Followers

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Travel Advisory

As you are aware several countries have implemented travel advisories or outright bans on travel to areas where the Swine Flu Or Virus seemed to have originated. Canada actually ended all flights to Mexico late last week in an effort to limit travel and the spread of this yet unknown threat.

Meanwhile I've heard of people turning a blind eye to the advisory making a conscious decision that a $1500 trip to Mexico was well worth the risk of infecting friends, family, coworkers and those of us with compromised immune systems to this virus. Is it just me or do these people lack the necessary grey matter or quantity thereof to be considered as having a brain?

Sometimes the sheer stupidity of people make me shake my head and wonder, maybe it is time for a pandemic clean the place up and get rid of all these nuts.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Another year another walk after a while the years seem to blend together yet I believe this marked our 15th year of participation. It did not seem as if we were going to attain our goal of $1200 yet the evening prior to the walk people from our building kept knocking on our door to make pledges. As a result we surpassed our goal and raised over $1300 in pledges, the amount you raise is really not that important I believe it is more important for those affected to show up and those close by to participate as well showing their support for the cause. I'd like to thank everyone who participated this year and took the time out of their busy schedule to join us. I have taken several photographs that you can see on web shots or on my Facebook page, should you have difficulty accessing either send me an e-mail and I'll help you along.

It was cold rather chilly but at least there was no rain. As always there were numerous sponsors for food supplied by Subway, coffee by Aladdin, desert by Fidelice which is known for their superb delicacy. Participation this year was not as strong as years gone by what with the economic hardships a lot of families are facing today this definitely had an impact. Overall by the end of the day they announced our fundraising efforts at $65,000 although $20,000 less than last year's it's still nothing to sneeze at. If it helps terrific that's the bottom line and the reason we participate.
Thanks to everyone
Michael

Friday, April 24, 2009

Friday, April 24, 2009

Our MS walk takes place on Sunday and while we did not meet our personal goal I must say raising close to $1200 feels pretty good. As a bonus they're predicting above average temperatures for Sunday with cloudy skies, perfect for a walk.
I will certainly take some pictures and post them as I do almost every year, although the pictures are a great way to remember the event they also provide a picture of the disease and the devastation it causes to those affected. Every year I see people who possibly walked with the help of a cane now utilizing a Walker or perhaps pushed by a friend as they sit in a wheelchair. Others have gone from walking to an electric wheelchair in less than a year's time.
The pictures by themselves certainly tell a story and that is that this disease progresses no matter what. It kills me when I hear people say that there positive attitude and outlook will keep them at bay from any symptoms or further progression.
You may be able to slow it down if you qualify for those disease modifying therapies however while the number of relapses you have may be reduced the disease itself progresses and nothing seems to be capable of stopping it. If you need convincing take a look at the statistics which show you that no matter what type of MS you are deemed to suffer from all types will intersect with respect to progression at a certain point in time. I'll let you do a bit of research and find the timeline.

It is difficult to explain what MS is unless you have it equally difficult is to describe its progression.
Walk a mile in my shoes
describes it best and boy I would love to be able to lend these shoes every once in a while to enlighten those who take their health for granted.
Have a great weekend

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Finished all of my antibiotics and I must say my leg is much better now the only thing I need is for my arm to return to normal. I must have pulled some muscles or tendons whatever it's still fairly painful but that's it everything else is fine.

After over three years of waiting the government PAD project is complete. You know the saying that when something appears too good to be true it probably is, that's certainly been my experience with this program. I was approved for $16,000 for modifications to our condo, after being evaluated by an ergo therapist to validate my requirements I sent in several estimates, there's an interesting story to this adventure that I will keep for an entry at a later date. The total cost of my modifications amounted to $15,200 or thereabouts I was informed the government would pay $12,600 leaving me with a shortfall of approximately $2600.00
In a nutshell you are not given the whole story before embarking on the program and find out after everything is done how much the government's contribution will be.

Apparently there is some type of listing which is followed when qualifying modifications, as an example the maximum to modify a toilet may be $900 yet they don't inform you of this. Even when you send in the quote from the contractor if it is over their allotted amount they still don't tell you. They wait until the inspection is complete and then hit you with their contribution limit.

I learned a lot and I have quite a bit to share once I have the government cheque in hand I'll tell you about it.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Following several requests from my spouse to have my leg looked at by my family physician I finally made an appointment, she came to see me Tuesday morning.
After a brief visit it was decided that I would be best served by visiting emergency at the hospital in Hull. She provided documentation which was hoped to cut the initial waiting time, we were fortunate as they recognized her as having privileges at the hospital thus accepting her documentation and recommendation.

At that point I requested a stretcher and was placed in a small cubicle where we waited to see the specialist. We waited four hours to meet Dr. Boucher who turned out to be very professional, thorough everything you'd want being in this predicament. Agreeing with my family physician for the required x-rays I was sent to the x-ray department and then returned to the emergency ward where I lost the benefit of the small cubicle. We found ourselves with the other patients on stretchers in the emergency ward, in some respect I enjoyed it better than being cooped up in a small room all by yourself at least here could see people moving talking and going about their daily business which was much better than being isolated.
The x-rays came up clean as their focus was moved from broken limbs to finding out about the inflammation of my leg and foot. Since there existed the possibility of a potential blood clot I was given medication similar to heparin yet administered via injection in the stomach area and this while I waited for some type of echo imagery which would show the condition of the blood vessels and anything else.

