Dipper, My Birthday, and Other News

It's been about a month since I last wrote on this blog!  I really am not being lazy.  Honestly, not much has happened.

A month ago, Dipper died.  October 20, Jean and I couldn't get him inside that evening because he was struck on the highway.  Jean found Dipper, but didn't want me to see him.  She said that he basically died instantly.  I was really sad when it happened, and I'm going to miss him.  He was my favorite cat out of the three.  It was interesting that I just took some photos of him a day or so before when he had gotten into some iron oxide.  Now only Butterscotch and Lightning are left.  My mighty hunter is gone.

Dipper got into iron oxide somehow!

Lately, Lightning has been acting pretty strangely.  On Wednesday evening and Thursday morning we had a bad windstorm which blew in a snow storm.  Ever since then Lightning hasn't come out of Grandma's bedroom closet.  Yesterday I told Jean at work, "There was an old kitty that lived in a closet.  She had so many worries that she made a 'deposit.' "  Subsequently I moved one of the litter boxes next to the closet so that we wouldn't have this problem in the future.  I don't know what to think about Lightning.  Maybe I need a cat whisperer to figure out why she's so nervous.  Butterscotch doesn't bother her, and there isn't anyone there to do mean things to her.  She is an obsessive licker and has a bare belly with no fur.  Maybe this is related somehow.

This month I've been working a lot on family photos and genealogy.  I recently discovered some cousins on my paternal grandma's side of the family.  I only knew of one that was still living until Jean and I found a wedding invitation from 1952.  I'm in contact with her, and I've been collecting information from her side of the family.

I've seen a lot of photos lately.  We pulled out several portraits of people, one of which was my second great grandfather's wedding photo from 1892.  We're having it professionally digitally rendered since it's bigger than my scanner.  He's one of my favorite ancestors anyway, so I consider this a good investment.  The digital version should be ready by Wednesday, but I don't know if I'll be in Bozeman to get it then!

Tuesday, November 16 was my thirty-first birthday.   I got so many birthday wishes on Facebook!  I celebrated my birthday on Wednesday with Jean.  She and I are so close we're like a brother and sister; I never thought I'd be so close to her.  She took me out to Corino's in Bozeman and we watched a movie together.

By the way, I didn't like Skyline.  They had a good idea for a plot, but the movie never had a conclusion; it ended on a twist.  As well, I found the movie depressing.  I thought the movie was violent enough that it should have been rated R.  Oh well.

Also while we were in Bozeman we did some shopping, mostly related to family genealogy and archiving.  We want to preserve the special things in Grandma's house like photos.  We'll eventually transfer all these things to acid-free media.

We had a big snowstorm on Friday.  In one night we got about 12 inches of snow.  The next day it continued to snow, though we didn't see more than a couple inches Saturday.  Today was pretty clear, but last night it got really cold.  It was 4 degrees last night and warmed up to 21 today.  This is more snow than we got cumulatively last year!  In general we've had more precipitation this year than normal.

Hospice Care for Betty

On September 1, Jean and I went to a Care Conference for Betty and noticed that there were some significant changes in her.  She no longer recognized me, she favored her left side, and then she started having falls.

On October 13, I went to a Care Conference for Grandma at Evergreen.  Jean was out of town at a veterinary conference in Reno, Nevada and couldn't attend.  While I was at the Care Conference, the staff discussed with me their concern about Betty because she'd been making a rapid decline.  Most of this was because of her falls; she'd been having about two a week.  As a matter of fact, she just had one Oct. 21.  On one of her falls, she broke her bottom dentures.  I asked the resident social worker Roger if he thought that there would be any benefit to Betty's way of living if we got new dentures for her.  He didn't even hesitate to say no.  The staff has moved Betty to a new room where she can be better monitored, but that doesn't stop Betty from trying to get out of bed when she wakes up.  The staff recommended that I put her on hospice care.

To me this was not shocking news.  Having studied a bit about Alzheimer's Disease, I recognized that once she started falling, she would probably make a rapid decline and then pass away.  Alzheimer's patients can be obsessive walkers, which Betty is, and at some point, they forget how to walk.  The combination can become fatal.  It seemed that this was coming true for Betty.  Based on what Evergreen was telling me and how fast someone can decline, I guessed that she only had another month to live.

I tried to get an appointment with Betty's doctor because he wanted to talk to Jean and me about some test results on Betty, but I was unable to that day because it was Wednesday and neither the doctor nor his nurse were in.

