Jack of Harts

I am planning three remembrances for mom in the coming weeks. On July the 2nd, for family and friends in Rochester, we are getting together at the hotel I work at. TownePlace Suites Rochester. The one on 43rd Street NW, not Second St. I’m looking at a start time of 2PM and going until people feel like leaving. We have rooms available right now if you want to stay the night. There is a VFW next door if food is wanted. I could also cater something in if wished. Still planning all this out. Then we are planning on a service open to all on July the 16th at Maine Presbyterian Church in Maine Township in Northern Minnesota, followed by a burial across the road at Silent Vale Cemetery. It’s where our family is generally buried, and our plot is four rows from where her parents rest. Soon she will join them. The third remembrance to fulfill one of her last requests will probably be a much smaller affair, on or around the 16th.

It is amazing how quickly things can change. One day you are looking forward to mom being able to get out of the Twin Cities and back to Rochester. And then you find out that their medical types will not clear her for transport. If there is anything I can tell those of you who will go through this in the future, do not let insurance force you into quick decisions. And do everything you can to research the options better. I knew what to expect from the hospice up there. It is widely regarded as one of the best in the State, with a long history of doing a very good job of caring for people in their final days. But we were not told that they are in the middle of a major rebuild, with half of their rooms down for construction, and their only open rooms are dual occupancy. Rochester got rid of dual occupancy rooms years ago, and mom’s mental health has suffered greatly in that environment. And there doesn’t appear to be anything I can do to fix the issue.