Alynwa's Mind: It's Crazy in There

My Mom passed away peacefully in her sleep this morning at 2:57AM, Pacific time.  I was there with her when she died.  Rather than mourn her death, I choose to celebrate her life and our relationship.

My mother was 88 years old and of sound mind.  She was placed in ICU yesterday after a week and a half in the hospital.  Her kidneys were failing quickly and the doctor prescribed dialysis 3X a week.  She refused it.  I asked her if she was aware that decision was life-ending.  Her answer?  "I asked the doctor what kind of quality of life would I have and he told me very poor.  So yes, I know what I'm doing."  I turned to the nurses and said "I agree with my mom."

When I saw that doctor later, he told me that he also agreed with her decision and that if she were his mother, he would feel the same.  "The dialysis wouldn't prolong her life," he said, "it would only prolong her death."  So I knew I had made the right decision not to question her.

I'm okay for now.  I'll be staying out here through the winter, so I have time to handle business without feeling rushed or stressed.

My Mom and stepfather prepaid for their services years ago and left me a set of instructions to follow.  She was quite organized.  Thank God.

I know she is in Heaven, at peace and free from illness and pain.

Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated.

Last week, a cousin of mine called to tell me she had 5 days off in a row (she's a flight attendant) and we should go to Las Vegas, her treat.  Well, who am I to say no?  I called my casino host (yes, I'm that gambler) and got a suite comped for our stay.  I  gave her the room and I stayed with my mom.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and just got back to NY this morning on the redeye.

We had a great time!  In addition to the gambling, drinking and eating; we saw two movies: Dunkirk and Girls Trip, both very different and entertaining in their own way.  I ultimately had great luck at the gaming tables and came home a winner.

However, my mom's health situation seems about to change.  There seems to be a good chance that surgery is in her near future and if that is the case, I will have to return to the Valley earlier than I had been planning.  That may create some logistical problems for me.  I will work them out, but I will have to work them out.

On top of that, early Sunday morning, Itty Bitty had a horrible seizure that scared the life out of me.  It seemed to go on forever, all told, I think it was around 2 minutes.  After that, she seemed fine.  I took her to the vet Monday morning and he couldn't find anything wrong.  Her blood pressure and the blood test they did both came back normal.  He said to monitor her and document if she has any other seizures.  My problem is I was the only witness to both seizures (she had one Christmas Eve morning) and if I hadn't been there, my mother wouldn't have known about either one.  Soooooo, guess who's buying health insurance for both girls next week?  

I checked 2 companies, Trupanian and Healthy Paws, and I'm going with HP.  Trupanian offers 90% reimbursement, but for Pepper, it would cost $61 a month! and an additional $50 for Itty Bitty!  Healthy Paws has a senior pet option that offers 60% reimbursement for less than half the price and when I mentioned IB had had a seizure, I was told that since there is no diagnosis and she is not on medication, it would not be considered a pre-existing condition.

And I'm not even the Pet Mommy!  I'm the Pet Sibling!  I'm just glad we have some options.