Egg farms, carpet cleaning and appointments

 

Good morning / afternoon / evening -

Laurie's father Arthur was the head administrator in several small Ontario town hospitals. His last tour of duty was performed at the Stevenson Memorial Hospital in Alliston, a small town of maybe 10,000 people north west of Toronto. Not having obtained much experience with hospital settings in the past I could not fully appreciate what his responsibilities might have entailed. He always seemed to be a man who left his job at the office but that he was very good at it when there. He was very well respected by those who knew and worked with him. Not by chance, I daresay, Laurie worked in the kitchen at the hospital. I believe that she was responsible for such tasks as getting meal trays ready for delivery and for dealing with the returned ones (and all of the food that was probably tucked under the various containers and empty packaging). This put some spending money in her pocket. With it she liked to go to the small coffee shop on the main street where she enjoyed the comforts of small town home cooking and milk shakes.

If Arthur had been the administrator in a hospital such as the Ottawa Civic or General, his title might have been aptly presented as "mayor". These institutions are really like small towns in themselves. From my very limited recent experiences in walking the halls and keeping my ears open, I did not realize that there is much more than doctors, nurses and of course, patients, under the roof. There are book stores and libraries, shops of all kinds, banks, wig fitters, coffee places, chapels, restaurants, dental offices and even hotels for family visiting from out of town. There is a substantial infrastructure in place to handle power outages, the simultaneous arrival of multiple emergency vehicles, a helicopter port, environment maintenance, a street network and parking lots and garages. The computer and communication systems must be impressively large to handle all the information flows.  Much of these services are deployed out of site but you know they are there. What you do see, and quite frequently, are the security staff. I wondered about this.

If you are in the morning coffee queue, you may see two or three security persons striding purposely down the corridor.  Very seldom do they walk alone. They appear to be wearing flak jackets or at least Kevlar vests, not quite like those worn by the US navy seals but impressive none-the-less. The word "Security" is prominent across the back of their usually quite beefy shoulders. So where are they going and for what reason? I began to think that yes, some activities in this large place would occasionally necessitate the services of these folks. But what exactly? Perhaps some tired soul had their credit card eaten by the parking machine and they were administering more than just words to it. Perhaps a patient had gone missing from G Sector, Floor 2, Tower B. Maybe a visitor had mistakenly entered the building thinking that it was a drug store and was looking for those little white pills. Could someone actually be taking one of the 25,000 hospital gowns home? Did someone get short changed in the cafeteria and was sounding a loud complaint? Was someone trying to unscrew the 6" by 4" black and white television over one of the sleeping patients' beds? Could there be a speed limit on wheel chair conveyance and someone was in excess of this? Had there been a collision of two of these and a hit-and-wheel off was in progress?

I can not report that I saw anything more than rounds being made or the security staff walking to one of the shops or food services. I never saw handcuffs or assault weapons being demonstrated or anyone dressed in camouflage. No secretive talking into a hidden microphone was observed. I guess that having these people there is a necessity in a hospital. Like the elaborate fire fighting systems there, it is good to know that if the time comes then there is something in place to deal with the situation. I guess that if Arthur was still with us he could have set me straight on the types of challenges that hospital security face.

August 20, 2011 (Saturday)

The day began with me heading over to the nearby egg farm for some truly fresh breakfast items. The farm is only a few minutes away and Laurie elected to stay and read on the sofa. There are several "biohazard beware" signs as you enter the farm property. These signs are a bureaucratic requirement it seems as the owner indicated to me some time ago to just ignore them. What one must be aware of though is Kaiser. This is a farm dog in the truest sense. He makes Cujo look like Scamp. He sees you coming far before you know that he is around. At first sight you feel that maybe you would rather skip the eggs and have a bowl of cereal instead. I believe that even Caesar Milan might hop back on the plane to California rather than deal with Kaiser. Well, this is where experience becomes important. Kaiser approaches the car with stealth. He usually makes his presence known as you open the door or are about a meter or two away.

Then the tail begins to wag and the tongue begins to lick the skin off of your hand. Once you say his name a few times and remark on what a good boy he is then he becomes your best friend. The time to get the eggs becomes longer as he escorts you to the door of the barn and waits for you. Paying personal attention to him is a must. I keep reminding myself to bring a dog treat on the next visit. So, having got the main ingredient for breakfast it was back to the house to do the cooking.

The rest of the day was not as exciting. It was simply a quiet day of resting, eating, drinking and some light exercise. I did some work with the boxes that I returned from the storage locker while Laurie spent the afternoon resting.

August 21, 2011 (Sunday)

We were awaken at 00:35, 01:35 and 02:30 by mother nature's mighty show of thunder, lightning and at times, heavy rain and wind. We live in a forest with 100 year old maple trees with branches hanging very close to the house. Storms are not our most settling of moments being where we are. After a hearty breakfast, our day did not start very well. The issue was that the printer had run out of the yellow and black ink. Rather than printing everything in fuschia, I asked Laurie if she remembered how to change the ink containers. Well, she was right on it. The yellow was changed first without a hitch. The black container was a double size and I opened it like I did the yellow. However, the ink began to flow out of the container. It first hit Laurie's sock and then over various parts of my hands and thence onto the grey carpet. I have no idea what I did differently but I was not very pleased.

As I dashed for a splatter guard and tossed the leaking container into the garage I knew that an industrial carpet cleaner agent would likely be required. Laurie's sock was a write off. The carpet is a little better after the application of carpet cleaner and some vigorous rubbing and blotting. I still need to find something to try and remove the remaining blob - thinking that something like soda water might be a cheap solution.

Friends arrived about 11:00. They came over from the Belleville area which is about a 2 hour and 15 minute drive. We had arranged to meet and they brought some seasonal green beans, his famous spaghetti sauce and his very tasty chilli. He and I then made a bit of a road trip while his wife and Laurie got along just fine. It was a fine day at the house but the region did have some serious localized rain showers. About 16:00 they headed home and we sat down and enjoyed an easy to prepare meal.

Tomorrow was our early appointment at the Civic Hospital for Laurie's MRI so we packed it in early. We would need to be up and about by 05:45 to comfortably make it for the 08:00 scanning. The rain did reach the house in the late afternoon and continued throughout the night. Wishing that the MRI goes well and that Laurie's tumour is not starting to become enlarged.

August 22, 2011 (Monday)

This was to be the busy day of the week. First the MRI at 08:00. Then a short drive across to the green house to check on the grasses. At 13:00 we had to be at the General Hospital for a CT scan and the making of her head gear for her radiation treatment. The MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and CT (Computerized Tomotherapy) scans were needed by the radiation oncologist in order to prepare the radiation plan. 

We did get up early and Laurie was sufficiently engaged in the day ahead. She was aware of the things on the list and looking forward to getting them done. The MRI is an instrument that she is not fond of. This is partially due to the length of time that she must remain absolutely still (about 20 minutes) and also the noise that it makes. It is a very large machine and looks to be out of some episode of the first Star Trek series. She changes into the hospital gown as well even though the scan is only for the brain region.

After the MRI I invited her to the hospital cafeteria for breakfast. The idea of eating before going to Ottawa was not appealing so she only had some yogurt with her pills. I think that the cafeteria meals are pretty decent in terms of quality, quantity and price. They exceed the meals that patients receive. She had a breakfast English muffin with bacon and cheese which she thoroughly enjoyed along with some orange juice. Tea rather than coffee is still the current hot beverage of choice.

We then drove the short distance to the green house. She was very pleased to see her grasses doing so well. Many already needed another trimming. Some of these grasses are growing as quickly as the hair on her head. I came prepared with the scissors and began the work. She was engaged in relabelling some of the plastic identification tags. It was amazing that based on a four digit number she could recall the name of the grass, where it was collected and when. This makes for a successful day in my view. We spent just over one hour tidying everything up and chatting a little with one of the people who works there.

We then drove east to the General Hospital. I found what must be the optimal parking spot as it was generously wide and very close to the entrance. As we had a little time on our hands (remember how I like to be early), we had a little food at the Timmy's. We found the radiation south department and received the instructions for her CT work.  We waited in comfortably appointed surroundings for her to be called. I went with Laurie and the technician to the CT room for a run down on the next steps. It was quite an interesting discussion. The technician then brought out the mould for Laurie's mask and explained the procedure slowly and thoroughly. I even took pictures of the event. I had to then leave the room as the actual CT scan would be done with Laurie's new mask in place.

It was only a matter of a few minutes before she appeared with the technician in the waiting room. Similar to the MRI earlier, she had to wear a hospital gown for this scan. So, the day's events had ended and basically on schedule. Hurray! Back in the car and heading home. We took the scenic way and stopped in Kemptville for a few items. A well needed rest until supper time. While Laurie slept I reviewed all of the hospital reports that I received in the mail today. They are very interesting and I learned much more about the operation and some of the future steps. These reports are very medical in nature. It is good to see that her GP has indeed received this information.

