I love you too.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē

This is the haul for 2009. I believe she is pleased. :)

The Pirate and the Vampire... :)

Hallowe'en Fun

Sheay was a Vampire this year... she loved the wig I got for her... she got lots of compliments on her outfit and had a great tine out

I've debated posting anything ... but I think perhaps I might need to.

I am still in shock. Almost as though it is not real.

I am still waiting for my daily "Guten Morgen" text from my best friend. Kirstie was tickled to know and correctly spell good morning in German with no coaching from me whatsoever. Every evening I would wish her a good night, and tell her we'd talk the next day.

Since Kirstie got her texting plan some time last year, we've gotten closer and closer. Such a simple thing, a text message, yet it made her seem so close, even when Hamilton was almost an hour away from me. She even got her parents hooked on text messaging. Barrie ended up being just around the corner.

One night on a visit with Peter and Kirsten, we ended up in the silliest, most wonderful 4 person text-message circus. She laughed and laughed at all the funny text messages we all shared, even though I was still in the room with her. Her parents had gone for ice cream and after Craig and I left, we ended up getting ice cream too...
And there is the night at the YBR that I was up with Sheay in her room, Craig was at the computer and Kirstie was at home and we were all texting each other 80's song lyrics. We almost peed our pants laughing since Craig and I were in the same house texting. She knows her music, that Kirstie.


I am struggling to understand all this. How someone so wonderful, so giving and brave can be lost to us all. It really boggles the mind. To say it is not fair is a gross understatement. Kirstie was and is deserving of so much better. ... so much.

I can't believe that she won't be able to come on our "rock throwing" date at the beach in Hamilton. We were waiting for her to feel better to make the trip down there. She had suggested it after my difficult marriage ending, as she had done the same as therapy. (the wonderful Peter's idea). I can't believe that we won't be able to have that summer bbq at her parents house, so they could finally meet my Craig. They will get to meet him now, but for damn sure not the way I wanted them to.

But this is my selfish grieving. I only know that I have a hole in my life now. I'm not even sure if I know yet how large the loss is. I just know it is there. There are so very many people with the same or even bigger holes in their lives and hearts at this loss. So many that I cannot even begin to list them all.

I won't ever be able to look at a guinea pig, a rat, a hamster or a bunny without thinking of Kirstie. I will wear with pride and love the scarf she knit for me last winter. She will live forever in my heart,

I imagine right now, and I wish for it so much to be true, that she has gone to a place where she is healthy and whole again, surrounded by Vester, Bunka, Chervil. That she is free of pain and worry and is happy.

I need to believe in that. I think it will be what allows me to carry on.

I will miss you terribly Kirsten, my kindred spirit.

Ampersand & the Cackling Girl at YBR

Note: this was originally posted 1/28/09 but I managed to delete a bunch of my posts like a bone head this being one of them. Now I guess because it is so far past the original date, blogger won't let me put the original date and it insists as posting as todays date. oh Well, win some lose some. At least I have the entry back despite the incorrect date of Ki;u
Finally got the video downloaded to the computer and now I am uploading it to the blog! Sorry for being so slow! The video has Steffi, Craig, Sheay, peter, Kirsten Remy, Roland and Ampersand of course and Chetters is hiding in peter's shirt! We had a ton of fun that night and of course the star of the show was Ampersand who jumped multiple times!! Unfortunately I had to settle for a smaller video as the one I wanted to upload was way too big! I will have to figure out an alternate way to get it onto the blog. Perhaps post to YouTube? I wonder if YouTube has limits...




We had lots of fun that night. Here are some more pics: Bogey staring at peter's belly because Chetters is hiding in p's shirt; Sheay posing and Steffi and her new scarf.

Koalas in 2009 Australian Heatwave

I pulled this from an email sent to me by PH and verified its accuracy. No more Mashables for me! So I can be reasonably confident that this happened!!

Note: I am having difficulties with posting pictures. So they are not all there as far as I tell. Will have to fix later when I have more energy... what a pain.

