New Years Eve

This year we received the Best Christmas Gift ever! Madeline Rose Deglow was born on December 21 weighing in at 5 pounds 9 ounces. Janna and Travis are the new proud parents of our first grand child. Mor Mor/Merete/The Danish Princess and Travis were in the birthing room along with 9 other nurses and doctors. As of today Mother and Baby are doing well but will remain in hospital for another 5 to 7 days. Madeline much like Janna was determined that she wanted to come out when she wanted to come out, to hell with all the planning.

This gave me a chance to promote my theory of always including the possibility of kaos in the planning process. I became the man behind the curtain during the final moments of the birthing process. When my feet came too close to entering Janna would yell, 'Don't come in now Dad!' I would back away from the curtain. I ended up having the privilege of seeing our granddaughter within the first 5 minutes of her birth, a thrill I didn't have with our own daughters.

Janna and Travis are now finding out about Hospital NonSense, Mis-Communication, Stupid Rules that even the staff don't like but have to enforce. Down the line when they actually get some rest I might try to get them to write a guest blog on this experience. All in all the staff have been wonderful but until you get caught in this bureaucracy you really have no idea how frustrating it can be.

It is New Years Eve 2010 and here is my personal health update. I am doing well and will have an EKG sometime in the New Year. Dr. Novak is pleased with my progress but wants to see what my Ejection Fraction is like. Other than that NO procedures appear to be in the near future.

Happy New Year Everyone!
(Janna informed me that I had to do an update, so there it is Little Mommy.)

The Eyes Have It.

Earlier this summer I went to the eye doctor because I was due for an exam and check up.





I had noticed a few changes in my vision. While painting I spent good deal of the time bobbing and weaving like an aging prize fighter. This disrupts the flow of my work and annoys the heck out of me. The other thing that has happened since my original heart surgery is Gray Fuzz Outs. These Fuzz Outs don't hurt but can be annoying especially if you're driving. I loose the top of my vision. This can last from 2 minutes to 15 minutes. I described this problem to my Eye Doctor. He decided I should go to a specialist to have this checked out.

Three weeks ago I went to see the Specialist. He was an interesting 60 something fellow who likes musical theatre and performed his duties as if we were in some San Franciso play.

It can never be simple, have you ever noticed that? You can't get one referral you have to have a minimum of two. This last Thursday I went to Royal Jubilee Hospital to see two more specialist. Here's a question for you, Why is it always sunny and bright when they dilate your eyes? Is there some kind of secret deal set up with the weathermen to bring the sun out for eye dilation? Two times in a row, I kid you not, blazing sunlight. I digress.

So my two new friends first do a test to see if I will react to the phosphorus dye they plan to pump into my body. I passed the test. They then proceeded to take multiple pictures of my eyeballs following the dye in and out of the veins and arteries in my eyes. In between shots, we discussed dining options in Sooke (try Wasana's Thai Kitchen)and how busy the traffic was last Saturday.

After 15 minutes I was allowed to squint my way home, with the aid of the Danish Princess at the wheel. Besides the squinting, the other side effect was phosphorescent urine for 24 hours. This was useful during my 4am pee break.

I'll keep you posted once I get my results, in the meantime I continue bobbing and weaving my way through my current painting.

Spot Seen

Dick has a Spot. Dick has had a Spot for a long time.
In the spring on an unusually sunny warm day Dick
burnt Spot while sitting on the deck.



Spot appeared to go crazy and got bigger and looked weird. Dick went to see his friendly GP. The GP said "Just to be safe Dick, I think I'll send you to a specialist."

Months go by and Spot has gotten better. Whenever Dick goes out in the sunshine, he puts on a little SPF sun screen.

Finally Dick goes to the specialist. Dick showers, puts on a clean shirt, fresh socks and heads into town to see the Skin Doctor. Dick forgot something, can you guess what he forgot?

Dick gets called into the exam room. The New Skin Doctor with special magnifying glasses looks at Spot. "Hmmmm" He says, "Take off your shirt Dick." Dick complies. Then the New Skin Doctor says, "Drop your pants Dick and turn a round."

Dick hadn't listened to his Ol' Mom. Dick had forgotten to change his jeans and underwear. Dick felt like a Dick. Dick was very embarrassed.