We ended this busy day with some recall exercises. She is getting much better now with these and I am very pleased with the progress. I am sure that her speech therapist will see the gains when she visits tomorrow.

August 23, 2011 (Tuesday)

Up again twice last night for trips to the bathroom. She is good at nudging me when the time comes. I still get up with her and escort her there and back even though she is becoming more capable. I just want to be sure that given how sleepy she would be that there are no falls on the trip there and back.

Eggs and bacon for breakfast. I told Laurie that we had eight eggs and 12 yolks. She laughed and wondered about this. It was in fact true. I had picked up two dozen eggs, 12 of which were double yolks. I can't recall ever having these but they were the eggs coming down the egg lane at the farm on Saturday morning. Her appetite continues to grow and she basically eats everything that I give her.

A call was returned from Laurie's case manager this morning. She has now confirmed that Laurie's very pricy chemotherapy drug is covered by the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan. The pharmacy has the pills for pick up and my bill will be $2.00. This is a saving of nearly $2,085.00 which makes me the shopper of the week. Having had this good news I then received the bad.  The hospital radiation scheduler called to say that Laurie's treatments would not begin this week. Based on the two scans taken yesterday, the oncologist decided to treat Laurie on a different piece of equipment that would be better for her. This makes perfect sense to us. So, the treatments will now begin next Tuesday in the late afternoon at the General Hospital. I also confirmed that there are no treatments on holidays like Labour Day. If a treatment is missed for any reason, then that treatment is tacked on to the end of the program. Currently, her last day of radiation would be October 12th.

With the change in plans I needed to reschedule the nurse who was to come this Friday.  I also confirmed an appointment that arrived in today's mail. It concerned a CT scan in early September for 9:00 p.m. I wondered if the time was correct. So I called and discovered that it was. Apparently, the CT team takes appointments up to about mid-night. The person that I spoke with told me that most of the calls that she takes related to the same question that I had. I offered the suggestion of writing the time as 21:00 and 9:00 p.m. in brackets. She did not really say much at this point about my recommendation which I felt was of some value. So, another CT appointment at the General. This will be used to gauge the changes to the tumour based on her early radiation treatments.

The speech therapist also called to reschedule her visit. We came up with Friday afternoon as that day was now fully ours to spend as we please.

Caught up on the laundry and cleaning which always makes me feel good at the end of a day.

August 24, 2011 (Wednesday)

Summer continues here in Eastern Ontario. Laurie seems at ease today and reports having a good sleep. I noted that she was up three times for nature calls but I don't think that she realizes this as much as I do.  Our real estate person came over to tidy up some loose ends (no, we are not moving). She is also a nurse and remarked how good she thought Laurie was - both mentally and physically. She asked again when the operation had been. Given this she said that Laurie is doing remarkably well. This made me very happy and Laurie smile.

About 10:00 the home care person came for a four hour sitting. Having this arranged permitted me to take the car into Ottawa to get it serviced. I had called for an appointment when I knew that I had a four hour window of opportunity at hand. I spoke with the service staff member and explained my situation in a general way. I said that I was not expecting fast service like a formula 1 pit stop but that I did need some quick consideration when I arrived. He promised that this would be the case. So, as I was walking out of the door to look at the shiny and expensive 2012's on the lot, our car was being driven off quickly - hoping by a mechanic and not a thief.  True to their word I had fast service and the main part of my free time was over. I then did some grocery shopping and picked up some new crisp Egyptian cotton sheets. Having a few sets of new sheets will make Laurie more comfortable I think, especially if the next steps of her treatment will lead to her being in bed more often. It has been a while since I have shopped for sheets and was therefore a little bewildered at the selection of colours, cost and the sizes. Of course the size I wanted must be the most popular because my choices were very limited. What I thought, and bought, was a dark blue sheet was in fact not. Upon closer inspection in day light, I had bought what was fashionably described as "liquorice" in colour. I would call it simply black and they are going back.

Arriving home 40 minutes before my due time, I found Laurie and the home care lady enjoying the front deck. They had eaten lunch, gone for a short stroll and had kindly collected the empty trash can and recycling boxes from the end of the driveway. The lunch dishes were also washed and air drying. This is like having a domestique and a friendly one at that.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing and me cooking dinner. Laurie has been very helpful in deciding what she would like to eat for all of her meals.

It rained hard at times over night but for short bursts a time. The sound of thunder was a continuation for minutes at a time. We felt secure and comfortable even at 02:00 and even with the old sheets on the bed.

August 25, 2011 (Thursday)

A very quiet day as there were no appointments to attend to or persons scheduled to arrive. It was supposed to be the day of Laurie's first radiation treatment and start of the chemotherapy. She is doing quite well again today. She is progressing along with better recall it seems each day. She now knows the order of the seasons, forwards and backwards. She is starting to get involved in light domestic things and moving more independently.

In the afternoon we journeyed into Kemptville for a couple of items. In particular, Laurie was in need of some new woman's upper foundations. Well, the store we went to had large enough overhanging signage that you could see them from the parking lot. Some of it did not quite make enough shopping sense to me to know what it was. The main thing is that Laurie did and we found ourselves in two large aisles of woman's upper undergarments - advertised as being in the "intimates" section. I did not think that I could be of much help especially since Laurie did remember to bring her glasses along. Looking at all the little numbers on the garment tags I didn't know if it was a size or the product number. Feeling quite helpless I simply carried the various items to the change room for her. I did much better in the cookie department though. We also picked up some new socks for her. There was a bag of six pairs of socks from a major sock manufacturer for the price of $5.00. Good socks by all appearances. I don't think that you could ship one pair of socks from anywhere to anywhere for under $5.00. And these socks were made in the U.S.A.

We drove back home under a sky that was at one moment sun and the next looked as if the storm chaser crew would be passing you to try and get the best pictures. A heavy tower of rain seemed to be parked over our general area and I thought about the advantages of not having to water for another week. Then again I just had the car washed and was trying to weigh these two outcomes for maximum benefit. I still have the clean car and maybe some flowers to water tomorrow.

We started to watch another mystery series that we have on DVD. This series is called "Lovejoy" and is from the mid 1980s onwards. We watched it several years ago and really enjoyed it. I can not recall how many episodes there are but they do cover quite a number of years of production. Laurie is already looking forward to tomorrow's show.

August 26, 2011 (Friday)

The day is another nice summer day here. Windows open and everything appears to be in order. This has indeed been a week of calmness before what may be a rather dark and stormy week ahead. Laurie and I were up only once last night. This makes a big difference in how refreshed she feels in the morning. She takes her pills both morning and evening. These continue to treat any potential swelling in the brain and for dealing with related stomach issues. She takes these with yogurt in bed. Recently, this is followed by a cup of Irish breakfast tea which she quite enjoys.

Breakfast is going well. She is having fruit, something hot (bacon and eggs or porridge), toast and juice. She knows that she needs to improve her strength for the days and weeks ahead. It is just past lunch time here. She has been reading another mystery novel. She has indicated a desire for us to go to an antique show that we have usually attended over the past years. This is tomorrow and it sounds like a good opportunity to go out as the weather is supposed to be perfect. I will try and find that "chair in a bag" thing that I believe we still have unpacked someplace in the basement. This would be handy should she get a tad tired while walking or waiting for my negotiating with a dealer to come to an end - for something that we don't really need of course. Her wanting to do this type of activity is a positive sign that the Laurie of old is returning. This week has shown this to be the case in many ways.

I am apprehensive as to the effects of both the radiation and chemotherapy treatments that start next week. I have read and reread the information picked up at the hospital on the side effects that may occur. She seems to know about these now but has not shown that much concern. I realize that she is taking the practical approach here and understands that to achieve more success in dealing with her illness that her journey along the road to recovery may at times be difficult.

Enjoy your weekends and please continue to think of Laurie.

Mark

Meals, mysteries and memory

August 19, 2011 (Friday)

Good morning / afternoon / evening everyone -

 

As you now know, Laurie's past, present and future challenges are on a blog. You may be reading this on the blog or in the original format. It is the same story but simply different forums.

 

Laurie knew what a blog was probably about 40 years ago. Maybe I am a bit off on the actual number but I would guess that it was about that long. The blog she knew then was actually spelt Blogg. This is the surname of some of her relatives. Like the name "Consaul", the name "Blogg" is fairly rare. Checking the Canada 411 website shows only 20 listings of the name across Canada. If you include family members in these households then perhaps you have 50 Bloggs. Since Canada 411 lists persons with listed land-line telephones only then add maybe 20 more Bloggs. Currently, Laurie's cousin who lives in Ohio, was a Blogg until she was married. Her aunt in Toronto was also a nee Blogg. She recently passed away in her 84th year. In Laurie's family, the siblings were predominately those with XY sex chromosomes so the number of Bloggs may be declining.