KOALAS DURING THE HEAT WAVE IN AUSTRALIA (2009)

Australia has had a record heat wave with devastating fires as a result. Koalas if you don't know are not social and don't come out of trees or down to the suburbs very often. But the main thing is that they don't actually drink water normally at any time.
All their food and water source is provided from the eucalyptus leaves that they eat.

That's why they sleep about 22 hours of the day because the calories and liquid intake is not enough to keep them awake long enough, but they consume enormous amounts of leaves in that time. The following photos are even more amazing once that fact is known.


From the first four pictures:

The pictures that follow the first four were first in the original email I recieved. I suppose order doesn't matter so much in this case as does the sheer wonderfulness of these pictures! I just had to share.

Honestly, is it a guy thing?

So my biggest difficulty right now other then the fatigue, and the tiredness anf the exhaustion that the smallest action causes (did I mention I tire easily?) is managing timing around my medications and meals. Seem to be able to handle up to lunch & the 1 pm meds but then lose it after that. It seems to be the whole organization thing.

Anyway, I had my second visit from my personal support worker today. She helps with things like bathing and some light housework. In trying to be organized I said to p okay I need towels, soap, etc in the kitchen. So after prompting once more that was done. Well, what about clothes? I need to get dressed after cleaning up. Oh, okay. Here are some clothes. So that wasn't so bad - I was just trying to make sure things were set up so that we could make best possible use of time and maybe get S, the PSW, to do some other stuff because it is as time permits, like change the sheets on my bed. All to p's benefit - one less thing for him to do. Well of course didn't think to have that stuff ready. Had to chase p down via phone (in the house!) & ask for sheets. So he brought the sheets and heads back up again to again start his nap. S gets bed made. No pillowcases. Okay. Would you not assume that if you are changing the sheets on a bed you are also going to be changing the pillowcases? Ummmmmm.......

And of course, couldn't get hold via phone so then had to get S to yell up the stairs.....

There's more to the organization story then I've outlined but you get the gist right?

So tonight I felt completely crappy because of eating late and not following pill schedule and I don't know how to address it. Don't want to nag because p is so amazing & generous as a caregiver, friend, partner, lover it feels petty. But at the same time it is crucial.

Argh - so here I am at 5 am in the morning not having slept at all essentially because we can't get our act together to eat meals before 6 pm.
I know organization & schedules have always been no big deal & in some ways anathema even for me. I am more a play it by ear person by natural inclination but it's just not working for me right now. I need that schedule. And I actually think p would feel better for it as well himself.

I really hope I am not simply being petty and overreacting on this.... Still don't know how we are going to resolve this as we have had this conversation not just several but many times....

Taking Medications & Status Update

I am having to sit up for an hour as I just took my Actonel. The pharmacist, shortly, upon my arrival here, informed me that I've been taking the Actonel incorrectly. It has to be taken on an empty stomach, I have to be sitting up for at least 1/2 hour preferably a full hour, and drink lots of water with it. Boy am I glad I only take this particular pill once a week. And of course I can't have any calcium at the same time.

Then she later proceeds to tell me that I'm not taking my calcium in an optimum manner. Because I'm on mega doses it needs to be split up through the day to allow the body to absorb it. In case you are wondering what mega doses of calcium are it's 2000+ mg of calcium daily.

Last night I started the voriconazole which is an anti-fungal drug. Dr. Loach said that the CT scan I had done yesterday shows the nodules on my lungs have gotten a littler bigger. These are the nodules that appeared when I relapsed in 2000 that they were unable to get a biopsy of. The CT scan also was still "hazy" meaning I guess that there is still a lot of congestion. He said I would be here until next week at least - they will do another CT scan at that point. They are not sure that I have a fungal infection - but they are not sure what the deal is with the nodules. So Dr. Loach said they would rather overtreat which is why they've started the voriconazole.