Dick wanted to cry all the way home. When he got there Dick checked his underwear. Dick said, "Thank God no skid marks, I'll never do that again."

Dick is going out tomorrow to buy fresh underwear, t'shirt, jeans and a shirt for his Eye Doctor Appointment Friday. Dick isn't going to take anymore chances. Especially if he has to go to a Proctologist, he may even floss. Oh and Spot is okay, he needs to have a biopsy just to be safe. Dick will wear his new clothes on November 9th.

Dicks' Ol' Mom used to give him the same look as the Danish Princess in the photograph and say "Change your underwear before you go out, you'll thank me if you get hit a by a bus.......it could happen!"

September Update

After a serious prodding by daughter Janna, I have decided to write a little update.






Generally I am in good health and have had a pretty darn good summer.

This is the time of the year of course is when the doctors line up to poke and prod me, adjust medications and join the throng to pester me about my carefree life style.

My heart is still pounding away, my drugs are still messing with my digestive tract and I still get tired. I have cut down my naps quite a bit lately and only have one when I have done something stupid after the Danish Princess has gone to town. Things like cleaning the moss off the roof, tearing the bunkhouse apart and rebuilding the beds so it now sleeps three. Minor stuff that used to take half the time.

My schedule this month is today go to the Vet with Molly because her right leg is buggered up. Then on Saturday, Marc is coming over to watch the dogs overnight while the DP and I drive to Courtenay for a sleep over at Terry and Carole's place. Monday I am off to a skin specialist to have him look at the blotch on my cheek, because it looked weird back in April. On the 17th, I am off to an Eye Specialist to determine whether I will end up painting like Monet or Van Gogh. There will also be a visit near the end of the month to see my favourite GP.

Steady as she goes until November and I have my Electronic Tune-Up. If anything exciting or crazy comes up I will gladly share it with you all in great detail.

The News 5/28/10

Yesterday, I went to Royal Jubilee Hospital.
It was my 6 week surgery follow up.

It went well!






Apparently my read out is good, all the wires are working. I did have a little incident, at least I thought so. Well my incident wasn't recorded, I guess I just over did again. My old cardiologist Henderson said "If you push your heart too hard, it will push back." I am guessing I had a push back.

The only thing that was recorded was a minor incident on May 21st. That was the night I got pissed off and jumped up to sleep on the couch. Realizing that I would wake up crippled, I turned around and went back to bed. I think the actual reality of sleeping in the same room with 3 dogs was enough to send me back to bed. I wasn't really that mad and a good nights sleep is more important.

Bottom line, all is good.

You say Tomato and I say go .........Yourself

Sometimes you have to wonder where your doctor finished in his class. And sometimes you gotta wonder how much bureaucracy they have to put up with. Then you have ask yourself how much do I have to put up with from the whole system.

When I started this phase of my journey, I was an eager co-operative patient looking forward to a better life. By the time I got out of the hospital I was a less eager more angry Jackass that wanted to rip somebody a new one. Why? Let me elaborate.

I went in for what was described a day procedure. The worst case is I would stay over night. I don't like hospitals, it is filled with sick people who can make you sick. Knowing this I was fine with having to stay overnight as long the sick people would leave me alone and they gave me sleeping medication to dull the noise. (both externally and internally)

Tuesday surgery, stay overnight.....Wednesday Morning, oops.....you may have to stay another day. I have now met the Schnitzels, you gotta get me outta here starts to ring through my system. Why do I have to stay? My blood is not thin enough, I need more heparin. Thursday morning I have had 4 quarts of heparin plus 10+ mg of warfarin, by god my blood must be thin enough by now.

Noooo not yet so you ask the question "If I am taking warfarin at home and I have the $200 in inohep (self injecting heparin for home use) which the Doctors have made me buy, why can't I go home and do this instead of getting my blood thin here and being out $200 and having a bunch of heparin filled needles lying around for nothing?

Nurse response, "That's a good question, I'll ask."

By now I have seen, Novak briefly, Sullltan (the taper), the Irish Doctor Sulltan has dumped me onto, Vuurman (the new South African) and 2 or 3 other on call doctors who drift in and out of the wards.

The nurse comes back to say there is No, Novak, Sullltan, or Irishman to ask and there is only Vuurman and he will consult with head of the pharmacy Doctor Smith. Smith tells Vuurman, give him 10mg of warfarin and send him home but he has to have an INR test on Tuesday.