 

I am pleased that this blog is up and running. This may be the first blog that some readers have been exposed to. I have very limited interest in blogging myself unless the blog relates to the results of combining water, hops, barley and yeast together. There are some very good beer blogs and when I have the time do like to roam about them. If you have any suggestions about this blog then please get in touch with me. I will likely need to defer to Marian for the technical issues but any feedback is welcomed.

 

August 15, 2011 (Monday)

My day began with a list of tasks that I could do by telephone. However, once I began the various calls I was wondering if it was a holiday Monday. Messages left on answer machines hoping for an answer. Eventually the calls did come in. Our telephone number is for a cellular telephone so taking calls is easy if I am out in the garage or the garden or elsewhere. I have home care arranged for this Wednesday and also on Thursday for a couple of hours each day. Shopping and some other tasks outside of the house will be done while someone sits with Laurie. At this time, she should not be left alone in the house just in case something happens.

 

The most important and good news of the day is that Laurie's first radiation appointment is now scheduled. It will be on August 25th. The bad news is that it is at 09:00 at the General Hospital. If Laurie is even stirring at that hour then I am pleased. So, it will be a challenge for her to get up and be out the door for this appointment. This is also the day that she will begin the chemotherapy.  Starting on that day, Laurie may be experiencing various ups and downs that she has yet not encountered. All provisions are being provided for right now. We will receive a longer term schedule at her first appointment. I guess that I am hoping for a non rush hour time but all things considered, any time is good. The treatments will be at the hospital that is further for us to drive. Good thing that it is the summer and not the middle of winter.

 

I keep her informed of the current day events and those planned for the next day too. She usually does not remember what is scheduled unless I remind her on a regular basis. She knows about her six weeks of treatment but can not relate to the possible side effects. I have mentioned these but not emphasized them.

 

Oh yes, the movers obviously received the message that the move had been cancelled (or they simply forgot to come). So it is a good thing that I did not place a wager on this. I may be buying cans of Old Milwaukee instead of my usual micro or craft brewery beer. Whew.

 

August 16, 2011 (Tuesday)

We had a house call from Laurie's home care case manager. This was very much welcomed. She explained various things to us that are very much needed for the practical and reduced stress living that we would like. We now know, for instance, that a nurse will come over the day after Laurie's first radiation and chemotherapy treatment. As well, nurses are basically on call 24/7 should Laurie require the level of care that I simply can not provide.  This might be, for example, the administration by injection of an anti-nausea drug when the pills are not sufficient. Some explanation of how the drug plan is supposed to work was given. The very pricy drug that was prescribed is apparently not covered by the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan. The case manager is following up on the alternative of having the Trillium Foundation provide some funding.

 

I find it difficult to think that some cancer patient's drugs are fully covered and some are not covered at all by the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan. I assume that because Laurie has a rare tumor that the drugs are quite a bit more expensive than the more common cancer treatment drugs. I don't find this at all right and is in my view quite discriminatory. Sure, it would have been better if Laurie's tumor was more common and more understood and the drugs would likely be provided for free. However, this is not the situation. I am pleased that the case manager is aware of these drug programs and the limitations and options that are tied into them.

 

We saw Laurie's GP in the afternoon. She is a very pleasant woman who gave Laurie a huge hug on seeing her. The doctor remarked that Laurie is showing tremendous progress at this time. In terms of meeting the doctor in the months ahead that is really up to Laurie and to some extent myself. The doctor is receiving the hospital results and reports which is impressive. I had thought that perhaps the information the hospital doctors had was a long way from getting into the file management system. But it appears that some information is flowing. The doctor did notice that the dosage for the anti-swelling drug Laurie was prescribed is different if you look at the surgeon's prescription and what the pharmacy has given me. The difference is in fact double with the pharmacy upping the daily dosage. I have been following the surgeon's original plan so far. I will call the pharmacy tomorrow and get this issue sorted.

 

Back home for some tasty lasagna that arrived on the past weekend courtesy of one of our visitors. A supplement of some basmati rice and bits of chicken rounded out the dinner. Laurie headed for the closest padded horizontal surface for some well needed rest. It was a long afternoon for her. We watched another episode of Poirot and she nibbled on some cheetos which is one of her favourite comfort foods. Laurie is somewhat of a night owl so to see her going to bed at 21:30 is rather uncharacteristic.

 

 

August 17, 2011 (Wednesday)

The weather here in Oxford Station continues to be very summery. It is the type of weather that you just want to sit out on the porch and enjoy the day. That is exactly what Laurie did a couple of times. These were after lunch with her dessert and also with the 40 minute session with her speech therapist. This was the second visit and several new exercises were given. I did not stay for these as I thought Laurie would focus better one-on-one. I was preparing the shopping list as later in the day the home care worker would be giving me some respite for a couple of hours. I also moused around in the garage trying to determine what critter was trying to eat its way out and if it had accomplished its task.

 

Laurie is seemingly better in a number of ways. Although still quite tired she took the initiative twice to go outside on the porch. This used to be somewhat of a struggle for me to fully justify her moving from the comforts of a sofa to a stiff plastic deck chair. As well, her walking is improving. She does have a cane that I encourage her to use. This cane, or stick as I refer to it, is some reassurance as she is more independently moving about the place. It is interesting that the stick tends to disappear quite frequently. If she is in the living room and is going to the dining table I will inevitably ask her where the stick is. After a brief search it is found in the bathroom, in the dining room or possibly on the front porch.

 

The case worker showed up promptly at the designated time (hospital staff please take note). She is beginning to know Laurie and what she likes and is capable of doing. I am comfortable in that the three visits so far have been by the same person. So, off I went into town for some serious grocery shopping. I missed getting soup which of course happened to be at the top of the list. I also missed the Q-tips. I must have walked the pharmacy row items twice looking for this. While nearing the front of the store on the third time around I saw two bored cashiers so I dropped the thought of ever finding the Q-tips and opted for a reasonably quick check out. My orders tend to be large as I want to have things in the house that Laurie may wish to have. I have even had to put some of the juices in the downstairs beverage centre. Putting juices in here is a rather novel idea as the only beverages that have been there are those that are brewed, and typically from a craft brewery. 

 

Laurie had a good dinner and this must help her physically. I am asking her if she can taste the different foods and she usually can. The reason I ask is that in the future one of the side effects of her treatments may be loss of taste. So, I am trying to get a pre-treatment idea of what foods she can taste. I have been told that some foods are good to retain the sense of taste, such as pineapple, when chemotherapy is being administered.  We ended the day with another case solved by Poirot and a very tasty Italian dessert that I remembered to begin thawing at 15:00. She enjoyed both things. It is the first night she has elected to do some reading in bed - a mystery of course.

 

 

August 18, 2011 (Thursday)

Today the earth climatic systems began to rebalance the weather in our region. The wind has picked up and the temperatures have been in the low 30s. Laurie's morning temperature was up past 99 degrees (Fahrenheit of course) which was the highest since her first day after coming home. A hearty breakfast of oatmeal, some blueberry bagel, a bit of yogurt and a spot of tea seemed to help bring it down. And then of course it may have been the Tylenol that she wanted.

 

About 10:30 another home care person came for a two hour stay. This enabled me to drop a form off at Laurie's GP and get that soup and some other items that I had overlooked during yesterday's excursion to the grocery store. I even found the Q-tips today. I also went to one of two storage lockers that we rented in order to help with the move logistics. A friend on the weekend helped to almost empty one of them - the one with the boxes of books and books and more books. I completed the task today and they are now all back downstairs. It was very prescient of us to label each of the boxes with the contents and the weight beforehand. Now I can easily locate the DVDs as opposed to the VHS tapes and back issues of Trail and Landscape. Her care person had an easy time with Laurie. They sat on the front porch for over and hour. Laurie then found the living room couch until I came home with the things that I should have had yesterday - except for the storage locker stuff. The care person had been going through my recent copy of Canadian Home Workshop magazine when I arrived. I wonder if she found the article on reinforcing wood joints as informative as I did. Perhaps I will remember to leave a variety of magazines on the coffee table for the next visit.

 

Laurie continues to impress me with her appetite. Lunch was soup and salad with fresh watermelon and the remains of our friend's most excellent fruit bread. I read once that of all the fruits one can normally obtain in North American, the watermelon was the most nutritious. And I thought that these were 99.9999% water. Laurie lavished the watermelon and her eyes were hopefully thinking that I had more downstairs. Unfortunately not the case but noted for the next grocery shopping.  The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and she indeed fell asleep. Even my grunting and groaning with carrying the heaviest boxes (about 22 Kg or 35 lbs) downstairs could not stir her.