At some point they will want to do another bronchosopy to try biopsying the nodes again. However, for the same reason Dr. Chan couldn't fully sedate me last Monday for the bronchosopy he did they will wait because the risk factors with my lungs in such poor shape is too high.

I am having a really hard time staying alert/awake while writing this. Granted it is 7:14 an and I normally would be on a GO train napping on my way into work. But it's a little frustrating to suddenly find myself staring out into space or worse my eyes closed!

It looks like p can come and visit today. I am so looking forward to that. Haven't seen him since he left me at emergency because he's been too sick. So awful that noone there to take care of him.

Leg wound is doing well. And might even start healing a little faster as they dropped the prednisone back to 25 mg. Dr. Chan had increased it before the bronchosopy to try and give some lung function back.

Mother's Day on a Sunday Night at Chez Princess Margaret

Today was a quiet day. B & C visited - it was really nice to have them come. My flute teacher and co flutist from my York days. As B said though, it is much nicer to visit over sushi then a hospital bed!

Things do seem to be improving. Congestion is looser was finally able to give them a sample for testing. Doubt it will come back with anything though.

My oxygen stats were a little low today so my nurse bumped up the oxygen to 4 litres for the afternoon which helped. I'm back down to 2 litres now. Sure dries the heck out of the mucous lining in my nose. Had some longer nosebleeds last night then usual. My nose tends to bleed anyway when it is dry but the oxygen exacerbates it for sure.

My leg is doing well a bright spot in all this murk. But it's been a royal pain because for some reason the mepiplex dressings that have been so awesome are not sticking or something. So everyday there seems to be leaking and then either wrap up the leg with gauze to stop goop going from everywhere or else the dressing gets changed. Really the dressing should be able to last a few days unless there is excessive drainage from the wound. The draining is not excessive - it is just the dressing doesn't seem to want to stick. Though maybe we had a bum batch of dressings so they switched the boxes but it's still happening. Frustrating.

Mum and Dad have been troupers throughout this. They have been down from Barrie pretty much every day. Only days they haven't were because Dad had rehearsals for his King Edward choir rehearsal and tomorrow Mum has an appointment with a nephrologist. I hope that is nothing major. She has helped me with showers and they been making sure I get my hazelnut creme coffee intervention!

Tuesday I had a shower with mum's help and it just about did me in. I was soooo exhausted after I almost felt worse then when I was admitted Sunday night. But I have since had my third shower today and while it still tires me out, I am managing much better.

P has been really sick. It's taking him as long to recuperate as me. I'm not sure when I will get to see him. I haven't seen him since he left me at emergency on Sunday night. I've been really worried about him. And the rub is that noone to help him plus he has all the little guys to take care of. I feel awful about that. It's not that noone has offered - I should qualify that. Sue and Shirley have both offered but peter hasn't taken them up on any of the offers. I guess maybe he's waiting until I am home. And as for that I have no idea what is happening beyond Monday/Tuesday. Dr. Loach said he wants to do a CT scan either day. But I also need to get off oxygen before I can go anywhere. I certainly hope they don't decide to send me home with oxygen. I'm pretty sure that's not in the plans though - at least I hope.

Work is supportive. Feel bad that I've left JM in the lurch. But, my health is the most important thing right now and I am really trying to focus on that and not worry about other stuff.

This is the ward that Oliver Schroerer was on. He was teaching students right up until the last. Very cool. I hate that someone so talented and vital lost his life to this evil disease.

I think Lupe Rodriguez was on this ward too. The ward I am on is the leukemia ward not the transplant ward.

Did I mention that I have been in what they call droplet isolation? The room has full negative isolation capacity but thank god my situation doesn't warrant that. It would mean a shut door and stuffy room at all times for the most part. Instead visitors (depending on the nurse on duty wear all or part of the next list) have to wear goggles, gloves, mask and gown. It's not about my protection - it's to prevent me from spreading the flu virus to them. The none swine variety para-influenza virus that I have.

