Homeward Bound

On Friday the cottage was a little quieter.  Ron got up early and went for a canoe and a swim.  He had coffee ready for when Carol and I got up.  Sarah woke a little later.  We cleaned up and did the final pack and said goodbye to a good week.

We got back to Napanee and unpacked, did laundry and carol went to see Tina while Ron and I went to Kingston to return one of the car rentals.

After we got back, I went to Tina’s.  Phillip and Roxanne had given Tina some gift cards.

Emma was busy packing for a weekend kids camp at Roblin Wesleyan Camp.  Carol, Sarah and I were going to take Emma and Tina decided to join in for the ride.

Emma seemed like happy camper as she settled into her cabin.

Sarah spend the night with Aunt Tina.  This morning Ron went out for breakfast with Percy and I went to Trenton to have a coffee with Cheryl.  When we joined back at mom and dad’s, we had a quick lunch and said our sad goodbyes.  We went to pick up Sarah and spend a little time with Tina.  It was super hard to say goodbye to Tina.  

We are packed to the brim in the rental car heading back to Ottawa.  

We are Alberta Bound. Mike will pick Carol up at the airport and they will be off to B.C.  We will be back to video chatting across the country.

We are STEELE Standing!

Final Night

This was our first rainy day; but even then, we had enough sunny periods to enjoy the day at the cottage.  Kim, the homeworker, came in the morning and gave Tina a good bath, got her dressed, did her exercises and her hair.  She was really good at taking her time and paying attention to Tina’s needs.

The nurse came later to check on Tina and see how she has been doing,  Her ventilator worked much better last night.  We didn’t have any bad episodes.

Kevin and Pam stopped in for a visit.  Pam. brought some nachos and a loaded dip with deviled eggs.

Ron came back and brought Sarah.  The girls spent some time in the lake.

They slowly got Tina to the car without incident.  It was a successful Sister Three Cottage time.

Just as everyone was leaving we were able to do a quick video chat with Cousin, Janice.  She had been very interested in this time together since she has a brother-in-law with ALS. and has lots of memories on White Lake with Aunt Reta and Uncle Gerald.

And our final night at the cottage is with a bit of a different mix of people.  Ron, Sarah, Carol and I are at the cottage.  Carol and I are feeling pretty tired. It’s a beautiful evening after a rainy day.

We are glad that we are STEELE a standing after a week at the cottage.  Tina was able to walk out of the cottage with lots of help.  We think she enjoyed her time and she STEELE likes being treated like a Princess.

Good night Princess.  I hope you sleep well in your home.

Girls’ Day

The “princess” made an official girls’ day at the cottage.  We woke up to perfect conditions.  The lake was like glass and there wasn’t even a hint of a breeze.

By Emma 

We were moving a little slower this morning because Tina had a few coughing/almost choking spells in the night.  Carol took the lead on these times while mom and I stayed in bed and prayed.

This morning, as I sat on the deck, I stared at the calm water and glanced over at the canoes.  Ron has always been the driver for the canoe but on an all girls’ day, I could not ignore the canoe calling me.  Emma and I got the canoe in the lake and away we went.

Tina was in the cottage with her homecare worker.  She got a quick bath, dressed and had the exercises done.  When Emma had had enough, Carol joined me in the canoe and we paddled down to Aunt Reta and  Uncle Gerald’s old cottage.

Dr. Fitzpatrick called Tina to check on her BIPAP machine and her use of the cough assist.  She got a few different instructions on the CPAP machine and Carol did the adjustments. The ventilator needs to be on the floor and the hose should be wrapped to keep warm. They will send a sleeve that can go around the hose.  Hopefully, with some of these changes, she won’t have the coughing/choking spells through the night.

Emma has been in and out of the water through the day and I have been enjoying the deck.  Tina likes Emma to set up word games on the tv and then she works to guess them.

Carol made lunch today.  She has the ability to pull a variety of things out of the fridge, add some spices and voila…a delicious lunch.  Emma made KD for her and Tina.

Emma and I went for a drive in the cool green charger.

I drove mom home later in the day so that she could be with dad.  

