COVID did a number on all of us didn’t it? Ask anyone and you will hear a tragic tale of confusion, fear, loss and life-altering change.

I was one of the lucky ones – I kept my job, working from home for almost 2 years, then transitioning to a hybrid model (2-3 days in the office, the rest working from home). Was it stressful? You bet! There were changes to procedures, unusual collaborations and a very different business model to learn and follow. My company owned and operated commercial real estate, with several Class A office towers in major cities in Canada. Office space became as vacant as ghost towns in the Old West. Operating costs were down but so was operating capital. I’ll spare the details, we weathered the storms and business is approaching pre-COVID levels.

But that’s not the worst of my COVID experience.

During COVID we lost my 24 year old niece to colon cancer and my 59 year old cousin to complications following a routine surgery. And, a health crisis that hit close to home: my mother fell and broke her hip in March 2021. Hip repair surgery was followed by 5 weeks in a rehab facility during which dementia began to take hold.

When she came home, we were cautioned that the prognosis for someone in her condition was 2-3 years of life. This was a scary time for our family, especially my father. With help from personal support workers, physiotherapists, mobility aids around the home, and the love and patience of family, my mom survived for 3 years, living in her own home with her husband.

During that time, her cognitive function declined. She would plateau for a time, then slip down a bit, plateau again, then slip. Almost 3 years to the day, my mom had an episode – the details remain a mystery – but she was in severe pain and could not move. An ambulance took her to a nearby hospital emergency room. So began another 2 week hospital stay, followed by 5 weeks in a rehab facility. And there, the story takes a different turn.

My mom was unable to regain mobility and, we were faced with the realization that she would never be coming home again. Then, in a miraculous way that only an all-knowing and loving God could arrange, she was offered a room in a nursing home that was one of the five on our preferred list. These things happen quickly and we had to decide whether or not to accept and move her in in two days!

All that happened about 18 months ago. Today, my mom is comfortably and safely settled in a spacious, bright, clean care facility. She has a pleasant private room, fully paid by her pension income. The home is divided into several wings of 31 rooms each, with shared dining room and lounge facilities. There is hub with nurses, PSWs and other care workers, a doctor who comes in weekly, and a nurse practitioner who oversees everything. It’s like a small village – residents get to know each other and visitors and staff. There are concerts, group activities, service dogs who visit, crafts, games, monthly birthday celebrations and more.

My mom is comfortable and well cared for and we know she is safe. We visit three times a week, my dad, my brother and I, an aunt and uncle, and my sister comes up from Phoenix 3 or 4 times a year. Life continues to throw challenges our way – other aging relatives, health concerns for my 90+ aged father. I have my own challenges but, thankfully, I was able to retire in 2023 so I’m better able to handle the various demands on my time and energy.

Life is nothing if not unpredictable. But I’m learning to roll with the punches, trying to live up to the challenges and, if I screw things up, trusting my loving heavenly father to somehow make it right.

One day at a time…