 

An Italian themed dinner consisting of our friend's tasty lasagna, caesar salad and pistachio pudding was appreciated. She snuck off to a corner of the house and rested until we took the stairs to the basement where our TV room is. Seeing her walk the stairs with much more confidence is really good to see. She uses the stick just in case but her best friend is that sturdy hand railing that I put in some years ago (replacing the tooth-pick sized one that was installed by the builder). She is back in bed reading her mystery book now. I should mention that we do a ten minute speech exercise each day. She is excellent in some of the exercises but is challenged with others. I still find that to be a mystery - why naming the four seasons presents so much difficulty but that naming of the months is fine.

 

I have on occasion said something in French and Laurie has understood and responded in French. You sometimes hear of people who have incurred brain injuries to have knowledge of something that they never had before. I am just waiting for Laurie to start talking to me in Gaelic or tell me the first 1,000 number of pi.

 

 

August 19, 2011 (Friday)

In an effort to let everyone know how the week went, I have asked Marion to post the update before the end of the day. Perhaps this is a schedule that I should be working towards - the Friday afternoon update. 

 

We were up three times last night for calls of nature which breaks up a good nights rest. However, as she is encouraged to drink lots of fluids then these calls are necessary.  A good breakfast of bacon and eggs and half a bagel is far more than she usually eats when healthy. A little walk down the road in front of the house again in fine weather. The perfect summer day has returned. I don't imagine that a feather could be suspended in the calmness. She is now resting again on the magic dream couch. I foresee a late lunch and maybe just being able to persuade her to have it out on the back deck. There, she should be able to get her vitamin D and enjoy the day before settling down for another rest.

 

Still no word on the drug prescription situation. Now I know why our VISA has such a high line of available credit on it. I was hoping to hear by now rather than have to start making more telephone calls. There is supposed to be that Friday drop off sometime this afternoon with things that a nurse may need if she is called upon to come out. Can't imagine what may arrive.

 

We have friends coming over on Sunday which will be good for us both. Something to look forward to before the start of next week. The MRI is scheduled for 08:00 at the Civic Hospital. This will be hopefully followed up by a trip to the nearby greenhouse so that she can look at her recently trimmed grasses. Then it is off to the General Hospital for an afternoon appointment. This is to fit her head gear for the radiation treatments. This is a cross between a fencing mask and the old time goalie masks. Tuesday is the return of the speech therapist and Wednesday I have a four hour respite care time slot. Thursday and Friday see both the radiation and the chemotherapy treatments beginning. This week could perhaps be viewed as the calm before the storm. Time will certainly tell.

The Recovery continues

August 14, 2011 (Sunday)

 

Good morning / afternoon / evening everyone -

 

As you will read the type of lesion that Laurie had mostly removed is quite rare. It is often perceived that having something rare or different is a good thing - it makes one a more unique and sometimes, interesting, person. Imagine that you are the only one on your street with a place in the Loire Valley that you prance off to when the urge hits to taste some new vintages. Or, if it is a nice day, you take that Porsche Carrera GT2 RS out of the garage and clean the carbon out of the engine.  But, in the medical world, being rare is not probably a good thing to be.

 

Consaul - now that is a pretty rare surname. In fact, across Canada there are only some 25 to 30 persons with that name. The origin is apparently Pennsylvania Dutch. Checking one of the larger genealogy websites produces a count of 268 persons with the surname of Consaul. Of this number, 73% are in the USA and 27% are in Canada. This makes my estimate a little low by comparison. However, the fact is, you could probably fit all of the Consauls into Don Cherry's for wing night and still have loads of room for the hockey game crowd.

 

If you looked at the names of the entire world population of 6,775,235,770 (World Bank -2009) then I presume that you would find just one Laurie Consaul. In percentage terms this is 0.0000000146% rounded up. The only percentage that I can think of as being smaller is the rate my credit union is paying on my savings account.  If you have Googled your name (and why wouldn't you have already done so), you will likely be surprised at what comes back. For me, I find it interesting that so many hits have been returned. Those at the top of the list are certainly for Mark Armstrong but there are many of us with this name. To find something actually relating to me you also need to enter some strange statistical term in the Google search function.

 

Searching for Laurie Consaul is easy. What gets returned is for her unless it is some strange combination of the words "Laurie" and "Consaul" referring to something completely different. There are pages of stuff.  You don't need to enter a middle name or initial to know that it is her. A diverse number of topics and interests appear within a few seconds unless you are still using an IBM 8088 or Hyperion computer. I find it amazing that this functionality is there - for us to use for whatever way we like. Of course, you need to filter out all of annoying pop-ups and silly advertisements. My thoughts about all this? I simply want to see more entries appear when Laurie's name is searched in the years to come. She has such promise in everything that she does and wanted to pursue.  She is unique.

August 10, 2011 (Wednesday)

We were looking forward to the day ahead. First we had the speech therapist in for her second visit to the house. She is still evaluating Laurie's abilities and will then develop a program to work on specific weaknesses. It is amazing how much I pay attention to what and how I am speaking when the therapist is talking to me. After about 30 minutes, Laurie's interest declined and the session ended on what would be a medium note. Laurie is scheduled to have her third session next week. The first of two appointments of this day were over.

 

We were to meet Dr. M., the radiation oncologist at 14:30 for a consultation. We arrived at the General Hospital about 30 minutes before to register Laurie and get acquainted with the layout of this hospital. It is much like the Civic only there are bowls of colourfully wrapped candies in various places. I believe these are for both the staff and the patients.  The waiting room was quite comfortably arranged with nice leather or leather-like furniture. The seating does become somewhat uncomfortable if you were to sit there for say, one hour and 20 minutes. Which is of course exactly what we did. What bothers me the most about this, and it is not the fact that I had already reached the maximum for daily parking, is that someone could have called us and told us that Dr. M. was running late; or possibly a marathon and was only half way through. A quick telephone call could have saved us all of that waiting time.

 

We were then ushered into a consultation room and again the waiting continued. It was about 25 minutes later that the doctor came in and we began the discussion of Laurie's illness and the radiation program that he would be providing. Depending on a large number of factors, the radiation treatments can be quite varied. In Laurie's case, she will be having a treatment Monday through Friday for six weeks straight. The actual radiation bit takes about five minutes. The preparation time and the winding up time takes about one hour for each session. This hour does not include the waiting room time of course. This treatment could take place in one of two hospitals. Our preference is the closer one to home but only time will tell. It was nice that the doctor did apologize for his being tardy as we concluded the meeting.

 

There may be quite a few side-effects as you can imagine. Again, everyone responds a little differently. Expectations are that things like swelling, redness, loss of hair, tiredness and nausea may occur to different degrees. This is more or less how I feel coming out of a tough meeting at the office. The side effects of radiation are typically most acute after the first few treatments. So, the main thing is that there is a radiation team in place for Laurie. She requires an MRI to start with and then some sort of mask is created that will accurately line up the radiation equipment to focus on her tumor. Also of importance is that the mask keeps her head absolutely still during the sessions.

 

Off home during rush hour and in a monsoon. My sugar level was running a little high (I can't imagine why) and we just wanted to get home and rest before some dinner. What ever happened to the notion that there is no rush-hour in Ottawa in the summer months?

 

August 11, 2011 (Thursday)

After yesterday's marathon wait at the General Hospital, we were a little tighter on the scheduling. A new route to the hospital got us there about 10:30 which was 30 minutes before the appointment. At 10:40 we were called into the consultation room. This was wonderful. However, the consultation room is essentially the waiting room without lots of people walking by you and complaining about the delays they had with their appointments. So, we waited until 11:10 and a doctor came to talk with us and have Laurie do some physical movements. This was the not the doctor we were expecting. The other doctor, Doctor N. would be coming in later. So, Laurie was asked lots of questions to ascertain her level of memory recall. She still has some problems with knowing what season we are in and recalling words that the doctor has given her to memorize.

 

Then Dr. N. came in and not surprisingly asked some similar questions that Dr. S. just did. I don't believe that this was part of any memory testing however. Dr. N. took us through in some detail what chemotherapy was about. In the view of the doctors working with Laurie, the radiation is the primary treatment. The chemotherapy is useful in targeting the bad cells that are not really next to the lesion that remains. To attack these with radiation is just not practical. So, beginning with the radiation Laurie will be taking one pill each day after taking another pill used to help with the nausea that the chemotherapy drug usually induces in patients. This means one pill each day for six straight weeks. Then after the radiation stops, she will continue for about six months with the pill but only five consecutive days per month. This is probably because unless you are addressed as "Sheik" or "your royal countess" or some other rank of royalty, you can not afford the pills for the other 25 days in the month. Yes, the chemotherapy drug is very pricey. Now I understand why it is so difficult for some people to find the money to pay for their hospitalization and subsequent recovery.