Tina shared this with us and I thought I would add it on her official girls’ cottage day:

The sun is setting on another cottage time…we are down to three sisters and Emma.  

Tina allowed me to take a picture of her all snuggled into her chair ready to sleep.  She has hand braces on, towels supporting her arms, a ventilator assisting her breathing and we are hoping and praying for a peaceful night for her.

Tomorrow, the men are allowed back at the cottage.  We are STEELE standing even though we feel like we need extra support.  The extra support just may be the husbands.  Carol’s hubby won’t be here but he is making his way to Alberta to pick her up at the airport on Saturday.

So until tomorrow….

Judy, Judy, Judy

We had a slower start to the day.  We didn’t even notice that Ron was sitting out front until I was making coffee and mom noticed him enjoying the view of the lake.  He was there to take Sarah to a family connection. 

Carol seemed to have gotten the moisture right for Tina last night.  

Judy came with a pile of food for lunch.

It was really nice for Judy to come and have a visit with all of us and bring a real feast including lots of sweets.

Emma continued to be the health care worker and did Tina’s exercises with her.  There was no PSW available to come today.

Dad came out and we got a rare picture of the 5 of us. Tina was pretty tired through the day and slept quite a bit.

The weather was a little cooler, but sunny.  We managed to get in the water a few times through the day.

Finally, in the evening, we got Tina out on the deck.  

We had to get her in a spot where she wasn’t facing the wind or the sun.  She had glasses to protect her from any breeze and a blanket to keep her warm.  She was quite bundled up and really protected from the environment.

We have found that mom has learned how to relax at the cottage.  

So another day is winding up at the cottage.  We are still accident free and we want to keep it that way.  Tina is still looking for her tiara but is able to rule her subjects with her Royal sceptre.

Good night from the cottage!

We are STEELE at the cottage.  We are STEELE having our Sister Three plus mom plus Emma time.

Thankful For The Cottage

STEELE Standing

We survived last night’s storm and even kept our hydro this time. We were thankful for the girls this morning who jumped in to help with moving Tina around.

Sarah helped Emma with the exercises.  They usually take about 30 to 45 minutes and are supposed to be done twice a day. Sarah made sure the stretch was good.  She pushed until her nose touched Tina’s finger and then she knew the stretch was good enough.

After breakfast, Tina asked us to all write down on a piece of paper what we are thankful for and then she would read them and we had to guess who wrote each one.  Tina couldn’t write hers so we did it for her.

Emma and I went for a morning swim.  It was a cooler morning and quite windy but the water was super warm.

The homecare worker, Adrianne came this morning and gave Tina her bath.  Shortly after that Angela, the nurse came for check in.  It’s great that the cottage is so close so that Tina can keep up with her routine…it certainly is a busy one.

Dad and Ron came for lunch.  I think they brought more food than they ate.

After lunch, Kate came and brought her little sweet girl, Willow.  She enjoyed the water for a bit. 

And then Willow got to work on Tina’s nails.

She really did a great job (actually Kate did the manicure) and Tina really enjoys this little bit of pampering.  We spent the rest of the evening with a little swim and then watched some home videos.  We smiled a little and laughed a lot.  There are lots of memories hidden in those old pictures and videos.

Tina had a full day of visitors and is a little more tired than she has been.  She sleeps in her chair that was brought from her house.  They have been experiencing with the sleep assist machine to make sure there is enough moisture and not too much.  Tina tires easily but doesn’t sleep too much through the day.  She can move a little freer right after morning exercises but stiffens up through the day after sitting in one position.  Her food needs to be soft and moist or she can choke.  This disease robs so much from a person but so far it hasn’t taken Tina’s positive attitude and that means a lot.

We are STEELE Standing and STEELE hoping and praying for a miracle.

Thanks for standing with us!

Princess Tina and Her Subjects

Sunday morning arrived and although Tina wanted to go to church, we decided that we didn’t feel comfortable getting her out of the cottage.  Carol and I had walked around the cottage assessing the situation and the choices were 1) going out the front door and having to go down 3 cement steps.  We shuddered imagining the possibilities of accidents happening or 2) having her go from the sliding door, go down two steps and then being pushed around the cottage in a wheel chair over soft grass.  We didn’t know if our backs could handle that direction.  We decided it was best to stay in the cottage for the day.  

