Last weekend Monica and I went to see "Ned Durango Comes to Big Oak" at the Vagabond Playhouse at Queen's Park in New Westminster. My brother Barry and his wife went with us. The Vagabond Playhouse is quite small and the company looked to be small as well. But the production was well done. The play was a comedy about the town of Big Oak which hired an aging western star, Ned Durango, to bring some pizzazz to the Tomato Festival Parade. It was really quite funny. After the play we went out to dinner at the White Spot and then went back to Barry and Sharon's for tea.
Monica had to miss the Tuesday balance class because I had to attend a course but went to the class on Thursday.
On Friday, Monica had her long-awaited (8 months) appointment at the Spasticity Clinic at G.F. Strong Hospital in Vancouver. Once again we were impressed by the physicians and staff. Initially 5 people descended on us in a small examination room. The examination was led by the physiotherapist and occupational therapist who had examined Monica on her first visit there in July. A young lady doing research, a physiotherapist visiting from Australia and a representative of the drug company which makes
Botox were there to watch. Monica's arm, shoulder, elbow and wrist were given a very thorough examination.
The nerve damage caused by Monica's tumour has interfered with the signals given by the nerves to the right side of her body and, in particular, to her arm. The muscles which allow Monica to contract her arm, elbow wrist, hand, etc are stronger than the muscles which allow her to extend those her parts of her body. So, because the muscles aren't getting signals, the stronger muscles dominate and cause those areas to contract. For example, her hand wants to close and her arm wants to contract across her upper body. This "spasticity" is very uncomfortable and even painful and makes it even harder for Monica to deal with not being able to use her arm and hand. So, we have been looking forward to finally getting this appointment at the Spasticiy Clinic.
The examination of Monica was very detailed. It seemed to have two purposed. Firstly,they were trying to identify which muscles were most affected so they can inject the Botox in the correct muscles. Secondly, they were trying to establish a "baseline" for Monica so that they can judge how effective the treatments have been and/or how to modify them in the future.
All 5 of these people were very nice and treated Monica very well. The Australian physiotherapist was particularly nice and knowledgeable.
Once the examination was finished, the Doctor joined us. He examined Monica as well to confirm the results of the examination. Apparently, they only want to administer a certain (safe) amount of the Botox. So, they had to decide which muscles into which to inject the Botox. Once the decision was made, the Doctor wired Monica up with a device with a small electrical charge. This device allowed the Doctor to cause certain muscles to twitch thereby confirming that he was doing the injection where he wanted.
All in all they injected Monica in about 5 places. The injection won't cure the problem but will relax the muscles to decrease the pain and to make her arm more mobile. We are hoping that it will allow us to move Monica's arm (for exercises) more and generally make her more comfortable. The Doctor advised that it will take a week and a half for the botox start to work. We will return in 6 weeks to see how it has worked etc and get a follow up treatment in February. It may be our imagination but we think that Monica is already holding her arm slightly differently.
We plan on going to the balance classes again this week and Monica gets another
Bev treatment on Wednesday.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
(posted by Greg)
The past couple of weeks have been pretty full. We enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was still great and we go a lot of yard work done. My brother, Scott, and his wife, Cathy, were in town that weekend as they became grandparents again (their son Adam's wife Madiie gave birth to a beautiful little girl (Olive Grace) at Lions Gate Hospital. We had a nice visit with them and had a chance to see the new baby. Scott and Cathy were originally going to go home to Powell River on the Sunday but decided to stay and had Thanksgiving Dinner with us. So, we had a nicely filled out table for the dinner.
Monica and I had always been able to cook a turkey dinner fairly easily. Without out having to talk about it, I used to do certain things (make the stuffing, wash dishes, mash the potatoes -did I mention the dishes) while Monica prepared a lot of the side dishes etc. It isn't quite so easy now as Monica isn't able to do quite as much (although she certainly tries to do as much as she can). For some reason, this year's dinner turned out particularly well. The turkey was great and browned up nicely and my experiment with the brussell sprouts (tossed with butter, garlic and toasted pine nuts) was a success. Oma brought the mashed potatoes and Safeway supplied the pumpkin pie.
