I called Ray after Anita was admitted to Skylakes Hospital and when I was on my way home in Anita's car. Before Anita was admitted we drove to the Cancer Center first to have Anita be admitted from the Cancer Center and while we were waiting for her test results, one of the staff members came into the examining room as they were starting the blood tests. After the tests were sent over to the lab at the hospital, Anita was admitted to Skylakes Hospital. During this time the staff member came by to say hello to Anita. But Anita was fast asleep resting in the chair in the exam room waiting to be admitted to Skylakes Hospital.
I remember making the remark at the time, “Doesn’t she look so peaceful”. And the staff member agreed and decided not to wake her and instead left without waking. I didn't mean for her, not to wake her, I just made the comment about how peaceful she looked at that moment with no care in the world for how sick she was at this time in the This was hard for all of us who love this woman, even those in the medical field that had grown fond of her even more so in last months of her life. Before too long, they had arranged to have Anita transported to the ER by one of those small people mover carts. Soon one of the other technicians came into the room and mentioned they were ready to admit Anita now.
Anita and I then headed to the back door where the driver was waiting for us both to transport Anita to the front reception area of Skylakes. Anita asked at that moment on our way out the back door of the Cancer Center, “What about my car in the parking lot down below?” I told her at the time that I would walk back and get it from the parking lot down below as soon as she was admitted to Skylakes. Which reminds me of one time when Anita and I had gone to one of her appointments in 2012 when Shannon was too sick to go with her mom. That is when I go with Anita so she did not have to go by herself as she sometimes did when Shannon or I did not go with her. At this moment I cannot recall exactly when it was but I remember clearly what happened that cold, snow on the ground kind or day, but clear.
We drove into the driveway and as Anita was making the right turn around the corner into the parking lot of the Cancer Center. Anita ran over the edge of the corner where she caught the right passenger side of the car underneath and caught us both by surprise where there were blue hanging lights that Shannon had installed on the car when it belonged to her. Anita broke the lights and they came to pieces all over the ground. There was no other damage to the car. I remember trying to get the lights tied up so they would not drag on the ground on our way home that day. Anita mentioned she would have Ray look at when he had time after we got back home from that appointment at the Cancer Center that day. Anita did not trust anyone to work on the car unless it was Ray. Even to check the oil, she always left it up to Ray to do it for her.
We finally got into the cart the man was driving, the service Skylakes provide for the parking lot. After we got in the cart he drive us to the front entrance of Skylakes where we needed to go to the reception area so she could be admitted to her room they had waiting for he as they got all the necessary insurance information they needed from Anita. Before we went inside Anita wanted to have a cigarette and I remember very well the driver was not to happy that Anita wanted to have a cigarette first before we went inside. We then went over to an area for her to have one, as she knew it would be quite a while before she would get that chance again. It might be days before she had the opportunity to smoke a cigarette and Anita felt what the hell, she was dying anyway and she had the right to smoke a cigarette if she wanted too. She mentioned to me, “What do they think it is going to do, kill me. I am dying already, so what does it matter” And you can’t blame her I would do the same thing if the roles were reversed and it was me. Anita lit the cigarette and took a couple of drags and she mentioned to me it did not taste very good so she put it out and we headed inside to get her admitted.
They put here on the third floor and I remember Anita making the remark that she liked the nurses on the third floor as to her reason I do not know. But as many times as she had been to Skylakes with Shannon when Shannon was doing what I am was doing now. Anita would be the one to know. I had brought all the things she needed but she and I both realized a little late that she had forgotten to bring the charger for her cell phone. Anita mention when she called Ray she would have him go to the house and pick it up on his way up to see her later on that evening.
I then mention to Anita that I would now walk back over to the Cancer Center why the staff was getting her hooked up to all the medical devices and medication they needed her to be hooked up to. I then left and went got the car out of the parking lot and drove it over to the hospital parking lot and get the rest of Anita overnight stuff she had packed before we left earlier in the day and the rest of the things Anita wanted me to get out of the car.
