Filling in the blanks...

It would appear that I've missed posting the results of a pertinent appointment or two... the first was a followup with Dr. Williams, my surgeon, on the 19th, and the actual face-to-face with Dr. Naiker on the 20th.

Okay, so let's deal with Dr. Williams first.

We started off the session by being evaluated by Dr. Williams intern, Gugan... and I am embarrassed to say that I didn't get her last name. She was great, however. Funny, personable and quite thorough in her questioning and probing.

Dr. Williams was also in pretty good form... We ambushed him off the top with a 'hello' from Toddy Parkinson, who knew his father really well. Apparently they practiced their various medical specialties together, first in Liverpool, and then serendipity struck and they both ended up in Alberta.

Dr. Williams seems to be quite pleased with the results of the actual surgery. Everything has healed very well. When asked about the sensation of the tongue as 'clumsy' and 'bulky', he pointed out that he had added quite a bit of material (from my forearm) to replace what he had taken out of the tongue and lingual tonsil... and he said basically (I can't remember the exact words, dammit) that if he had skimped on the rebuild, the tissues would have gotten so tight that swallowing would have been nearly impossible, and the flap on top of the oesophagus would not have maintained a watertight seal. Oh. Well, okay then. I then told him about the ledge or trough that forms in the flap that is collecting debris causing me a little bit of discomfort, and embarrassing me by making me do these cute little coughs until it clears... and the early morning 'here's-how-we're-supposed-to-swallow' challenges. He started his reply with the 'make-sure-you-carry-a-water-bottle-everywhere' speech, referencing the dry mouth issues, and followed it up with a promise to contact the speech therapy team at COMPRU to make sure they do another assessment, and teach me a few little tricks to help. In an effort to make me feel more comfortable with the situation, he did mention that there are people who never swallow properly again, and that I am doing really well. He keeps saying that... I hope he's not just blowing smoke...

I asked him about writing a prescription for the Ensure meal replacement that I'm using to supplement my eating; no problem. That will help on a financial level... the damn things are over two bucks a can! He quizzed me on my eating habits, was quite curious about the protein bars that I found that are celiac friendly, and generally encouraged me to keep eating... No mention was made of trying to 'tube' me again.

My hearing issues were brought up. He is referring me to another specialist, a Dr. Lui, for assessment. I've already got an appointment for the testing... I just need to know if the hearing is coming back, or if there will be a recommendation for hearing aids. I don't mind the thought of hearing assist... I just want to know.

There will be a referral to the Cross Cancer Institute's physio therapy department to get an analysis of my shoulder done. It should have rolled back by now... but he was 'okay' with the level of mobility. And that was only 'okay'. We're a long way from perfect on this stuff.

The appointment on the 20th with Dr. Naiker was to discuss the results of the CT Scan... and I must congratulate myself that I did NOT give him a rough time about his receptionist. But I tell ya, if she does it again I'll have a lot to say...

Gail and the girls all came to this appointment. Gail was obvious, but the girls came became they don't know who to believe anymore. They think that their mother is blowing things out of proportion, and that I'm down playing everything significantly. Well, maybe they're right on both counts...

Essentially, Dr. Naiker told us that we remain in surveillance mode on the kidney thing. It is not a cyst. It is not purely scar tissue. It is also not affecting function, not growing, not doing anything untoward... so we wait and we watch. I already have the date for the next CT Scan: November 11.

Dr. Naiker really did a good job of calming everyone... and convincing them to relax a bit.

I brought up the issue of the stiff and sore joints, something I forgot to do with Dr. Williams. There are two things at work here. Firstly, the radiation and chemo have added approximately 10 years worth of wear and tear to my body. Secondly, chemo is designed to stop (or slow) cell division. That will include the production of joint lubricants. He will, if necessary, give me injections to help recovery, but suggested that liberal use of the hot tub will accomplish a great deal. Exercise, yoga, tai chi, etc. are also good avenues to pursue.

