Saturday, October 3

Camera Critters



This photo of a Great egret was taken at Disney World's Animal Kingdom in 2008. If you love animals and nature this is the experience of a lifetime.

If you would like to join Camera Critters, just click on the button above.

Friday, October 2

Show and Tell

I haven't taken part in Show and Tell for a long time, but decided this week I'd post a photo that was taken in 1950. Yes, the baby in the picture is me and my maternal grandmother is holding me. Both sets of grandparents are in the picture, as are my maternal great-grandparents, my paternal great-grandmother, aunts and uncles, my parents on the right and my brother who is sitting on the step looking toward Mom and Dad.

The man in front of the door with the fedora and the moustache is my maternal great-grandfather. He was one of my favorite people and I don't have to tell my regular readers how much I adored my maternal grandmother. She and I spent many hours together and I learned many life lessons from her.

This photo is a treasure. It is the only one with most of the clan together in one place. I borrowed the original from Mom and had a copy made. Most of these people died many years ago. There are only six of them living today, including myself, Mom and my brother. Interesting that some of the younger ones passed before their elders. We never know what life has in store.

We have a new host for Show and Tell Friday. Please welcome Cindy from My Romantic Home. If you'd like to take part, just drop over to Cindy's, read the rules and have fun.

Thursday, October 1

Another Hectic Day

I got up this morning early and did a few things before I had to take hubby to the doctor. His appointment was for 10:30 am and we planned to go there and to stop to pay a bill on the way home. However, the doctor had other plans. He wanted Dwight to have blood tests and he wanted them done today.

We stopped and paid the bill, came home, grabbed a sandwich, went to the bank and then went and had the blood tests. There was only one person ahead of us there, so that worked out well. Then we came home, thinking we were done for the day. Never think that far ahead because plans can change in a flash.

To explain, I will have to go back to last Friday when I told Dwight my tongue felt strange. It was all white and looked very unhealthy, but it didn't hurt so I rinsed my mouth with peroxide a few times. It seemed to go away and I thought maybe it had been caused from stress. I didn't mention it to the doctor this morning because it wasn't sore. Well, by 4pm it was really sore and had a red patch right in the center of it. I phoned our pharmacist and asked him if he had a clue as to what might be going on. His conclusion was the same as what I'd been thinking all along. Thrush! He told me to go to the walk-in clinic because if I left it all weekend my mouth would be very sore.

We went to the walk-in and there was only six people ahead of me. An hour later we were out of there with a prescription in hand. Yeap, it was thrush.

There are several things that could have caused it. Stress is one. My inhaler that I've been taking for my sinisitis and brochitis is steroid based and that can cause it. The nose spray I'm using for my sinisitis can cause it. So, now I have more meds and I'm beginning to feel like a drug store.

As for tomorrow...we only have one errand to run, but then one never knows what will come up until tomorrow is over. Will update you then. ;-)

Wednesday, September 30

A Long and Tiring Day

Today was quite a day. I knew there was a lot to do and it exhausted me just thinking about it. Dwight got up about 6am, which is his normal time when he's not working. I had been up half the night coughing and so I stayed in bed until 7:30. Then I got up and prepared for the day.

I soon realized that neither Dwight nor Dakota were in the house. Dwight sometimes sits on the porch and lets Dakota play in the yard. Nope, not there. I look over into the park. Can't see them. I walk a block down the street and ask a city worker if he's seen them. Nope. I walk back this way and that's when I see them coming through the park. They had walked down to the other end and were hidden from view by the trees. I bet at that point that Dwight wished he was back in the hospital. I blasted him really well for taking off with the dog within 24 hours of being released from hospital.

About 9:30 am, I went to the bank, then to the grocery store. Brought home a few things, lugged them into the house and Dwight put them away. By this time my knees were killing me. Walking on cement floors is not something I do well these days.

We had a sandwich at noon and then it was time to take him to the optometrist. The doctor had requested he have a field test asap. I phoned yesterday and got the appointment but when we got there the receptionist had booked him for an eye exam instead of said field test. I told the optometrist that the doctor wanted a field test to determine whether or not Dwight would be allowed to keep his driver's license, so he said he'd do that instead. Thank goodness he understood because only one examination a year is covered by OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) unless you have a medical condition. Dwight had an eye exam in January and so he didn't qualify. I questioned this because he now has a medical condition. She is looking into finding out if she can get it covered, but stroke isn't on the list of conditions that allow you to qualify. Go figure.

