We made it back home but it was a bittersweet return. Not what I was expecting but at least I can drink the water. Here are the details.
To start this post, we spent our last day in the condo, on Sunday, Aug 11. We took in the sights for the last time as we ate breakfast. From there, we packed up, cleaned and then headed on our way back to Ottawa. We left a bit later than we hoped and were on the road by early afternoon. We decided to stop in Belleville for a quick lunch, primarily to avoid the expensive and boring OnRoutes on the 401. We saw on the GPS that there was a Taco Bell just off the highway so we decided to head for it. Luckily, I had been in Belleville recently so I was able to navigate somewhat around once we were off the highway. Once in town, we struggled to find it. We searched around the outside of the mall that was at the exit for a little while to find it when we finally decided it must be in the food court. We made it in and ordered but our food took forever to get which made this short pitstop take more than 45 min to complete and the food wasn’t even good. On our way out of the mall to head back onto the highway, I noticed another Taco Bell on the road ahead that was a stand-alone restaurant. We should have stopped there as it probably would have been much faster and better. The 401 was very smooth with only a few issues and we were home by 6:00 with St-Hubert take out for the family. After dinner, we talked with the kids and caught up with what went on over their summers. Shelly was very excited to see us and spent a lot of time with us. I was tired from driving all the way back (I drove both ways!) so I went to bed early. It was a good thing I did because I had the worst sleep in a long time and so did Mary Ann. So much for sleeping well in our own beds!
I had an early booking at the hospital on Monday, Aug 12. I was up at 6:30 AM to head to the hospital for blood work and to see Dr. B-B (Dr. Bence-Bruckler), who I had not seen in almost 2 months but have been in contact with over email throughout that time. I was really tired as I did not sleep well the night before. I was up about every hour and did not get any deep sleep. Not exactly what I was expecting after finally sleeping in my own bed. At the hospital, I got in line to check in to give blood while MA parked the car and gave Shelly a walk. As Shelly is a “therapy” dog at the Ottawa General (OG), we like to bring her with us because she is a great dog around people, picks them up with her smile and tail wagging, and is very quiet when there is nothing to do. The line for check in was long and slow. It took over 20 min to check in and it was another 30 min to get called to give blood. Man, I already missed the efficiencies of PMH! There, I would wait no longer than 10min and be out of there no later than 25min. While I was doing all this, MA was sitting in the waiting area with Shelly quietly sitting under her chair. Some people would notice the dog and a few would ask to pet her at which point she would come out, get excited and eagerly greet them. With the specimens taken, MA, Shelly and I checked in with the doctor’s office for our appointment with Dr B-B. After a short wait, we were in the exam room and chatted with the clinical nurse, Emma, about my time in Toronto, my current state and my meds. A bit of time later, Dr. B-B came in to also catch up with us and plan out the coming week. She had some results from my blood work and they were not great. I am still low in many areas so they will need to be addressed with more transfusions and needles. She provided me a prescription for injections to boost my neutrophils and scheduled a red blood transfusion for the following day. Again, this was very disappointing as I thought I was starting to get better. It also meant that it was going to screw up my plans to play ball and hockey this week. She also booked me in to give blood twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, and visit with her every Monday for the coming weeks. As she was crouched down, rubbing Shelly’s belly, we found out a bit more about her in that she is a huge dog lover and has two at home. We were out of the hospital and heading home late morning. The rest of the day was pretty quiet as I spent much of it watching the shows I had recorded while I was away.