The issues with my left ankle, he thinks is simply arthritis, which in retrospect I'm beginning to take issue with. As I rode my motorcycle home on Friday evening, it suddenly occurred to me what is causing the discomfort; impact and strain on the left ankle from riding the motorcycle! I 'land' on my left foot... and it often takes more than it should with the way I have been braking. So, I think that it is a repetitive strain thing from taking the weight of the bike, all 500+ lbs. of it, and the added oomph of the skid-to-a-stop every once in a while. My ropers (the boots I wear) are surviving better than the ankle... definitely gotta change the way I'm handling that...

We've decided that its time to get on with renovating the kitchen, a clever ruse on my part to distract Gail from her perceptions of my health issues; ya, right... like that's gonna work. (We see the surgeon, Dr. Williams, as part of the three-month follow-up this afternoon.)

On Saturday we tore out the sunshine ceiling and the fluorescent light fixtures. I'm really glad we took out the fluorescents; all the ballasts were leaking a dark, tarry ooze...it was definitely time for them to go. I'm not so glad that we took out the t-bar and the light baffles. We can now see the real ceiling, and its a bloody mess. The townhouse was constructed during a boom period 20 years ago, and the workmanship on the drywall ceiling shows it. We'll need to get a drywaller in to fix the mess before we can paint the ceiling...

After removing the old lighting system, we put up some track lighting. It gives a nice, warm quality of light, but Gail is concerned that it also gives off substantially more heat than the previous ceiling lighting. Well, quite honestly, if we can't get a drywaller in to fix the mess that is the current ceiling, we'll be going back to a sunshine ceiling anyway. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think it may be the best solution to the problem... time for some research into contemporary sunshine ceiling configurations.

And we called Home Depot to get them to come do some measurements and estimates for new cupboards and counter tops, installed. Now, that's a frustrating experience. First of all, they want you to do your own measurements and pick your styles for cupboards and counter tops, and then they will decide if the job is worth doing. The questions about budgets and whether we were going to redo the appliances, and several other questions seemed quite invasive given that we were really looking for estimates that had a high probability of turning into an order. And even then they want you to pay for the estimates upfront, before they will even contact the installers to schedule the appointment. Yes, the site visit, measurements and estimates are NOT done by Home Depot's in-house designers; they are done by the contracted installers. On one level that's pretty smart before placing the final order, but from a sales perspective its a bit cumbersome. In fact, the designers don't seem to ever see the places that they are recommending features and fittings for. They are completely missing the boat on upselling, and on problem solving.

We were told that the measurements for the cupboards could be from two to four weeks after we paid the monies, but they wouldn't promise us when they would actually set the dates for the installers to come and take those measurements, nor when we would see a firm estimate. We are expected to pay estimator fees up front, wait for someone to call us back to actually book the appointment, and then wait two to four weeks for the visit, with no clear idea of when we'll know about costs, and, as a logical follow-on, when we would be able to place the order. Delivery and installation of the cabinetry would be somewhere in December... hopefully... maybe. ( I asked if the install could be completed by Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October) and the designer laughed!) And then, and only then, would they take the measurements, and make templates, for the counters. Delivery and installation of the counter tops would be three to four weeks later. Right... like we could live through a December/January with no counter tops!

So, from Home Depot, it looks something like this:

• Pay $100+ for the measurements and estimates
• Wait until someone representing the installer of the cabinetry calls to make an appointment
• If the day the installer has available doesn't work for you, you may be completely out of luck. Home Depot will try to find another installer or refund your fees.
• The site visit may be two weeks to four weeks away.
• The estimate (notice I have never used the word 'quote'!) is several days away from that.
• Once there is an estimate, an order is placed for the cabinetry.
• The cabinetry is delivered and installed 10 to 12 weeks later.
• Once the cabinetry is delivered and installed, measurements are taken for the counter tops, and templates drawn up for use by the 'factory' to make/cut the shapes.
• An estimate on the counter tops is prepared and an order is placed.
• The counter tops are delivered and installed three to four weeks later.

We're going shopping for a renovation general contractor to do this... someone who will give us a quote, handle the measurements, the ordering, the coordination that will leave us without a functional kitchen for no more than a week.

Yes, I know this is Alberta, that we're in a boom economy... and I'm being completely unreasonable!

Hey, but at least its enough of a challenge to keep someone's mind off my health...

...and when I got home...

