Another Day, Another UTI...

Hi, folks - this is David posting for Richard...
He is back in the hospital for another Urinary Tract Infection, and may not be catching up here for a day or two, so asked me to fill in tonight.
It's ironic that he let me do this on April 1... but I won't use this opportunity to take you on an April Fool's ride.  This is the straight dope!


He's in Rockyview this time (not Foothills), which is a bit easier for many of our group of close friends (mostly living in the south of the city), and as I arrived, I met Tonny & Andrea, who'd also answered "the call" this evening.

I'll let him compose his thoughts on this particular E.R. visit when he's come back from his drug-induced sleep tonight. Sometimes I envy his ability to sleep so soundly & easily - despite surroundings as harsh & unfriendly as an E.R. cubicle, he can rest & sleep well & soundly.

I expect the nurses are in for a rough night, as Richard's snoring can ruffle more than a few feathers!


As Richard wrote on Thursday, the van arrived that afternoon - I picked up the truck & took it in to the dealer for reselling, picked up the van & took Richard for a quick trip to the licencing office to renew his recently-expired Disabled placard for the vehicle.

Not a pleasure trip, so it didn't really count as much other than a "yes, it works, and yes, I can get into the front passenger seat space with no issues!" revelation.

Saturday, though, Richard was invited to his daughter Kate's for Easter Dinner, with whomever was able to run him up there.  A live-in caregiver who would be always available to do so, will be handy to have around, but it's good that Richard has a bunch of friends who can do this sort of thing with him, as Kate is part of the group and it had been a while since I'd talked to her.

We officially christened the van - originally considered to be named "Miss Daisy", Richard eventually settled on "Lucille" - by grabbing a lunch of burgers & fries, and both of us dropping fries on the floor.

In the pickup, finding fossilized french fries was a tradition every time you looked for something - it couldn't be a proper road trip without losing a little bit of it on the floor... in the backseat... or in a door pocket.
I dare say this was now the closest I was going to get to searching for Easter Eggs this year - finding the fries as I tried to clean it up as we got to Kate's.

While we don't have pictures of it yet, the van is a 2011 Toyota Sienna, with a Braun Rampvan XT conversion.  2nd-row seats were removed, gas tank moved to the mid-trunk area, 3rd-row seats raised over the gas tank, and floor lowered to give enough headroom for a big wheelchair.  The front seats can be removed but unlike the pickup, the van has no hand controls.  But Richard can still sit in the front passenger space & enjoy the road.  Space is good enough for him to lean back in his power chair & rest, or even sleep.    The side ramp is a folding one (not one that rolls in under the floor).
*Here's a stock photo to give you an idea - looks about the same as ours*:

It drives well, and my brother, who works for Toyota, will now have a number of requests coming his way for discounted parts & accessories... :)

We had a nice time with Kate & Phil & his boys; Phil's parents, and Richard's brothers Peter & Jim.
Unfortunately, we had to leave just after dinner, to make it back the 90-minute drive before Kabira arrived to take care of Richard's evening routine.

I never got the chance to play the Little Richard CD I brought with "Lucille" on it... but there are more days, and road trips, ahead!