Lazy days

Good afternoon everyone,

Wednesday afternoon 3:31 PM PDT. We're having wet rainy days here and the haying has been put on hold until the sun comes out and everything drys up. I have been waiting for the hospital to call letting us know what the swab from throat showed up. Dolores tells me that they only phone if there is something wrong in my mouth. When she goes to work tomorrow she will search out the results and confirm that there is nothing to worry about.

The Nystatin is doing what it is supposed to do. My mouth feels better but I still have a sore throat. I take 30 mls of liquid T-3 1/2 a hour before each meal and I can swallow without the real bad pain. My diet is still very restricted to soft foods which are easy to chew and swallow. I am holding my weight at 83 kilos/182 lbs. but it is a struggle. I have very little appetite and my taste buds are still somewhat wonky. Most raw fruits really bother me and so far only watermelon and blue berries are the only two that I eat regularly. The protein milkshakes are good but the protein powder is quite heavy and gums up my swallowing.

I am still unable to sleep comfortably in bed and spend some or all of every night sleeping on the Easy Boy Recliner. With my head and shoulders elevated I do not seem to cough as much and the phlegm and clear mucus do not gather in my throat area so much. Not with standing, I am making progress and I'm feeling better every day. I still get tired when Dolores and I go to town for the afternoon and I'm glad to get home and put my feet up.

I will try to post more regularly and keep you all up to date.

Bye for now,

Rick

Fort Fraser update

Hello all,

In an earlier post Kathy wrote "one step forward, two steps back". Oh my how tired I'm getting of living like this. Last night Dolores took me into emergency at St. Johns Hospitalin Vanderhoof. For the past several days my throat has been sore and eating was becoming more and more difficult. Things that I could eat the day before yesterday I couldn't eat yesterday because my throat felt like it was on fire. Even drinking water hurts. Swallowing has become painful again like it was when I was in the midst of the radiation treatments.

Well, Nurse Dolores did an oral examination and found that the roof of my mouth is covered in white blotches and she suspected that I had a fungal infection of some sort. Off we go at 9:15 to "E-merg". Surprise, surprise. No one there except me. The on call Doctor is trained in Oncology and she agrees that I may have a fungal/bacterial infection in my mouth and throat area and she put me on Nilstatin to fight what ever it is that's bothering me. She also took a "swab" from the infected area and sent it to the lab.

We'll probably hear something on Wednesday. In the meantime, I've doubled the amount of my tube feeds and I try to eat as much as I can. Brock would feel right at home with this current development and he will understand my frustration. There have been many untoward developments like this in my recovery process. The Doctor thinks this infection, or what ever it is, is a result of the radiation traeatments. I ask myself, how long can this go on?

The second piece of bad news is, I'm losing weight again. I lost almost 1 full kilo from Wednesday afternoon until last night.. Both Dolores and I are concerned. I try to eat but, I can only tolerate so much pain. I am back on "Hydromorphone" which I am unhappy about and I am still wearing the 25 mcg per hour Fentanyl patch. I tried earlier this week to reduce the patch strength to 12.5 mcg per hour but, the pain was more than I wanted to put up with. This recent development is simply the latest in a long, long series of set backs.

In two weeks I am scheduled to go to Vancouver for more tests and I am planning on taking the Northern Health bus. At this time, this trip now seems to be somewhat in doubt. I'll have to keep my travel plans and options open.

Time to try to get some food into me. I'll report more as the week progresses.

Bye for now,

Rick

Yoski

Good evening all. Nothing much to report from Fort Fraser. I am sleeping lots. What a routine. I get up between 8:30 & 9:00 and eat breakfast. Then it's a food tube. I sit out in the sun for a while and come in and nap until lunch is ready at noon. I have a protein shake while everyone else enjoys this and that. Again I sit outside in the sun for an hour and then today we drove out to the fields where David and his brother Michael are baling. The weather has been perfect for cutting the hay and now baling it.

When we got home from the fields I was exhausted and I laid down for a nap. Supper will be ready around 5:45 and will be served in shifts. David and Michael will eat when they finish the hay around 9:00PM and we'll eat when its ready. Life on the farm is easy, except for those who have to do the actual work. I find just getting up and getting dressed is a chore. I sleep well and the napping is surely helping my body to heal. I feel a little bit better each day. It is a slow process for sure.