 

In talking about Laurie's illness, Dr. N. said that only about 0.5 to 1.0% of all brain tumors are like what she has. When the doctor in the Civic Hospital told us that what Laurie had was rather rare I now fully understand. The issue here is that with so few persons having this there is little in the way of clinical studies having been done. Therefore, issues like side effects and recovery times are not that well understood or reported upon. All information is useful to us at this point. I can surf around and see what information there actually is out there that I may be able to understand.

 

The rest of the day was basically resting and then an episode of Poirot before formally retiring. Tomorrow is free of appointments which is good for her. Two consecutive days of being in town with appointments does negatively impact her energy level.

 

August 12, 2011 (Friday)

It was three weeks ago that Laurie's journey began with a trip to the local hospital. It is incredible to think that so much has happened to her, to us, since then. We spent the first two weeks in the hospital and it was one week ago today that we came home. Laurie had her second visit from the home care person who remarked after the three hour visit that Laurie was looking stronger. This is of course encouraging. Laurie and her visitor sat out on the front deck for about an hour after I had left for Ottawa. Her being outside is another positive thing and I am hoping that she does this on her own initiative.

 

I drove to the green house in Ottawa and trimmed all of the plants that she has there. I must admit that a second career as a hair stylist is a definite possibility. Those plants look great now and apparently will be healthier for having had the trimming. I don't recall if I was talking to them as I worked but I may have. Laurie feels that they may need some follow-up attention in about a month's time. I am thinking of us visiting there on August 22nd after her appointment at the Civic Hospital. She has an early morning MRI which will be used to direct the radiation oncologist's plan of attack. This means that her radiation treatment will begin that week at the earliest. So as of now, her schedule for next week is relatively light. I had hoped for an earlier radiation start date but I think that so far we have been very fortunate in getting her the services she has required.

 

August 13, 2011 (Saturday)

Saturday in Oxford Station is usually pretty quiet and today was no exception. We did the usual morning routine and decided that we would go the pharmacy to pick up some things. Included on the list was her chemotherapy prescriptions. The pills were special ordered but I assume these arrive by the next day, which they were. I went in first to do some boring post office stuff and to get her prescriptions. The pharmacist assistant came over and when told the surname had the pharmacist come over to talk with me. The first thing I went over with her is that there are three containers with the same drug but in different doses. Laurie's dosage will encompass different numbers of pills from each of the three different bottles. Good thing that I am reputed to be good with numbers. The anti-nausea pill is much more straightforward as long as you remember it is taken before the chemotherapy pill.

 

The drug amounts were entered into the cash register, or computer, and a total of just over $2,090.00 came up. Ouch. And most of the cost is already covered by her work insurance. The pharmacist took the VISA card and put through the transaction. Having almost completed the transaction, she asked if I had the card from the doctor that basically waived the fee for the chemotherapy drugs. Uh? "Yes" she said. "Right here, you see this code. It means that you should have gotten a card and you would not have to pay not very much at all". So, I am thinking two things. The first is "Why was I not given this card if it was on the prescription?" and secondly, "How much is "not very much at all"? The first question the pharmacist could not answer. I will need to call the radiation oncology people on Monday to find out what is up. She did answer my second question. "About $2.00". So, what may be a simple oversight by the hospital staff could have cost me over two thousand dollars. Once paid it would be virtually impossible to get the money back. So the drugs are still at the pharmacy. It is a good thing that they are not immediately needed. Knowing they are there is the most important thing. This helps to substantiate my feeling in that the biggest issue with our hospital experience continues to be communication related.

 

August 14, 2011 (Sunday)

Today has been pretty much the same as all the days that we have been home. Warm, calm, smell of rain in the air and occasional thunder in the distance. Good summer weather if you don't feel like doing much. Laurie's perfect recuperation type of week. Any minute progress is better than anything regressive. She had some visitors today who all remarked that she is looking stronger than the last time they saw her. I would have to agree. We now have some additional good food in the house thanks to those who made the Sunday drive to Oxford Station - thank you kindly for that.

 

The swelling now is basically gone as is the discolouration. I think that she is noticing this as well when she looks in the mirror. She has never said anything about the scar though which is somewhat intriguing. Her hair is growing very quickly over the part that was shaved for the operation. I believe that she has had more hair growth in the past ten days than I have had in the past ten years!  She is able to fully shampoo her head which is refreshing and makes her pleased. The hanging sentence is still something that I am wondering about. This is something that the speech therapist will be asked about during her visit this week. She will begin to say something but not be able to complete the thought.  I am noticing more of this and I simply let her try to continue and do not ask her what she meant.

 

Tomorrow was to be the first day of our move to Newfoundland.  Some of you may not have known this but we were planning on this move since the spring. I have emailed the moving folks and re-emailed for a confirmation that the move was cancelled. So, I fully expect that sometime tomorrow morning the packers will arrive with tape and sharpies in hand. I don't know if I would place on wager on this but time will tell if I could have made myself some beer money.  The move is something that I do not talk to Laurie about and she does not either. A lot of our household things have actually been boxed up and stored. This was an undertaking that consumed us for the months of May, June and into July. Things like books, clothes, nick-nacs, stuff we never used, etc. are now not readily available. I can't believe that we packed 237 boxes and still have stuff around. We have less clutter and less of everything like under the kitchen and bathroom counters. Much of this stuff was thinned or tossed or sent to a museum. I think that some of our bathroom articles have expiry dates in Roman numerals.

 

So an early night for us, and especially for one of us in particular. Raining lightly and serene in the Station. Enjoy the week wherever you may be.

 

Good night from Oxford Station -

 

Mark

The Road to Recovery, con't

August 9, 2011 (Tuesday)

Good morning / afternoon / evening everyone -

 

Based on the pathology report and Laurie's discharge from the hospital, I have optimistically changed the original subject to a more positive one. My intention is to continue providing you with the events that have occurred along Laurie's Road to Recovery. The frequency of the notes may be less than in the past. The events of the days to come will likely be more uniform as the environment is one of quietness and familiarity. Each day, or each hour in fact, in the hospital can generate enough interesting happenings to weave a story from. Here at home the recovery is apt to be a slow process that hopefully will display some measurable progress. The rate of this may not be seen in days but more realistically in weeks and months.

 

Having departed the hospital, I can describe the experience there in a number of ways. Some of these I have already noted. However a few days ago I came to realize just how scary it can be for the uninitiated - like me. Two things happened that day which made me think of the hospital as scary. The first was early in the morning when I saw someone who looked like Stephen King speaking with a man in a nice tailored suit and a snazzy silk tie. I took this to be some influential hospital administrator showing Mr. King around. I then happened upon Mr. King on Laurie's floor, note book in hand, and asked about his being there. He said that he was researching a new book as his ideas involving large dogs, mindful cars, traveling through the real desolate parts of Nevada and other such plots had run their course. "Something scary" he said - that was his purpose today. "Well" I said. "If you have some time and would like to buy me a coffee I can tell you a few things". "Sure" was his response and down we headed to the main floor. He asked about my experiences over the past two weeks. I said "Mr. King, I have read several of your books and sure they were scary. But, and I mean this, this place is scarier than anything I have read written by you". "Oh, how so?" Then I began. "Alright, let's start with some key words and hold the details for later. Catheter, convulsions, resections, colostomy, hematoma, clotting, drainage, titanium rod insertion, haemorrhaging, transfusion..." and so it went. Mr. King stopped writing and looked quite pale. "This is really too much for even me" he said. He then got up, left and caught a cab back to the airport as I finished off his dutchie. And to think that I had not even begun to mention things like Helicobater pylori, cardiomyopathy, hemarthrosis and gasrectomy. So there you have it....pretty scary place these hospitals.

 

The other incident occurred on the seventh floor as Laurie and I were standing in the hallway deciding which direction to walk. There suddenly came piercing screams from a woman who was not far away. Words like "Oh gawd" or depending on your interpretation, "Oh God", rang throughout the floor. She screamed several more times which sent a shiver up our backs. This determined in which direction we took our walk. The sounds of pain and anguish, either real or imaginary, could be heard as we turned the corner and decided that practicing stair climbing was in order.  By the time we went back the cries had ended but they lingered in my mind for the rest of that day.

 

Now, one of the above events is quite fictional as you may have guessed. The other was not though and I will probably remember this any time I go near a hospital again. The keywords are real however and represent only a small list of scary topics one can find in the hospital.