Thursday, Oct. 14, I called both Hospice Care and Rocky Mountain Hospice.  Wow!  There is certainly a difference in the companies!  If anyone in the Livingston/Bozeman area wants a recommendation for a hospice company, I can easily recommend Rocky Moutain Hospice.  We set up a meeting at Evergreen that day and talked about Betty's care for an hour and a half and then I signed their paperwork.  We still needed Betty's doctor's orders to put Betty on hospice though.

I went back to Park Clinic and tried to make an appointment to see Betty's doctor.  I had two errands now: Betty's test results and hospice care.  His nurse, told me that he was "booked for the rest of the day and can't see you, and he's going out of town tomorrow and won't be back until next Thursday.  Is that too late?"  That was just about the stupidest question I had heard.

"I don't know," I replied, "Betty's going into hospice.  When is too late?"  Nothing was accomplished by talking to that nurse.

Rocky Mountain Hospice went to bat for me and found out that Betty's doctor was actually going to be back in town before he was actually supposed to be at work, so they were able to get the ball rolling.  Betty was officially on hospice October 20, six days after we tried to get this done.  Thank you Rocky Mountain Hospice!

Yesterday, October 21, Jean got a call at 2:30 pm asking us where we were because we were late for an appointment with Betty's doctor.  I kid you not:  I flew off the handle, especially at the Park Clinic employees, because Jean and I knew nothing about this appointment with her doctor, for which we would have gone to had we known about it.  For real!  I tried twice last week to make an appointment, in person!  (Living in Gardiner means that we need to know at least an hour before an appointment so that we can drive to Livingston.)

I did get to talk to Betty's doctor, and explain all the road blocks I had been having trying to get in touch with him concerning both Betty's test results and hospice care.  Her doctor is a good one, and he's always tried to help us out when he could, but I recently kept having obstacles in arranging an appointment to meet with him, and this was really the third strike.

Betty's test results showed that she had scarring in an aortic artery.  That may or may not have any affect on her falling.

Also, tests were done on her vocal cords because she doesn't talk anymore.  The doctor doesn't believe that the paralysis of her vocal cords is because of Alzheimer's; he believes there may be a tumor or other malady near her throat.  All her life she's had thyroid problems, and I consider that this could be a result of that.  The doctor doesn't believe that treating it would be in Betty's best interest, and I agree; one of the reasons I wanted to put Betty into hospice is because of problems that we can't fix without life-threatening solutions.

The doctor agreed to sign the orders for hospice because of our wishes, but doesn't necessarily believe that Betty is terminally ill.  On the other hand, the nurse who did an exam of Betty for Rocky Mountain did believe that she qualified.  Evergreen staff and Betty's social worker at Evergreen recommended hospice.  I see Betty's rapid decline myself and know it's a really bad sign.

I hope that Betty gets better with the extra comfort-level attention that hospice can provide.  Maybe she'll get out of this scenario.  But if she does, I don't think she will live very long anyway because of the possible tumor and because after losing the ability to walk, Alzheimer's patients lose the ability to swallow.

I haven't been too close to Betty myself, so I hope I don't sound heartless in writing so dispassionately about her circumstances.  Her decline is sad, but it doesn't affect me very personally.

My biggest goal in her care at the moment is making sure her immediate needs are taken care of.  I think it's especially important now because of the possibility that she will soon die.  Montanans want to die with dignity; it's even written in our constitution.  I won't deny her that.

The Bear's Tooth

September 29 Jean and I decided to drive along Beartooth Pass.  She had been dealing with pressures from her work, and we hadn't done something together since we went to the Montana Fair in August.

We drove in a loop, starting in Gardiner, then going to Mammoth, Cooke City, Red Lodge, Laurel, Livingston, and then back to Gardiner.  It was definitely an all-day trek since we wanted to take pictures and enjoy the day as much as we could.  I'm not complaining about my work schedule, but my night shift obviously keeps me up all night so we had to hoof it a little bit because sunset is now around 7 pm.  I get up late in the morning or early in the afternoon, so I had to get up "early."

We enjoyed viewing the bridge on US Highway 212 at Lake Creek.  There is also a waterfall there for those who are willing to walk one or two hundred feet.  From there we made a couple stops near Beartooth Butte.  We could easily see the fire watch tower on Clay Butte.  There is still some construction at Beartooth Lake, but it's limited.  We hardly had to wait at all.  From there we drove to the top, about 11,000 feet above sea level.  I noticed that the sign that used to say that we were at the 11,000 mark is painted over.

