Sisterly Outing

[kevin_standlee]

After somehow waking up on the stroke of 4:40 AM (when my alarm normally goes off on weekdays) and then going back to sleep for a couple of hours, I had a fairly leisurely morning before setting off to meet up with my sister and one of her nurses at the long-term-care facility. There, they taught me how to administer her medications, gave me a set of them with instructions for when she was to take them, issued me a spare oxygen bottle, and let Kelli sign herself out of the facility for a day out.

We don't have a handicapped parking placard for Kelli, so I rolled her out to my minivan in the regular parking lot. While I was helping her out of her wheelchair into my van, she called out, "Look at that!"



Yep there was a wild turkey strolling across the parking lot. Note that this place isn't really surrounded by parkland or anything like that. It's just off Auburn and Madison Avenues in Sacramento, both fairly busy urban parts of the sprawl that is Sacramento. But that didn't seem to bother the turkey.

Having gawked at the wildlife, we got Kelli into the van, I got her wheelchair loaded, and we set off to do some shopping.

My sister hasn't been out much for several years. (Trips to the emergency room don't count!) She wanted some new clothes, and I was happy to oblige her by taking her to several stores and helping her try on clothes and buy them for her. (And along the way, such as at Target, I was able to purchase a few things I wanted, like a new electric razor to replace the one that failed a while ago. I prefer having two of them so I have a spare on hand.)

After the first shopping stop, I took Kelli to A Touch of Britain, a British foods store and restaurant the Lisa and I had run across a while ago, where we had tea and scones, all very nice, and we sat and talked for a long time. Then it was on to the next shopping stop (somewhat less successful), and then on to a third and final one, where we found her three new blouses that she liked. Along the way, I was able to change her oxygen bottle and help her with her medications successfully.

By the time we did all of the shopping trips, Kelli realized that we wouldn't be back in time for dinner at the nursing home, so we stopped at Popeye's fried chicken and got her a small meal. She doesn't have significant dietary restrictions, and indeed, she really needs to gain weight, so this wasn't a problem. We went back to the nursing home, checked her back in, got her stuff unloaded, returned the empty oxygen bottle, and hunted up her nurse to get her evening medications dealt with.

After what Kelli said was the longest excursion out of the home in five years, she was happy, but very tired. And so was I. I was delighted to be able to help her get out of that place for a while, and we now know that when we finally get a chance schedule a proper ceremony for my mother, we'll be able to check my sister out for a full day out and I can help take care of her so that she can also attend.

Now I'm back at the hotel. I'm very glad I booked two nights so I didn't have to fret about trying to head home, as I'm pretty worn out myself. Tomorrow, however, I have no constraints on my time and can take my time getting home.

Comments

[katster]

That location isn't all that far from Arcade Creek, which is kept as a greenway. Arcade Creek goes under Madison, so that's probably how your turkey got there. They are amazingly bold critters and they've managed to adapt to suburbia amazingly well.

A Touch of Britain is about five miles from my house, nearly straight down Watt. I've never been there, but my sister has, and she says it's a neat place. One of these days, Kevin, I need to catch up with you while you're down here even if it's just for a cup of coffee.

Anyway, I'm glad you had fun with your sister and that she's well enough to make these excursions.

-kat

[kevin_standlee]

Ah, Arcade Creek. That explains a lot. I used to see lots of wild turkeys when I lived and worked in Folsom, but I figured the adjacent American River was where they were coming from. Thanks for the clarification.