Now in all businesses you have qualified individuals and what can only be described as idiot's. They reside in every type of industry and are generally people who make excuses for everything that happens to them. Quick to place blame on others they rarely take responsibility for their actions instead sharing with everyone the reason for their failure which is in all instances caused by something out of their control or an incompetent individual. In the end everyone within the department knows why this situation arose that this individual did everything in their power yet they can certainly not be held accountable for someone else's error.
Everyone makes mistakes there is certainly nothing wrong with accepting the possibility that things could have been done differently. I guess it's easier to hide and blame others for our mistakes or errors in judgment.

This situation came about as I needed to be weighed in order to determine the correct amount of medication required. When she asked how much I weighed I answered truthfully that I did not know. When she asked how long it had been since I had weighed myself I estimated eight years as being in a wheelchair getting weighed isn't that easy and honestly not that important. She looked at me and my spouse with a look that without words suggested our ignorance. Of course this created a problem for her as now she had to weigh me, she asked if I could stand and support my weight which I confirmed providing I had something to hold onto I could stand up. She mentioned there would be people around to help, a scale was positioned in front of me she was on one side and an orderly assisted on the opposite side. When I stood up I expected some type of support yet they offered none until they sensed that I was falling the situation went to chaos as now several people had joined the group trying to prevent me from touching the floor. Would have been easier just to lower me slowly and let me sit on the floor rather than struggling to pick me up again and as a result reinjuring the leg I was there for in the first place. At that point she insulted my wife by telling her that I could not bear weight and to never suggest that I could in the future as that led to the whole mess, she then proceeded to tour the emergency ward ensuring that anyone and everyone who asked about the patient who fell received her version of the story.
Eventually after I made a few suggestions I think her brain fired up and she requested a patient lift device with a built-in scale! Bravo what a brilliant idea.
That evening I requested assistance from the same individual to lower my pajamas in order to urinate, I asked her four times and on four separate occasions she confirmed my request and indicated someone would be with me as soon as possible. No one showed up and before I knew it she had left thank God.
If anyone reads this and works in that department they will know exactly who I am speaking of even though I have no names she would treat every situation in a similar fashion.

It was decided that I stay overnight as the echo graphical test would be performed the next morning. I agreed yet my leg was very painful that second fall probably didn't help much yet I stayed in the stretcher and finally at around midnight a nurse by the name of Vicky came by to let me know that she would be looking after me during her shift. Unbelievable I was totally impressed with her and her genuine concern for my welfare. She could probably tell that I was in pain and every once in a while she would come by and ask me to rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10, I said nine and was given two Tylenol's, at 3 AM when she saw that they were not effective she went to the doctor who prescribed a shot of morphine.
It took a good 30 minutes for the medication to work however it did and I was able to sleep till 6:30 AM.
The biggest problem was that my leg decided it was time to go into spasms and each time it did my injured leg shook which only aggravated the situation. In any case the last time I stopped her and said she had taken my nine and turned it into a one, I blew her a kiss she said she was very happy and I went to sleep.

The next morning I was taken for a test which is similar to what women have during pregnancy to see the baby except in this case it was for my leg and that red inflamed area on my foot. The technologist saw a substantial amount of cellulite in my leg however the blood vessels were clear. The inflamed area appeared to suggest a cyst of some type which needed to be investigated i.e. biopsied in order to determine treatment.
Returning to the emergency room with these results I met another very professional Dr.Leblanc who decided to utilize a local anesthetic and see what was in that inflamed area, the information from the lab suggested a hollow area with no fibrous tissue or anything for that matter. After three or four attempts to draw out a specimen and ending up with blood and nothing else it was determined that it was nothing but a bad bruise.

In closing I was sent home with two types of antibiotics along with a supply of Tylenol 3's. Believing my spouse would not pick me up from the hospital until 5:30 PM I requested another painkiller as my foot hurt from the numerous punctures.
My second shot of morphine, oh my God now I know why they keep this stuff locked up. Denise showed up at the hospital at 2 PM and I was on a high until 6 PM when I went to bed and slept till 3:30 AM the next morning. I've started treatment with the antibiotics and will keep a close watch on the affected area to ensure it does not increase in size.

This is what I looked like upon my return home after my last morphine shot! As you can tell I left with the hospital gown and the hospital blanket. I didn't care not one single bit
LOL

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Haven't slept last two nights as the fall I took in the shower took its toll. I left a message for my Dr. this morning in the hopes that she would be able to stop by tomorrow. I'm one of the fortunate ones who has a Dr. that does house calls which is almost unheard of today.
She will undoubtedly give me a call tomorrow morning and hopefully stop in tomorrow or at the latest on Tuesday. Really didn't want to call yet my foot is turning blue and it appears quite evident that I've broken a toe or two, not that much can be done regarding the toes yet I need painkillers because those little suckers are keep me up all night with throbbing pain.
I will also mention the muscles in my shoulder which I have either stretched or torn ligaments in some way as I have difficulty extending it without experiencing quite a bit of pain in the shoulder area. It is difficult for me to lift my arm above my head again shoulder area pain.
Falling apart that's what I'm doing, piece by piece bit by bit turning into something that can't even be recycled because nobody wants it. Can't give blood they don't want that, can't give my organs upon passing since they don't want that either. Crap just give me some pills I'll shut up!

Search This Blog

Pages