Americans kidnapping Haitian children?

In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake a group of ten fundamentalist Baptist American do-gooders snuck across the border from the Dominican Republican, convinced temporary and permanent caregivers (including the parents!) of 33 Haitian children to allow the children to be loaded onto a bus and driven out of Haiti. The caregivers, and even the children believed that they were going off to 'summer camp' or to 'boarding school'... based on flyers/leaflets that the team of ten were passing out. But also within their possession where other flyers that detailed their goal to remove 100 children from Haiti and take them first to the Dominican Republic, and then back to the US for adoption. Not all the children were orphans...

At this point there is growing debate over what to do about the ten Americans. My answer is simple; jail them. If they are part of a child trafficking organization, then they deserve to be incarcerated. If they are simply arrogant Americans discounting the laws of Haiti, then they deserve to do time to teach them respect for another nations' laws and people. If they are simply mis-guided, over-zealous Christian fundamentalists, they need to spend time in jail to learn some humility. And if they are simply do-gooders who never considered the implications of their actions, then they need to spend time behind bars reflecting on their collective stupidity.

Yesterday's lab tests...

This is another one of those posts where all I'm really trying to say is that I am so lucky to be looked after by the Canadian health care system in Alberta.

Yesterday at noon I managed to get out of the office, get to a local lab where I had made an appointment, had my blood taken, walked across the parking lot to the medical imaging clinic, and, without an appointment, had the x-rays of my right thigh done. I was back online, working, within one hour. And it cost me nothing more than my monthly healthcare premiums and time. Oh, wait... This is Alberta. There aren't any healthcare premiums!

The blood work ordered included 'general chemistry' which apparently covers sodium, potassium, chloride and CO2. I have no idea why Dr. Williams needs to see that stuff... but hey, he's the doctor. He also ordered a test of the creatinine in my blood as a way to check kidney function prior to having a chest CT scan done. Why? Well, if the kidneys are not functioning at optimal levels, they can't give you any of the dyes, which may/may not diminish the usefulness of the scan.

And as a hedge, the doctor ordered a TSHB (TSH progressive testing) test just to ensure that the thyroid levels are where they need to be...

The x-ray was a truly wonderful thing: a walk-in experience that took half an hour from walking in the front door, to walking out again. The lab I used, which happens to be the lab that did the ultrasound on my neck which started this ride in the summer of 2007, has gone almost completely 'digital'. There is no x-ray film. There are sensors build into the x-ray table which convert the radiation bombardment into video/computer imagery. The somewhat lively x-ray technician who took the shots of my knee/thigh/hip told me that it was actually possible that the results of the x-ray would be on my doctor's computer desktop before I managed to get dressed and get back onto the street.

And once again, I have no complaints about how I am being handled in the healthcare system.

Akabutu's Mouthwash

As part of my resolve to reinvigorate this blog, I've been probing the access logs to find out who has been reading the material while it (the blog) has remained static. It doesn't actually tell me the 'who' part, but does give me an indication of the geographic origin of the connection, and the search term used to find the blog. For instance, I can tell you that someone in Singapore was studying the forearm flap photos on Jan. 10, 2010, and that someone in Belgium was having a look at my comments on the effects of Cisplatin on tinnitus. The number one search term that is pointing people to these pages is "Akabutu's Mouthwash". That wondrous concoction has developed an international reputation. I ran my own search against the term in Google and was fascinated to see how many listings there are, and in what context. The common thread, however, seems to be chemotherapy.

I really wish that I could post the recipe here, but I truly don't know it... if you follow the other Akakutu links in the blog you'll find hints as to what may be in it.

In the meantime, have your oncologist/doctor/dentist contact the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, AB, Canada to get the recipe... I'm pretty sure that they'll share.

Cancer Treatment Update

I got distracted from blogging in June of 2009... just prior to my next round of appointments to check on the state of my health. I had a series of appointments and tests in August/September. The two year anniversary of the surgery to remove the tumor was November 26, 2009. And I had an appointment with Dr. Williams, oncological surgeon extraordinaire on January 28, 2010. Okay, so where are we?

In mid June I did the obligatory blood test to ensure that the thyroid meds were actually being effective. The previous tests had been in late April after the checkup where Dr. Williams had suggested that the thyroid was indeed under performing. There were no significant issues, we assume, as the appointment to discuss the results was scheduled for the first week of August with my GP, Dr. Randy Naiker. Dr. Naiker is very good... if there was anything out of the ordinary, he would have scheduled me in earlier.

I went to the appointment with a list of items that I thought may be of interest... this is one of the things that I've started to do; make lists of how I'm perceiving my body's behaviours. So, the things that I brought to the table were:

• continuing vertigo
• pain in my right thigh
• continued deterioration of my handwriting
• weakness/shakiness in my right hand and arm
• deterioration in my vision
• changes in my 'swallow'

At the appointment we did discuss that an improved exercise regimen would help to stabilize my handwriting and the challenges with my hand/arm. Deterioration of my vision, well, dammit, that was probably age related. The 'swallow' will need to be monitored, and I need to actually concentrate on it...

But the good doctor decided that we wouldn't just accept the 'damage caused by chemotherapy' rationale as the reason for the vertigo. Now this is where I get a bit annoyed at myself for not recording some of the discussions we had. Did you know that there is a difference between 'dizzyness' and 'vertigo'? Well, apparently there is... and when I do some research and jog my memory about the conversation we had, I'll let you know all about it. In the meantime, he decided that we would be very proactive. He ordered a neck/carotid Ultrasound, and a Holter Monitor test. He wanted to rule out the possibility that the scar tissue from the surgery might be inhibiting blood flow.