So long for now. Keep in touch. I'm able to access my e-mail account from this computer and as you can see I can also publish from here.

Love to everyone,

Rick

Fort Fraser Express

Good afternoon everyone,

We're here in scenic Fort Fraser. The farm is lush and green and the work Dolores did in the spring time planting her flower beds has paid off. The colours are spectacular. The 3 acre vegetable garden is growing but, it needs more warm weather and more sunshine. It has been cool and wet so far this summer. Today it is sunny with cloudy periods and quite breezy. I have been able to sit out in the back yard, out of the wind and enjoy the sun.

I am still very weak and with very little stamina. I have been sleeping better but I still have a nap after breakfast and then again after lunch. The sticky wet saliva and mucus is driving me crazy. I have figured out that I sleep much better at night if I leave the trachea tube open and during the day I put the Passey-Muir Valve on. I notice improvement everyday.

The trip from Vancouver to here was uneventful. It was a beautiful day for driving and the weather was great. Sunny most of the way and the traffic was light. I felt good and with Dolores doing the driving I was able to catch cat naps here and there. As a result we were able to complete the trip in one day. We left Surrey at 9:00 AM Friday and arrived here at about 10:30 PM.

David, Dolores's oldest son, is busy with haying and works long hours as long as the weather permits. I don't know how many acres are put up in hay but it is enough that when baled it provides for all of the winter needs of herd. I haven't seen a cow since I arrived. They are out grazing on the open fields which are not visible from the house. It is a fairly large farm at 965 acres. For yhose who wonder how large that is, 640 acres is equal to 1 square mile. As I get stronger Dolores will take me around the entire farm.

That's it people. I will be updating periodically from now until I return to Vancouver Aug. 10. I have a number of appointments and if I need surgery, it will be scheduled at that time.

Until the next time,

Rick

On our way

Good morning everyone,

7:56 AM PDT. I'm enjoying one last tube feed before Dolores & I head north. We're pretty much bang on our 9:00 AM projected departure time. Brock is on his rotational days off now and is up and making a gigantic omelet for he and Dolores. You can imagine the difference between what I'm having and that.

The weather seems to have changed and we're likely to have rain for most of our drive north. We plan to make the trip over the course of 2 days. We'll drive as far as we can today and then take a room for the night. I expect we will get to 100 Mile House or a little further.

I'm feeling really good today. I slept very well last night, probably the best night since I was discharged from the hospital. The car is packed and I mean packed and there is barely enough room for the two of us.

I'll reconnect with you all once we reach Fort Fraser. Until then, adios amigos.

love to everybody,

Rick

Anxious

Good morning everyone,

I'm walking around like a zombie this morning . I slept poorly last night. The heavy saliva mixed with mucus backs up in my throat and makes it difficult to get a good sleep unless I have the Trachea tube open. Then when I cough, anything in my throat is expelled out through the open end of the Trachea tube. Yuk! But, I sleep so much better.

The Public Health nurse was here at 9:00 and I was napping. She changed my dressings & I'm now feeding myself through the G-tube. Dolores was going to leave Fort Fraser around 7:00AM and expect by now (10:10) she will be nearing Williams Lake. From there if you push hard and pass everything in site it is 6 to 6 1/2 hours to Surrey. Of course Dolores does not drive like I do so I am going to start looking for her between 5:00 & 6:00 this afternoon.

This will probably be my last post for a day or two. I am feeling better with each day and other than the Fentanyl patch I am drug free. I am still taking the Flonaze and the antihistamine tablets and they make a difference in keeping my sinuses open. My strength is coming back just like my appetite and I am looking forward to our trip home on Friday.

So long for now everyone, look for me again on Saturday or Sunday.

Rick

Road Trip coming up

Yahoo,

Well the end of my stay in Vancouver is very clearly in site. Dolores gave me a surprise yesterday when she told me that she has arranged to take Wed. and Thurs. off and will come to Surrey tomorrow, July 16. What a pleasant surprise. We will spend Thurs. packing and picking up medical supplies and head for home about 9:00 Friday AM.