I've managed to convince Mum & Dad to get a text messaging package. So Dad was all thrilled because it meant he could go and get a new phone! Mum has done really well with it. I love it - I love being able to fire off a quick message. And it's been great for keeping in touch while they are driving here and knowing where they are and asking if I need or want anything and avoiding talking on the phone and long distance charges!!! I've been following Twitter on my phone - although the first few days I was here I turned it off because it was just too much to cope with. For example, tonight they texted me to say they were stopping at the Mandarin for dinner. Because of course today is Mother's Day. What a crappy place for a mother to spend her Mother's Day. In a hospital helping her daughter cope with being ill. To boot she cooked me a mini-dish of scallopped potatoes with gruyere (yum. I'm supposed to be spoiling her not her taking care of me. So not right.

Okay, done for now. See if my pirate connection is still working!

The Joys of Low PFTs

So here I am. On the 14A ward at PMH. Spent last night at TGH emergency. Lungs got so bad yesterday had to do something.

A week ago Friday I saw Dr. C and my PFTs were so bad that he scheduled a bronchoscopy for the Monday so he could figure out what we are dealing with before he committed to a treatment. Went back to work Thursday , Friday had to stay home. Couldn't get hold of Dr. C and his admin suggested I try Dr. L who said yes come. I explained what had been happening and he said well I can't leave you without anything at this point. he consulted with the infectious diseases person here who works with immune compromised patients. Because one result from the bronc came back positive for a viral flu - no not the N1H1 variety but at that point they didn't know which one it was other then not swine flu - it was suggested that he prescribe Relazon which is for viral influenzas.

Of course there was most a hitch. Got down to the pharmacy to discover they didn't have any in stock and nor did the other pharmacy that we called. Called the inpatient pharmacy and yes they had some but they were reluctant about parting with any. Plus it turns out that because of the current status of N1H1 pharmacies can't directly order the drug - the ON government has the say in divvying it put. the long and the short - they did give me the first half of the dose.

So I started the puffer on Friday night. By Sunday I was sicker and sicker. To the point that finally P and I looked at each other and said - okay we have to do something. I was sitting in a chair at my computer and not able to breath.

We called the oncall nurse here at PMH who was a little concerned that we wanted to come into TGH emergency because she could hear I was in distress with my breathing as well as emotionally. The long and short was I did not want to go to emergency in Hamilton because we have just not been having good experiences with either Mac or HGH. I could have gone to urgent care at St. Joe's in Stoney Creek but I didn't want to be admitted in Hamilton. It just doesn't make sense - they don't know what to do with me. So we drove to TGH.

We arrived at 7:05 pm. Before 8 pm I was triaged, in a room with the door shut for isolation purposes and on oxygen. By 10 pm they had done an x-ray and bloodwork/blood cultures. P finally left at 2 am - he was so sick. I was so very worried about him having to drive home alone back to Hamilton but what could we do? The animals needed someone and while yes there were any number of people that would have put him up it was better that he go home. The doctor, when he came in, said we are just waiting to see where we have a bed for you. Fortunately, in the morning when they came back it was at PMH. Thank God. And even more fortuitiously, on the 14th floor. So while not in the transplant ward I am across the way and Dr. Loach has been coming in to see me except for the weekend. (I started this post on May 5th and am continuing it May 10th)

So the long and short is that I have a para-influenza virus. The only treatment is rest and in my case oxygen, steroid inhalers and stuff to deal with the coughing fits. I've been here Monday morning till now, Sunday night. Lots of visitors - I am so grateful. It keeps my spirits up. Malcolm and Stella, Barbara and Christine, Becca and Emma, Sue, Nancy, Sherman and Jim. I've probably forgotten someone. And of course my Mum and Dad who have been absolute troupers. Thank god for parents. I just wish my mother's day present wasn't a day at the hospital...

So, we are waiting to do a CT scan and beyond that I don't know what is happening.

I figured I should finish this post though because I realized I left some things out in my next post. And I've probably still missed things.

