That thing on the end of my nose? Not cancerous!

Over a week ago, Tuesday, January 13, 2009 to be precise, I saw Dr. Groot about the growth on the end of my nose. And, guess what? It was a wart after all! And with a very theatrical flourish, he dispensed a puff of his magic spray (liquid nitrogen)… I’m pretty sure that I was in the same room with him for less than 5 minutes. Very personable guy, but the conversation, the actual consultation was extremely superficial.

The wart and surrounding skin behaves as if it has been burned. Within two days the external wart fell off while I was washing my face… and it was a gentle scrub at that. The skin around the site blistered and scabbed. Three or four days later the scab came off with a gentle tug. Today there is a small, red blemish. I expect that to be gone within days.

Latest Swallow Tests... the videos

On December 23, 2008 I visited with Irene at iRSM, once called COMPRU, at the Misericordia Hospital for my one year post surgical swallow and speech assessment. What I have posted here are two of the fluoroscope movies that they made of me swallowing various 'weights' of things... all infused with barium so that it shows up. Thank you to Irene for sending me the clips!

This first clip is a bit dark, and a wee bit difficult to see anything unless you know what you are looking for... I will try to lighten it before I post it on the website.

In this shot, I am facing to your left. You will see my jaw open, the liquid go in, and then the route it takes down my throat. If the image is bright enough on your monitor, you will be able to see how my tongue works, and the musculature in my mouth/throat. You also should see the little flap that opens and closes to protect the windpipe as food and drink head for the oesophagus. Just keep an eye on that bit of a void above the windpipe...

This second clip is a bit easier to see, what you can see is evidence of my primary complaint. When I swallow anything with a 'heavy' or 'full' consistency, in this example its a barium infused pudding, some of the material gets trapped on a ledge above my windpipe. According to Irene, this is not that unusual with the type of surgery that I have had. This is supposed to be comforting?

For those of you who have eaten with me lately, you may begin to understand why I consume so much liquid with my meals... the first video shows simple liquids sliding right on through; this second video shows why I need to be constantly washing the food down. It is more than just the 'dry mouth' issues, which are not to be discounted, but, with the shelving effect seen in the videos, contribute to an interesting challenge.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mother's 75th birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Be it resolved...

...that I will spend two hours per week painting, drawing or potting.
...that I will spend two hours per week writing.
...that I will spend two hours per week reading fiction... good fiction.
...that I will see one live theatre piece per month.
...that I will get a Wii... my guilty pleasure for the year...

After an afternoon of exploring various electronics shops pricing plasma tvs of varying sizes and configurations for Scott's studio, and a separate one for their home, Scott drove me half way up the mountain that West Vancouver huddles at the foot of (Grouse Mountain?) to take in the view... unfortunately I didn't have either one of our cameras with me and was reduced to taking photos with my Blackberry...

This first photo is with the ubiquitous Scott and the Greater Vancouver Area in the background, with the inner harbour, etc; a view looking southeast.

This second photo is looking southwesterly-ish... the peninsula beyond the ships is the University of British Columbia, and the ships are in the outer harbour. These ships are ocean going cargo ships... which should give you an idea of the size of them, and therefore the scale of the view in the photo... lovely, eh?

One of the things that I have been a bit evangelistic about while I've been out here is the idea of digital eReaders. I dragged first Gordon, and now Scott off to Sony Style stores to get them to have a look at the Sony version of the eReader. The digital book is a concept who's time has just about come... Gordon seemed interested because of the amount of sales related information that could be uploaded and maintained without needed to carry around bulky product binders, while the hook with Scott seems to be the advantage it may offer to his aged mother. And me, I just want something that allows me to carry lots of books, both for reference and entertainment in a convenient, lightweight format that still allows me to make notes, add bookmarks and flip through quickly. The only thing about the current crop of eReaders out there today is that the best ones don't come in colour. Sure, they use something called eINK technology, which is very good, but they don't reproduce colour photos/drawings/charts in anything but gray scale.

I may have to hold out for another six months to a year...

Happy New Year!

Nothing really important to say today, just to wish everyone a Happy New Year...

We spent New Year's Eve at a small dinner party with friends in West Vancouver, hosted by Scott and Cheryl Swan. In attendance was the lovely and talented Merrilyn Gann, and we were joined later in the evening by the Mayor of the District of North Vancouver, Richard Walton and his wife, Celeste. The accomplishments of some of our friends never fails to amaze and amuse me...