Beartooth Lake

Near the top we could clearly see Quintuple Peaks, also known as the Bear's Tooth.  I am truly a geek because I have the USGS data for Montana and Wyoming on my computer.  Apparently, even though the sign says The Bear's Tooth, that is actually not the mountain's name.  In fact, the official name is Quintuple Peaks.  It certainly is a geologic quandary.

It's me!  I'm in front of Quintuple Peaks on the Montana and Wyoming border.

Probably Jean's favorite spot was at Twin Lakes.  There are so many lakes in that basin, but only the two lakes are named.  The basin isn't named, and neither is the ridge on the edge of the basin.  I am absolutely amazed at the lack of identification for a place which is so popular and beautiful.

Twin Lakes; Hellroaring Plateau is in the background.

On the Montana side of the pass, we stopped at a roadside park.  There were several least chipmunks in the area, and they looked to be well fed.  We took some pictures of them for a little while and then walked on the short trail to the edge of a cliff.  From that vantage point we were able to see a good portion of Rock Creek Canyon.  There was a little bit of smoke in the air from the Antelope Fire in Yellowstone National Park, and it gave the mountains extra character.

Autumn Blaze

Once we reached Red Lodge, we saw a red fox on Shadow Lane.  It must have had fleas or something because it was constantly itching itself.  It was nearing some people's chickens, but didn't actually pay a lot of attention to the chickens.  I think the fox was more worried about my presence than anything else.

Jean and I ate dinner in Red Lodge at Bogart's.  It's a good Mexican restaurant that we can both recommend for anyone traveling in the area.

From there, we drove to Laurel and got some gas, and then headed back home along Interstate 90.  We had a really great time.  The last time I went on Beartooth Pass was with my ex-girlfriend back in 2007.  Jean hadn't been there since she was a child.  It was about time that we saw it again.  We really had a great time, and we got the relaxation that we needed.

The Gardiner Bruins Isn't Just a Team...

I know I still have to write about Jean's and my trip on Beartooth Pass last week, but before I do, I wanted to tell you about a newspaper story that occurred near my home.

Coop-raiding grizzlies back in Yellowstone

BOZEMAN (AP) -- Three grizzly bears that raided chicken coops near Gardiner have been relocated into Yellowstone National Park, but a male bear that had been hanging out near the school in West Yellowstone was not so fortunate....

Also Tuesday, FWP [Fish, Wildlife and Parks] officials captured a female grizzly and two cubs that raided two separate chicken coops in the Gardiner area.

The sow was in fair condition and the cubs were thin and biologists are uncertain if they will survive the winter.

Yes, the sow and two cubs killed about 14 chickens across the road from me about a quarter-mile away.  When I went to work, I saw the bear cage in their yard, but I couldn't see the grizzly if it was there.  I was sorry to hear about the chickens.  I saw them on a regular basis on my way to Gardiner.

It's kind of interesting when the news reports something that's close to you.

I've been having a grizzly boar in my yard lately, and he's messed up a couple trees.

Also one of our neighbors' cats is missing.  I still haven't seen that cat, and I hope that Puff hasn't turned into a grizzly snack.

The End of Summer

It seems like it is the end of summer now.  This summer was way too short.

August 18-19 Jean and I went to the Montana State Fair in Billings, Montana.  We had a lot of fun.  We stayed at the Days Inn near King Avenue West.  Yeah, I guess I'm a traitor to Super 8, but they had some front desk problems that day, so I stayed somewhere else.  That first evening Jean and I had dinner at Red Lobster.  We hadn't eaten at that restaurant in a really long time, and we both considered it to be a treat.  The next day we went to Best Buy and looked around at all the neat electronics.  What can I say?  I'm easily entertained.  The Best Buy in Billings is closest to Gardiner, and that's about two and a half hours away from us.

Afterward, we finally went to the Montana State Fair.  Jean and I went to see most of the exhibits and animals while we were waiting for Tim, Zana, Kassie, and Jared to arrive.  Unfortunately we didn't see any pigs/hogs or horses.  Also, we got to see how extensively damaged the MetraPark really was from the tornado they recently had.  According to some newspaper reports, it will cost $15 million to repair.

Once the rest arrived, I went on several rides with Jared while Zana took Kassie and Jean got to catch up with her brother Tim.  Jared had a really good time, and even went on the Zipper.  It was funny because he almost puked on that one, but he didn't have any problem with any of the rides that went from side to side.  I guess it was just stuff that made him go forward and backward.  Watch Jared as he does this ride--it's funny:

So after we had all sorts of fun, Jean and I drove back to Gardiner.