The forecast was calling for lots of rain but we managed to be out on the deck for a good part of the day.  

We had barbeque salmon, Mac and cheese and veggies for lunch.

I put bread crumbs on the Mac and cheese and it caused Tina some choking which made us scrape the crumbs off and try again.  It was a little scary.

In the afternoon, Ron showed up with Sarah and Emma and some food.  They all went for a swim and then Ron left because he thought that he was too outnumbered.

The waves calmed down and the girls went out to play in the peddle boat and it proofed to be a good entertainment for us watching from the deck.

She was really enjoying it, it just doesn’t 
show in this picture. 😉

Janelle came and was able to give Tina an afternoon bath and get her hair French braided.  Sarah lined up and got hers done too.  We sat out on the deck until the wind came up.  We were just trying to figure out all the sleeping arrangements when the phones sent out an alert

So our first full day at the cottage, we had no power.  Our second day, we have a tornado warning.  This week is proving to be quite the adventure.  Sarah, Emma and Carol were out trying to snap some pictures of the light show.

Picture by Emma

Picture by Sarah

The lightening continues to flash across the night skies.  The gentle breeze blows through the cottage windows.  We can hear the rain coming across the lake.  The Princess’ kingdom is getting ready for a storm. Her loyal subjects have been cautioned to use the washroom in case the storm knocks out the power.  She has instructed us that we will need to get water from the lake if the power goes out and we need to flush the toilet.  Life is quite exciting here at the cottage.  You never know what the next day will bring.

Princess Tina wishes you all a good night.  She is STEELE reigning in her little kingdom.  We are STEELE following her commands.  We, her loyal subjects need to get some sleep so we can address her needs tomorrow.  She actually calls us her minions.  We welcome anyone who wants to come and relieve us! 🤪

Cottage Time

Our first full day at the cottage was successful even though we didn’t have power most of the day.  Thankfully we were able to have coffee in the morning before it went out. Mom and Carol gave Tina a sponge bath and got her ready for the day.  Carol and I, along with a manual and Tina’s instructions, helped Tina with her stretches.

Carol and I worked up a sweat and went for a swim and although Tina didn’t get into the lake, we brought the lake water to her. 

We needed to juggle her around the deck on different chairs and in different locations to keep her out of the sun and shield her a little bit from the wind.  The wind really bothers her eyes.  She is mostly patient with us in our lack of understanding on how to do things. 😛 

Ron came out and brought a few things that we needed/forgot and stayed for lunch.  We had chicken and vegetable foil packets cooked on the barbeque.  Dad came a little later for a bite to eat.  I found a game in the shed and we tried it out.

Janelle, one of Tina’s home care workers came and spent time with Tina.  These workers are part of the team and almost feel like part of the family.  We so appreciate their compassion that they show Tina.

The power came on around 5:00 pm just like cousin, Todd said that it would!  I raced for the tea kettle to boil water for our tea.  We sat and talked for quite awhile before Carol started Tina’s bedtime routine.  First, there is the washroom trip and then back into the lazy boy chair.  She needs to be sitting up for the breath stacking.  After two or three of those, Carol put her wrist braces on while mom and I rolled towels to put under her arms to give support.  Carol cleaned, and then filled, the breathing assist machine.  She started the machine and put the mask on Tina.  Carol started Tina’s ipad to let her listen to her Bible reading.

It definitely takes an army to try and make Princess Tina get through her day.  She is actually asking for a tiara! 👑  We are her humble servants ready to wipe her eyes, put a blanket on her or take it off, help her to the bathroom, feed her and give her a drink.  She is good to let us know what she needs and is able to explain exactly how to do it.  When we do have questions, we can text Emma and she can tell or show us exactly what to do.

We are STEELE Standing.  We are STEELE leaning on each other and on you.  There are so many people going through so much.  We hope that you have people to lean on because we have been blessed to have so many people join Tina’s army.  Thank you for STEELE being there for us.

So another night has come.  We had a good day.  Good night from the Mom and Sister Three Cottage Time.