Re: My Vegas Trip >Belinda>Vera

July 10, 2002

Dear Sweet Vera,

God bless you, child! To tell you the God's honest truth you totally

wore me out! LOL! Then I couldn't stop laughing because I could just

imagine the site you all made, especially with your pantyhose. I am

sorry for laughing but I don't think you could have had a harder time

if you had tried to make it harder for yourself! You caregivers do

not get enough credit for all that you do and I say again God Bless

You All for putting up with us! I can only pray that I will make it

easier on my loved ones but who knows? If I ever get to Vegas remind

me not to stay at Bally's! I am so glad that Fred did not bust his

head open on the toilet and you were able to pry Hannah off your leg!

I was wondering what would happen if you started laughing when Fred

said those things which upset you? Have you ever tried it or would

that be the worst mistake known to man? Just curious. It might make

you feel better if you laughed off the things he has said. I know it

wouldn't be easy but maybe worth a try. Sometimes when we show a

different reaction then expected it blows people's minds. I am so

thankful that you made it home in one piece and honestly if I was you

I don't think I would make another trip until I was well over this

last one and have forgotten a lot about what happened! That is just

me though! I am glad you were able to see your daughter get married

too!

Lots of love and gentle hugs,

Belinda

> Belinda:

> You wouldn't believe my Vegas trip. We didn't know till the Friday

before

> that we'd be able to go for sure. The doctor had to ok the trip for

Fred. I

> was trying to get everything ready for the trip and have the house

clean , so

> I'd come back to it all clean. Fred was up early Saturday, so I

started

> cleaning at 6 am , only Fred been having some mood swings and got

mad at me

> for doing it, so didn't get all that I wanted done , done. Sunday

morning I

> was still trying to get things packed for the trip, we were leaving

on this

> day. Fred wanted to help, so I told him he could get the food ready

to take.

> I came in just as he was about to fill the bag with ice and he

didn't have

> the drinks in yet, so I asked him about it. All I said was " what

about the

> drink's? " that set him off. Told me I didn't think he could do

anything and

> all the way to Vegas I heard " You seem like a nice person , but you

have the

> devil in you " , Then when we got to Vegas I had a room for us at

Bally's. Not

> the place to take someone that has a wheel. Bally's has no parking

lot, they

> share one with Paris. So I had to take Fred in his w/c to the

elevator, down

> three floor's , out of the elevator and down a long hall to get to

another

> elevator that would take us down another floor to a court yard,

there you

> have to go to the right past all these little shops, down one ramp,

past some

> more shops, down another ramp and past some more shop's and finelly

you get

> to Bally's, then you have to go across Bally's to the other side of

it ,up a

> ramp to get to where you check in. Once we checked in , I had to go

to

> another elevator to the eight floor to our room, all this just to

get Fred

> in the room. After that I had to go back to the car and get all our

stuff and

> bring it back to the room. When I was getting Fred ready for bed,

he was in

> the restroom and slipped and hit the back of the tolet tank. It was

lucky I

> was there I stopped him from hitting it hard. I got him to bed and

about 2:30

> am he woke up and couldn't breath. So I started giving him

breathing

> treatments. He still couldn't breath right so he wanted to go

outside to get

> some fresh air, so I had to get him dress, me dress and before I

took him

> down the eight floor's , I went into the bathroom to find the floor

all wet,

> our tolet us broke and water was coming out of it, So I took Fred

down the

> eight floors and outside to get some fresh air, then I went in to

report the

> tolet. The woman at the desk had someone come to the room to check

the tolet.

> Well It turned out that the whole tolet had to be replaced, by now

it was 4

> am and they put us in the room across the hall. So I had 2 hours

sleep after

> driving 4 hours. This was also the day that was getting

married. They

> were getting picked up at 4pm downstairs and I was going to take

Hannah and

> Fred in my car to the chapel. So just before 4pm they came with

Hannah. Fred

> was in the bathroom having problems with his bowels, Hannah hadn't

taken a

> nap, so she wanted to be picked up and by then I was trying to get

Fred

> dress( wedding is at 4:30pm) Hannah is hanging onto my leg, not

wanting to

> let go, I'm trying to get Fred dress with her attached to my leg.