 

What can be scary is the level of communication between the staff and other staff and that directed to patients and the family of the patients. On a number of occasions I feel that communication was very poorly made. It would be great to have walked in each morning and be presented with a "What is Going to Happen Today list ". I would like to know if three persons are planning to see Laurie, who they are and about what time would they be coming. This would help us arrange our own schedule of things like taking walks, going outside for a while or me popping out to get something to eat downstairs without missing anything. This is where the order I wrote about is definitely lacking. I have heard people remarking that something should have already been done by someone else and that a follow-up will be now be needed. Some of the staff have two pagers and a cellular phone on them so communication should not an issue. No, I do not expect precision timing for those planning to come and see Laurie. But to have absolutely no idea what is supposed to take place that day is sloppy communication and is probably avoidable with a little more planning. It is especially an issue when two persons are essentially coming in like conjoined twins for completely different reasons. This reminds me of a story that I will conclude this note with.

 

 

August 6, 2011 (Saturday)

Having Laurie home is a win, win, win situation. Great for each of us and good for the hospital administrator who is trying to avoid putting newly arrived patients in the parking lot or bus shelters around the hospital. Many of you have sent us their best wishes for this next part of Laurie's Road to Recovery. We thank you for this.

 

Last night was a rough one for Laurie. Her dinner did not stay very long with her and I believe that it was probably a little too spicy or different from her food over the past two weeks. I must be more aware that anything more than salt and pepper in her food may cause her some stomach issues.  She slept restlessly and we got up to visit the bathroom almost every two hours. This morning's breakfast of half a bagel and some yogurt, tea and a coffee mid-morning was later returned. She had a slight temperature that a Tylenol seemed to take of.  We set up a chair in the shower and she washed her hair after two weeks of not being able to. This was definitely a pleasure for her. Into some "lounge wear" and feeling pretty good she headed out to the front deck where she listened to the sounds of summer. Various birds, insects, a tree frog, our chipmunk friends and black squirrel nemesis, Harley-Davidsons and lawn tractors.

 

Lunch was not really touched as she could not handle the soup or the ham and cheese sandwich. The afternoon plan was simple - rest in bed, drink when possible and let me know when the bathroom is needed. We used to have about a dozen bells about the house - something that we sort of collected at antique shows and flea markets. Do you think that I can find one now? So, if Laurie needs me then she uses a metal letter opener and a metal cup. The only alternative that I could think of is that compressed air canister that is used to scare off marauding bears. Activating this indoors may cause me to have a heart-attack and waking up the village folk. So we stick with the primitive method of banging two things together until I happen-chance upon a little bell.  

 

Dinner came and went without a bit of food for her. Some water and that was about it. The mandatory pills were taken with some yogurt. The BP machine I bought seems to function alright. It also gives a heart rate. I learned by first trying this that the big Velcro patch does not go against your skin. If so then reread the instructions. I have made an Excel file to record the BP, HR and the temperature that are taken several times a day. There is a column for notes - good and bad. I figure that having this with us when we go for the follow-up meeting with the surgeon could be useful.

 

August 7, 2011 (Sunday)

Another warm and humid summer day here in Oxford Station. Several trips made last night (11:50, 02:45, 04:20) to the bathroom with the in-between times being calm and restful. This morning Laurie had half a bagel, some yogurt and juice for breakfast. Pills are taken with the yogurt. As she was not able to hold her food yesterday it is important to pace the intake slowly. No tea or coffee though. She very much likes both but I have suspended these as one of the prescriptions suggests that these beverages may upset the stomach. I know that water is a poor substitute for these hot drinks but there is a variety of juices for her to select from as well.

 

A very lazy summer Sunday. Basically slept. Lunch was the other half of the bagel and some more yogurt. Dinner came at 17:30 and was a fried egg, more bagel, one half-piece of bacon and some lemon pudding that I made. She is exhausted which is probably due to serious sleep deficit over the last two weeks. Although she was sleeping it is the lack of good sleep that she had. A few laps around the front deck and called it a day. Vital signs are good as long as the instruments are accurate.

 

I spent many hours cleaning up the computer files. This is something that I always said I wanted to do when I had time. Now I do. I am right beside the bedroom so if Laurie needs anything then I am right around the corner. Light rain this evening was nice to have. It patters off a little back shed steel roof which is pleasing to listen too when resting (just as long as it is not coming down in a torrential downpour that is.)

 

  

All night the sound had   

come back again,

and again falls

this quiet, persistent rain.

What am I to myself

that must be remembered,   

insisted upon

so often? Is it

that never the ease,   

even the hardness,   

of rain falling

will have for me

something other than this,   

something not so insistent—

am I to be locked in this

final uneasiness.

Love, if you love me,   

lie next to me.

Be for me, like rain,   

the getting out

of the tiredness, the fatuousness, the semi-

lust of intentional indifference.

Be wet

with a decent happiness.

   Robert Creeley, “The Rain”

 

 

August 8, 2011 (Monday)

It was rather nice to sleep in today and not make the commute to Ottawa. This is one big advantage for me having Laurie now at home. I think that my highest level of anxiety each morning was during the commute as my mind wandered into various concerns. Laurie slept in for a while after I got the day started. Her breakfast was light and she held it well. The rest of the morning saw her having a nice shower followed by some sitting up to talk and looking through a magazine. Some pre-lunch resting filled the rest of the ante meridiem.

 

Lunch was small but tasty and she appreciated the fact that it was a one way trip. More non-Tylenol aided rest during the afternoon. Laurie is resting in a few different places in the house. This is to give her different levels of comfort and environments. She likes the "magic dream couch" in the living room but then again so do I and others who have laid down on it. Dinner was basically breakfast at 18:00. However, the food is suitable for her and she makes no fuss about this. Laurie is usually the egg chef but this is something that I am comfortable in doing. It also helps to know the basics in the kitchen. I learned this from a book called "How to Boil Water" that I had in my university days. We have moved onwards to the Moosewood Restaurant recipe books which are a real treasure. If you are ever in Ithaca, New York, then treat yourself by dining at the restaurant.

 

We watched The Dog Whisperer tonight and she enjoyed the show. This is the first program on television that she has seen for a few weeks now. It is really amazing how many commercials one must sit through to watch a 60 minute show. I really want to thank the person who came up with the idea of the mute button on the remote control. Come to think of it, I would also like to thank the person who invented the remote control.

 

To bed reasonably early but followed by some late trips to the bathroom. This is something that I will need to get used to. As her blood pressure is somewhat stable now, the fear of her fainting is not a big issue; but it is still something that I pay attention to.

 

August 9, 2011 (Tuesday)

The daily routine is beginning to take shape now for both Laurie and myself. I was thinking ahead to my retirement days some time ago and wondered what it would be like to be a "house husband". Well, I guess that I am finding out. Of course, the house husband I was thinking of had Laurie heading off to work every day - including some of the weekends. So, this is a variation on a theme. I would prefer the latter retirement situation.

 

We had a home care worker visit today. This is a program that one can arrange for up to 15 hours per week for no direct charge. They call this "respite" care which enables me to head out and get some things done. Today, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, buy some groceries, get gas and go to the bank. All this in one hour and twenty minutes. When I returned Laurie was basically asleep and the home care lady was sitting in a chair. Apparently, this lady has been doing this for over 24 years now. I would think that she has probably seen everything by now. By comparison to others, I believe that Laurie will be an easy patient within a good environment.

 

The plan is that two days each week someone will come and sit with Laurie. The next visit is for three hours this coming Friday. I will likely drive into Ottawa and do some work on Laurie's plants in the green house. The following week's schedule is for visitations on two days for three hours each day. I am wondering if Laurie falls asleep whether the home care person could possibly help me clean the rain gutters.

 

For the third night in a row, Laurie has been making nature calls. I have asked her to nudge me about this. I am a very light sleeper so any movement by her tends to get me stirring. I get up to ensure that she makes it to the bathroom and gets back to bed safely. The calls seem to come at two or two and a half hour intervals. So, although we sleep eight to ten hours, this is not continuous. No matter how long the sleep period is we seem to be tired when we do get up.

 

Laurie is still not drinking tea or coffee right now. This is a suggestion made on those detailed prescription information sheets you get from some pharmacies. As many of you know, Laurie likes both of these beverages, morning, afternoon and evening. It is for her best health that she avoids these drinks and she knows this. I try and be very quiet in making myself these drinks. However, since the house is so quiet and her ears are so good, any noise travels to her quite easily. Opening the Oreo bag has to be done in the garage now.

 

Later in the week we are scheduled to see a radiation and a chemotherapy oncologist in Ottawa. These meeting will likely start Laurie on her next steps down her Road to Recovery. I will let you know how she progresses. I must thank those of you who have kindly sent Laurie flowers and for the nice cards. She can read the cards with her reading glasses on, and knows who they are from which is excellent. She has some difficulty in identifying all of the different flowers in the arrangements. I am sure that she will be improving her memory and that she will soon be giving me the Latin names of flowers that I know as roses and daises. She also has a speech therapist coming to the house soon which may also help her in various ways. That is certainly the hope.