Here I am - waiting in TGH emergency. Botheration.
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The Joys of Prednisone - Eyes

Today I have a wicked burst blood vessel in my eye that occurred sometime between leaving work and sitting on the GO train.
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Walt Disney's Pigs is Pigs

This is really cute. You have to check it out!

Winkle - Rainbow Bridge March 25, 2009‏

Last night Winkle was huddled in the corner of his hutch and was all fluffed out so we knew something was wrong. He wouldn't eat not even blueberries one of his favourites. We checked to make sure he wasn't blocked or anything like that - he wasn't. We wrapped him up in a towel and cuddled him gently all night. He made noises occasionally like he was in discomfort but would settle if I gently touched or stroked him. I woke up shortly before the alarm went off and he was still with us. When I woke up at 5 am he was gone. He was not quite 6 yrs old. The last of the original Critter Crew. Bye Winks - I love you and I miss you. Make sure you say hello to everyone and I hope Widget, Licorice, Smokes and Squeeeks were there to meet you and are showing you where all the best treats and timothy hay can be found. Say hi to Bruno, Thistle, Tipple-Scritch and Snipset for us. As well as all the other furry friends that have touched our lives. Say hi to the two legged ones too please.Thanks for being a part of my life. You were and are cherished.

The WCB

Today I called the caseworker from Workman's Comp because I was concerned that the reports I was being sent to complete or have completed didn't have my leg injury on them.
 She took the opportunity to take detailed notes and find out when all my past and upcoming appts were and are. She was really nice. Embarrassed me tho. She said you are so brave. My response was my usual - I just do what I have to. She said, no you are brave and she emphasized it again when she heard how long I've been dealing with this illness. She said that the person that I dealt with initially at the WCB couldn't say enough about me. She said that they deal with people that just have aches and pains and take time off and here I am back at work. I said that it doesn't do me any good to sit at home and mope. Not that I don't mope but I would rather be busy because it's better for me.

It was an interesting perspective of me. I really don't think of myself in this way. If anything I feel bad about how much I moan at p when I am not feeling and certain of my friends that are privy to my complaining. I guess there are a lot of people who take advantage of the system.

She was concerned that I was using my lieu time for Drs appts. She said you know the WCB will pay for it. And you can probably even get work to front the money and be paid back by the WCB. She was worried that I would use it all up for this and not have anything left if something else happened. It's nice to know I have that option - but I would rather do it the way I am currently. It is also nice to know that a complete stranger on a government board is so supportive.

It restores my faith in the system. Especially after my experience last year when the insurance company was going to deny my claim because it was an unreasonable amount of time to be recovering from pneumonia. Again, I was lucky - the nurse at work stepped in and took care of it and set the insurance company straight. I know that even if she hadn't Jeff would have fought for me but because she did intervene I wasn't put through an undue amount of stress because it got resolved so quickly. And I am grateful to CP for that. We think that the reason it was denied was because the more experienced insurance agent had gone on holiday and his replacement was new and only saw a chance to save the company money - not that there was a legitimate claim. He probably didn't fully read through my case! All he saw was a longer then usual recovery and going by the books it could be denied!
But back to the WCB - I really feel supported.

A lot of paperwork though. She wants me to check in monthly even if nothing has changed - and I need to keep them apprised of any appointments related to my leg. Oh, and I think my caseworker was surprised/impressed at the depth of understanding I have about my current problem. That's despite not being able to look at the injury myself! She said it sounds like I am in good hands with the care I am receiving. I agree.
 I have to remember to do a couple of things - one is some forms that HR is supposed to provide me with. I guess they didn't bother because I am back at work seemingly with no limitations. Tecnically that is true. There are no limitations that afffect my work. Just the rest of my life!! Like the no exercise...

Speaking of my leg. Here is where things are at. I saw PS and Jeff at PMH last Thursday on the 12th. She doesn't think that the iodide gel is the right treatment as it is not a debrider. It is good for keeping bacteria down and preventing infection. She even looked it up and tried to consult with a colleague. However, she said we would stick with it until the end of two weeks which is March 21st. She thinks hydrogel or the Silversorb would be better for debriding purposes. But she didn't want to keep changing the treatment either because that was the third approach taken to date.