Since then Jean and I have been working on the house.  Jean has been doing a lot of housecleaning, going through closets, boxes, and various things that have been in Grandma's house forever.  Myself, I've been helping by going through some of the paperwork.  It's interesting to find things that are so old.  Much of it I am preparing to put in my family tree that I have built.

Dad and Bonnie came over to the house for a short visit on August 28, the day before Dad's birthday.  Dad's continuing to work on another book.  His first book is in the publishing phase.  We had dinner together at Rosie's.  Rosie's is a good place for us to eat because Dad hates cheese and Bonnie doesn't like seafood.  Rosie's offers Italian and steaks, so both of them can find things on the menu that they like.

September 1 Jean and I went to Bozeman to do some shopping, hauling, and watch a movie.  Jean couldn't remember the last time that she had been to a movie, and I knew that the last movie I watched in a theater was Clash of the Titans back in April, the day before I went on my vacation to the Bahamas.  We watched Takers since there wasn't a movie that we both really had to see.

This month we've been seeing a lot of bears in the area.  We have a grizzly boar around our house.  Jean and I witnessed him trying to cross the Yellowstone toward our side of the river.  There were a lot of tourists who were trying to get as close as they could so that they could take pictures.  Fortunately for the idiots, the bear changed his mind halfway across the river and doubled back.  These people just didn't realize how unpredictable a grizzly bear is and that they are the safest in their cars when a grizzly is that close.

A black bear sow and her two cubs have been frequenting the trash cans in Gardiner.  One day the mother even put her nose against our glass door at Super 8!  Black bears aren't as scary as grizzlies in my opinion just because they are scavenger bears.  Idiots were still getting way to close on purpose but no one was hurt; black bears are usually docile anyway.  However, I was working one day at Super 8 about 5:00 a.m. when Roger, our maintenance man, came to the lobby to get some morning coffee.  He left and then came back in a couple minutes later a bit shaken.  He said that he had walked outside with his coffee and then saw that the bear was right in front of him!  By that time the doors on the hotel had already closed so they were locked again.  He dropped his coffee and the bear and he ran away from each other in opposite directions.  I thought it was funny, but I'm glad it didn't happen to me!

My cousin Jared recently had an accident which we just found out about last week.  Some kid threw a rock at him; the rock hit Jared on his left cheek.  The wound turned into an abscess and doctor had to do surgery on Jared.  He's healing up pretty well, but still I think that charges should be brought against the other child for assault just to show the boy how serious rock-throwing is, since the parents obviously aren't teaching him.  Zana showed the mother of the culprit a picture of the wound and what Jared's cheek looked like after the surgery and the culprit's mother almost vomited.  I thought it served her right for being a bad mom.  I saw the pictures too, but my reaction was more of shock than anything else; I've seen bad wounds before.

Grandma and Betty are doing alright, though Betty's health is decreasing.  She's having frequent falls.  As a dementia patient, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she does eventually pass away as a result of falling (direct or indirect).  Alzheimer's patients tend to be obsessive walkers, but they also suffer from gait problems.  The combination can sometimes be fatal.  I certainly hope that isn't the case, but Jean and I are prepared for that possibility.  The nursing home wants to do a CAT scan on Betty to help determine the reason that she's not vocal at all.  They think that she has partial paralysis, but again, she has dementia.  Sometimes dementia patients just forget how to make sounds.  The last time Jean and I saw Betty, she didn't recognize either of us; that is a bit unusual.  She typically thinks that I am my father, and sometimes she recognizes Jean.  We also noticed that she favored her left side as if she's had a stroke.  Don't misunderstand me; I don't think she's had a stroke, but I think there's a possibility that she's had mini-strokes or that her frequent falls have affected her in this way.

Grandma is still pretty much the same.  She is mostly bedridden unless other people help her out.  At least in the natural it appears that she won't regain her physical strength.  When it comes to her mind, she has good days and she has bad days.  Sometimes she can understand what goes on around her, and other times, she doesn't.  Regardless of what we see, I still believe in a God capable of healing even the most hopeless cases.  Some might question why I look for God to heal a woman who has lived a long life of 82 years.  It doesn't seem right for her to linger the way she is.  She still wants to live too.  So unless God tells me otherwise, I pray for her healing.

Yesterday Jean and I went to Livingston to celebrate birthdays for several people: Chris and Bonnie (whose birthdays are on the same day), Dad, Janet, and Wilma.  I was surprised at Wilma because she was an elderly lady and she was bragging about the tattoos that she just got!  They looked good too.  She's a substitute lunch lady at one of the elementary schools in Livingston.  I'm sure the kids give her lots of attention. :)