Thursday

Mom's wrist: Got a phone call from my sister yesterday. She related that my mother, age 81, had fallen and possibly broken her wrist - or the bone(s) just above the actual wrist. Mom is a regular walker, which we should be happy about, because her balance and stamina are pretty good, considering her age. Well, she was taking a little trek (few blocks from her apt.) and was only about a block from coming home when OOPS! down she went. A woman who was driving in that area saw her fall, and offered assistance, but good ol' Mom insisted that she could get home okay.

Whereupon, she phoned my sis and asked for a ride to the closest emergency room. The long and the short of it is, they splinted her wrist and are having her return this morning to see an orthopedic surgeon, to see if any surgery is required.

The good news is that this break is on her left wrist (she is right-handed), so while it will be an inconvenience, it will not require that someone cook for her, etc.

Funeral services: I have decided to go to the funeral of the co-worker who was murdered last Friday. Several of the staff are going, Port-wide. In fact, so many will attend that an e-mail went out to the entire Port, reminding all that phone coverage must be maintained in each dept. I just feel so strongly about the family and that they need to see how Lucinda's co-workers valued her. This will be a Catholic service, so I am guessing a full mass will ensue. I think the last time I was at a Catholic mass was for my brother-in-law's funeral in March of '02, just before Easter that year. The church was jam-packed for his services, as was the funeral home the night before, during visitation and the rosary. I expect that this funeral will be similarly heavily-attended. My brother-in-law was in his early 50's; Lucinda was only age 34. Death touches us, our families, our acquaintances, when we least expect it - and age is NOT a factor, as we know. We all expect to live into old age and then possibly go by heart attack, stroke or whatever. But the Big Guy upstairs has His own plan...

After the services, finishing this on Friday. As expected, the church was pretty well-filled. I'm guessing that about 25% were from the Port. I just felt like I had to go. I drove two other co-workers. I had expected this to be more difficult for me, since the last funeral that I attended, was for Greg. Maybe the circumstances, and the fact that she was not a really close friend/co-worker, helped some. However, I did NOT parade past the open casket. I was NOT ready for that, having encountered death up-close-and-personal less than a year ago. So maybe there was an effect on me...

There were many police attending the service. I heard from a co-worker that either her dad or step-dad had been a Houston cop. Plus a handful of Metro (Transit) cops were there, too. Her three kids looked stunned, unemotional. I can't imagine what they are going through. I seem to be having trouble commenting on this whole scene, so perhaps I had best just let it go. Tough, tough, thing to even see from the sidelines.

Mom: sis brought her back to the doc, as instructed. The plan now is to try to do a closed reduction (no surgical opening) - basically, they will attempt to re-set the radius and ulna (probably with at least local anesthesia) without cutting her open. From what my sis described, in the process of falling and then getting herself back up again, my mother sort of round up the tiny bones in her wrist. This reduction is planned for this coming Tuesday.

Since I am finishing this up on Sunday morning, y'all will have to excuse me while I go and have a tiny portion of coffee (I'm really not supposed to have caffeine) plus the leftover half of a pecan-caramel roll waiting for me. I may post again later today.