Then Jeff came in and took a look and said I need to see a plasic surgeon. He asked if I could do it through my GP because although PMH has plastic surgeons they are used to dealing with oncology related issues which tecnically mine isn't in the sense that it wasn't directly caused by cancer. Yes, related but not directly. That makes sense to me actually. So we asked if p's GP (and I don't mean guinea pigs in this case!) would take me on as a patient. He said yes and wrote me a referral letter for a plastic surgeon at St. Joes in Toronto. That was to be sent today. PS said that it's not likely that they will want to do a skin graft for a couple of reasons. One is why make another wound when there is alrwady one not healing. Another is where would they get the graft from? My skin due to the prednisone is too fragile and in no shape to use. She said she thought it more likely that they would go in and clean out the necrotic tissue manually. I am not looking forward to that. Actually, I am kind of hoping they might suggest using maggots. It is apparently not painful. They just stick them in the wound and cover them up and let them do their thing! Who knows. At any rate by March 21st if the Iodide hasn't worked P- wants them to use Silversorb or Hydrogel.

The wound is 7 cm up and down my leg and about 4 cm wide. There is some concern about some redness around the perimenter of the wound as apparently it has increased somewhat. So p is keeping an eye on that. It's quite deep - apparently very close to the bone. All this from a fall down the stairs. Sigh. Yes I know. I could have broken my neck and I am grateful I didn't. The fall happened February 5th - today it is March 16th. And it hasn't started healing. There is yellow slough and I gather black eschar - all necrotic type tissue. I really can't look.

Better Day and Preston Photos

Today was a better day. I took all my pills last night and by the end of day I had pretty much equalized out.

As it turns out I was wrong about Dr. E. not being there. Apparently she turns lights off for some patients. She didn't finish with that patient until 6:00. Sigh. I should know better. But honestly I don't like to knock and S, her admin, said you should have knocked. I never knock I just wait. Next time I will knock. Feel silly about it. But in a way, perhaps it's just as well. I was a real mess and would have probably had a breakdown all over Dr. E. Which is what she's there for - but I just don't have the energy to spend on meltdowns. It leaves me feeling as bad or as worse as I did yesterday forgetting my pills.

My friend Paula sent me some pictures of her horse Preston that were done professionlly. They are absolutely gorgeous. I hope she doesn't mind but I want to post them here to share with my few followers! If you do mind Paula, let me know, and I will remove them.

Horrible Day

I did not start the day well by forgetting to take my pills. So of course emotional rollercoaster is precipate. Then I had to present to CK & KG a vendor proposal. I think the presentation content was good but I wrecked it by interjecting with blah blah blah at a couple of different points. Oh and I only gave the presentation to K because due to the vagaries of MS technology even tho C accepted the meeting invitation it wasn't in his calendar. He arrived just as we finished. Then I made the mistake of raising the problem I am having reconciling the numbers for NH & JK. Why can't you? I try to explain. Well is their DB your responsibility? No. Well then there is bothing you can do. And forget about why LG was doing the support work. What does that have to do with what you are responsible for. Of course he then turned around and said make sure you communicate through JM. He says to JM we don't want them to think we don't support them. So in other words he wants JM to do the communication because he perceives NH and I asd having an adversarial relationship which we don't. Yes we have bumped heads but I don't think it is a prevalent grudge because we are able to get along just fine. I think CK sees me as only being able to raise problems without solutions. I don't think my problem solving style works with him I am a bouncer - I like to discuss and bounce stuff off people. But it gets turned into here's the solution which is not what I am looking for. I guess I should just keep my mouth shut. Maybe setting up bi-weekly status meetings wasnLt such a good idea. But how can we figure each other out otherwise. Of course I think he has already pegged me.On to the rest of the day. Yesterday Dr. E's assistant called to confirm my appt with her today. She said it was 5:30. I said are you sure? We had said 4:t0. No it says 5:30 in the calendar. I left a little later then I meant to and when I finally got to Queen's Park the escalators to the street weren't working. It just about killed me by the time I got to the top of the stairs. Then it was miserable and drizzling and I couldn't walk fast because I was out of breath so I was soaked by the time I got to the doors. I did manage to get our RXs - but Janet gave me a strange look I guess because I looked liked something the cat dragged in. So then I go upstairs to my appt. I realize Dr. E is not there because the lights our out. I really should have trusted my instincts. I think the calender is a DST glitch. My phone changed all the times of my appointments in my phone calendar and I was thinking I bet my appt is actually 4:30 not 5:30 and I bet there is some technology glitch.So I feel miserable and I am tired and I want to get off. Please stop the world.

