It’s Saturday morning, 7 AM, in Far North Queensland. Yesterday I did a lot of driving.
I drove “down the hill” to meet with an admissions person at Regis Redlynch, a care facility. Short summary: in fact, they DO have a spot, pending “clinical approval” – which is to say, they can’t make any commitment without knowing a lot details about Ann’s diagnoses and prognosis. Especially, they are concerned about to what degree she’s mentally impaired (e.g. dementia) as that might require them to only consider her for a mental support unit (where there is not currently a spot available.
In talking with Peter the discharge nurse (social worker) at Atherton Hospital, his comment is simply: Yes, she has some memory issues and dementia, but it’s really not the kind that requires special support – she’s not prone to wander or become violent. Peter said he’d make sure to make that clear in answering Regis’ questions directly. He’s been very helpful, proactive, and supportive in every way, and I’m grateful he’s on staff at the hospital.
I was acutely aware, in visiting the Redlynch facility, though, that it wouldn’t be something my mother would ever choose for herself. Firstly, it’s in Cairns. It’s a plasticine, suburban environment, nothing resembling wild nature out any window, tract homes beyond the campus. And also, Cairns is ungodly hot – at least this time of year. I’m sure it was 100 F down there, or close to it, making the 90 F at Atherton feel bracing, in comparison. 3000 feet difference in elevation means a lot, even in the tropics.
But I feel the choices are limited. If Redlynch accepts our application, I’m going to have to jump on it.
There are a few advantages over Atherton. One is that she’ll maybe get more visits from her friend Emma and Kirsten, who live halfway “down the hill” (near Kuranda) and who commute into Cairns daily. Everyone in her life goes to the city regularly, because that’s what you do when you live in the rural hinterlands of a city. So it’s a more central location. Also, the Redlynch campus, specifically, is at most 10 km from the airport. That makes it pretty convenient for people visiting from overseas – including Samara and I.
I drove back up to Atherton and spent a few hours in the afternoon, talking with Peter and hanging out with my mom, and friend Tash came by again. I felt aware of the extent to which my mother’s “scripted dark cynicism” tends to take over in the absence of deeper thought – this is very similar to the way that Arthur’s “performative curmudgeonliness” takes over, with him. But it’s worth remembering that this “Gillidette” negativity is most typically directed at family and closest friends – neither Arthur nor my mother are quite so negative with strangers. Interestingly, she will cuss at me and that’s the end of the story, but anytime she cusses at nursing or other hospital staff, she quickly becomes apologetic directly afterward. There are certainly ways in which being close to a Gillidette is the least pleasant position to be in. Keep some distance and you’ll enjoy their company a lot more.
I’m being a bit lazy this morning – I have nothing specific I need to get done today except an intent to go into Atherton and spend some time with Ann. So I’m going to take my time. The hospital’s visiting hours are 12 noon to 8 PM, though they have so far been extremely flexible, so that when I show up at 9 or 10 in the morning they let me through without any issues at all. They all know me, now.
Monday, regardless of where we stand with Regis, Ann will check in to Carinya – the aged care facility that is right next to the hospital in Atherton. This is the care facility that my mom “approved” last year, and so this temporary visit (what they call a “respite”) was already waiting in the wings before the recent bone-breakages and hospital admission and all that. But Carinya made clear they do not expect any permanent spot to become available – this is JUST a respite. The hospital wants us to take advantage of it even in the event that we do NOT find a permanent spot for Ann, because it gives the hospital the extra bed to go to more urgent patients. So Ann will go to Carinya on Monday. If Regis accepts her and moves fast enough, she can discharge from Carinya after 2 or 3 weeks directly to Redlynch. If not, then she’ll discharge from Carinya after 3 weeks back to Atherton Hospital.
There’s no denying that Carinya is a much more “premium” and attractive care facility. It’s got a campus nestled on a hillside surrounded on two sides by tropical forest, and the structures themselves are just more appealing, architecturally, with interspresed patios and gardens. In an alternate timeline, Ann “coulda-shoulda” gone there. Alas.
More later.
Instead of a wallaby, here are some cows under a giant windmill. I took the picture while waiting at a road-construction flagger while driving between Ravenshoe and Atherton yesterday morning.
Here is a picture looking down Ann’s driveway. It’s hard to tell, but it’s raining in the picture. The summer monsoon (which the locals deny is a thing, weirdly) is in progress, these days, where it rains pretty consistently for a few hours every afternoon. I’ve been parking the rental car at the top of the long driveway, because some of its bumps and ditches are too much for the low-slung Toyota they gave me at the airport. You need something with a bit more clearance underneath, like my mom’s Toyota RAV. Anyway, walking up and down the long driveway is good exercise.