And when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, I found Gail in a terrible state. She had spent the afternoon ruminating on what the medical receptionist had said, and was absolutely freaked out. A friend of hers, Nancy, had actually come over to the house to try to keep her calm while they waited for me to get home. And she had 'blown off' a fairly important meeting because she was so distraught.

We talked... and I was so frustrated with her interpretation of the phone call, and actually quite worried about her state of mind that I called Dr. Naiker's on-call line. He returned my call within minutes... (this guy is fabulous!)

On 'speaker phone' mode, Dr. Naiker explained to us (but more for Gail's benefit) that nothing had changed since the last CT... he even read to us, word-for-word, the radiologist's report. Now I may not have dwelt on this particular aspect before, but when I had the PET scan done last September/October, they identified a hotspot on one of my kidneys. That's what we're monitoring at the moment... and the area under surveillance is NOT growing, is NOT moving and is not changing in anyway. The radiologist is pretty sure that it is NOT a cyst, although it could be scar tissue from a couple of kidney stones I had years ago. The radiologist is basically saying it is maintaining a inert status... and recommended to Dr. Naiker that we should schedule another CT for six months down the road.

Gail calmed down... we went to friend's for dinner... it was a lovely evening.

Bloody receptionist!

Just stuff...

Hey, guess what? I played golf yesterday afternoon! It wasn't a full-on golf game, but an eighteen hole Texas Scramble social event sponsored by my employer's Social Club. And thankfully we had power carts... otherwise I don't think that I could have walked the entire course in the heat. My drives were really good... other than the simple fact that most of them pulled to the right. The lessons I took before my surgery made a huge difference... the only problem being that I haven't figured out how to compensate for the damage to my right shoulder, hence the near constant drift to the right. I tried a couple of adjustments to my grip and the drives started to straighten out. I think I will need to go back to the Pro at Sturgeon for some advice on how to straighten out the drives for real. And, my putting needs serious work.

Oh, and yes, today I am in some discomfort... heh, heh, heh....

On Wednesday Gail went to one of the contract Canada Post postal outlets (Shoppers Drug Mart) to mail a parcel to the UK... at a cost of $30.00. On Thursday, the local Canada Post postal carrier delivered the package BACK TO US! Can you believe it?! Gail paid $30.00 just so Canada Post could sort it overnight and deliver it to the return address! It really is no wonder that people are not prepared to use Canada Post, preferring the various courier services instead.

We just heard back from my GP re: Tuesday's CT Scan. I tell ya, he's just gotta have a word with his receptionist. She called the house, got Gail on the phone and told her that the good Doctor wants to see me on the 25th of the month to review the results. The receptionist then went on to say that he wants to see me sooner than that, so she will be monitoring cancellations, just in case. So, when Gail phoned to let me know, she was definitely a wee bit wound up. Now really, how much trouble would it have been to say something to the effect that the Doctor has the CT results and is ready to review them with you; we've scheduled an appointment for the 25th, but I'll see if I can't get you in sooner by watching for cancellations. Far less scary, yes?

Tall Ships...

Welcome to Liverpool... this first shot was taken just outside of the old Town Hall, looking away from the docks. It was taken back in July, but if you review the July entries in the blog, you will notice that I had trouble loading images on more than one occasion. Tonight, they seemed to work...

I took the train from Southport to Liverpool so I could wander around the Wellington dock and have a look at the taller ships that were involved in the Liverpool Tall Ships Races.

An interesting shot of the Wellington basin... marred only by the One Way sign. Now, was that sign for the boats or the pedestrians?

Just to give you a sense of scale, look at the previous photo, then at this one. They are of the same rigging... the dark blobs in the photo above are the same sailors in the photo below...

It was a blustery morning... but a very satisfying walk around for me.

CT Scans, Missing Cats, Impromptu BBQ's and stuff...

This morning was a wet one... it seems to have been drizzling most of the night.

The CT scan was the one booked by my GP intended to keep an eye on my innards... on a couple of hot spots that the PET scan identified. This was not one of my throat; we will have to wait for my oncologist, whom I see on Aug. 19, to decide if we get another CT for that.

