Hello all. I thought I would send out an update while most of you are cooped up in isolation. Maybe it will help you pass the time. By the way, here is the link of my presentation I did back in Feb for further amusement, https://www.sllcanada.org/evenements/demystifier-la-recherche-clinique?src1=84696&src2=. Reminder that it is all in French with so subtitles.
Back in Feb, I was in Calabogie for Dave’s annual Calabogie Classic hockey game. It was a great weekend and a fabulous game. On Friday, Feb 21, I stayed at his new cottage that is on the lake. What a beautiful place. I made dinner for the boys in attendance and we had a few pints in the evening before heading to bed around 2:00 AM. We were up early the next morning as the hockey game started at 10:00AM. It was a nice sunny day that was not too cold. The ice was perfect especially given that it is an outdoor rink. It helps that they have a roof overtop and a Zamboni to clean it. I was the captain for the dark team in our battle against the whites for ownership of the Calabogie Cup for the year. It was a very close game and the lead shifted many times throughout. Near the end of our 2h match, the score was tied at 22 all so we decided that the first one to 25 would win. The dark team rallied and scored 3 goals to win the game with me potting the last two winning goals! It was a great win for the dark team and a hard-fought battle. After the game, we headed back to Dave’s place for food, drinks and the awarding of the Cup. With our win, I am the keeper of the Cup for the upcoming year.
Unfortunately, I needed to leave the party early due to the wake I was attending later in the day on Feb 22. As mentioned, my good friend, Richard Kowalski, passed away in early Feb from cancer and I wanted to make an appearance at the wake. I was very sad to see him go so soon and wished I had a chance to chat with him during his last weeks. I saw him just before Christmas at his birthday party and believed we would have the opportunity to get together again. It was a nice wake and I was there with MA however we did not know many people so we did not stay too long. I spent the rest of the weekend resting as it had been a tiring weekend, especially with all that I had done in the weeks prior.
Most of the following week was spent lounging around, watching and playing hockey. I did go to an Ottawa 67s game with Rick on Tuesday, Feb 25. It was a school day game meaning that it was a 10:00 AM puck drop. It was supposed to be only for all the local high schools but with the fears of a teacher strikes, they opened it up to the public. Not only that, all the tickets were free with no assigned seating. As always, I was out at my hockey game in the morning and then met up with Rick for the game around 9:00’ish and we headed to the rink. Once inside, we grabbed some seats a few rows from the glass across the ice from the players bench (away from all the kids). It was a good game with the 67s killing the Kingston Frontenacs 7-3. After the game, we went for lunch and then parted ways.
On Thursday, Feb 27, I visited with Dr B-B for another checkup. All has been good with my blood work since Christmas and she was happy with my progress. We were both in agreement that we would still need to see the results of my PET and CT scans next week to really see how things were going. However, in her opinion, I am good to go to start working soon so long as Dr Kuruvilla was good with it. Finally starting to get some good news which is nice for a change.
On Friday, Feb 28, I met up with some of my old workmates. Since my time at FRAMOS, I have had several of my colleagues depart for other adventures so this was a time for all of us to get back together and catch up. It was great seeing them again and reminiscing.
Did not do much else over the weekend. G was again gone to a fencing tournament so the rest of us just lounged around the house. MA spent most of her time getting updates on the Coronavirus and how it was developing in Toronto. We were scheduled to be there by the end of the week. On Wednesday, Mar 4, MA and I drove to Toronto and checked into the Lodge. We were hopeful to go to Absolute Comedy while we were there but we could not convince anyone to come with us.