WooooHoooo ......but what's this........ Vuurman's name isn't on the release papers, it's Sullltan's name. Please refer to Friday April 16, Ever has one of those days.

By the time you figure out that you are going to be held prisoner because of bureaucracy it becomes clear that there is something you want to say. Thanks Nadia G from Bitchin' Kitchen for the quote when I needed one.

You say Tomato and I say go fuck yourself!!

If you're lucky like me you get to say this more than once maybe not with the same words slightly politer ones but the end effect is exactly the same.

That is exactly what I did on the Monday of my release. I used the polite words. After all you couldn't have found a doctor in this hospital and use the real phrase (This is weird because a hospital is where they work).

It wasn't the nurses' fault they were all just following orders.
(Hey wait a minute there should have been a historical note stuck in here referencing 1941 or 2.)

I say Tomato and you say .......................

The Salsa Walrus

The room I was in contained 4 beds. Beside Mrs. Shnitzel there were two other people in the room when I arrived.

One was discharged almost as soon as I arrived, the second was an older gentleman who lay there amused watching the commotion for most of the day. I think he must have been heavily sedated. A series of Doctors came and went from his section of the room chatting to him briefly. Over the din of the hospital I determined that he had already had multiple bypass surgeries and was diabetic. He also had kidney failure caused by the diabetes and the amount of drugs he had consumed over a number of years. He was still smiling though.

One thing that struck me was the number of people with heart conditions and diabetes. It was quite shocking. As the week progressed I realized just how lucky I was. Diabetes leads to way more complications with heart disease. It becomes more and more difficult to treat heart problems and the heart problems complicate the diabetes. It becomes like watching a dog chase it's tail as the doctors and nurses struggle to treat these individuals.

By the end of day two the older gentleman was transferred to a private room so he could go through 4 hours of dialysis without being bothered. That just left Mr. and Mrs. Shnitzel and myself occupying the room. After a delicious dinner of pre-formed gray/brown roast beef (so tender that you stuff up the cracks of your log home walls to insulate you from the cool spring breezes) things settled down. Mr. Shnitzel kissed his wife and bid her goodnight just after the announcement that visiting hours were now over. All the guests were asked to head for the exits. Bedtime was coming.

I lay there on my side thinking, 'it's just Mrs. Shnitzel and me, maybe I'll get a decent nights sleep'. All we needed was the drug cart to wobble in and give us our sleep medications, then bliss. What was I thinking? I forgot where I was, the not so quiet hospital environment.

Shortly after 9:15 pm, the rattle of a gurney could be heard in the hallway, it paused at the nurse's station. Through the doors of our room came the ambulance crew with one of them giving a brief history. The other one was singing, I kid you not, he was belting out some soft rock favourite at full volume like he was trapped in a portable shower.

"62 year old female, suffering from chest pains, two doses of nitro at home two more during the ride when pain increased, subsequent easing of pain, please sign hear for our release, Don't Worry Dear Your in Good Hands Now, one two three shift her and Goodnight."

As the gurney passed the end of my bed I glanced up. For a moment I couldn't tell what it was I seeing. I did have my glasses on but there was this bizarre shape in front of me. There didn't seem to be any legs, just this massive torso. Really I'm not trying to be mean, it looked like there was just a torso with a salt and pepper clown wig at one end. After they shifted her onto the bed the curtain closed. I knew I hadn't received my sleeping medication so I wasn't dreaming.

This was the arrival of the Salsa Walrus. The attending started to take her information. It was like listening to a medical dictionary. Angina, arthritis, sleep apnea, psoriasis, 4 bypass surgeries, 6 stents, celiac disease, diabetes then I lost count. Five foot two, three hundred plus pounds, 'My chest pains started after my last Salsa lesson'. She had taken up Salsa again to get back into shape. Don't laugh, that's what she said even if she was lying. Then I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing when the doctor said in the morning she would have to go for a treadmill stress test. She responded with, "I don't do stress tests very well because my legs are too short."
You can Salsa but you can't walk on a treadmill because your legs are too short. Isn't walking easier than Salsa….?

