Hello to all,

If following, I will attempt to write a little bit each week regarding Kathy's (mom) days at Aegis. Last week Jeannette and Chester visited with mom twice and did some walking and quiet time. As well, I accompanied mom to see a Kaiser nurse, off site, to evaluate mom's medications and her overall health. As you may or may not know, Kaiser Southern Califonia is different than Kaiser Northern California and we are having to update all her files.
All of mom's blood work came back emmaculate. Years of walking and walking and walking have paid off. I had to promise mom candy bars to get her to see another medical facility and when we left little girls were selling cup cakes and I bought mom a couple of them.
We decided to keep away from mom for a couple of days to let her settle in a bit. However, I spoke with mom's nurse at Aegis yesterday (Saturday) and she said the following:

"Your mother is doing remarkably well--as far as only needing redirection--she is not trying to push through the doors as was the case last week. She visits with other residents and plays cards, watches movies and keeps busy with visiting or helping staff."

I hope the you are all doing well,

Bill

Jeannette spent time with Kathy this morning. Kathy enjoyed introducing Chester to everyone. We had a nice walk through the neighborhood and followed that up with some coffee in the lobby.

Hello to everyone and I hope you are well. If you are receiving this email, you are a friend, and I have burdened you with my mother's condition at some point during this process and I wanted to update you on her condition. My brother and I will be checking mom in this weekend to an Assisted Living Facility about 1.5 miles from Jeannette and my home. Cost: roughly $5,500 per month. I bring this up simply to pay the first of many accolades to my mother, whom I owe so much and can never repay.
As a child of Depression Era parents, Mom was a consummate saver. Always preparing for the worst of times. As I know many of you had upbringings similar or tougher than ours (another great credit to our mom as we never thought of ourselves as needing). My brother and I rarely wore clothes that were in style, we always had one pair of shoes (and one pair of sports cleats) at a time. We played baseball, football, rode our bikes and played street games (with other kids) to bide our time. No computers, video games etc that squelched our mother's propensity for saving. As children of a Nurse, we had a very difficult time convincing our mother that we were sick and needed to stay home from school. Subsequently, we probably got other kids sick as we sneezed our way through class. As well, we learned a lesson to only call in sick from work when we truly needed to. Another great lesson passed on to us by her. All our mother's saving over the years has paid Jim and I one impressive dividend, in that, she saved her sons a lifetime of debt paying for care to a disease which did not exist while she was learning the lessons of saving her money.
My brother and I owe our mother, Katherine Helen Reilly, untold debt for always thinking ahead. While the conversation of our Nation is looking for help or hand-outs, our Mother needs none to the very end and we are so proud of her as I cry writing this part of my note. Know that Jim and I will do our best to make mom's stay in Assisted Living the best we can. This is simply a new chapter in our mother's life and we will continue to address it as she guided us through life, "Head On..."
Thank you All for you support and the best to you all and your families,
Bill