7 Continents Day 2019 + Grandpa Update :(
I saw Grandpa at his home on Thanksgiving where he was struggling with some back pain. He later ended up being admitted to a hospital/nursing home to help clear an infection in his spine and manage his pain. He moved medical facilities a couple of times, and talks of back surgery were beginning to happen. There were also concerns that the nursing home hadn't been properly administering his antibiotics, and he may have missed up a week of treatments.
My parents called me the weekend before last to report that Grandpa's oxygen levels had dropped very low and he'd had to be intubated. I followed up with my cousin Brenda to see if she had any additional information, and through talking to her and my parents, I learned that Grandpa had had a cardiac episode and likely some kind of stroke and his oxygen levels had been dangerously low for a period of around 20 minutes. They were able to stabilize him enough to perform a CT scan, but it was inconclusive.
My cousin texted me last Wednesday night saying they were hoping to do another CT scan in the morning to assess brain activity. Then I got a call from her early Thursday AM, and the update wasn't good. His condition had declined to the point where a nurse contacted her first thing to say that she expected him to pass soon. I got a hold of my parents, and all of the family that was nearby went to his room at the hospital. However, there were complications from his pacemaker (apparently those things are designed to keep you alive; who knew? :P), and the day ended up closing out with Grandpa still here. It was an emotional week, especially being physically removed from the rest of my family who were able to be at his side. From that point on, it was just a waiting game. His kidneys were no longer functioning, and his body was shutting down.
This morning, my mom called me to let me know that he had passed away last night. It had happened fairly quickly, and there wasn't enough time for anyone to make it to the hospital. But I know Grandpa knew how loved he was. Everyone who could be was there to support him throughout his time in the hospital, and for those of us who couldn't, well, I know he was on my mind non-stop. And I'm grateful I was able to see him both over Thanksgiving and Christmas while I was in town. He was dealing with a lot of pain then, and it is a relief to know he won't have to deal with that anymore.
Understandably, this year I felt a little less joyous, but we still tried to make the most of our 7 Continents Anniversary weekend.
South America - Mote con huesillo is a traditional Chilean summer-time drink that we tried our first day in Chile. It's a non-alcoholic beverage consisting of a sweet liquid made with dried peaches (huesillo) cooked in sugar, water and cinnamon, and then once cooled, mixed with fresh cooked husked wheat (mote). You can read about our first time trying it here.
North America - We just went with a simple cheese board that was mostly eaten by the time we took the above picture since it was our appetizer.
Europe - We made gin and tonics with the little bottle of Brecon Gin we had picked up in Wales. This is a fine quality distilled gin bottled at Penderyn Distillery using water from the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Asia - We were just going to pick up some sushi, but the Fusian we normally go to had closed, so Francisco swung by Maki Express and picked up an udon noodle bowl.
Australia - We had some Bundaberg ginger beer leftover from a previous shopping adventure, so we just shared this with our meal.
Africa - We have finally branched out from Egyptian feta (see the history of our annual meal), and this year we made our version of a Nando's halloumi pita since that was our fave on-the-go meal in South Africa
Antarctica - Our requisite bowl of ice.
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