It only got more bizarre from there, as if this wasn't funny weird enough. The doctor said she would have to move one of her breasts to listen to her chest. There was an audible thump onto the bed as the breast was moved. "When was the last time you ate?" ….."Noon."….."W'ell see what we can get you."………"I have Celiac Disease."………."W'ell see what we can get you."……..

Time passed, drugs arrived I started to drift off as a plate of Mandarin Chicken with Rice arrived. I drifted off to a soft hoovering sound. Such was the arrival of the Salsa Walrus.

Meet the Schnitzels

After my surgery I was transferred to West 4, this is a newer part of Royal Jubilee Hospital. I was placed in the room that housed 4 patients.








One of the first things you notice as you enter this wing or any wing is a series of signs. Sanitize Your Hands before Entering, Visiting Hours are from 3pm to 8pm, Quiet Time is from 1:00 pm to 3:00pm, 2 Visitors per Patients are Allowed and finally Course Language or Physical Violence is Prohibited, Ejection from the Hospital will Occur.

Once you've been in your room for more than five minutes you quickly realize is that none of these rules seem to enforced, even the last one. I tested that rule the second day I was in. I didn't commit a violent act but surprise surprise I did use some course language as I walked down the hallway with Janna and Merete. I muttered something like " Get me the fuck out of here", much to the amusement of one of the other inmates.

Why did I utter such a profane request? It was because I had experienced the Schnitzels. The Schnitzels were an interesting couple of Austrians in their late eighties. Mr. Schnitzel is a short cartoon of a man almost a parody of a knee slapping Bavarian. He is about five feet five inches tall and when he isn't scurrying around he talks nonstop. Mrs. Schnitzel was the one in the hospital bed, at first she hardly moved. I think Mr. Schnitzel had verbally exhausted her and she was just recharging her batteries. I finally got a glimpse of her sitting on the edge of the bed. She was a small woman with dyed brown hair, she sat there with an oxygen mask on. It wasn't your normal clear tubed oxygen set up. It actually looked like she had a collapsed toilet paper roll stuck to her face like a paper moustache. Her bed was across the room from the bathroom, Mr. Schnitzel had gotten an extension attached to Mrs. Schnitzel oxygen line so she cross the room with some help and use the washroom.

The day I was shipped up to West 4, it was quiet time around 1:30 pm and Mr. Schnitzel was out to lunch with the other Schnitzels apparently. Shortly after Merete and Janna left the room, the horde of Austrian Canadians arrived back from having bratwurst and a lot of coffee. The eight of them filed in at about 2:30 and surrounded Momma Schnitzel's bed. They then proceeded to talk over each for the next 2 1/2 hours at a variety of volumes. I thought okay this is a one time visit it will get better. The bulk of the Schnitzels bid Momma goodnight and left Mr. Schnitzel with his wife as supper arrived. Poppa Schnitzel never shut up until 8pm. He read Momma her hospital menu, all the labels in the room, talked business, did the crossword out loud, you name it he talked about it.

The most fascinating thing for me as an observer was the language. He spoke fluent Germ-glish, a sentence would start in either English or German and points of interest would be punctuated in either language. Flowing from one language to the other was without pause or difficulty. I found it fascinating for the first 30 minutes but after 5 1/2 hours it became a little tedious. I swear the man did not breath. Finally day one ended and we lay in bed and listened to the sounds of the night; puking, carts, room buzzers the clatter of various shoe types and sizes …….finally the drugs kicked in and I slept for 3 or 4 hours.

Wednesday Morning. I hoped the day would be better. These foolish thoughts left me at 7:30am when Mr. Schnitzel arrived to read the breakfast menu and the morning paper. Then family Schnitzel arrived on mass and the din began and ran until noon at which time the lunch menu was read aloud like some kind of German Operatic Event. The entire family participated. Maybe I exaggerate a bit, but everyone gave an opinion. Then Poof, they were gone just prior to Merete and Janna's arrival. It was the Silence of the Schnitzel, the girls couldn't understand why I was on edge and muttered the afore mentioned profanity.

Thursday morning, Merete arrived and received the full Schnitzel experience. Even she was impressed with Poppa Schnitzel. Without a word of exaggeration Poppa Schnitzel talked for at least 4 hours straight. I know this because I was busy trying to convince my nurse to consult the doctor and get me sprung from this insanely noisy place and that took 4 hours. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of love there, a lot of noisy Schnitzel Love.