Tuesday, Aug 13, was not much better. Though I did sleep better than the night before, I still needed to get up at 7:30 and head back to the hospital for my blood transfusion. This time, I was going by myself as MA decided to stay home and make some money. I was going to miss her as she had been by my side 24/7 for the last 6 weeks or more and now I was going to have to fend for myself at the hospital. I got to the hospital and parked the car. I was on the 4th level of the parking garage and I decided to walk down the stairs to get some exercise. I was doing my transfusion in the Cancer Centre of the hospital. I had not been in there since my first cancer fight three years ago. I had joked with MA the day before, while we waited to see Dr. B-B, about not having spent any time in this area this time around. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut. Anyway, it is a nice area of the hospital, on the second floor, up a long staircase. I did not realize how long it was until I went up it to check in. At the desk, I was struggling to breathe and was not sure if I was going to make it. I could not believe how much I needed these red blood cells to pass oxygen around my body. I finally caught my breath and checked in. It was a bit of a wait before I was called to the Stretcher Bay area. I met up with Courtney, my nurse for the day, and she placed me in one of the beds. She prepped me for my transfusion but struggled greatly with starting the IV and had to have someone else do it, on the third try. After it was started, she ordered my blood which seemed to take forever to come. My appointment was for 9:00 and I did not start my transfusion until 10:00. This seemed much greater given as I was the only one in the Stretcher Bay and Courtney’s only patient at the time! To make matters worse, since I was kind of rushed back into this hospital from having been in Toronto, they did not officially have my consent to receive transfusions on file so this slowed down the process further. With the blood started, I caught up with Ottawa news by reading my paper. It was nice to finally read it in print form and not online. I love the feel and the look of reading the paper this way and the bonus is I get to do the puzzles as well. After reading it, I realized that I had forgotten my phone in the car. It was on fumes when I left home so I wanted to charge it a bit on the ride over. The transfusion was going to be a long one as I would need to get 2 bags of blood and each one was going to take 1.5 hours to drip. The first bag was done around noon. With Courtney on lunch at the time, Stephanie, the other nurse in the area, came to give me my second bag. She was a lot more strict about having my consent on file and would not start the second bag until I had a signed consent form and that she and I spoke with Dr. B-B. I found this ironic as I had just finished one bag already so consent must have already been given. We got the call from the doctor and we both chatted with her. Dr. B-B had put a verbal consent on file but the nurses could not find it. I could tell in her voice that she was a bit annoyed with this process and with the nurse, as was I. In the end, Stephanie got what she needed to continue and the second bag was started. Later in the afternoon, MA and Shelly showed up at the hospital and brought lunch. I was not expecting it to take this long so I was happy to have it and to see them. By now though, I was starting to get tired from the long day. We finally finished the bag, flushed the line and got out of there around 3:30. MA told me to stay seated by the Cancer Center entrance while she and Shelly went to get the car. It took her a long time to get out of the parking lot as the gates were not working for the cars ahead and there was no one around to fix it. She did finally get out and was able to pick me up by 4:00 pm. I was exhausted by this time so once we were home, I went to bed for a nap. I was so tired that I did not eat dinner. I did make it to watch the ball team’s game that night. It was an interesting game but unfortunately they lost. It was great to see the team and chat with them. My league hockey team was also playing their last playoff game of the season that night and I was hopeful to also go there and see them but I was very tired so I headed home. Sorry guys!
Wednesday, Aug 14, started with another rough night. We had to bring the car in for service. Several times during the night, when I got up to pee or tossed and turned in bed, MA reminded me that she could take the car in if I was too tired or changed my mind about wanting to do it myself. I know she was trying to be thoughtful and take care of me while allowing me to do things only if I feel up to it without forcing me to do stuff but “Fuck man, let me sleep!!” I needed an oil change and got them to check the brakes as I could feel something off when I used them. Looks like my hunch was right so we will need to bring the car back for brakes next week. Way too much driving to Toronto this summer with those crazy drivers that make you brake hard. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house. I read my book in our gazebo and watched some TV.
Thursday, Aug 15, should have been a good day as it is the anniversary of us moving into our current house however it was more of a stressful and depressing day. I had to go to the hospital to give blood which I did promptly at 7:30. The day had started off great. I found a great parking spot near the stair well on the second floor (it is the first level that the public can park). I was the first in line to check in to the lab which meant I was the first one to give blood. However, when checking in, the receptionist said that I did not have a blood rec in the system but she was able to take the one that was scheduled on Tuesday that was not used. Also, she said that I did not have any upcoming appts with the doctor scheduled so I should talk with their office to see what is happening. After giving blood, I walked next door to my doctor’s reception office and spoke with them. Because it was still early, he could not talk to my doctor’s nurse who handles these matters and suggested it would be faster if I called. I decided to stick around and wait to talk to them. I called on the house line and the message said they do not open until after 8:00 so I waited some more and called after that time and still got the same message. Finally, at 8:15, I decided that I would not wait at the hospital any longer and left a detailed message about the two issues that were brought up this morning and I pleaded with them that, if I needed a transfusion, can it be scheduled sometime outside of Friday afternoon. You see, I have an annual golf tournament that I go to and it starts at noon on Friday and goes the whole afternoon. I figured I had all day Thursday, Friday morning, and the weekend to get it done so the measly 5 hours Fri afternoon that I booked a year ago would hopefully be accommodated. I finally was called back around 12:00 and the news was not great. Not only did I need a platelet transfusion, the only opening they had was at 3:30 on Friday. I pleaded with her to see if there was a different time. She said they could do it next week if I wanted but I was like, “I am not a doctor so I can’t make that call and I think they are needed sooner than that”. I lost the battle this time which meant I would need to bail on the tournament. This was very depressing for me as I was really hoping to make at least one thing this week/summer. I really needed some sort of “pick me up” that would bring back the positive energy I had been lacking all week. To add to this, I discovered a mysterious injury on my leg, just above my left ankle, that was very itchy and red. I was not sure how I got it so it was very concerning. MA and I decided we would see how it changed overnight to decide what we should do. With all the bad news I had received, I was in a shitty mood and was not very social so I decided that I would not go see the boys at hockey that night. All these events have accumulated to make for a very terrible week.
