Jack's going to visit Gramma in the hospital

[Jack's Dad]

My mom has been in the hospital, bed-ridden, for over 6 months now battling inoperable cancer. She has stayed in great spirits - the whole family admires her courage, her spirituality, and her tremendous love for others. We visit her often and try to brighten her life any way we can. Lately she has really been missing our little Jack. Jack and her have a special affection for each other. At a friend's suggestion I called the hospital yesterday, and they agreed to let us bring Jack into her room when we visit her next weekend. I was surprised how gracious the hospital was when I called. My mom is so excited and so are we. We're taking him to the groomer tomorrow and getting him all set for his big visit on 10/24...

[Nikki]

I am so sorry to hear about your mother! I bet jack will be as excited to see your mother as your mother is to see him!

[josie&holly]

I am sorry as well to hear about your mother but how lovely of the Hospital to agree to Jack being able to go visit! Your Mum will much happier for seeing him and will be able to think about him in the days afterwards........... Jack too will enjoy seeing her and be able to give her a very special bit of Cairn love and therapy!

[tlwtheq]

My mom has been in the hospital, bed-ridden, for over 6 months now battling inoperable cancer. She has stayed in great spirits - the whole family admires her courage, her spirituality, and her tremendous love for others. We visit her often and try to brighten her life any way we can. Lately she has really been missing our little Jack. Jack and her have a special affection for each other. At a friend's suggestion I called the hospital yesterday, and they agreed to let us bring Jack into her room when we visit her next weekend. I was surprised how gracious the hospital was when I called. My mom is so excited and so are we. We're taking him to the groomer tomorrow and getting him all set for his big visit on 10/24...

I feel sad for your family; everyone suffers in these situations. I was surprised

that the hospital allowed the visit. I always expect hospital staff to be

bureaucrats. Thankfully, in your case that isn't true.

Take care and give your Mum a big hug from our Cairn Talk Family.

[BetsyNoodle]

I am so very sorry your mom is so ill, but I am happy she is getting a visit from Jack. I know it will lift her spirits.

Nowadays many hospitals readily agree to allow family pets in for visits with gravely ill patients. In most cases these pets are just as (or more) therapeutic than the oxygen, pain medications, and IV fluids that are ordered for the patient. In-hospital hospice programs are especially understanding. When my Dad was in the in-hospital hospice we were allowed to bring his beloved cat to visit him.

I will be keeping your mom, you and your family in my prayers.

Melissa

[Malcolm's Dad]

Your mom has a wonderful family. I'm sorry to hear about her illness. Pets are part of the family too. She will certainly enjoy the visit.

[Hagar]

Your Mom is in my thoughts. Most hospitals will allow a pet to visit, especially gravely ill patients.

My late wife was in the hospital following major cancer surgery about 10 years ago. It was my habit to visit her after work for several hours. It happened to be Valentines Day, and I got the idea of asking permission to bring our small Toy Poodle to see her. I asked the head nurse and she gave permission.

I went home and got the dog and headed for my wife's room. When the dog saw her, he almost jumped out of his skin. He was so hyper that we had to be careful that he didn't pull out an IV or something. Other than that he was just fine. It really cheered my wife up, and word was out on the floor that a dog was there. Every ambulatory patient on the floor dropped in as well as all of the nurses and other staff. The dog was perfectly behaved the whole time we were there. He barked one time, and that was when the surgeon came in on his rounds.

What was intended to be a short visit, lasted several hours.

On a lighter note, because of the H1N1 flu, the local hospital has restricted kids younger than 17 from visiting patients. Hmm, the kids can't visit Mom or Grandma, but the dog can?

[cupcake]

I am also sorry to hear about your Mom, and I think its a Very Loving way to show your Mom

how much you All care for her.

[pkcrossley]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother. You are doing exactly the right thing. When my father was terminally ill and in a nursing home, we moved all the obstacles we had to move to get his 23 year cat in to visit him on a regular basis. It meant a great deal to my father. The only problem was trying to actually get to the room, so many other residents wanted to pet and socialize with the cat on the way down the hall. This is major medicine, good on Jack.

[Jack's Dad]

Well, we had a great visit with Gramma! Jack was great. He was able to visit for about 45 minutes. He sat on the bed and wagged his tail while Gramma gave him treats. He licked her face, got his belly scratched, and had a great time. It cheered my mom up immensely, and for the rest of the night she was searching for his dog hair "souvenirs" on her hospital bed.

It was a pretty sweaty operation getting him into the hospital. We had permission to bring Jack into the facility that is caring for my mom - but they only run the 7th floor of the hospital. They recommended I not request permission from the main hospital facility since they were sure it's against their policy. So our plan to sneak past the front desk was to hide Jack in a big bag, with him munching on food at the bottom of the bag, until we got on the elevator. We had a dry run with the bag at home and it worked fine. Once we got to the hospital - he was not so cooperative. He finished eating the food at the bottom of the bag within about 10 seconds of us walking through the hospital front doors. Then he poked his head out of the top of the bag and would not let me push his head back in - he insisted on being able to see everything. So with Jack's head poking out, I carryed this bag right past the front desk, security, and everyone else and got right on the elevators - boy, it was a long walk. My wife said everyone was staring and laughing but I was all business, so I didn't see anything...

[sanford]

So sorry to hear abour Gramma, but glad to know that the visit was successful. Leave it to a cairn to do the unpredictable!

[josie&holly]

Good to hear it went well - but I just have this lovely picture in my mind of you carrying Jack with his head popping out of the bag and cheering everyone else up!

[oscar's mom]

great story. hope that jack gets to visit gramma again, soon.