As much as I appreciate all that Brock has done for me, it is time to go. I'm sure he will be as relieved as me. I will be returning soon enough for my mid-Aug. doctors appointments and tests. Another pleasant time to look forward to, said very much tongue in cheek.

Today is my first real day alone. Brock is at work, Dave the room mate is at work and here I am looking after myself. The Public health nurse will be here between noon and 2:00 to change my dressings. Otherwise it's me and the cat. I am OK with this and the visit by the PHN is really only a safe guard for Brock & I in case I run into an unforeseen problem.

I will have at least one more post before I hit the road. Wish me good luck with my travels just as I wish all the best to everyone tuned into this blog and my adventures.

Bye for now,

Rick, the Traveller

Anyone hungry

Howdy all,

I am enjoying the sensation of hunger again. It has been weeks and weeks since I thought about food and how good it can taste. There are times when my taste buds wink out, like last evening when I had a piece of cold watermelon it was totally tasteless.

The ache in my tongue, teeth and gums is now almost gone. There are things that set it on fire such as pepper, cold acidic fruits etc. I tried a tangerine the other day and as soon as I bit into it, swoosh on came the pain and I had to spit it out.

This morning we went to see the Dietitian at FFCC but, she was not in today. She will call me on Thursday and we will discuss my diet etc. and different ways to get more protein into me. So far I'm getting the protein from soup, Soy beverage, Protein shakes and eggs.

Dolores and I have agreed that it might be best for me if she drives to Surrey to get me and then drives me home. The bus may is probably more than I can handle. She expects to leave Fort Fraser on Friday and spend Friday and Saturday nights here and we return to her home Sunday. That way if the trip is to long for me, we can stop somewhere over night along the way and continue on Monday.

That's it for today.

Rick

Up early

Good morning everyone,

It's 5:45 PDT and I had a quiet and uneventful night. I do know I coughed a lot because I have an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I have been able to wear my Passey Muir Valve for nearly a full day now. It makes life so much easier and I do not have to worry about a stray piece of this or that getting sucked into my Tract tube and blocking it up.

This morning I'm tired but feeling just a little bit better than yesterday. Well Duh! you say. I'm speaking in the broader sense of my well being. This morning when I had to yawn there was almost no pain in my throat. Yesterday it was very painful to yawn. It's these little things that are accumulating and making me feel better and stronger.

This will be a very short post as I would like to grab some more ZZZZZZZZ's before Brock wakes up. Yesterday I felt hungry, imagine that, I was hungry. It has been a long time since I've felt that HUNGER. Brock did not have to berate me all day about eat this Dad, eat that as he so often has to. Even my food tube feedings were manageable.

Bye for now, as usual look for more later.

Love, hugs and good wishes to everyone.

Rick

Set back

Good afternoon all,

I spent last night (July 11) in the hospital in Emergency. I suffered an episode where I was unable to breathe out through my nose or mouth if I had the plug or the Passey Muir Valve attached to the end of the Trach tube. As long as the Trach tube was open I could breathe normally. This scared both Brock and I and we dashed off to Surrey Memorial Hospital at 9:00 PM and were rushed right through to the system and Respiratory Care Therapist looked at me and said I would be ok but, I would stay the night and an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor would be called in to see me.

I was moved to an Emergency Cubicle and I slept peacefully throughout the night. This morning at about 10:30 the ENT Doctor came in to see me scoped my upper nasal passages and then scoped me through my trach tube. He says that my upper passages are blocked due to a cold and allergies I have but, most importantly is my allergy to Cat Dander. Brock and his room mate Dave have had a cat for years and years so that along with the dust is the most likely candidate for the problems I'm suffering from and there is very little I can do to resolve that problem. I'll continue to use Flownase, a Nasal spray and my antihistamine pills. When I have another attach I pop off the plug at the top of my Trach tube and breathe normally. I must also learn to relax as so as I feel one of these attacks coming on.

On Monday Brock and I will visit the Fraser Valley Cancer Clinic and see if we can get an early appointment with Dr. Leong. We'll seek his advice on what would be best for me and How I should best get back to Prince George and then to Deloreses home in Fort Fraser. I have been advised that I cannot fly because of the Trach tube.