On Mar 5, I had my PET and CT scans, and gave blood. This time, they were all pretty uneventful. Because of the timing of my first appointment, MA and I decided that we would walk from the Lodge to PMH instead of taking the shuttle. My first appointment was at 9:30 and the earliest shuttle I could take would have been at 8:00 as the next shuttle did not leave the Lodge until 9:30. It was a nice 2 km walk but it did wear me out as my back was really sore. Surprisingly, the PMH was not yet in full Coronavirus protection mode but still had some precautions in place. Even still, there were many people entering the hospital that would not sanitize their hands. You would think that people would be more aware of all the others with compromised immune systems and try to be more hygienic especially given the current situation. As always, I could not eat before my PET scan. The scans were running late so I did not get mine done until 11:00 AM. Afterwards, I went to give blood before heading to TGH for my CT scan. Along the way, we picked up coffees to have while we waited for the CT scan. I learned something new when I checked in for the CT scan. I asked the receptionist if I had time to go get lunch while I waited. She said very sternly that I should not be eating before the CT scan. I had never heard this throughout all my years taking them so it was news to me. What was more traumatizing about all of this was that MA confiscated my much needed coffee! Not only could not I not eat, I was not allowed to have my coffee. Boy, was I grumpy. While we were waiting for our CT, we started to chat with a couple who we had been following all day. The husband had gotten a PET scan just before I did and now he was getting a CT scan as well. Turns out, he too was in the CAR-T Cell therapy trial and had been infused in Dec. I shared my stories with them and they did theirs. We were managed by different doctors but I think I overheard them talking to the same clinical nurse that was following me. I finally got my CT scan in the early afternoon and MA and I grabbed some lunch before walking back to the Lodge. Again, by the time we were done, the shuttle was not coming for a long time so we decided to not wait. This was a teacher strike day and there were many near by as the PMH is basically next door to the Ontario Parliament. As it was such a nice day out, the teachers were out in record numbers but we had missed the demonstrations during our walks. Back at the Lodge, MA gave me a massage to help ease my back pain. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the Lodge.
Friday, Mar 6, was my visit with Dr Kuruvilla and I was anxious for it. I was wondering what the results would be from the scans and what he was going to say on my progress and if I could work. Once again, we did not see him but chatted with one of his residents. She said the PET scans showed no cancerous activity which was a good sign but we did not have the CT results yet. It was unlikely that they would show much so we all agreed that I was in good shape. One of the things we chatted about was a vaccine schedule. Turns out, I have to go through all my “baby” vaccines again as I basically have a new immune system now. They also cleared me for work so the ball was now in my court as to when I should start up again. After the appointment, we headed back to Ottawa and rested, or that was supposed to be the plan.
Saturday morning, Mar 7, around 2:00 AM, I was awake and could no longer sleep. Now that I have been cleared for work, my anxiety has kicked into high gear and was preventing me from sleeping. I was up for a few hours before I could go back to sleep. I also started getting a headache on the top of my head that went from my left eye to the back of my head, only on the left side though. This was going to be the norm for the rest of the week.
Due to the anxiety and my lack of sleep, I needed to start taking some of my anti-anxiety drugs again to help be relax and sleep. By Monday, I was stressing out so much that I decided to book an appointment with my family doctor to discuss it and see what should be done. I have yet to speak with my work about me coming back as I don’t know what to say. The earliest appointment I could get was for the following Monday. In the meantime, my stress and anxiety were only increasing.
On Tuesday, Mar 10, I was scheduled to play two games of hockey, one in the morning and a league game in the evening. I decided to skip the morning game as I had had a bad night’s sleep again and was not sure if I was ready to play two games in one day. The latter game was more important as it was our last game of the year and, if we win, we could move into second place in our division. I made it to the evening game and we won 3-2! I was on the ice for all the goals. It was an amazing come from behind win as we were down 2-0 going into the half. Though I did not score any of the goals, my position certainly intimidated and/or blocked the goalie from seeing the puck for two of our goals. What surprised me more about the game was not so much that we won but that everyone had their gloves off to shake hands at the end of the game. No fear of Coronavirus here, I guess.
As the week progressed, more bad news would come. No more hockey to watch or play for a while and shut down and isolation for three weeks. What was I going to do! Since G was no longer going to Dominican Republic for March break, she decided to head to Toronto to ref at the Provincials Fencing tournament. She left with Pat on Thursday. Later in the afternoon, she sent us some pictures from her hotel room that was at the Skydome, overlooking the field. The party was cut short for her as shortly afterwards, the tournament was canceled, and she would be heading home the following day. Given where she was in Toronto, added additional stress for us as we were not sure if she was in contact with anyone who might have had the Coronavirus and if she should come home or stay at Pat’s to minimize the number of houses affected. Even though my immune system is not 100%, it was decided that she should come home for her quarantine. Needless to say, it did add a lot to the stress in our house.
On Friday, I did some shopping before the “house arrest” as I was missing a few small items. I was very mad at all the hoarders out there who were panic buying. The amount of shelves that were empty and the specific items that were gone were very surprising and upsetting. All this further added to my anxiety and stress. My body finally broke down from all this wear and tear and I started showing signs of a rash on my head. I had headaches all week but, today, they were more severe.