Believe it or not, Monica's mother came from Langley on her own. She took the bus and skytrain to Metro and shopped there for a couple of hours before having us pick her up there. Ingo drove her home. Considering that she was at death's door this time last year, she is really amazing (she had gone to the The Bay downtown and back by bus and skytrain the day before)!
Monica went to the "Balance" class at Holy Family Hospital twice in the week following Thanksgiving and again yesterday. She continues to enjoy it and is working hard at the exercises. As I think I have said before, it seems to me that the exercised can't hurt and could be helpful. But, apart from the exercising, I think it is good for Monica's spirit to be doing something herself towards making her health better.
Tuesday this week was lab work and a visit with the nurse-practitioner. All seems to be going well. Today was the Bev treatment.
The visits to the Cancer Agency often entail a lot of waiting. For example, the lab work was done yesterday at 9:00 am. and we had to wait until 10:30 for the appointment with the nurse-practitioner as she needed to review the lab results with us. During the Bev treatments, we sit around for about an hour while the intravenous line is set up and the drug is administered to Monica.
Invariably, we do a lot of "people watching" while we are waiting. Some of the people we see are obviously very sick. It really tugs on your heartstrings and tear ducts to see some of these people. I am particularly touched by the young ones we see and by some of the older ones who are alone or obviously overwhelmed by what is happening to them.
Today, while Monica was having her Bev treatment, I found myself watching a young couple walk around the roof garden which I could see from the window. They seemed to be a young husband and wife; the husband looked like he has been sick and his wife was doing her best to baby and comfort him. I realized that by far most of the people we see at the Cancer Agency are accompanied by friends or family. Even though when we are at the Cancer Agency we are in a place where people are very sick, each time we see an incredible amount of love manifested between the patients and those accompanying them. It really is quite uplifting when you think about it.
The past couple of weeks have been pretty full. We enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was still great and we go a lot of yard work done. My brother, Scott, and his wife, Cathy, were in town that weekend as they became grandparents again (their son Adam's wife Madiie gave birth to a beautiful little girl (Olive Grace) at Lions Gate Hospital. We had a nice visit with them and had a chance to see the new baby. Scott and Cathy were originally going to go home to Powell River on the Sunday but decided to stay and had Thanksgiving Dinner with us. So, we had a nicely filled out table for the dinner.
Monica and I had always been able to cook a turkey dinner fairly easily. Without out having to talk about it, I used to do certain things (make the stuffing, wash dishes, mash the potatoes -did I mention the dishes) while Monica prepared a lot of the side dishes etc. It isn't quite so easy now as Monica isn't able to do quite as much (although she certainly tries to do as much as she can). For some reason, this year's dinner turned out particularly well. The turkey was great and browned up nicely and my experiment with the brussell sprouts (tossed with butter, garlic and toasted pine nuts) was a success. Oma brought the mashed potatoes and Safeway supplied the pumpkin pie.
Believe it or not, Monica's mother came from Langley on her own. She took the bus and skytrain to Metro and shopped there for a couple of hours before having us pick her up there. Ingo drove her home. Considering that she was at death's door this time last year, she is really amazing (she had gone to the The Bay downtown and back by bus and skytrain the day before)!
Monica went to the "Balance" class at Holy Family Hospital twice in the week following Thanksgiving and again yesterday. She continues to enjoy it and is working hard at the exercises. As I think I have said before, it seems to me that the exercised can't hurt and could be helpful. But, apart from the exercising, I think it is good for Monica's spirit to be doing something herself towards making her health better.
Tuesday this week was lab work and a visit with the nurse-practitioner. All seems to be going well. Today was the Bev treatment.
The visits to the Cancer Agency often entail a lot of waiting. For example, the lab work was done yesterday at 9:00 am. and we had to wait until 10:30 for the appointment with the nurse-practitioner as she needed to review the lab results with us. During the Bev treatments, we sit around for about an hour while the intravenous line is set up and the drug is administered to Monica.
Invariably, we do a lot of "people watching" while we are waiting. Some of the people we see are obviously very sick. It really tugs on your heartstrings and tear ducts to see some of these people. I am particularly touched by the young ones we see and by some of the older ones who are alone or obviously overwhelmed by what is happening to them.