 

To end this note I will relate the story of the twins conjoined at the shoulder - Robert and his brother Mike. The brothers liked to travel and found themselves in a quaint English village on a rainy June afternoon at the Lion and Heart pub. As they walked in the publican bid them a good afternoon and asked what they would like. Robert ordered a Shepherd Neame real ale and his brother Mike, on the right, asked for the same. They took a nice table in the corner and enjoyed their beers and the atmosphere of their surroundings in the 19th century pub. A while later the publican caught their eyes and Mike ordered "Same again please". This time the publican brought the pints over as the bar was a little busy due to those villagers bestowing their patronage as the rain became a little heavier. However, he wasn't in that much of a hurry that he could strike up a conversation. "So, what brings you gents over to England....I would guess that it is the good beer?". "No, not really" replied Robert. "We do like it and it is so much better than the slop we get back home."  "Well then" said the publican. "It must be the incredible history of our country".  "There certainly is lot of that around" said Mike "and we have read and seen much of it already. You see, we try and come here every couple of years". "Then it must be for the scenery" said the publican. So much of it and quite different if you take the time to look.". "Yes, that is true but it is not the main reason why we like coming over" said Robert. So naturally the publican asked "So, what is the reason then?" "Well" said Robert, it is the only time that Mike really gets the chance to drive."

 

Good night from Oxford Station -

 

Mark

========

Laurie's Fight for Life becomes a Road to Recovery!

August 5, 2011 (Friday)

Good morning / afternoon / evening everyone -

 

My apologies to those who found my last update to be rather long. One of our friends who emailed thought that my note writing may be therapeutic in nature. I tend to agree with this. I can not say how many thoughts are zigzagging through my mind these days...something between a decillion and a googol I imagine. I am trying to assemble some orderly presentation to my thoughts but this is proving to be a challenge at times. I am typically writing late at night after a long day at the hospital so please excuse the odd bits of diversion from what really is the story of Laurie's Fight for Life and her Road to Recovery. 

 

Over these past two weeks I have been thinking about order and method. My thoughts come back to that doyen of literary private detectives - Hercule Poirot. Laurie and I both like to read and to watch mysteries. We find that the productions from the BBC are very well done. The shows and movies based on Agatha Christie's novels and short stories featuring Poirot are some of our favourites. Poirot was a man who based his work on "order and method". As well, he often had to rest his "little grey cells" by sleeping while others on the case worked all hours of the day and night. In some complex cases his little grey cells were severely agitated - enough so to produce the clue that had eluded him. He was the one to solve the mystery because of his order and method and how we treated his little grey cells.

 

It is interesting that the "order and method" and "little grey cells" are so connected with Laurie's illness. Examples of order and method in the hospital are everywhere you look and behind the closed doors that you can't. Methodology can be observed from everything to the control of parking to the sequence in which patients with quite different problems are handled. How to secure the patients' prescriptions and ensure that the right patient receives the correct drugs and doses? Methodology of course. How are emergency backup systems designed to automatically function in the emergency room? Methodology and a good electrical engineer I would say. The scheduling of human resources must surely be a nightmare for the operations manager. I assume that he or she has freedom to the access the medical supply cabinet for Tylenols and Gaviscon. I don't know how large the staff is but there are day and night shifts, weekends, statutory holidays, employees on umpteen different types of leave and the large volunteer force. Behind all of this HR juggling is some software, based on various proven methodologies, to help in making the staff assignments.

 

And "order"? Sure there are orderlies carrying out tasks that you and I might not appreciate having to do. Sure there are orders given through the hierarchy of a very large institution with people of tremendously different backgrounds of education, culture, language and experience. How can all these people work harmoniously without order? Staff are orderly in their tasks whether they need to change a, er, a bed-pan or track down a doctor who could be in three places at the same. There are strict orders and there are guidelines. These are not to be mixed up if you are a subordinate. Taking a variety of different coloured and shaped pills in a specific order usually is not a going concern. The order in which you eat the food presented at dinner is not important as long as you begin with the dessert. And what about ordering all of those hospital supplies? Surely someone must decide if next month's order for Purell will be 250 or 2,500 cases. How many gross of plastic straws, Nabisco Premium Plus crackers and micro-sized plastic containers of Kraft strawberry jam should be ordered this quarter? Fall short on your best estimates and look out as the patient complaints sound the hallways. Overestimate and you may be eating unsalted crackers and jam for breakfast, lunch and dinner as you look for another job. The anesthetist certainly needs to do their work before the surgeon begins theirs - order is seriously important here. And then of course there is the ordering of a medium double-double with half a dozen non-powered Tim-bits and a crueller to go.

 

Now what about these "little grey cells"? Well, this is where Laurie's journey all began. The brain is an amazing creation and is really constructed of these grey cells which are, by necessity, quite little. Think about it. Your hard drive just crashed due to a random power failure or because of poor quality control at the factory. Unless you do backs-ups like you know you should, you may have lost everything. The bytes on the hard-drive no longer are able to provide the information they once stored. The damage to the brain cells can result in a number of problems including temporary or permanent loss of memory. The primary concern for Laurie was the proximity of the tumor to the area in the brain that relates to speech. You can not back-up your brain cells like that external hard-drive that should be used more often. It is to the credit of the surgical team and those running the instrumentation like CT scanners and MRIs that as little damage as possible was done to Laurie's little grey cells. This approach taken resulted in some of the tumor remaining. Risk assessment would be done before the surgery began and once the brain was exposed. Conservatism is the sensible approach. Let other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation begin after the tumor has been mostly removed.

 

I keep wondering why this illness struck Laurie in the prime of her life. There was no incidence in her family history of this. If it was not genetics then was it related to lifestyle and if so, what aspect? Perhaps, given the chance, it is a mystery that Poirot could have solved by agitating his little grey cells.

 

August 3, 2011 (Wednesday)

I arrived at 08:25 to see a pretty alert Laurie scanning what was left on her breakfast tray. Eating her food before I arrive is a positive indication that she is having a good beginning to the day. Right after taking her pills her surgeon peeked in and gave her the once over. He felt that she was looking good and that her stay would soon be coming to an end. Then another doctor came in and told me that the pathology report had arrived. My ears perked up and I took up pencil and paper. The tumor that Laurie had is apparently fairly rare. It is called ganglioglioma and is in most cases benign. Wow. What a relief that is. The long-term prognosis is very good especially when the tumor has been completely resected or removed. This should hopefully occur with the follow-up treatments. Good news in the waiting. I asked for a copy of the pathology report but the doctor said he would look into this. You don't need to be Kreskin to know that the report won't be coming soon. The thing that was coming, however, was the move tomorrow to another wing and floor. The talk of the morning so far centered on this topic. The new floor had just been renovated lock-stock-and-barrel; everything and everybody was supposed to move on Thursday.

 

Laurie had a worse headache now even with the good news about her condition. Tylenol 3 helps here. This was one of the more severe headaches she had encountered. Before lunch we did some walking and stair climbing. How serendipitous that her physiotherapist saw her walking down the stairs by herself. Back to the room content she was doing the right things to get better. Lunch was eaten without hesitation and her headache was diminishing. Little set-backs at this point worry me about just how prescient the doctor is about her leaving tomorrow. She is still quite tired but that is almost expected and apparently is alright with the doctors and nurses.

 

After lunch the nurse arrived with things that I had not noticed previously. The reason being is that she was about to remove Laurie's staples with all of things required to do this. Laurie seemed pleased that this time had come. I was not sure whether to stay, leave the room or leave the building. I decided to stay. The procedure requires order and method. There is the putting on of special green gloves that come in a special package. The forehead was cleansed thoroughly as the nurse explained what she would be doing.  The process involves taking a little pair of scissor-like pliers and sliding a tab under each staple and gently lifting straight up. The nurse counted 1-2-3 and then flicked the instrument up lifting the staples out. She works on every other staple across the length of the closing then returns to the beginning. She told Laurie how far along she was and if there might be some discomfort with a particular removal. OK, hold it here. If that was me lying there, I would not only want a local anesthetic but also a general one. On top of that I would want some application of cryogenics done too. She was again the trooper that she has always been. She only flinched a couple of times due to some staples having been partially covered by regenerating issues. We both survived this twenty minutes and the incision appears to be healing very nicely.

 

The vital signs are still pretty good. They do change but I have noticed that she is not always in the same position or the readings are taken at different times. This is especially an issue, I feel, when they take the blood sugar readings. Tonight, for example, this was done just after dinner wherein she had two juices, some fruit and tea with sugar. The blood sugar reading was double the night before but I believe that test was done before dinner. She consumed her dinner without much prodding. She still had a headache for which codeine was given. She seemed to have some headache for most of the day which contributes to the tiredness. Early in the evening she had a friend in for a few minutes. Although groggy, Laurie recognized her and then had a nice conversation. A final run through of the night-time check list and I was off about 20:10. Quite a long-day for the both of us. 