The CT was done without intravenous injection of dye(s), but there was a quart of water tinted (or is that 'tainted') with another dye solution. They did prep me for the intravenous, but the first scans were clear enough that the supervising radiologist didn't feel that the intravenous dyes would make a huge difference. Eh. So I sat around in my hospital gown, drank the tainted water, had the series of shots taken, and was at work before 11 am. My GP will call when/if there's something to discuss.

The cat still hasn't come back. I'm not really expecting him to, to tell the truth. There has been way too much activity with foxes and coyotes in and around the condo complex for comfort. That's the problem with living this close to a protected nature reserve, I suppose...

Sunday evening we ended up with 13 for dinner. It started off with Jennifer wanting to have a family dinner, which then grew into her wanting to bring four friends. Kim and Duane both made it. And we invited Nancy and John, and then called my brother, Paul, who was on his own for the past week, and serendipity brought Deb to the doorstep earlier in the day, so she, too, stayed. It wasn't anything fancy, in the end... just burgers, beans, potato salad, green salad, corn-on-the-cob, meringues and strawberries with whipped cream for dessert, and way too much wine. The number of bottles I found after the fact was a little surprising...

Oh, and I did eat... quite a bit, actually. It only seemed to make up for not having eaten earlier in the day. I just cannot seem to gain any weight.

Gail is so intent on some sort of life in Spain in the not-so-distant future that I backed down last night, and told her to go ahead and book us into Spanish language classes in the University's adult education program. Leaving this country to go live in another gives me some 'concern'... but, hey, its something for Gail to look forward to, and we know that she is in desperate need of some attainable, but challenging goals. It just feels like a bit of a step backwards... my ancestors left Europe centuries ago. Why am I thinking about returning? Shouldn't we be moving forward? Like to Mars, or some place? Well, Spain does have the best Goya collections, some really fabulous architecture, some decent wines, and Italy and France are right next door, within driving distance, and then there is the Mediterranean... if I can just figure out how to afford the boat I want...

I also suspect that, if we do move to Spain, we'll have a lot more visitors than we tend to get in Edmonton... and that would be a good thing (hint to all you old friends and family members).

Oddly enough the recent battle with cancer has resulted in more planning for the future, rather than less... we have spoken with people who are focused on 'taking it one day at a time'. For us, it has become about finding a through line to retirement and what I can only refer to as 'contentment'.

Gail is completely reevaluating her career strategy. In an ideal world, she will retire in 6 years. Also, in that ideal world, she will suddenly rediscover job satisfaction. Will she be able to do both? I don't know for sure, but I do know that she needs the job satisfaction thing worked out really soon...

My window for retirement is still floating... kinda depends on Gail's plans... although to maximize my earning potential, I probably should go for another 12 years. Of course, a complete meltdown in the economy (either the global one, or my own) will keep me working longer... as long as the work is meaningful, I can't see why not.

One thing that I do know is that Gail is quite insistent that we do not retire in Edmonton... she's just about had all she can take of the winters here. So that means a move... and there has to be significant water involved, so that means either to the West Coast, or to Spain...

Yes, Spain. The seed of this particular idea was planted by her younger sister, and seems to be sprouting at an alarming rate. I really don't know how good or bad an idea it is yet. I've started doing some of the research. It is certainly a good deal less expensive to live in Spain than it is in the UK. I just can't see us retiring to the UK...

On balance, location is not that important to me... quality of life is the most important thing. If we can stretch our pension monies more by being in Spain, well then maybe Spain it should be.

Now my ideal scenario for retirement is based on an idea that was first described to me by Scott... a good friend living in the Greater Vancouver area. His basic idea is to encourage a core group of friends to take up residence in one small area, establishing a 'neighbourhood' of sorts. As we get older, then, our friends would be close, and easily visited. As we lose our faculties, sharing the necessary driving and chores among households would be easier, with no one having to travel great distances to see or help out some one else in the 'neighbourhood'. Obviously its the way we used to live before urban sprawl made the cities so tough for the elderly to survive well in. It is the distances that cut them off from that very important social interaction that helps to keep us all youthful.

