So, I don't often whine and bitch and moan about my life on the blog.
At least I hope I don't!
And I'm really not complaining for me, it's for my Mom...well, let me explain.
My Mom is the oldest of six siblings. She's always been the one to take care of everyone, from her younger siblings, to my Dad and us kids, to her grandkids and grandnieces and grandnephews.
She's the rock, basically.
And now that my own grandmother, her mother, is in her nineties, my Mom and her siblings have all banded together to take care of her and make sure she has everything she needs.
Now, my kids' great-grandma is no slouch. Like I said, she's in her nineties and still going strong, attending art classes and painting wildlife from Yellowstone National Park. She lives up in Wyoming with my Mom's youngest brother, who is a licensed practical nurse, and one of my aunts is right around the corner and checks in from time to time, too. Another aunt had grandma live with her for several years. And my Mom goes up to spell her brother and visit with grandma several times a year. They all take care of my grandma, sending checks to help with her upkeep, etc.
So, anyway, my Mom was set to fly up to Wyoming to see grandma, to take over for my uncle and also because grandma is celebrating her birthday.
She will be Ninety-Seven Years Old! Which is fabulous.
And then my Dad was in an accident.
Dad is in great shape (so's Mom!), and he rides his bike nearly every day. He was riding down one of the neighborhood roads and a truck driver started backing up. He didn't see Dad behind him, and Dad tried to get out of his way, but it was no good. He ended up flying over the curb on his bike and then crashed down over the handlebars. He was, of course, wearing his helmet, and he put his arms out to try to stop his fall and catch himself.
But Dad's
skin was literally coming off of his knees in patches from the fall, and in addition to his arms being badly scraped as well, he
separated his shoulder. For those that know about these kind of things, it was an "a c separation of a level 3 on a scale of 1 to 6" as far as damage goes. Dad's going to have his shoulder in a sling for weeks.
Yeah, Ouch. And this
is a man in his early seventies we're talking about.
The truck driver got Dad home and Mom took one look at this guy covered in blood and holding his shoulder, called 911 and they took him to the ER in an ambulance.
So, now, remember that flight that Mom is taking for grandma's 97th birthday? She has to postpone it. Being a senior on a fixed budget, Mom naturally opted for a cheaper plane ticket, which is, of course, non-refundable.
But she had the records from the ER and she called United to change her flight by just a couple days, just until Dad was not having to pop Vicodin non-stop for the pain, even though he would still be in a sling and a family member would need to come over to take care of him. Mom didn't really want to leave Dad, but she also had promised her brother she would be there for grandma's birthday and take over for him for a little while in caring for grandma, so she had prior responsibilities. And my Mom never lets anyone down.
So, anyway, only because she has those ER records, United Airways agrees to waive the $150 change fee for postponing her trip a couple days. Yay! That's good, right? And they managed to find her a flight a couple days later through Continental.
Well, yes, but the flight they are putting her on--this senior, who is visiting her 97 year-old mother and leaving her injured husband to do it--is $278 more than the other flight she had scheduled.
Yes, you read that right. Not $278 total, but $278 ADDITIONAL dollars.
So, today, I feel like I'm entitled to whine on my Mom's behalf.
Because, really, WTF, United (and Continental)? You can't give a senior on a fixed-income, going to care for her NINETY-SEVEN YEAR OLD MOTHER a bit of a price break?!
GRAR.
Please consider tweeting this post for me, okay?