Stories

This is a picture of me (of course) waking up after the surgery.

I have a list of story option for you viewers.



Even though I have posted a couple of stories I have a few more.Let me know what you want to hear first by leaving a comment.

• Meet the Schnitzels.
• When things started to go South.
• He's not Here.
• Mrs. Schnitzel and the arrival of the Salsa Walrus.
• Scandinavian Filipinos.
• You can't hear your self Scream.
• John Boy's Book reviews.
• Favourite Visitors.
• You say Tomato and I say go..........Yourself.
• Escape from Purgatory.
• INR up INR down INR just right.
  

Perky Young (?) Breasts

I know what you're thinking.... What is he on about now.

I woke up from surgery admittedly a little stiff by I woke up that was the main thing.

All was well until Dr. Sulllltan arrived.
I was in a holding cell just off of West Purgatory sitting in my bed hoping but knowing I was in it for one night.

Sulllltan arrived and said "Everything went well, but they (you know them) will be putting in a Heprin Drip in at Midnight, so I think we (you know we) should put a little pressure on the incision." I sat there like a lump and said 'Okay'. He walked over to the sink/storage area and grabbed two gauze pads and a roll of 2" tape. He slapped 3" over my left shoulder and then tugging it as tight as he could he pulled it across my wound and my pec and then pulled it under my armpit.

Sulllltan then proceeded to wrap the full roll of tape round and round under both armpits through the hair across the hair on my back, around my neck. When the roll ran out he scurried over grabbed another roll of 1 1/2" tape and then continued round and round stretching it as tight as possible until he ran out.

He then said, "Not the best tape job, not pretty but it should do. After all I implant pacemakers not tape up wounds. We'll see you in 6 weeks."

His partner now slack jawed turned and walked away with Sulllltan.

I was stunned, and hadn't realised that I was hunched over while he was taping me. I tried to straighten up, which of course ripped off my armpit and back hair.

The nurse came in, shook her head and then admired my perky young(?) breasts. They weren't so young but they were perky.

Days Later

8 Days later this is what my incision looks like. I have six small pieces of special 'fall off when they are ready' tape strips.




It's not bad and soon I'll be used to it. Right now I can feel the weight of the device. The bruise is a little tender but itches more than anything.

Apparently I am allergic to the adhesive used in the tapes and badges. It itches like crazy where ever the adhesive sat. You scrub and think that you have removed all of it and a good layer of your skin. The next day I put on my work hoody and went out into the yard. Later I went to have my blood taken and discovered there was a lot of dust in the sleeves of the hoody. All the tape residue had picked up the dust and I looked like I hadn't bathed for weeks.

Escapeing From RJH West Purgatory Level 3

Here's an excerpt from
West Purgatory Level 3.

Vuuurman (pronounced Verminnn) my captor worked in league with the other Doctors to keep the other cellmates and myself as uncomfortable as possible.

The terrified staff followed the Doctors' orders fearing that they would be punished if they didn't. During quiet time, floor polishers would run up and down the hallways at breakneck speed.

The staff would push only the carts with wobbly wheels back and forth for the full 2 hours for maximum effect.

They would pause only to allow the sound of puking to punctuate the constant mayhem. After day 3 I thought to myself, I haven't heard this much puking since day one of fashion week in Paris.

I worked together with Ron and Gail my cellmates to formulate an escape plan. First we thought of trying to draw attention to our plight by writing HELP on the windows of the cell. The plan was to use feces to write with. We pooled our resources but to no avail, because all we could do was pool our resources. A new plan was required..........

More to come in the next few days.

Ever had one of thooose dayz?

You ever had one of those days when...........the first fucking phone call is the hospital saying Mr. Grey-Noble Good Morning this is Doctor YouDon't Wannhearfrom.

"There seems to have been a communication error yesterday, when I talked to the ward yesterday I said" if the ICD doctors are good with self injections then Mr Grey-Noble can go go home" I hadn't actually heard back from them. I heard back from them and they said 'NO' so we're going to have to have you come back into the hospital and be re admitted to be put back on the heprin drip. When I got back to the ward clerk yesterday you had already left, so you have to come back in. Thanks, sorry for the confusion."

You ever have one of those days when you find out you're so popular they want you back the next day. I'm having one of those days. Oh to be clot free and full of fun again, maybe tomorrow. Needless to say if my INR results this morning are good I'm going to be more pissed off than I am now and ask for some gas money.