On Saturday, Mar 14, the headaches and the rash were getting worse. Though it was not severe enough to go get it checked out at the hospital Emergency department, I was thankful that I had an appointment scheduled with the doctor on Monday. MA was wondering if the anti-anxiety medication that I restarted was the cause of my rash. On top of this, I was getting tingling in my left hand, like nerve pain, that was unexplained. Looks like I am falling apart from all the stress of the Coronavirus and going back to work! Pat and G arrived by late afternoon and he stayed the night. We watched another Bond movie together. Our plan was to finish them all this week during the March Break but now that the next Bond movie has been delayed until November, we have a lot more time to see them all. Very disappointed by this!
By Sunday, my rash was increasing more as was the pain. I suggested to MA that the cause of the rash and pain could be Shingles. With her research, we both agreed that this is very likely the cause of the pain and rash I have been getting. Just one more reason why I am glad to be seeing the doctor tomorrow.
Monday, Mar 16, we received a few phone calls to change the in-person meetings/appointments to phone calls. Not surprising given the imposed quarantine that was happening. One of those calls was from my family doctor. She wanted to do our appointment over the phone however I suggested against it as I suspected that I have Shingles and that she would want to see it in person. It was agreed that we would continue with the in-person visit. MA and I wrote up my list of “ailments” that would be discussed with the doctor. Once at the doctor’s office, it was very quiet. We were the only ones in the waiting room. Also, the receptionist had a mask on, as did we, and did not open the window between us when we checked in. Instead of handing her my health card, she asked me to hold it up for her to look at through the glass. It was a short wait before we were shuttled into the room. The doctor entered the room and we went through our list. She confirmed my self-diagnosis and prescribed some anti-viral and pain meds. Because of the location of the outbreak, she also recommended an emergency ophthalmologist appointment to ensure that the virus is not in my eye. So, this will delay my work start date again. I guess the good news is that I don’t have coronavirus, right? Good thing that all my hockey is cancelled as I would not be able to wear a helmet right now. By the way, it was Geneviève’s birthday today. Unfortunately, we did not really celebrate it properly and I feel very terrible about that, especially with all that is going on in our house and around the world. I hope to make it up to her once things settle down.
The big event on St Patty’s Day was finally getting a call from the ophthalmologist. At first, they were scheduling my appointment for a few days from now but MA’s persistence won out and we were able to drop in today. The call came in around 1:30 PM and we were at the hospital around 2:30. It was a quick visit. I was screened by the nurse and then the doctor checked my eye. He said the virus is not in it (yet) so all is good. He mentioned that everyday someone comes in with shingles around their eye. I did not realize it was that common. After the appointment, I felt like crap partially because one eye was dilated due to the drops and the other was not. This wreaked havoc with my vision and made me a bit nauseous. It does not help that the shingles pain and the antiviral drugs also add to the nausea. Not much was done for the rest of the day but we did watch 2 movies as a family in the evening.
On Wednesday, Mar 18, the family headed to a “new” sugar shack in the area. Richard was given permission to tap some trees off of a friend’s father’s lot. Gary, the property owner, used to tap his trees in the past but had given up due to age. As such, Richard is now tapping his trees and collecting a lot of sap from them. We headed over in the afternoon and were there a few hours. Richard was there with Gary and son in law, Mike, who is Richard’s friend and former soccer coach to the twins. We watched as the sap turned to syrup and were amazed by Richard’s new reverse osmosis filter. We had taffy in the snow and some homemade Coronavirus “medicine”. We all maintained the 1-2 m social distance (wink, wink) while there. I hear being outside, in the woods gives the virus less opportunity to spread. It was great to get out of the house and do something different.
So, the upcoming plan is to wait for the shingles blisters to scab over and clear up and self-isolate. I have reached out to my work manager with this news and will await further instructions on a start date. It is looking like my target date would be around Mar 30, basically 1 full year since I have been off! The biggest challenge in the coming weeks will be cash flow. Many of MA’s clients had already been canceling and now all therapists are ordered to close their clinics which means we have no real source of income currently. My measly insurance payout barely covers the expenses, so I have been bleeding my savings over the past year. We should have enough to cover the coming weeks so hopefully MA’s clients will come back and I will start to see a paycheque again very soon. I did not plan to be off this long nor be dealing with a global pandemic when I started this process one year ago. It has certainly been a big test for me and the family but we are overcoming it!