The Long Way Home

We are headed home today, back to Calgary. My Mom is doing much better, her infection well under control thanks to the IV antibiotics. Ray has things well in hand, and they've even had a chance to talk to a Home Care representative about getting help here in their apartment. While they don't qualify, yet, for personal care, they can get support services such as cleaning and meal preparation for $12 and hour. It's still a layout, but not as much as they were paying before.

It bothers me a lot, the differences in level of care from province to province in this country. Our medical system is supposed to be universal, yet there are substantial differences, especially in supplementary services like Home Care, from province to province. On the other hand, I thank God on a daily basis that I don't face the challenges which our American cousins face, with their private insurance and medical. At least here in Canada, I am confident Mom and Ray will get the support they need at a reasonable cost, and without a lot of fuss.

As for me, I plan on doing something adventurous today. I hope to make the whole drive, from here to Calgary, in one day, one 12 hour day. We will leave here shortly, be on the road by noon, stop to see Mom for a few minutes, then head east along the Trans-Canada Highway. I don't actually plan on driving for 12 hours straight. I plan on breaking it up into manageable segments, with plenty of rest stops along the way.

Our first goal will be Hope, then onto Kamloops, about three hours from Vancouver. Then, Salmon Arm, another hour and forty minutes east. At that time I will see how I am doing. If I feel up to it, we will head for Revelstoke, about an hour further east. Once again I will stop to assess, and likely take a long rest. After that comes Golden, two more hours away, then finally, Calgary, three hours after that. If I get really tired we can stop for the night in any of our major rest points. We could even stop in Canmore, an hour from Calgary, if it gets bad.

The whole drive, including the one hour time change, should take about 12 hours. That puts us home at around midnight. If I make a couple of longish stops along the way, that might make it 1:00 AM. I can do that. I've done that before. I just want to see if I can do it again. If not, there are always hotels along the way. We'll be good, I'm sure of it.