I spent most of Friday, Aug 16, waiting until my transfusion appointment at 3:30. I was still pretty bitter about missing the tournament especially since the transfusion only takes about 1.5h to do. However, the tournament was in Hammond, which is about 30min East of our house and the hospital is 30 min West so there was no way to sneak a quick visit before or afterwards. MA, Shelly and I went to my appointment at the Cancer Center where we were met by Courtney. Once again, I was her pin cushion but she gave up more quickly this time before she had Stephanie take a shot at it. She was no better but finally found a spot on her second try. With that in place, we could finally start the platelet infusion. It was a short 1.5h procedure but during the whole time I was doing it, I could not help but think of what I was missing by not being at the tournament. While I waited, I showed Courtney my issue on my leg along with some other abrasions I have accumulated over the week. My leg was looking worst today so she cleaned it with some saline and dressed it with a clear bandaid. This way, we could see how it is progressing over the weekend. This is definitely something that Dr B-B will want to see when I am there on Monday. With the transfusion out of the way, we headed home for dinner and a movie with the family. I was looking forward to Saturday as I knew there were no more hospital appointments in the schedule over the weekend. I had been at the hospital 4 of the 5 days since I have been back in Ottawa which was more than I had ever spent while I was an outpatient in Toronto.
I was really hoping that Saturday, Aug 17, was going to be a good day. I received tickets to the Redblacks game for that afternoon from Mary Ann’s friend, Rita. I was psyched up to go and it was going to be fun having Cassy with me. Though she is not a big fan, I could still teach her and maybe she will gain an appreciation for the sport. The game was at 4:00 PM so we headed to the local bus stop for about 2:30. For some reason, the trip planner I was looking at from OC Transpo does not include the special event buses in its suggestions so the trip I was going to take would be almost 1h to do. When our bus arrived and we got on, I noticed that none of the other Redblack fans were getting on. It was at that moment that I remembered about these special buses and looked to see if I could catch one along the way to shorten the trip, reduce the number of stops and number of transfers. We got off at the St Laurent station and waited for the 451 bus which would get us to the game with 1/2h before start time. On arrival at the field, we went through security and proceeded to our seats. I saw the lemonade stand and had to pick some up for the two of us. I guess I was distracted by this stand as I missed the ramp going up to the second deck and, instead, chose to go to the lower deck and take the stairs up. Big mistake as I ran out of breath a few times on the way up and had to go through the whole row to get to our seats. Should have peed before sitting as I was not going to leave for a while after that climb. The first half of the game was not great and was a very low scoring game. Unfortunately, Ward, our field goal kicker, broke his streak and missed a field goal after setting the league record with 69 successes in a row, over 2 seasons. Not bad for a guy who was a rookie last year when his streak started and was a security guard for the stadium the year prior to that. He did get a well deserved standing O for his accomplishment. The plan at half time was to meet up with Dave, the one who gave me a seat to a game last time. As my energy was low, he was going to come meet me on the North side but on his way he got sidetracked and did not make it. I kept looking for him and walked the concourse a few times but finally gave up and made it back to my seats with 6 minutes into the 3 quarter already passed. He texted to apologize and provided a picture as to why he did not make it. After seeing the picture, I understood and accepted his apology (wink, wink). The terrible game continued in the second half and we decided to leave with about 4 min left and the Redblacks losing 21-7 at the time. I was getting tired and the game was not worth watching by this time. Cassy and I hit the first bus back to Orleans and while on the bus I chatted with Dave. Not the way I would have hoped to catch up with him but I still appreciated it none the less. MA picked us up in Orleans and headed home. By this time, my lower leg was hurting more and was swollen. MA thought we had eaten at the game so Cassy and I did not have any leftovers from dinner to eat. By this time, I was not very hungry but still ate an apple and some cheese. It was probably a good thing that I did as it was going to be a long night ahead of us.
