MOM AND DAD DO SAN FRANSISCO 1985

A big occasion for us was a visit from my mom and dad in California. Mom had MS and rode a wheelchair for many years. My dad was a tough old bronco busting cowboy, about as hard as they come, but also an inventor, welder, poet, mechanic, singer and guitar player. He could play any instrument that had a string and never knew how to read or write music. He had bought a van conversion and completely outfitted it with hydraulic lifts and ramps. It had everything my mom needed to get into and out of her home on wheels. It was far ahead of its time, technology wise, and was a product of necessity rather than vision. They both loved to travel, but much of the opportunity passed when she became crippled.

My story is about their trip to see us. Pardon me if it is a little meaningless to a lot of you, however I hope my family gets a memory of them from this.One day they announced they would come and see us, and in line with family tradition, about two days later jumped into their RV and headed south. We were very excited to see them. It had been months since we had been able to spend time with them and since before Japan when the time we spent was more than a day or two. Our girl was so excited because she knew that when her grandma arrived it was going to be solid games until the moment she left.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We spent any free time we had showing them around San Fransisco and destinations south, along the California coast. As predicted the girls were in a non-stop cycle of boardgames or colouring, or reading. Everything with grandma had a completion attached to it, and no quarter was given. She went for your throat each and every time, and never got tired of kicking ass.

Now for the story part. Along about 10 days into their trip, while I was at work one day. Deysi took them to see the Sun Valley Mall. They wanted to look around, and mom always had a few bucks, burning a hole in her purse just waiting to get out. They walked around and eventually dad decided he needed to sit down. He said he wasn’t feeling well and needed a brief rest. Deysi could see that he was looking pale so they sat down to see if it would pass. Now my old dad, he wouldn’t say anything that would let you think, that he was less than ready to ride the next bronc that they trotted through. Truth is though, he was not well, so asked Deysi if she could call a cab to get them home.

She had one look at him and said “sure, you just sit right there and I’ll call one for us now”. You weren’t gonna get anything by Deysi, she had been sniffing out my BS for a few years already, and new crap when she smelled it. She goes around the corner, picks up a payphone and calls 911.Well there was one surprised cowboy when his taxi arrived and it looked amazingly like an ambulance. He asks them what are they gonna do with the stretcher and he said (once he found out their intent) “I’m not laying on that”. So there they went through the Sun Valley Mall with my dad sitting up on the stretcher, with legs hanging over the sides and his cowboy hat planted firmly on his head. That is how he arrived at the hospital.

On arrival at the hospital, the first issue was one of who is going to pay. We are in California and medical care was outrageous, even back then. Well mom and dad were well prepared, because of her condition, so they had Lloyd’s Travel Insurance, Blue Cross Medical and Alberta Health Care. They looked over the cards and without hesitation hand back the Lloyd’s and Blue Cross cards. Alberta Health Care card in hand, they then welcomed everybody with open arms and asked if they could get him a private suite? (We found out later that Alberta Health was the only insurer that they knew would pay. The others had a history of trying not to pay).

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The care was spectacular. Maybe the best in the world at that time. This particular hospital had pioneered the use of the “root-rooter” to clear blockages without major open heart surgery. My dad was one of the first ever to receive this treatment. It cost but, armed with his health card, nothing they could do was too much for them. Finally they had a real live paying customer to work on. He had had a major heart attack and if not for Deysi and this hospital he would have died on a bench in the mall in Concord, Ca.

Anyway after they have got him stabilized, all he can think of is going home. It was a struggle to keep him in the hospital for 7 days. Then for us to keep him at home for 3 more was torture. I needed a couple days before I could get clear to drive him home. My brother would come down from Calgary but needed a couple of days, also. Dad was having none of this, and in typical family hardheaded manner, he said “he didn’t need anybody to drive him home”. He loaded mom into the van and off they went. He arrived home about three days later, exhausted but not compromised in his principles of self sufficiency! Lord help us all is what comes to mind.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•