The Cough That Never Quits

Greetings from the farm,

As we near end of May, I am reminded of a very unusual calendar event which is going to happen very soon.  At 5 minutes and 6 seconds after 4 AM on July 8th this year the time and date will be: 04:05:06, 07/08/09 and it will never happen again. 

Having said that, today I had an appointment with Dr. Campbell here in Vanderhoof at 09:40:00,05/28/09.  As I have said in numerous posts in the past, I have a persistent and painful cough which continues day after day after day.  It just never lets up.  I have been coughing so hard and so often, that I have developed a hernia around the right side of my groin.  It is painless most of the time, except when I cough or try to lift something heavy.  Dr. Campbell says I can continue with my normal daily activities. Whew! 

Now comes the tricky part.  I will be seeing Dr. Filatov on June 10th and he will be referring me to a surgeon in Surrey or Vancouver to have the "web" which has grown over my larynx removed.  Once we know what Doctor I will be referred to and what date the surgery will be on, Dr. Campbell will liaise with that Doctor and try to arrange for me to have the hernia operation at the same time.  I sure hope that works, otherwise I will have to wait until my trachea tube is removed before we can schedule the hernia surgery in Vanderhoof and who knows when that will be.

Now the good news.  I am feeling really, really good and have regained most of my stamina and my energy level is as high as it has been since well before the radiation treatments began.  I am also getting stronger every day.  My good days far out number the bad days and life is good once again.

It is nice to be able to give you good news.  I'll continue to keep posting, so stay tuned.

Love to all,

Rick

SNOW

Hi all,

BRRRRRRRR and it's snowing here in Vanderhoof.  Yup, Snowing on May 19th.  A great big YUK!  Oh well, it was accumulating on the ground earlier this morning but it is now all gone.  

Since my last post, my sister Janet and Ron have been to B.C. and returned to Kingston, Ont.  Janet drove up from Williams Lake to visit us.  She arrived here on Wednesday May 6th and stayed with us until Friday May 8th.  While she was here we introduced here to farm life at the Triple G Ranch.  Everyone here loved having her visit and I really miss her now that she is gone.   Dolores and Janet got together and worked in the garden with spring clean up.  Together they dug up some raspberry plants, tay berry plants, blackberry plants and currents, mixed them together in bundles and packaged them in plastic bags bags.  The bundles were then donated to the Ladies Auxiliary of St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof for their annual garage sale.  Milton took Janet with him while he hand fed two of the baby calves as well as introducing her to the chicken coops and gathering eggs.  She then had a fresh egg, 10 minutes from the coop to the frying pan and her for breakfast plate.  Her visit was way to short.

On the 8th, Dolores and I drove with her to Williams Lake.  We stopped in Prince George at Timberline Footfitters and visited with Adele Sjoberg.  We all bought new shoes while we were there and then it was off to WL.  We went for dinner with Janet and Ron and had a great visit.  On Saturday the 9th, Janet, Dolores and I  went to Scout Island, a Nature Reserve in Williams Lake and toured the grounds.  We then drove about 40 kms out on Hwy 20 to Riske Creek and then took a side trip of about 20 kms on a gravel road to Farwell Canyon to see the Hoodoos.  It was a marvellous day.  Saturday night we all went out for dinner again.  Sunday morning Ron and Janet left early for Kamloops and their return trip to Kingston.

Dolores and I then drove to Big Lake and visited with her brother Olmer and his wife Linda.  They have built a new house on a beautiful 2o acre parcel of land overlooking Big Lake.  The property is studded with magnificent Douglas Fir. pine and spruce trees and lots of deciduous trees as well. We spent Sunday and Monday with them and returned to Vanderhoof on Tuesday the 12th.  

It was a great get away for me as it was the first time, since I returned to the farm last July, that I have been away for more than a day at a time.  Delores and I enjoyed the trip.

My appointment with Dr. Filatov has been changed from June 25th to May 22nd and now to June 9th.  The granulation/web which has grown over my voice box must be removed by laser surgery and it cannot be done in Prince George.  I will be referred to a surgeon in Vancouver or Surrey.  Yippee, another trip to Vancouver.  I will also have some dental work done at the Fraser valley Cancer Clinic while we are there.  More on that when I have more details.

Since returning to the farm, the weather up until today has been nice.  I have been outside working along side of Milton and Dolores in the gardens.  I've also been swinging my golf clubs and riding my bike.  I feel great.  Yesterday Reg Koop and Marjo came to visit us.  I love having company and we had a wonderful visit.

That's it for now, more later.

Love to everyone,

Rick 

Update

Good afternoon everyone,

A quick update on the trouble I'm having with the granulation tissue/web on my larynx.  While Dolores was at work yesterday at St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof, she ran into Dr. Filatov.  He comes to Vanderhoof about twice a month to conduct surgeries and see local patients.  He asked that I call his office and arrange an appointment for later this month.  He will not be able to do the surgery to remove the Granulation tissue in Prince George because it must be removed using laser surgery.  Prince George does not have the necessary laser equipment.

Dr. Filatov will refer me to Surrey or Vancouver where the surgery will be performed and it may take a couple of months before I can be scheduled for the procedure.   I cannot have the tracheostomy removed until the problem is fixed.  While I'm there, I will make an appointment to see the dentist at the Fraser Valley Cancer Clinic and have 7 minor cavities filled.  All of the cavities are due to the deterioration of the enamel on my teeth from the radiation.

My sister Janet will be here next Wednesday.  I spoke to her last night and they are flying to Edmonton today.  Tomorrow morning (Sunday) they will take the train from Edmonton to Kamloops, B.C.  While they are in Kamloops, they will visit with my brother Stephen's two children, Stephanie and Spencer.  On Monday the 4th they will drive in a rental car to Williams Lake.  Ron is teaching phsycology to some college teachers in there.  On Wednesday the 6th, Janet will drive to Vanderhoof and visit with us here at the farm.  Then, next Friday the 10th, Dolores and I along with Janet will return to Williams Lake.  That will give Dolores and I a chance to visit with Ron before they return to Kingston on Sunday the 12th.   

Before Dolores and I return to Vanderhoof, we will visit with her brother Olmer and his wife Linda.  They live at Big Lake, B.C. which is about 30 to 40 minutes out of Williams Lake.  It will be a nice mini vacation for the 2 of us.

That's it for now, but as you can see, my recovery from the radiation seems to be never ending.  I will keep you updated.

Love to all,

Rick