Annoyingly, when the lab called me to give me the dates, the ultrasound was scheduled for Dec. 23rd, and the Holter for Nov. 30th. Remember that this was the first week of August: I was so frustrated that I badgered the lab receptionist who was trying to schedule the tests until I got the ultrasound moved up to later in August! And to be entirely fair, the young sounding woman on the other end of the phone actually called a competing lab group to get me that appointment. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do with the Holter test.

The pain in the right thigh mystified the doctor. Again, to be proactive, he gave me a chit for an x-ray.

Here's where I admit to being a 'bad patient'. First of all, I tried to do the x-ray twice... but the wait was too long both times... and then I forgot about!!! When I remembered around the date of the Holter test, I couldn't find the requisition.

And, when I got the call reminding me that I had the Holter Monitor test scheduled, I actually made them change it to a later date because it was inconvenient... I had neglected to enter it into my calendar and booked a series of training sessions over top of it. I finally got the Holter in just prior to Christmas.

There was no phone call after the ultrasound. There has been no phone call after the Holter. I think that it is pretty safe to assume that we don't have a blood flow issue here...

Going into my recent appointment with Dr. Williams, I generated the updated list:

• a dry cough that doesn't seem to have a trigger; happens irregularly. Can sometimes be full on, body wracking and can also be quite light
• reflux seems to be pretty much under control
• sometimes I develop severe esophageal spasms when eating, if I don't keep the fluids flowing
• right thigh pain; I admitted to having forgotten to get the x-ray and losing the requisition
• generally saliva production is good; sufficient for day-to-day, but not good enough to eat without lots of liquids
• mucous buildup in my sinuses
• tongue is much better, although some of the autonomic responses are slowed, and the strength is still not there
• my weight is up to 177 lbs.
• hearing is back to about 90% of pre-chemo levels

Well, that was the list. I actually started off by suggesting that the synthroid was probably working, but that I had noticed that my body odour had changed and it corresponded with the introduction of the synthroid. He made a note, but did not suggest anything. I then moved on to say that the reflux seemed to be under control, but that I would like to continue to use the Previcid for a little while longer. He agreed. I then brought up the coughing, but only after Gail poked me several times... this elicited a surprising response!

It turns out that one of the 'treatments' for reflux is really just a mitigation strategy. Previcid, for instance, really only changes the acids that cause the serious discomfort and damage to a 'base' (damn... gotta start remembering my chemistry!) . Okay. And that means what? Well, it means that you can still be having the back flow happen, but you don't feel it! In my little book of incidents that I keep, I have recorded several breakthrough reflux incidents... the inference is that there are more, but I haven't felt them. Dr. Williams suggested that we need to consult with a pulmonary specialist to see if there's anything weird going on... that might be caused by aspiration of reflux derived fluids. So the damned coughing may be caused by reflux. Heavy sigh. I just shake my head.

I'm headed into another round of tests: blood test (keratin), followed by chest CT, and then on to whatever the pulmonary specialist has in mind.

At least there is no sign of recurrence of the cancer! This is a major bonus!

Oh, and the doctor graciously wrote me up a requisition to replace the lost thigh x-ray chit.

Eight months later...

I was just sitting here counting on my fingers and realized that it has been eight months since I posted anything here... notice that I say 'posted': I have written some stuff, but it just seemed a so trite and pointless that I let it languish in a digital limbo, and sort of lost interest in the whole 'blogging' experience. And the loss of interest could be construed as a bit odd given some of the events that have affected me and mine...

It seems about time to get back on track. 'Got a lot of things to comment on... there is the birth of my granddaughters (yes, TWO of them within 5 weeks of each other!), a number of world class disasters, the Canadian political scene at the federal, provincial and municipal levels, my work life, the evolution of technology, Scotch, and of course my ongoing battle with cancer. Although I must admit that the cancer thing isn't much of a battle anymore. It really has degenerated into silly little 'informational' skirmishes...

Lately I've become fascinated by 'memory' and how it seems to work.... or not work in my case. I've been reading some interesting books and magazine articles where the memories of the authors are so rich in detail that I actually question my own memories, or the authors' truthfulness. Why is it, for instance, that I can't remember what my favourite shirt was when I was six years old, and these writers can? Or better still, why is it that they remember every gory detail about their treatments (yes, I've been reading cancer stuff, again) and I don't? My memory filing box is a disorganized mess.

But the memory isn't like a filing cabinet, with everything stuffed into neat folders and consigned to one or another drawer. The memory is more like a large, mostly placid pond. Our daily experiences are lightly sprinkled on the surface, some floating for a while, some sinking out of sight almost immediately, spinning, swirling down into the darkness of the still water, and some, well, the wind catches them and tosses them high into the clouds, chaff that has no real meaning to us, and easily discarded. Now, all the bits and pieces that remain floating on or near the surface of this metaphorical memory pond are the bits and pieces that we recall easily, referencing over and over, gently sinking out of sight as we stop examining it, using it. All of the stuff which lost its buoyancy and settled to the bottom of the pond are things that have slipped out of our mind's easy reach, but which can be recovered, with effort. Imagine taking a stick and stirring up the mud and silt at the bottom of the pond. With enough churning, its pretty amazing what can be brought to the surface, again.

I can, with time and effort, remember a great deal that I thought lost to me, like a few favoured shirts, a chance encounter with a nest of yellow jackets, or the nastier details of my treatment. But what I find most challenging is trying to arrange it all on a proper timeline. So with that favourite shirt, how old was I? And why, when I think of that shirt, I think of a completely unrelated event that is no where near it on the timeline? Going back to the pond analogy, there is so little control over what all gets brought to the top; the churning creates turbulence, artificial currents that pull far more to the surface than expected, and in some cases, wanted.