

My brother was thrilled, and he and our son joined us. I had to give Mom painkillers to move her with the Hoyer Lift (moving is the only time she seems to be in pain), and she was pretty zonked when we got to the beach. I wasn’t sure if she knew we were there, but we were.

This afternoon, she came around a bit and I asked her if she remembered that we had been at the ocean today. She nodded “yes.” I’m so glad we did it, and she doesn’t seem any worse for it. I did talk to the Hospice nurse before we decided to go, and she laughed, and told me with the support team, equipment, and our own personal medic…we were just fine to go.

Gotta go…rolling Mom’s hospital bed out on the back patio. And yes, the sun is shining here after the second wettest and coldest spring on record. The picture was taken today. I have a few of all of us, but I like this one best. Mom’s face just looks too weak for me to want to post her picture right now.

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