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Wednesday 18 May 2005

16:00

My mother is dying of cancer. After a quick, two-year seige against the disease, she's in a particularly diabolical Catch-22. With her ability to eat severely diminished she's not able to keep up her strength to tolerate the chemotherapy (which, until recently, she was doing well).

Two days ago she returned from Münster, Germany, where she visited with her mother, Omi Marga, and her brother, Uncle Daniel.

All of them, and Mom's husband Emil, have said it was a good trip to have taken. It did, however, take a lot out of her. I just chatted with her a few minutes ago and she's all used up. She says it's not just the jet lag and the flight, which was hard, but it's all of that plus the nutritional drain. (My sister, Felicia, was in New Jersey a couple of weekends ago, trying to whip up savory liquid foods (like Indian lassi) as an alternative to the cloyingly sweet nutritional shakes that Mom was having a hard time getting and keeping down.)

So I'm going to head East to catch up with Mom. Bereavement and serious illness fares are calculated from the airlines' cheapest unrestricted fares, which are not nearly as priceworthy as the partially restricted fares we all usually buy for our vacations. A quick search shows that I'm looking at least $618. That's a lot, compared with the usual $150 round-trip I can usually find.

But what's this I see? Flight + amenities are cheaper? Hotel? Car?

Yep. Taking that link I wind up with a mid-size car for the duration of my trip and almost $200 in my pocket. Wow. Having my own wheels will also be good. Mom takes people in very short doses, with lots of sleeping. Perhaps I'll take in my old surroundings while she's asleep.

I'll be airborne in 36 hours. I'll pack my geek bag, and a few clothes. Not much I need, for such a trip. Sigh.

Then, early in the morning, comes an instant message from Daniel.

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