I'll keep you all fully informed.

Bye for now,

Rick

New old news

Yoski,

Yesterday I said I would tell you more about my battle with the cancer and why I think I may have the upper hand but, first the radiation is still working inside my mouth and causing its effects to be felt. My mouth is still super sensitive to food and even canned foods which seem bland enough contain spices and my mouth comes alive. It's the hardest thing about real food is finding something which I can eat that a) doesn't add to the thick sticky saliva or b) is bland enough for me to eat. Remember my throat is still tender from the Tracheotomy.

On Saturday June 28th Dr. Body Lau, an ENT Specialist who assisted with the Tracheotomy stopped by to see me in my room. Lau works for Dr. G. Anderson the surgeon who will remove the lymph node mass, if necessary, later this summer. Anyway, Dr. Lau had his portable scope with him and you know what that means! Yup we're sticking this thing up your nose and down into your mouth.

Well his first attempt was some what successful he told me he had to go in again. He sent his assistant down to to his office to get some local freezing spray. While she was away he explained what he was going to do and what he expected of me. I asked for a few moments to give myself Reiki and while his assistant was away I gave myself Reiki and lower my anxiety level and got my breathing under control. Once the spray was administered we went through the
procedure a second time but, this time he talked me through it, told me when to breathe, when to exhale when to say EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, when to say E E E E E E E E E and so on. The examination took about seven minutes. I was able to endure the discomfort. Once he had finished he congratulated me and said that was the biggest turn around Improvement he had ever encountered when doing this test.

Now for the good part. He could find no evidence of the Cancerous Tumor at the base of the left side of my tongue. He was quick to point out that this is not definitive evidence but it sure sounded good to me.

On the other hand he threw a monkey wrench into the fire by saying he thought he saw a spot at the base of my tongue on the right side, but, he was decidedly undecided about this. More tests for sure when I see Dr. Anderson, Lau's boss, on Mon. August 11th here in Vancouver. On the 12th of August I see Dr. Leong and the FVCC Dentistry Dept.

There you have it. The tumor on my tongue may be gone. Keep your fingers crossed and let's all be positive that it's gone.

Bye for now,

Rick

Its time to rest

Good evening all,

Today I have been all wrapped up in fear of the bus ride home on Saturday (July 12). I am having trouble breathing slowly and evenly through my nose. I have very little strength and my energy level is near zero. I slept poorly last night and I have been taking little naps on and off all day long.

This has led me to decide to postpone my trip to Prince George for one full week. Brock has this weekend off and then he works Mon. to Thurs. next week. Therefore on Saturday July 19th we will bus it to Prince George. I am disappointed but, I feel that by then I will have regained some of my strength and the 12 hour bus ride will not be so hard on me.

I am beginning to feel nauseated when I take my canned food and must take a gravol pill before each feeding. In the hospital I had to be fully up right in my bed or sitting in a chair to receive the food but, here I have been laying back on the recliner and that may be the problem. I sure hope so. At my 9:00 PM feeding tonight I will try sitting fully up right.

So as of now I will be staying at Brock's place for an extra week. You may contact me here on Brock's cell most week nights after 5:00 PM PDT and any time on the weekends . The number is 1-778-995-6765. Of course I can access my e-mail from Brock's computer and I publish my daily postings on his computer. I look forward to recieving your e-mails and the comments you post on the blog.

Good night everyone and thank-you for all of your support, Reiki energy and prayers. I'm still in the fight and this is nothing but, a small pause in my surge toward wellness. I remained locked into this battle with the Radiation and the cancer and I am confident that I will be the winner. More on that tomorrow.

I love you all.

Rick

Yowzer, he's back

Good evening everyone, I'm OUT, YAHOO.

First before I say anything else, I am sending a huge word of thanks to Kathy Honey, my daughter-in-law and mother of the three Grands. While she and Brad were down here during the past couple of weeks she and Brock cracked my password code to the Blog site and she has added wonderful posts which are factual and humorous and have kept you all up to date.

24 days at Surrey Hospital. It saved my life but, let me tell you that 3 and a 1/2 weeks is still one heck of a long time to be laying around on your butt. I got sores the size of horse shoes and we all know how much fun they are when they are so strategically placed.