The pain in my leg was so intense by this point, that I would scream when I moved it from a horizontal to a vertical position. It had been bugging me similarly through the previous night but I could walk it out. This time though the pain was staying longer and more intense. Because of this, both MA and I decided we could not wait until Monday and headed to the OG Emergency. We arrived shortly after 9:00 PM to a somewhat crowded waiting room. I checked in while MA parked the car. Because of my immunocompromised condition, they were able to get me into a room quickly, around 10:00 PM, which segregated me from the rest of the sick population. MA and I sat in this room for a very long time before anyone even acknowledged we were there. I had the bed and MA the chairs so we tried to nap while we waited. I was able to get some sleep but it was very interrupted as there was a lot of movement and doors banging nearby while MA did not get any sleep at all. Finally, on Sunday, Aug 18, a nurse came by to draw blood at 4:15 AM. We had hoped they could have done this much sooner but I guess they were very busy that night. In chatting with the nurse, he mentioned that there is only one doctor for all of the ER between 2-6 AM so it could be a while before we would see him. Outside of those hours, there is a dedicated one for our section which makes it much quicker. Well I guess they found something in my blood results because it was very quick after that. The doctor was in our room by 5:30 AM to look at my infection and order up IV antibiotics, platelets and blood, and get me moved out of the infection zone where I was into a cleaner, segregated area while I waited to be admitted. At about 7:00AM, MA finally found a configuration with the chairs that allowed her to be comfortable enough to potentially sleep. Naturally, about a 1/4h later, they came to pick me up to move me to the cleaner area of the ER. I was serious enough that the on-call hematologist also stopped by to check in on me and let me know what would be happening over the next few days. This new room was great in that I had my own space with my own washroom so I did not need to leave the room and worry about what I might catch. We were told that we may be here a while as we wait for a bed to become available. Once I was settled in, MA went home to shower and pack a bag for me as I was going to be in the hospital for a few days. While she was away, I just vegged in my room watching the action outside. I was surprised and thankful that I was served breakfast in the ER as I was getting hungry by this point. MA came back with Shelly late morning with my stuff. After I ate lunch, again in the ER, I got out of my shorts and put on some comfies. As I was doing that, my buddy Rick and his wife Carine stopped by for a visit. Shortly afterwards, I was told a bed became available and I was going to be brought up there. I lucked out with my new room. I have a single room on the 5th floor of the hospital with a great view of the west side of Ottawa. I slowly got setup in my new room with Rick and Karine still here and we chatted the afternoon away. Gene came by to visit so, to save on parking, MA met her downstairs so that she could go get lunch while G was with me. Rick and Carine left around 3:30 while G stayed another hour before sending MA back up to my room and heading home. I got a surprise visit from my other buddy Richard later that afternoon. He was in the neighbourhood and stopped by. Though I had seen him on Tuesday at ball, I did not get a chance to really catch up with him on a more personal level. We all chatted until about 6:30 PM when both MA and Richard left for their respective homes. I spent the rest of the night watching Netflix and waiting for the final bag of blood to drain into me. I did get to see a very nice sunset from my room last night.
Monday, Aug 19, started out not too bad. I was able to sleep the night and I must have been very tired as I do not remember getting up to pee, which usually happens a few times per night, especially while I am receiving IV fluids. I got picked by the vampire early morning and I could hear the nurses coming by once in a while as they tried to not disturb me. Breakfast came by around 8:00 and I forced myself out of bed shortly thereafter. I ate and as I was drinking the crappy hospital coffee that comes with breakfast, my good friend (now great friend ?) Li showed up with a large Timmies and an apple fritter. I was happy to sacrifice the hospital coffee for this. As she works at the hospital, she could not stay long but planned to stop by later for a better visit. I spent most of the morning writing up this post and, while writing, I got a surprise visit from one of the orderlies. As he arrived, my nurse stopped by to tell me I was going for an ultrasound of my leg. I am still struggling with the fact that I think I can move around but I need to get chauffeured everywhere on a gurney. Oh well, I guess I will have to accept the rides as they come. It was great to get in right away for the ultrasound and it went quickly. The only slow up was when they needed to consult with the radiologist to see if more scans were needed. They were all in a meeting and it took some time for them to finish. No additional scans were needed so I was able to leave but I just had to wait for another orderly to drive me back to my room. While I was at ultrasound, Li stopped by my room for a visit and had brought a warm blanket. Too bad I missed her as she would not be able to come again today. I made it back to my room where lunch was already served. I ate and then got back to writing when the resident oncologist showed up to assess me. A few minutes after he left, MA showed up as well. She wanted to come by earlier but stayed home to massage this morning.
Not sure what the rest of the day or week has planned but I will let you know in my next post. I know that I should be in the hospital for a few more days while they assess how well the antibiotics are fighting my infection. If I get out in time, I would like to make it to see the Thursday Hockey Boys this week. I will not be able to play but I want to at least meet up with them for gingerale and wings. If I am out even sooner, I hope to meet up with my manager from work. She is in town from Germany and it would be great to see her and catch her up on all things Me. I am also hoping I could meet up with my buddy Guy who I have not seen in way too long for a Rush movie on Wednesday. This BS is really cutting into my social life.
For all my Ottawa friends and family, feel free to stop by the Ottawa General to visit. I am in room 5124, unless they change me rooms. It would be great to see you and chat as it will help me pass the time away.