Today, while Monica was having her Bev treatment, I found myself watching a young couple walk around the roof garden which I could see from the window. They seemed to be a young husband and wife; the husband looked like he has been sick and his wife was doing her best to baby and comfort him. I realized that by far most of the people we see at the Cancer Agency are accompanied by friends or family. Even though when we are at the Cancer Agency we are in a place where people are very sick, each time we see an incredible amount of love manifested between the patients and those accompanying them. It really is quite uplifting when you think about it.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
(posted by Greg)
Time continues to "fly" by- I almost can't believe that two weeks have passed since my last blog or that we are in October already.
Monica continues to do well. She has been attending "balance" classes at Holy Family Hospital twice a week. In these sessions, the physiotherapist leads a small group through a series of exercises designed to help with balance (i.e. standing on one foot, walking backwards) and to strengthen the core. I think that most of the other participants are patients recovering from strokes. As a group they are very nice and, along with the physiotherapist, very empathetic towards Monica. Monica has been working diligently on the exercises and seems to enjoy the classes. It's hard to be objective but I do think I see some improvement in how she does the exercises. I think that, at the very least, the exercises and the classes are good for her overall health and, because they give her a focus for her efforts, for Monica's outlook.
Holy Family Hospital is relatively close to our home. So, it is easy for me to slip home from work and to take Monica to these classes. It takes a lot less time than the trips to the Cancer Agency,
Two days ago, Monica had her regular Bev treatment which again went well.
Last weekend Jesse came back from Duncan for the weekend. We were able to see him quite a bit and on Sunday had a "Not Thanksgiving" Dinner. Ingo brought Oma to the dinner and Jesse came with his girlfriend, Sydney, and her sister so we had a full table and an enjoyable meal. It sounds like Jesse is enjoying his time in Duncan despite the fact that he is working hard. He appears to like the Duncan hospital and the family physician who is his preceptor. He has already had a lot of interesting medical experiences.
Marley is working hard but seems to be really enjoying Medical school. As you can imagine, between Jesse and Marley there was a lot of " medical" discussions at our dinner table.
We still talk to Daniel daily on Skype. He is doing well and enjoying have Mollie back with him in Boise
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving weekend as it looks like the good weather will continue. I am going to cook a turkey but otherwise have a fairly simple thanksgiving dinner (Ingo is bringing the mashed potatoes.).
Time continues to "fly" by- I almost can't believe that two weeks have passed since my last blog or that we are in October already.
Monica continues to do well. She has been attending "balance" classes at Holy Family Hospital twice a week. In these sessions, the physiotherapist leads a small group through a series of exercises designed to help with balance (i.e. standing on one foot, walking backwards) and to strengthen the core. I think that most of the other participants are patients recovering from strokes. As a group they are very nice and, along with the physiotherapist, very empathetic towards Monica. Monica has been working diligently on the exercises and seems to enjoy the classes. It's hard to be objective but I do think I see some improvement in how she does the exercises. I think that, at the very least, the exercises and the classes are good for her overall health and, because they give her a focus for her efforts, for Monica's outlook.
Holy Family Hospital is relatively close to our home. So, it is easy for me to slip home from work and to take Monica to these classes. It takes a lot less time than the trips to the Cancer Agency,
Two days ago, Monica had her regular Bev treatment which again went well.
Last weekend Jesse came back from Duncan for the weekend. We were able to see him quite a bit and on Sunday had a "Not Thanksgiving" Dinner. Ingo brought Oma to the dinner and Jesse came with his girlfriend, Sydney, and her sister so we had a full table and an enjoyable meal. It sounds like Jesse is enjoying his time in Duncan despite the fact that he is working hard. He appears to like the Duncan hospital and the family physician who is his preceptor. He has already had a lot of interesting medical experiences.
Marley is working hard but seems to be really enjoying Medical school. As you can imagine, between Jesse and Marley there was a lot of " medical" discussions at our dinner table.
We still talk to Daniel daily on Skype. He is doing well and enjoying have Mollie back with him in Boise
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving weekend as it looks like the good weather will continue. I am going to cook a turkey but otherwise have a fairly simple thanksgiving dinner (Ingo is bringing the mashed potatoes.).
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