I returned and stayed a while longer and as it was now as the sun was going down and Anita had mentioned to me many times as to how at night her head lights were not very bright at night and at night she had to use the high beams in order to be able to see. And I know that to be a fact from the time went to Alturas when Shannon was in Portland the night we went to the casino. I mentioned to Anita that I better start heading home before it gets dark. And she agreed, so we said our goodbyes to each other and that for her to call me at home later. Then I left and went and got the car and began to head home but before I did I made a phone call from the car on my cell phone to Ray to leave him a message to let him know what room Anita was in and that I was heading home in her car.
I head home to my house and rested for a bit, then I drove over to her house to park the car but I saw Rays’ car in the driveway as I drove by and Ray and I did not see eye to eye on things. In other words, he hated my guts for whatever reasons, which was his problem, not mine. Just like in psychology that was his monkey, not mine. And Anita had mentioned to Shannon and Ray both on several occasions that no one had the right to choose her friends for her, not even Ray.
Anita wanted to make I knew where all the money orders were for all her bills as he had not bought them all the day we went shopping on the day before on Friday the 4th of January. It was now January 5th and Sunday was the 6th but on Monday she wanted me to go by Tulelake City Hall and pay her water bill with one of the money orders but I would have to sign it because she had not had time to fill it out yet. And she wanted to make sure I know where the rest of them were so I could help her get them mailed to the right companies but I would have to fill them out for her too. She had already instructed me on how to do it and what to write on each of the money orders and what I didn’t remember she would help me through it from over the phone from the hospital.
On Monday the 7th of January 2013 I went over to Anita’s to let out the dogs and drop off her car in the carport as there was no need to keep it at my house and besides I felt better having her car at her house than at mine. My apartment was only a short walk to her house. I had her key to the house from the key on her car key ring. I entered and found all of the money orders where I knew she had placed them. And got out the one for the amount for the water and trash bill and filled it out and then took it over to the Tulelake City Hall to pay her water and trash bill for her. Then I went through the rest that she had the day before instructed me to fill out and get in the mail for her. Then I put the rest of them in her black purse in the middle section so that Ray could take her black purse to her with the battery charger as the night Anita was admitted Ray did not go by the house to pick up her purse or the battery charger. When I talked to Anita on the phone on Monday she wanted me to put the charger in the black purse as she had talked to Ray and mention to him that she wanted him to bring her black purse up to her at the hospital when he go off work on Monday. So I got everything ready and put the rest of the money orders in the black purse for Ray to take it to Anita.
Ray that evening picked up her black purse with the battery charger in it where I put the money orders in it so she could finish filling the rest of them out and pay the rest of her bills. Ray however took her black purse with him when he left that night after visiting with her, along with the battery charger after she charged her cell phone. All the money orders were now with Ray. So on the 8th Ray took her black purse back up to Anita with all the money orders.
Then Anita called me and wanted to know what happened to the money orders. I told her they were in the purse and she said no they were not. I said, “What do you mean they are not in there”. She mentioned she could not find them. I then said they were in the middle part of the purse and she had me all upset after she got upset with me for sending them all up in the first place. She said to me why did you do that. I said because that way you could fill them out there and have them mailed from there. Then she said Jim there were over $200.00 in money orders. And I said I do not know what to tell you, they were in the purse as that is where I put them. She then hung up the phone and I then called Alice and explained to her what had happened and how upset we both were about the money orders.
She then called me later after she had looked in the middle part of the black purse where I told her I had put them with the zipper part in the middle of the purse. She said then that she sent the Black purse back with Ray for him to take it to her house and put the black purse on the dresser on the backside of the bathroom wall in the dining area. We both were relieved now as now we both knew where they were and like she said Ray would not look in the purse he would just put it where she wanted him to at her house.
Anita had called me several times while she was there and I offered to come up and see her but I did not want to drive her car, as Ray would not have been very happy about it if I did. So I just talked to her on the phone and I told her to call me anytime she wanted to as it did not matter what time she did as it would not bother me at any hour even if she woke me up I told her not to worry about it. If she needed someone to talk to I had no problem with her calling me and more than likely I was awake anyway working on something.
Anita called me several times at night when she needed someone to talk to before they released her on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 from what I recall that she had written on her calendar. As Anita always wrote down what happened each day on her calendar that I have now and helps me to recall as well what happened on those days of the last days of Anita Silva.
To Be continued
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