Update on my Leg‏

Yesterday after much prompting from p (two days) I e-mailed Dr. L and said I had been having trouble breathing so had increased my prednisone from 10 mg to 30 a day. I also said that my leg was still bleeding/oozing through the dressing and should I be worried about that. He said the prednisone was what he would do and to run with it. Then he suggested I might want to come in to see the wound nurse. Who would have thought there would be a wound nurse?So we came in this morning. Accidentally slept in til 7 because alarm didn't go off. The nurse's name is Pamela and she was really nice. She has a good poker face too. All she said was something to the effect of "oh my". Dr. L was more dramatic! He said something to the effect of "oh my god!". The frown was somethong to behold. Then he said "and you wanted to wait?"They all agreed except for Pamela that amputation of the leg at the neck was necessary!Pamela said that my leg wasn't healing properly. It was trying to scab over but was necrotizing. She said she would need to remove the black/yellow tissue and would use a silver gel as antimicrobial and to promote healing. She walked p thru the procedure. She also had to use a razor to scrape the top so that the gel could get through. I couldn't feel it which was good. They are also setting me up for home health care which will be good because among other things it means supplies for the dressings are included. They were starting to get pricey. So that is an unexpected benefit. So I will probably see the nurse once a week - hopefully they can come on the weekend - and he/she will change the dressing then and assess. I am supposed to watch for increased pain, fever or red streaks up the leg as that would be a sign of infection. Pamela said it will probably still bleed thru the dressing as they are trying to liquefy the necrotizing tissue. I might notice an odour as well. Hope not. Part of the dressing is a gel/liquid to protect the good dkin on the edges of the wound. She measured it as well. It is 7 across and 4 up/down. Can't remember right now if imperial or metric.Then I talked to Dr. L again to say that i've been getting more headaches. So as I compose this I am sitting in a waiting room waiting to have another CT scan done of my head. Dr. L said there can be delayed bleeding - even though the CT scan done in emerg at the time of the fall was clear. Hopefully it will be clear again. I also asked him if he thought I might have a concussion and he said it is really hard to tell. He also checked my eyes with a light and tested my tracking of a finger ib front of my face. Assume I passed! Didn't confuse left from right at least.So another morning off work. Hoping that HR won't insist on WCB paying for it. I had asked/told my boss that I would use my lieu time and he was fine with that. However I think I need to report to HR that I went in for follow-up just in case. I don't plan on taking any time off other then what I have to for medical follow-up. After this will probably grab lunch at Druxy's before heading up to work.Long days like this r so tiring.Saturday I am scheduled for IV-IVG and the YBR crew are supposed to come for supper except C came home from work sick this morning. I hope he is ok - not just because I want to see them but because it is miserable to be sick. Get better C!

Smokes - Sept 9 2003 - Feb 20 2009‏

Smokes died Friday night. We had been at a friends place in Toronto for dinner and got home late. When p went upstairs he found him I think he waited until he heard us come home because we could tell it had happened recently. He was a smart little guy. His teeth kept growing too long and he would let us know when it was time to go to the vet to trim them by running towards one of us and chattering his teeth loudly at us. I will miss him a lot. Smokes, hope you are having fun across the bridge with all those who have gone before you.