Friday, January 2, 2009 - A New Year!!

Happy New Year, Bloggy!!

Here we are, the second day of 2009 and I'm full of hope that this is going to be a great year! Oh sure, we have the economy to be concerned about and the wars still going on, starvation in third world countries and the auto industry about to go kaputs... so one has to question why I have so much hope when things aren't looking too rosy around me. But I do... and I am hoping for all sorts of good things... for myself and those around me!

I'm still annoyed with the Royal Columbian Hospital's lack of communication within their departments, but I also believe there's a reason for everything, even if it doesn't seem quite so apparent at the time. Because the procedure was canceled, I actually got to celebrate the New Year with friends. Now, I had planned on doing that anyways, but in hindsight, I wonder if I really would have been able to party within 24 hours of having the procedure done? Hard to know since it didn't happen... but I certainly had a fabulous time on New Year's Eve!

Here are pictures from the party and I think it goes without saying we all had a great time!! :)

What's a New Year's Eve celebration without a pretty drink??? :)

And a pretty girl drinking a pretty drink?? :) This is Carmen who is soooo much fun!

Here I am with Sanjay, Carmen's husband... and Naveen's cousin.

Here's Carmen and Sanjay... isn't everyone looking just so darn happy? New years do that to people :)

And here is Naveen and I. Naveen made a fabulous meal for everyone... very impressive!

Emily, Naveen's daughter and one of my favourite gals, and myself. It was a night full of hugs!

Alan, Jill and Neera. Alan, Jill and I all work down at Theatre Under the Stars, and Neera is Naveen's sister, who is out visiting but lives in Ottawa.

Menasha, Sanjay's sister and Emily, Naveen's daughter.

Chef Naveen... caught in the act!! What act, I'm not sure, but I caught him in it :D

Let's see... from left to right, Jill, Sanjay, Naveen and Papa Nikhanj, Sanjay and Menasha's father.

Emily, Carmen and Connor (Naveen's son). Can you tell most of the pictures are taken in the kitchen... a kitchen party starts early in the night!

Neera and her mom, Mama Kapahi :)

Moi, Mama Kapahi and Papa Nikhanj

Dancing... everyone was dancing! Crazy, kooky, wonderful family all dancing :)

... more dancing!!

After the dancing, a competitive game of Taboo! Even Nitro, Sanjay and Carmen's dog was in on this... he was intrigued with the game's buzzer ;)

Sanjay and Menasha... a funny moment during the word game :)

It's now around 3am and we all have wound down... and are just listening to music and singing along.

It was a great night, fun party and the New Year started out with more snow!! Yes, it was snowing, snowing, snowing the first few hours of 2009 :)

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

December 30, 2008 - Not a Happy Camper!!

Dear Bloggy,

Well, now I'm po'd! The Lung Ablation surgery was canceled and rescheduled :/ Apparently an emergency came up and, of course, as we all know (and I certainly don't disagree with it), emergencies get top priority. If I was the emergency, I would hate to bump someone's surgery but would be ever so grateful that I was getting treated because it was something that required immediate attention. But what I DO have a problem with is that the departments within the hospital, that supposedly should be working together are working in total isolation.

Before I could have this procedure done, I needed to have a pre-admission appt. where they do the paperwork, and do the tests that the radiologist has ordered. I needed bloodwork, a chest xray and an EKG, as well as a consult with an anesthesiologist, and a consult with a nurse. All together, this took about 2 1/2 hours and I had this done yesterday, in preparation for today's procedure. At no time was anyone I saw yesterday aware that there was, or might be, a cancellation of the procedure.

While I was going through all these various tests that had been requested, the interventional radiology dept. was trying to reach me at home to tell me that the procedure had to be rescheduled. While they were calling me, I was actually AT the hospital that they were calling from. Not only was I at the hospital, but I was in the radiology department for awhile at one point getting my chest xray done.

This is what has irritated me more than anything. How can a system be so lacking in communication that the patient they are rescheduling is in their department doing what had been requested... not only there for the pre-admission appt. but actually in their same dept. getting the tests done that the radiologist had requested for the procedure? But the right arm doesn't know what the left arm is doing... and to me, that is scary. I am no wizard, and certainly am not a doctor, but I KNOW if I were to observe what their current systems are, I would be able to tell them exactly what was falling between the cracks and could come up with a system myself that this kind of simple lack of communication could be corrected.

I KNOW they are busy. I KNOW that working in a hospital can be stressful. And I KNOW many patients are not the most fun to work with because for whatever reason they are there, it makes them irritable, cranky and sometimes downright gnarly. But there is no reason something like this should ever have happened when I was right there on the premises for 2 1/2 hours. Had I not been at the hospital and say was just out yesterday, so they couldn't reach me by my home phone and maybe I had left my cell phone at home, then I could understand it and would have been disappointed but perfectly ok with it. But I WAS AT the hospital in the same department and I DID have my cell phone with me and it was fully charged!!

I was just talking to Dr. Halkier's administrative gal just now to get the time for the new date and I asked her why she didn't call my cell when it was obvious I wasn't at home when she did call. She apologized and said that she didn't have a cell number for me on my chart, which I told her that not only did I give it to the pre-admissions clerk yesterday so it would be in the computer, I had also given it to the radiology clerk a couple of weeks ago when I went in for my CAT scan and consult appt. with Dr. Halkier. But, for whatever reason, it was not on my file that she had.