Overall I am feeling pretty good but I am terribly weak. My thin saliva glands are still on the fritz and that horrible sticky saliva is the bane of my existence these days. So, a prerequisite of my discharge was that I had to purchase a portable suction machine. Yikes $490. I may be able to claim it back on my extended medical as the Doctor required it as a condition of my discharge and issued a prescription for it's purchase.

I have lost the better part of 45 pounds since May the 8th, net of the gains I have achieved this past week. My face is quite gaunt but get this, my belt is tightened down to the last hole. Golly when did I ever feel so skinny? A horrible way to lose weight and I do not recommend it to anyone else to try.

My pain is pretty much under control now. The radiation is still doing its terrible number on the inside of my mouth and as a result, I am still on the Fentanyl patch but at a much reduced strength of 25 MCG per hour. I only use the Hydromorphone at night time and at 2 grams once every 4 hours. Most nights I only take 1 pill two at the most.

The only downside of my return to Brock's house surrounds my food tube. It seems that it has sprung a leak. Brock & I will have see what we can do about that tomorrow. Problem now solved, we have a full set of spare parts on hand. Brock remembers me buying the parts, I don't have the foggiest idea when or where we got them. But, that is typical because my short term memory is quite poor these days.

So long for now,

Rick

Just Crusing Along

Well no news is good news. Lumpy is still in hospital but there are no new complications or problems to report. He is gaining weight. He is, of course, anxious to go home. There is a chance if everything goes smoothly the next few days that he will be going home soon. Brock will travel to Prince George with him if this is the case. Then I believe the plan is for him to stay with Delores. But we must remember to not get ahead of ourselves. Just you remember that Lumpy. Hehe. At this point I think Lumpy is learned the value of baby steps. I will keep the updates coming and all willing, Lumpy will be back updating before long. Love and good thoughts to everyone out there.

The Troops Rally

Quick update. Brock Rallied the Troops from the cancer clinic nutrition centre, the emergency room nurse that can unclog anything,etc. The feeding tube is unclogged and working. It will be staying in. Lumpy will be able to get nutrition through it and eat small amounts as his throat allows. So his weight should stabilize and or improve. WAY TO GO KING BROCK.
See, the good thoughts are helping, keep them coming.

Two Steps Foreward, One Step Back

Hi everyone, I know It has been a "few"days. On the week end there was the general feeling that lumpy was going to be discharged soon, and I thought he could personally update everyone. Well He has not been discharged and he is going to be in the hospital for a while longer at least. To bring you up to date. He was showing improvement every day and he is looking a lot better. Unfortunately he has been having something called sundown syndrome, basically this means he is not really "Rick"at night and suffers from hallucinations etc. On Saturday he fell and cut his head while going to the bathroom. He refused stitches, (and they let him?) but he is healing well from this set back. The real concern at the moment is, the hospital staff plugged up his feeding tube and it is not working properly. So the hospital doctors ( not the cancer doctors) have decided they just want to take it out and force him to eat. Well he has lost ten pounds in the last week. He is unable to eat and the pain that was under control has now increased again. Brock is at the hospital right now trying to get the doctors to fix the feeding tube. It does not take a genius to realize he needs the feeding tube, he has a tracheotomy, cancer in his neck, pain swallowing and is loosing weight like a rock. DUH.
Sorry that was my personal vent of frustration with the doctors.
A real step forward is Lumpy is not trying to escape. He fully realises this is where he needs to be at this time in his treatment.
It looks like he will be in hospital for awhile yet. If anyone would like to mail a card the address is:
Surrey Memorial Hospital
13750 96Th ave
Surrey B.C.
V3V 7Z2
Rick Honey
c/o unit 43
or you can call:
604-585-5503 and ask to be put through to Rick Honey in unit 43.
I will keep posting updates as I get them. I am not actually in Surrey right now. But I will get the information from Brock and post it. Hopefully Lumpy will be home before I get back to Surrey. Keep the good thoughts coming and thank you again for all the wonderfull emails and calls. Yes for all those that have asked the emails are getting to Lumpy through the hospital email site.