I finelly

> put Hannah on the bed to get the rest of Fred dress. Well she

fall's asleep.

> I'm dress, but in a dress, pantyhouse and a slip that I hadn't

woren in 8

> years. I get Fred in the w/c , Hannah on his lap sound asleep, by

now it's

> 4:30pm and I should be at the chapel. I go down the eight floors ,

down the

> first ramp and by now I found out that the pantyhose I hadn't woren

for all

> these years won't stay up , so they are fallen while I'm trying to

hurry,

> then the slip is working it's way up. I'm trying to pull the

pantyhose up and

> the slip down while pushing the w/c, come to the first ramp in the

court yard

> ,and I have to go up them , Here I am trying to get the w/c up with

Fred in

> it and Hannah (270lbs with both) My shoes a sliding as I'm trying.

Here I had

> a man try to help, then I come to the next ramp which is the same

thing, I

> have to go up and still having problems with the pantyhose and

slip. Get up

> that ramp , get to the elevator go up the one floor down the long

hall and

> then to the other elevator to go the three floors and then to the

car. Get

> Hannah in the car seat, Fred in his seat and the w/c in the car.

Then I try

> to get in the car and could hardly get in because of my dress.

Finelly get to

> the chapel, but by now it's 4:45pm and I'm sure we missed the

wedding. Get

> Fred out of the car, Hannah out (who is still asleep) and try to

get them

> inside. The door that is suppose to be for w/c's I couldn't get

in , it was

> to hard, so someone came out to help. Got inside and told them I

was looking

> for my daughter , who had to be married by now. It turned out that

they were

> behind and we were able to see it. Fred cried during the whole

thing. Then I

> had to go back to Bally's. This time I had to park way out in the

parking

> lot. My parking spot was gone. Put Fred in the w/c, Hannah on his

lap ( who

> was still asleep) This time I had to go down four floors in the

elevator then

> down the long hall to the other elevator, down the one floor , out

to the

> court yard and then down the two ramps, which I would slid down

with the w/c

> because of my shoes. Pantyhose still falling down and the slip

working up. I

> got to the ramp in Bally's , got Fred and Hannah up that, up the

elevator to

> our room . The first thing I did was get rid of those panty hose

which by now

> were almost to my knees. I did get a pretty good night sleep the

night before

> we left to come home. I stopped to get gas, and when I came out of

the gas

> station , Fred had gotten in my seat to drive, I told him he

couldn't drive ,

> he wasn't on the insurance anymore. He wanted to know when I took

him off the

> insurance ( he was the one that told me to do it) So he got upset

with me ,

> because I wouldn't let him drive, so all the way home I heard how

I didn't

> think he could do anything anymore and that he wanted to sell our

plots and

> he'd find someone else to take care of him. So this is what my trip

to Vegas

> was like. I was hoping I would of gotten to meet Dr. Ray and his

Wife , but

> things didn't work out that way. AT least we made the wedding, but

boy did I

> have to work for it.

>

> Just another day in the life of me.

>

> Hugs Vera

July 11, 2002

Hi Belinda:

I do have to say that it is alot of work for the caregiver to get everything ready for a trip and then the trip itself and still the caregiving to do when your to the place that you travel to. Once I asked the caregiver if my van was big enough for all that I had to take or should I get a bus. Marilyn told me to get the bus. ). and most of the time that is what you need.

I talked to Elaine last night on Ims about her trip . She said her's was alot of work also and wonder if she should do these trip's again. I think we should the door is only open for so long, there will be a time that we can't take these trips no matter how much work we have to do, so I still feel with all the work that it took , I'd do it again.

Hugs Vera