Catching Up, And Things Catching Up With Me

It’s been a week of catching up, and things catching up with me. I’m still not fully caught up, and I’m not sure things have fully caught up with me. And while I could end this post at that, some explanation is probably in order.

As for catching up, I’m referring, of course, to getting caught up on my work and commitments. I have many areas of focus right now, including some remaining financing, pre-opening marketing, center design and construction, and community partners. Throughout the week following my Dad’s death, I did manage to keep moving forward on financing, but the other areas all fell behind. I’m getting caught up, but not there yet.

As for things catching up with me, I was so busy during the week following my Dad’s death, that I didn’t have much time for his death to hit me. I had to take care of the living, my Mom, as well as funeral and other arrangements. Things have been catching up with me this week, which has, to a certain extent, inhibited my catching up with things, so to speak.

Within hours of my Dad’s death, my Mom suffered a heart attack. It was mild, and apparently did no substantial damage to her heart, but we didn’t know that at the time. She was in hospital, Ross Memorial in Lindsay, Ontario, from the Friday night until she was discharged on the Wednesday.

On the Sunday we were told that Mom had to go to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto for an Angiogram, but they had no idea when she would be fit into the list of priorities at Sunnybrook. In the meantime, we had to make Dad’s funeral arrangements, and involve Mom in the decisions, obviously, without causing her any stress.

On the Monday we were told that she would go to Sunnybrook on the Tuesday. She had the Angiogram late in the day on Tuesday and we learned that her heart was fine, with no blockages, narrowings, or other damage. We had already scheduled Dad’s funeral for the following Saturday.

I came back to Kitchener on the Tuesday night and worked all day Wednesday. Thursday morning I headed back to my home town to be with Mom and complete Dad’s funeral arrangements.

On the morning of the funeral, last Saturday, Mom was rushed to hospital again with signs of a heart attack. After a battery of tests, the doctors determined that her chest pains were merely stress-related, and she was released in time to attend Dad’s funeral.

I spent Saturday evening and all of Sunday with my Mom. Monday morning I drove back to Kitchener, and began this week of catching up, and things catching up with me.