Return of the Fat Bastard- Never one to let fear or common sense get in the way!

October 26th 2016

      I went to Open Mic at the Heritage Grill last night. It was one of the more eclectic group of performers I've seen at the Heritage Grill. Besides the usual suspects there was a punk rock power trio that were playing in public for the first time. They were loud and definitely punk! There was also a couple of Comedians one of whom was actually funny. I was on at around 10 playing with Greg on guitar, Vic on bass and Maureen on drums. I did two original songs we nailed the Canadian Blues but it took us to the third verse before we were all playing the same tune on What If I! Hey, that's why they call it a jam not a concert. We finished strong with House of the Rising Sun. After my set I hung out with Gord and Angel two of the Ukeleliens drinking coffee and listening to the music.

That's Vic on bass playing with a girl who sounded like Tanya Tucker

      The coffee may not have been the best idea. I knew I was going to have an exceptionally long and stressful day tomorrow but never one to let fear or common sense get in the way of a good time, I made my way home around midnight vibrating out of my skin. I was still awake, lying on my back, staring at the ceiling when the lovely Lisa got up for work at 3 am. My alarm was set for 7 am I was up and making myself a cup of Jo to go at 6:45. Mama Lee has her annual appointment at the Parkinsons Clinic out at UBC today. Due to the progression of her disease Mama Lee is no longer able to assist in her transfer. That means Handi Dart or Handicap taxi. A taxi would be way to expensive from Coquitlam to UBC so Handi Dart it is.
      The Handi Dart was scheduled between 7:45 and 8:15 and I arrived at Mama Lee's at 7:30. She was waiting for me in the lounge. I talked to the nurse, Sandy, and got Mama Lee's paperwork and meds for the day, sat in the lounge and read the paper while we waited for our ride.

Mama Lee in transit mode.

Once again no good news in the news today. The Handi Dart was about 10 minutes late. Not bad considering the usual morning rush hour horror show out here in Coquitlam. Three major accidents this morning. One on the bridge, one just off the bridge and one at Gaglardi on ramp. I'm surprised he made it at all. The driver was professional and friendly he loaded Mama Lee into the Handi Dart in a flash and we were on our way. There were already two passengers on board and we drove around Coquitlam for 20 minutes picking up two more clients before we headed towards town and ultimately UBC Hospital for Mama Lee's appointment at the Parkinson's Clinic. It took us two hours to get there and We were still there two hours before her appointment! The Handi Dart only goes to UBC and back once a day. We won't be picked up until 2 pm. The woman at reception sent us off for coffee and told us to come back closer to Mama Lee's appointment time. We went to the coffee shop where I had a giant cup of Jo and Mama Lee had a tea which she then didn't want.

The Wayayting is the hardest part!

      It's now 15 minutes before Mama Lee's appointment and we're off to check in. Dr Stossel is one of the worlds leading experts on Parkinsons which means he knows why all the things are happening but has no idea how to stop them from happening. Mama Lee and I went in to see the Dr after stopping at the registration for no apparent reason. As we walked up she said "Meet me at the double doors" and that was it. We were in. She walked us down to the end of the hall handed me a clipboard with about 20 multiple choice questions on it that Mama Lee was supposed to fill out. I assumed that they would want to be able to read it afterwards so I started to fill it out for her. I read the first question to her and the 4 possible answers. "What was the first one?" she asked.  I told her. "What was the third one?"
"What was the second one?" "What was the first one again?" Can you see where this is going. It took about 5 minutes to answer the first question! I was saved when Dr not Stossel came out and took us into an examination room. As always the first part of the interview is with a young Doctor who is specializing in Parkinsons under the tutelage of Dr Stossel. This year it was an attractive woman in her late twenties. She was very pleasant and Mama Lee warmed up to her right away. After she had done a physical and a cognitive examination of Mama Lee, Dr Stossel entered the room to the blaring of trumpets and the throwing of rose petals. Okay not really. He came into the room with a medical student who stood in the corner and never said a word. Dr Stossel is a pretty neat guy. He always has a smile on his face even when he's telling you your screwed. We see him once a year. He has always been straight with Mama Lee and is a plain talker. He had the other Dr read him her findings and asked Mama Lee and me a couple of questions. He told us there's nothing more to do. he said her mental condition is relatively stable but her physical abilities are slipping badly. Then like the breeze he moved on down the road. To New Jersey, tomorrow. It came up because Mama Lee is originally from Kearney, New Jersey and he's flying there tomorrow
      We went out into the real world where it was pissing down rain. We were only there a few minutes when the Handi Dart pulled up 30 minutes ahead of schedule, sweet!  I ran out to the Handi Dart in the rain. the driver was sitting there on his phone. "Are you here for Lee Geraghty"  " Yes, but I'm on a break I'll be in to get her in 10 minutes." Hey, everyone needs a break. Just like the way there, the way home was a milk run. We stopped for pickups at GF Strong, Vancouver Community College and some adult learning center in mount pleasant. Mama Lee and I were the last ones dropped off.
      Let me sum it all up for you. In a nutshell. Up at 6:45, 5 hours on the Handi Dart, 3 hours of waiting, 1 hour of Dr not Stossel and 5 minutes with Dr Stossel. It was after 4 when I got home. I made some pork chops for dinner and planned to go out and play tonight but I fell asleep in my chair. When I woke up the Canucks were losing to Ottawa, the Cubs were losing to the Indians and I was losing my mind!


That's all I've got
Till next ttime
Peace Out Y'all