Trip Update

The trip to Louisiana went extremely well for the most part. The drive over was highly enjoyable with my wonderful daughter and the perfect driving music she organized beforehand. In fact, it was going just a little too good.

We arrived at my mother's about 5:00 last Wednesday. As soon as she opened the door to greet us my phone rang and I saw that it was my son. Already feeling that something was dreadfully wrong from our short conversation the night before, I went ahead and answered while giving my mom a hug at the same time. I could tell immediately from his voice that my instinct was correct. He broke down and said he was getting a divorce. Oh, my! I just drove 500 miles away from my son who needs me! He tried to be strong at first I could tell, but the emotions eventually poured out in the form of gut-wrenching sobs. I am a complete blubbering idiot when others cry; especially where my children are concerned. All I could do was cry along with him. Soon my daughter became upset, as well as my mother. The rest of the night was consumed with shock and anguish over our latest family ordeal. We made a few phone calls to ensure that Michael was looked after for the evening and went to bed. None of us slept very well.

The next day there was hardly time to think. Autumn and I helped Mama get her new TV purchased and set up, which meant a trip to Best Buy, running all over town looking for a traditional looking console to place it on and a trip to the cable company to get the HD box. Thank God Uncle Bubba just happened to come over that afternoon with flowers for the graves because he helped us secure the new console to the wall so that it wouldn't topple over. We would have been unable to set up the TV without his help.

Friday was Mama’s doctor appointment. I loved Dr. Kadair straight away. He had a very calm, confident aura that put me at ease instantly. Autumn felt the same. Mama wasn’t convinced as quickly, but by the end of the visit, she was smitten. Already he has made a difference by changing the order in which she takes her medication. Dr. Jones - the previous doctor who almost killed her twice - was insisting that Mama take her thyroid medication first thing in the morning. She had to wait one hour before taking the Parkinson’s medication. This meant that she could hardly move to go to the bathroom or anything for at least 2 hours after waking up. It really was becoming a dangerous situation. Dr. Kadair pointed out that her major problem was Parkinson’s and the Parkinson’s medication should be the FIRST thing she puts in her mouth in the morning. The thyroid medication should be taken at night. She tried the rotation the next morning and voila! Within 30 minutes she was up and walking around without her walker.

Autumn and I got to spend some time photographing areas around LSU, Baton Rouge, St. Gabriel and Sunshine. We both took some really great photos. It's something that I can see myself doing as a hobby. It would be fun to do it with my daughter, since she has a flair for photography, too. That part of the trip was inspiring and took our minds off more pressing matters for a while.

On Saturday we visited with tons of family and visited the gravesites of our grandparents and my sister. I don't think we wasted one single minute while there. The only regret I have is that we were unable to cook fresh food for Mama. There just wasn't time! And with so many fine restaurants nearby, it was too tempting to eat out. Only one meal we regretted, but not because it wasn't good, it was just too much! Weirdly, too much of a good thing can be bad. Who knew?