Anywho... I am very disappointed. I was looking so forward to getting this procedure done, and let's be honest, getting it over with. I'm not nervous about the procedure itself... it looks like there's a good chance they are going to put me under a general anesthetic for it and not the conscious sedation. They might start out with trying the conscious sedation but I am going to have to hold some positions for a fairly lengthy time, like with my arms positioned out of the way, so the anesthesiologist said it might end up being more comfortable for me to be out for the procedure (also, depending on how long the procedure will take).

I guess one of the positive things I can look at... the fact I was bumped, my situation is not considered life and death. With cancer, you never know, and too often the doctors do seem to talk doom and gloom... whereas I refuse to look at the doom and gloom side, I will only look at the positive side. Another positive... I really, really liked and clicked with this anesthesiologist, but he was scheduled for another OR area of the hospital for today. But maybe one the 20th, he will be my anesthesiologist and that would make me very, very happy. I'm sure the other ones are great too... but since I've met this one and like him, I want him to be in the room :)

So, January 20th is 3 weeks today... it's really not that far away, but it was a kick in the gut to go in this morning fully expecting to have the procedure done and then to find out it isn't going to happen. Thank goodness I have a good friend, Nancie, who was just a doll... having me stay over at her place overnight so that I'd be close to the hospital and not have to worry about the weather, I could bring Bridget with me and she will take care of her while I'm in the hospital (and took her for walks when I wasn't), drove me to the hospital and back both days... and took the time off work to do this extra running around. The doll is actually going to have me back on the 19th and we'll do it all over again for the 20th!!

Ok... just thought I'd let everyone know the latest update and why it hasn't been done yet. Yes, I'm still grateful that I have the opportunity to be a candidate for Dr. Halkier to do the procedure, but there definitely are some drawbacks when he is the only radiologist in BC who does this procedure. Should an emergency come up, it's not like someone else can take over and cover his Lung RFA procedures.

Huggggggggs,

Cheryl

December 29, 2008 - Post-Christmas/Pre-Lung Procedure

Hiya Bloggy!

Well, I've been meaning to come in all day today to post an entry and it just didn't happen. Now, here it is almost 1:30am and I have to get up at 8am! Go figure, eh? I'm wide-awake right now... but talk to me in the morning. LOL!!

Just a quick note to say that Christmas was great, although, due to the weather I couldn't make it over to my friend, Steve Street's for Christmas dinner, which is a real shame! I hated to bail out the afternoon of, but the roads were just not clearing up on the side streets and Steve lives on a hill, on a road that is considered a side street so never did get plowed or sanded/salted. And getting a cab in this city when it's snowy/icy... well, good luck!! (That's a whole other story about Cheryl and Vancouver cabs! Grrrrr!)

Anywho... for those of us who have always wished we could have a White Christmas, we got it in spades this year!! Here are a couple of pictures I took Christmas morning at Dad's/Pat and Jerry's place...

My car is the black one behind the red one. Since I had only been there since the night before, there was very little snow on it... but you can see by the others, the snow had been falling for a few days!

Jerry's truck. Needless to say, it's not going anywhere soon :)

I'm not sure how tall this tree is but it is taller than me... and as you can see, the snow is creeping up to it. If it hadn't started raining on Boxing Day, this tree might have disappeared!

This road was well traveled and had been plowed a few times over the course of the week. The reason I show this is it is in much better shape than the side streets in my neighbourhood, which never got plowed! So you can imagine what our streets were like ;)

Bridget and Pedro on Christmas morning. Normally, Bridget doesn't care for all the noise and paper crunching, Christmas morning so goes back to bed and misses all the fun. But this year, she was quite happy to be social. But after it was over... she'd worn herself out and had to go to sleep...

Sound asleep under Mommy's coat... and that's where she stayed for most of the afternoon ;)

Ok, I really better get to bed. Tomorrow (or should I say later this morning), Bridget and I are heading off to New Westminster and will be staying at my friend, Nancie's tomorrow night. I have a pre-admission appt. at Royal Columbian Hospital tomorrow morning so there's no point in me coming home after it, only to have to be back in New West on Tuesday at 8am. So Bridget and I have packed our overnight bag and will be heading over to Nancie's in the morning. While I'm at the appt., Bridget will be with Nancie. On Tuesday morning, Nancie will drop me off at the hospital for 8am and Bridget will go with her to work. What remains to be seen is whether I will be discharged later on Tuesday or Tuesday evening or whether I'll be staying overnight at the hospital after my lung ablation procedure. If I have to stay at the hospital, then Bridget will stay with Nancie an they will pick me up Wednesday when I'm discharged. If I'm discharged on Tuesday, then we'll all three stay at Nancie's :) Poor Nancie has no idea if she has Bridget and I for one night or two nights :)

Sooooo, I'll get another entry put up on the blog sometime later this week!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Send those positive thoughts my way for Tuesday and for the new year and let's beat this monster into submission and a 30 year remission :)

Huggggggs,

Cheryl