After the optometrist appointment, I brought Dwight home, had a cup of tea and then headed out to pick Brandon up from school. His Dad has been doing this, but had a meeting today and had asked me to. By the time I got the boys settled at home, I was even more exhausted. Their Dad got home about 4:30pm and I came home and started supper. We had fried pork loin, rice and green beans. For desert we had some peaches.

It's almost 7:30 pm here right now and I'm ready to hit the hay. What a day. Tomorrow is an appointment with the family doctor. The optometrist said the field test looked good and he doesn't see any reason why Dwight's license should be revoked. However, this is the government we're talking about, so we'll have to wait and see.

Tuesday, September 29

Hospitals, Tests and Appointments

Sometimes I wonder if the right hand knows what the left hand is doing or vice versa. Twice on Monday someone called and asked for Dwight. The first time it was the hospital wanting to tell him when to come in for a doppler. The second time it was the specialist's office wanting to tell him when they had booked his doppler at the hospital. Both places should have known he hadn't been released yet. Though it wasn't anything life threatening, it was annoying to think that these are the people responsible for the lives of their patients. Very scary. The doppler is October 9th.

Dwight was to have a catscan on Monday, which never happened. The specialist came in this morning to see the results and Dwight had to tell him that he hadn't had it. The specialist was bewildered and phoned imaging. Imaging told the specialist he hadn't ordered a catscan for Dwight. The nurse said that appointments get deleted out of the systems when imaging becomes backlogged. Go figure.

Finally at 4pm today, the catscan took place. The results came back and the doctor signed the discharge papers, gave hubby prescriptions for anti stroke drugs and preventatives and the boys and I picked him up. The only thing wrong with this is that the anti stroke drug isn't covered by our drug plan. However, the pharmacist was nice and let me bring them home so hubby would have them for tonight. Problem is, if the doctor can't get them covered, we will owe a big bill and these are something that has to be purchased on a monthly basis.

Well, we will pass that bridge when we come to it, I guess and have faith that the doctor will find a way to get it paid for. Seem to me the Golden Years aren't what they're cracked up to be.

Hubby has an appointment with the optometrist tomorrow to find out if there was any permanent eye damage. We do know that he has blockages in the arteries of his neck. He will be seeing the family doctor sometime this week or early next week and arranging an appointment to see about getting them cleared.

Wishing everyone a great week.

Monday, September 28

Update

Thanks to all who have offered support, love, caring and prayers. It is much appreciated.

On Saturday night when I was at the hospital, Dwight had blurry vision in his left eye. That continued until early Sunday morning when the eye cleared. His vision was fine all day but that evening, the right eye became blurry. At that point the doctor decided he needed to have a catscan this morning. That still hadn't happened at 9pm tonight when Dwight called to say he was tired and was going to bed. The nurse did tell him that the catscan could be done anywhere up to midnight. The techs apparently take the cases by priority. The man in the bed next to Dwight also was booked for a catscan. He didn't get his either.

The doctor wants Dwight to remain in hospital until he has been 24 hours without any symptoms. So, when his vision clouded last night, that put him up until tonight. He hadn't had any problems with it when I was talking to him at 9. Hopefully that trend will continue.

So, as it stands right now, there are no lasting effects from the mini stroke, except for the vision. He can walk, talk and use his limbs without any problem. His coordination is good and there are no visible signs of stroke. All this is a plus and we're hoping that it means he will be released as soon as the catscan is done.

On another note, Jordan has been scared to death about his Grandpa. He phoned me after school today and asked if he could go and see Grandpa. I took the boys and they had some fun with their Grandpa. It seemed to ease their minds quite a bit about what happened.

It was a tough life lesson for them. I can't imagine what they were thinking, but Brandon quickly took care of the 911 call and seemed to be very calm. This gives us much faith that he will be able to cope with the unexpected that life might bring his way. Jordan is young yet. He didn't panic, but just stood and watched in shock and horror.

Please continue to send positive thoughts and prayers our way. I will update more as I learn what is going on.