Still ticking and still Kicking John

Wired for Sound

John has successfully made it through another surgery. He looks great and is a little cranky, which is always a good sign. I was about to go on and on, but I know John likes to tell his own stories (who doesn't) - so if you wait a couple or three days he will fill you in on what he went through. Thank-you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers; knowing that you are there for us makes this crazy journey much more bearable.

20,775 Days and Counting

This morning I woke and for some reason I wondered, how many days have I been on this planet?


I know some of you have wondered which planet I came from, to be honest some days I'm not sure. You can always ask my sister Linda, I'm pretty sure she'll know.



To answer the original question of the day I pulled out my calculator. Yes I do have a calculator and it revealed to me that I am 20,775 days old today. It's not my birthday, on my birthday I plan to be 20,805 days old. That's a lot of days, I haven't figured out how many hours yet. I am not that ambitious, besides that may be too tiring and possibly a bit depressing. Depressing especially if you subtract the number of hours spent watching TV or worse the amount of time lost being forced to wait through commercials. Enough said.

Tomorrow is the next phase of my journey. Tomorrow I will wake up in the Quality Inn at about 5am, scrub myself down with a special sponge and head off to the hospital to get my heart tuned up and regulated. I would be a fool if I wasn't a bit nervous. That doesn't mean I am not calm on the outside I am. On the inside, I'm just as nervous as last year when they cracked me open. The best part is I won't be splayed open for six hours this should be a walk in the park. The surgery should take between 1 & 3 hours.

Thanks everyone for your support over the past year while this story has been played out. I look forward to blogging about my latest adventure in a couple of days. In the meantime Merete will probably post tomorrow after she has some news to tell you.

A special Thanks to Janna & Travis who will be coming over to help Merete worry and help me through this. A big hug to Brie who just called me from Geneva to wish me well and catch up on the latest mountain adventures.

Cheers!

Heprin How To Video.

It didn't hurt a bit, really you should
try it some time.

Andy Rooney Moment

You ever have one of thoose dayz?
You wake up on time, eat your breakfast have a coffee, shower and shave ready for your first appointment.





Ever had one thooose dayz when everything seems to be place, you drive to your appointment and arrive early and no one is in the waiting room except you.

Ever had one thooose dayz when your Doctor can't figure out why you are there and why you need a physical when you see him every other week. He then ticks all the appropriate boxes for the report even the one where you lie a little bit.

Ever had one thooose dayz when he gives you your prescriptions and then comments on your pending surgery. "This should give you some peace of mind having the defibulator put in, won't improve your condition but it is good for safety." You stand there a moment and discover that you have turned into one those big eyed kids in the black velvet paintings. Staring up you sputter, "But I thought if it resynchronized my ventricles it would improve my condition." He tilts his head and says "It Might."

Ever had one thooose dayz when you drive forty minutes to pick up your prescriptions only to find they won't be ready until 3pm and it's only 10:30 in the morning?

Ever had one thooose dayz when you turn into Andy Rooney and ramble on about stuff that isn't under your control? Ever had one thooose dayz when you just have to laugh and say whatever, I guess I'll just have to deal with it?

I do and this is one of thooose dayz.

See the full Andy Rooney Moment@ http://mountaindouche.blogspot.com/

Got the Call

The game is afoot! I got the call this morning about Heprin and the pending surgery.

I should be in recovery by this time next Tuesday.

Merete will be sitting wringing her hands and I plan to be muttering about wanting to go home.

Tomorrow I meet with Dr. Pocock and then I'll go get my Heprin syringes. Pinch and Poke for the next seven days.


I should have 7 loonie sized bruises by this time next week.

Yahoooooo! The waiting will be over.

Posting Comments & Followers

On all my blogs I have included a Follower section. Don't be afraid to become a Follower. I DO NOT SEND OUT E-MAILS TO HARASS YOU. It actually helps me see if my blogs are being used. There was a way of putting a counter on your site to record visits but I haven't been able to find a counter.

Please feel free to leave Comments and become a Follower I enjoy the input.

People have asked how to post comments on my blogs. It is quite simple really. You don't have to give any information that you want too. I have prepared an image which shows the basic steps.

