BlueWildRye of Bliss

[ismo]

Part one of the mission is accomplished. We arrived and sat with Mother for nearly three hours, partly because we were waiting for the nurses to show up and discuss some concerns with us. Naturally, the only nurse available was the one who had been there for exactly one day and knew nothing of Mother's history. We were concerned because of her extreme confusion and disability. She could not really articulate speech most of the time, and when she did, the things she said were hallucinatory. She couldn't really talk to Queenie when I dialed the phone for her, but she had an animated conversation on an imaginary phone with her mother, who has been gone for some time. Finally the nurse took her vitals and discovered that her blood pressure was very high, and her pulse was jumpy, possibly indicating atrial fibrillation, which she does have. They said they'd check on her every half hour, and if her blood pressure didn't come down, they might have to send her to the hospital. This is a whole other can of worms. We don't want her to go to the hospital any more. It causes extreme stress and disorientation. Anyway, they said they would make sure to call me or the Duchess before doing any such thing. So far, no call. So far so good.

Then Mr. Science arrived, and we had a lovely dinner with him during which we talked about many things that didn't relate to the current crisis, and we all ate some kind of lake fish. Now I have a killer headache, and we are in a hotel that is also inhabited by large numbers of young girls who are here for a dance competition. It sounds as if some kind of dancing is going on nearby. It involves a lot of thumping and squealing, as if the kids are bouncing off the walls. I hope their parents will get tired of it pretty soon, because tomorrow we have to move all the furniture.