 

On the drive home I thought about the ups and downs that Laurie is experiencing. The difficulty in one aspect on a previous day may have gone but another one has arisen the next day. For instance, headaches and eating alright today which was the opposite of yesterday. I don't know whether this big move will happen tomorrow but if it does I am somewhat nervous about it.

 

August 4, 2011 (Thursday)

I arrived about 08:15 knowing that this was to be move day for all of the patients and all of the equipment. I thought that it could be quite interesting, noisy, confusing, disruptive and unsettling. Well, as it turned out I was pretty well right. I should have also included chaotic and messy in my original thinking. I would think that even a M*A*S*H unit would make a quieter relocation compared to the manoeuvres conducted today.

 

Laurie was quite tired again and had no interest in the boiled egg and brown toast for breakfast. I really did not either. The plastic cutlery barely made it through the toast so I gave up. I went to the kitchen to get some juices as Laurie had not received this on her tray. It had either not been put on or had fallen off someplace. I thought that I could possibly scoop a muffin or other nourishment from the kitchen that she might eat. Well, the kitchen was empty - literally. It was one of the first things to go. The only thing still there was the remnants of a kitchen. Getting back to the room was like entering a moving obstacle course. Beds on the move, with patients and family and friends in tow. If something was not nailed, screwed or glued down then it got moved. The trick in moving here was that vital equipment and supplies had to move in accordance with the patients. You could not move all of the materials first as an unmoved patient may require something. Tactically it had to be well thought out and there were various meetings taking place in the hallways on a regular basis.

 

Laurie had a visit from the speech therapist that in my view was poor timing. Besides the commotion outside, Laurie was tired and had not really eaten. Not a good time to undertake an evaluation. I had a talk with the therapist afterwards for about 15 minutes. Laurie did not complete the test. The therapist is supposed to follow-up but she felt that she did get a good indication of what Laurie's speech issues are. Then a social worker popped in about four nano seconds after the therapist left. Then the Turkish room mate was taken away for an X-ray. This required having half of the nursing staff and some of the movers being involved. Getting a fairly large person with a turtle-like body cast from a bed to a gurney is rather tricky especially if you are concerned about dropping something.

 

Then about ten people came in to the other bed chamber. The doctor was doing a follow-up with this patient and brought all the students along - to listen. And they had ample opportunity to do so. This doctor went on and on. Loud and somewhat repetitive and seemingly unaware of the pace of his speech. The soliloquy must have gone on for 20 minutes. The movers, I think, were wanting to move her but there was no way this could possibly have been done. The whole thing was out of a Marx Brothers film. The class continued well past noon. Of course, Laurie's lunch had been taken to the new floor so it was quite late in arriving to her. I was surprised just how much heat was still in the meal.

 

After her lunch, the hallways were quiet so we took a walk and climbed some steps. Shortly thereafter, it was Laurie's turn to make the move. We had a visitor at that time and he came along as we moved to another wing and a higher floor. We were headed to room 749 and there were only two beds here. Laurie had the nice side by an expanse of windows overlooking the north and the Gatineau Hills. She spotted a distant building where one of our friends lives. This to me is very encouraging as she has excellent eye sight and recall. The rest of the furniture followed and then the other patient arrived. Yes, Laurie's Turkish room mate (and the entourage). What are the odds of that? Well, I guess if I had some more information I could actually calculate this. We turned up the "I hope we can go home" wishing at this point.

 

It was obvious that not everything had been fixed up on the newly renovated seventh floor. Lights had not been connected above Laurie's bed and the bathroom light was not working. I flagged down one of the guys working on things and he came in and did some electrical work. This required pushing Laurie's bed about which was not easy at first since the brake was on. Then things really picked up. I guess that some very loud alert and alarm systems had not been adequately tested yet. It really sounded like we were in an Oberon class British navy submarine preparing to dive. And I kid you not. Lights, camera, action....it was all there. OK - let's take that once again. This testing continued until all the systems were felt to be working or a large fuse blew and the whole thing came to a halt.

 

To alleviate some of the strain of the day we decided to go outside. I found a wheelchair that looked steady enough to take Laurie out to a small garden at the front of the hospital. This she was up for as was the double chocolate ice-chiller she spied as we were passing the Second Cup on the main floor. So, with drink in hand we sat outside for some peace and fresh air. It is quite apparent that it is calmer outside the hospital than it is in. And we were sitting no more than 10 meters from Carling Avenue which is a very busy street complete with bus, ambulance and police traffic. After maybe 20 minutes Laurie was in want of some rest and I was happy to oblige as it was almost +30C.

 

Back to her new digs and to a comfortable bed until the dinner came at 17:00. Not much interest once again and even drinking necessitated my most convincing of arguments. After a light meal and the after eating routine I headed off earlier than usual. The scuttlebutt was that Laurie would likely be going home tomorrow. This meant some further preparations were required at the house. I drew the day and night blinds as she nodded off quite easily. The Turkish group seemed to be talking rather loudly and excitedly - perhaps it was about the economy back home.

 

I prepared what I could for Laurie's comfort back at the house. I had done this once before only to end up eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables quite quickly. Looking forward to the possibilities that tomorrow could bring. This includes the hope that Laurie is feeling better than she did today.

 

August 5, 2011 (Friday)

This is the day that we, everyone, has been waiting for. Release, discharge, hospital freedom, home care, whatever you wish to call. It was two weeks ago at 19:00 that Laurie first went to the Kemptville hospital. We left the Civic Hospital about 11:15 today. We walked out. One of us was more sure-footed than the other and somewhat more awake. Lots of paperwork was explained by the nurse including the prescriptions to fill, next appointments and daily routines that we can strive for.

 

When I first arrived at the hospital about 08:05 I had some doubts as to whether Laurie indeed would be departing today. She was pretty sleepy considering that she did not have a sleeping pill last night. Her new room is better as the thunder-snoring lady is way down the hall in another room. I believe that you can still hear her sawing logs on occasion though from Laurie's room. She was not very enthusiastic about breakfast and a lot of coaxing was done to get her to drink. Drinking is really important to maintain good blood pressure and to ensure that all of the plumbing is performing. After breakfast we did a walk including a staircase and talked to a social worker who is working on preparing Laurie for home care. So, as the morning worn on and after some growing trepidation, we got the green light to move out. I took the bags down and came back for Laurie who found the bed and pillows quite inviting again even though she was dressed in her clothes. I was prepared to do the fireman's lift at this point if she was a willing participant. This was not required as she realized that she could really leave now.  We did not say good-bye to the Turkish lady because there were about five people in the chamber.

 

What was supposed to be a quick stop at the drug store turned into a much longer wait. Laurie sat in the front seat with the outside temperature near 30C (yes, the windows were down). I must have been 20 minutes or possibly a little longer. I wasn't reading the new issue of Woodworking Today but waiting for a hiccup with one of the prescriptions. There were four items to pick up. Three had the proper information from the doctor but one was missing the number of pills that was prescribed. Good grief. The pharmacist called the hospital but they apparently they wanted a fax from the pharmacist first. So I asked for enough of these anti-seizure pills to last a couple of days until the issue was properly sorted. I also bought a home BP machine and a digital thermometer. My eyes are so tired and droopy that I don't think that I could see the mercury level reading in the old glass one - assuming that I could even locate it. I was somewhat desponded about the length of time it took but Laurie took it all in good stride.

 

As we left the Kemptville I played the theme song from Local Hero which is called "Going Home". How fitting this was as she seemed content about our return home. Pulling into the driveway it was interesting to watch Laurie's reaction to being home. She stopped and looked around and listened to the birds. But what she really was interested in was getting into bed for a rest. We both slept in the afternoon and had a bit of lunch. Then more rest until dinner. It is very quiet here compared to the environment over the last two weeks. This will be conducive to Laurie's recovery. I will be with her 24/7 rather than 12/7 and not be commuting. There will be some respite time when I can do whatever is required in town. She will have someone here for those times.

 

So, here we are. Home sweet home. Back at the ranch. Our sanctuary. The two weeks away seemed much longer. Physically and mentally and emotionally we are tired, "drained" may be a better word. The journey continues but on a more hopeful path now. The positiveness that has been sent by mail, email and by telepathy to us was been very much appreciated. We thank you for this.

 

Judy Garland said "There's no place like home" after her very interesting journey along the yellow-brick road. I really think I know what this means now.

 

Good night from Oxford Station -

 

Mark

 

P.S. - Looks like I will need to apologize once again........