Spring Morning Report

The good news is that it stopped raining during the night and right now it's dry. I visited Dr. Pocock on Friday because my BP kept dropping into the really low zone. At one point it was down to 62 over 41. Needless to say I was a bit dizzy and looked like I was moving in slow motion.

We've adjusted my medication again and dropped the Spiro down to a half a dose of 12.5 mg once a day. It is a diuretic and was running my blood down to thin.

I skipped one day of medication and started the half dose yesterday. I still had the same effect but it didn't last as long. That's a good thing.

The Countdown Begins

Good Morning Campers! I just got of the phone with Michelle at Royal Jubilee Hospital.

We have a date for surgery, April 13th at 8am.

No it is not a Friday I checked.




So on Tuesday April 13th, I will have to be at the hospital by 6 am. A special package of instructions will be sent within a week, and a new blood thinner will be called into the pharmacy.

I also found out that I will not be in the hospital for more than one night. This is good news, originally I was told 5 days, with a month of recovery. Perhaps this too will change and I will be able to dig holes in the garden sooner than I thought.

That's it for now, I will post updates as we get closer to the procedure. It's been a long wait and now at least we can get back to (so called) normal.

This Just In !

This actually is not just in, it came in on Friday. While I was depositing Merete at the ferry so she could celebrate Finn's 80th. birthday, the implant people left a message.

Monday I will find out when my Surgery will be. Big sigh of relief, as you all know I'm not great at waiting. Now I can stop wringing my hands over the waiting and start fretting over the surgery.

I joke, don't get your panties in a knot. I will let you all know the date tomorrow.

Happy Birthday to Finn Hemmingsen, John Dean and on Monday Brother Jim (Two Dogs) Grey-Noble.

What to do while waiting for surgery.

Our good friends Lee and Joan Hanson live half the time here on the island. They have a cabin down on Gordon's Beach. The night before last they invited us down for Otter Point Mussels that they had harvested that day. There were so many uncooked mussels left over that we got to bring some of them home.

Last night was my turn to cook. Since I had a piece of Salmon already thawed out, I decided to make a Seafood Soup. Merete created a Great Cheesy Garlic Bread to go along with the soup.

I sauteed onions and garlic. Then added canned chopped tomatoes, wine, chicken broth, a shot of Chinese hot sauce and finally the Salmon and Mussels.






Here's the finished product.
Add a little pepper and a pinch of Parmesan Cheese.

You can never have enough cheese.






Add the Garlic Bread and you can't move for a few hours.

Makes you hungry doesn't it!.

Went mad and the Pigs ate him.

I just got back from seeing Doctor Pocock this morning. No news is good news as they say. Apparently my blood work is good. I have to increase my Spironlactone from 12.5 mg to 25mg per day. This also means I have to have blood tests every two weeks to check my potassium level.

I have to watch my intake of raisins, bananas and all things containing potassium. Dr. P also wants me to start doing more exercise. I told him I would start doing laps around the yard. He is hoping this will stem my loss of muscle and build up my energy by pumping more oxygen into my system.

Doctor Novak has yet to indicate a possible surgery date, this will be effected by the Spironactone increase.

Just maybe we'll have an answer within a couple of weeks. As you know I am not a good at waiting. Luckily for me I have been painting basically 7 days a week for 5 to 6 hours which has kept me as sane as I can possibly be.

I have no doubt that I will get the call for surgery when some large family event is slated or when we find out we will be getting a special visit.

Let's just hope in the meantime that when and if anyone phones Merete won't say 'Sorry he can't come to the phone, John went mad and the Pigs ate Him!'

Sometimes You gotta.....

First, this picture of Brando my main man has nothing to do with this post. Well maybe it does, I wish I could be that relaxed.




Sometimes you gotta wonder how exact a science medicine is when things unfold in a bizarre manner. I was going to say stupid but maybe I'm too harsh.

Here's what happened during the last week. I have had to go in for two blood tests, one for my INR (Warfarin) and the second for my Potassium level on the new drug. It unfolded like this, I tract my INR and for the past 3 weeks it has been steadily climbing back to a decent level. This means it was going to be between 2.0 to 3.0 and bingo I hit exactly 2.5! This is good, however it was steadily climbing up. My thought was I better drop my Warfarin just slightly so I didn't excede the target.