So, to expand on that idea, why not pull our resources together and buy a four storey apartment building and condo-ize it. If we, as a group (and the group is yet to be determined) bought a building with 12 or 16 apartments, then renovated to six or eight units, did the paperwork properly, we could establish our own little community in one location. It could be an apartment building, or a renovated warehouse, or even just acquiring enough units in a newer 'sunset' village. Writing the correct condo bylaws would protect us over time... from our families, ourselves, and each other. The only real disadvantage to this sort of condo/co-op is the constant proximity. Establishing parameters, and barriers, to ensure that we didn't all get sick of each other, living in each other's back pockets that way, would be essential to its success. And really, we only have to worry about one generation... us... 'cause the next people to move into the building wouldn't necessarily be friends, to begin with. And the condo bylaws would be structured in such a way as to dictate a selection process for who can buy in after we start to drop out...

Can this idea be ported to a Spanish environment? Yes, it could... but it strikes me that the number of our friends that would want to make that move may be fairly low... How 'bout Costa Rica? Or Mexico? Nah... Gail is so set on Spain...

Benjamin Disraeli once said in a speech that "change is inevitable", and that "change is a constant". The challenge is for us, as individuals or as a society, is to grow with the change. And a big part of the growth associated with change is 'acceptance', or at least being able to acknowledge the change and work with it, while still moving forward.

Okay, so I'm not entirely sure that I'm rising to the challenge. The cancer has forced certain changes into my life, into my ways of doing things, into my perceptions of things. I'm supposed to grow along with those changes... but I fear that I am falling behind. In so many ways I resent those changes, and I resist!

Oh, dear... today I'm not a very happy camper...

I've been trying to upload some photos of the Tall Ships that I took in Liverpool, but the blogger system is rejecting them for some reason... I'll have a quick bash at 'em and try to figure out what's doing on...

Its been a nice weekend for me... kinda quiet, though.

Saturday, while Jennifer and a friend were in Calgary at the zoo and then having lunch with my sister, I got on my motorcycle, and fighting horrendous head winds, drove out to Lake Wabumum and back. Interesting experience. I thought my bike was a difficult ride until I started passing other riders who had had to pull over to the side to rest from the buffeting they were taking. And the darn thing was brilliant on gas... I'm fairly confident that it will be an okay thing to try a longer ride now.

On Sunday, I picked up my older brother and drove the convertible to Calgary to have lunch with the same sister. Nice drive down, nice visit with her, but really annoying lunch. The food was great (Kane's Harley Diner), but I just couldn't eat it... dry mouth syndrome got in the way again. The drive back was going well until one of the Alberta Sheriffs spoiled it by deciding I was going too fast. Damn. Speeding ticket. Damn.

Today, Monday, has been a quiet one. Reading, used the hot tub for a bit, did a bit of grocery shopping... and found some newer gluten free protein bars to try. Every little bit helps, eh?

Gail flies home from the UK tomorrow...

Wow... its been a few days since I last wrote. Sorry 'bout that...

I arrived home on Tuesday evening, on time... the flight was a good one. Air Canada can be so good, why do they have to make the domestic flights such a challenge?

I sat beside a young woman from the UK who is on a temporary work visa in Canada; an estimator with a big UK engineering firm who has been secunded to ATCO to help on the construction of their contribution to the Alberta power transmission grid. She was quite excited and quizzed me about Edmonton and the surrounding communities. She's here for 3 years...

Home was pretty much the way we left it... Jennifer has been looking after the place. The only notable exception is that the cat seems to have wandered off... hasn't been back in over a week. I spoke with by-law enforcement, but they have no record of having picked up a ginger tomcat. I beginning to suspect that either the foxes or the coyotes got him...

I was back to work first thing Wednesday... one of the assignments I was hoping for is still on hold, but there is more work to be at the current client site. Part of what I need to do needs some research, so I've been spending the afternoons at home, in the garden, reading.

Just a bit of a teaser with a photo from atop Warwick Castle... Unfortunately most of the images that I have with me are on digital video, so its going to take a bit of editing to get things into the blog. Once Gail gets home with the other camera, I'll fill in the gaps with stills about the places we went and the things we saw...

I am being very conscious of what and when I eat. I'm not totally convinced that I'm maintaining the calorie counts, but I'm definitely aware and trying.

I am only a bit jet lagged... I'm pretty much back into the old sleep patterns.