It didn't work, last Wednesday I tested 4.5, too high. The doctor's office told me to skip a dose and retest on Monday. Now, I have to say that Dr. Pocock had somebody covering for him because he was away.

Monday I retested and the INR was 1.5 too low. Dr. Pocock is now back and the question his office asked was......wait for it......."Did I miss a dose?"

Duuh! You gotta wonder sometimes do they communicate within the same office? You gotta wonder maybe with this kind of medication if it is really up to you to monitor yourself!

One thing I do know is I'm getting really sick of being a pin cushion. Once again I have to go visit my friends at the lab before the end of the week and get yet another bruise.

Yes I am still waiting for my surgery and I will let you all know when it's going to happen.

Sometimes a Dogs' Life looks pretty good, just ask Brando or Molly.
But maybe that's just my opinion.

A Small Post

No real news on the implant front! I had a meeting with Dr. Pocock this morning regarding a change or rather an addition to my medication list.

Apparently I left Dr. Novak's office on December 22 before they could give me a prescription. That, I found amusing because they told me to get dressed and leave. In the letter to Pocock they made it sound like I ran for the hills after being examined.

For those of you who are counting or wondering what and how many drugs I'm taking here's the current list.

Bupropion 150mg - 2x a day
Carvedil ol 25mg - 2x a day
Digoxin 0.25mg - 1x a day
Rampril 10mg - 1x a day
Lipitor 10mg - 1x a day
Warfarin 5mg - 1x a day
Spironolactone 12.5mg - 1x a day
Symbicort - as needed (inhaler)
Salbutamol Sulfate-as needed(inhaler)
Nitro-Dur 0.2- 40mg Patch released at .2mg per hour at bedtime

Vitamin B-50 - 1x a day

I thought of a question while I was driving into see Dr. P so I asked about possible side effects of these drugs on my Liver. He said my Liver should be fine. He also mentioned that the new Spironolactone will increase my Potassium level so now I have a standing order for that blood test as well.
This drug will counter some of the Potassium loss caused by the Lipitor .
That means I won't have to eat so many bananas.

That's a good thing because I had started dragging my knuckles on the ground and raising my hands over my head in a waving motion when I laugh.

New Stuff

I went and saw my GP Tuesday morning. It was great seeing him first thing in the morning, he is way more relaxed.



I ended up getting two prescriptions.

The new Beta blocker dose was changed to 25mg twice a day. The other prescription is for a Nitro patch. It helps my breathing at night. This way I don't have to sleep on a pile of pillows. I tried it last night and got to sleep in a normal fashion. There is only one catch, Nitro drops your blood pressure and gives you a headache. Fortunately for me, I didn't have the headache until about 5:45 am. After staggering into the kitchen and finding the Tylenol I climbed back into bed and then peeled off the Nitro patch.

It's great to get medication to resolve health issues but the side effects are really irritating.

I did a little research on Stem Cell implantation to revive heart muscle. If I went to Duesseldorf treatment is available. Researchers have been working on this precedure for about 10 years now. When you start digging for information on this work it's like a maze. UBC keeps coming up but I can't find anything solid about their research. I would gladly volunteer for clinical trials.

Here's a link to the German site.

http://www.xcell-center.com/treatments/diseases-treated/cardiovascular-diseases.aspx

Just Waiting Again

Yes the many shades of waiting continues.










I have a meeting tomorrow with Dr. Pocock, really it's a prescription renewal but we'll go over Dr. Novak's plans for me.

This morning I got a chance to talk with my Rona Manager Super Sue Tibbits and found out she will be moving back to Calgary. She is a bright, energetic and gifted manager and we share a birthday. I am sure my Rona friends will miss her as much as I will .

We had a good chat and I filled her in on the progress or lack there of my treatment. No matter how much time seems to drag there is progress and that's the main thing. Now my 4 doctors have a plan, that should improve my quality of life. Most of you realise that waiting is not my forte. I like to keep busy, but when I can't walk more than 40 feet without getting short of breath it gets a little tedious.

Hopefully my next post will include my surgery date.
Ta Fer Noo

A New Year

Things are good!

I am waiting to hear when I get my surgery. I am hopeful that in this New Year I will be able to put some my past issues behind me.

As things develop I will of course send along the information. Thanks for all the support over the past year and have a very Happy New Year.