We have been bombarded with requests from people wondering when we are going to run another lotto bingo so here it is. If you are interested, see our “Fund Raiser” section for more details. (located to the right under “navigate”
**This lotto is strictly for those who want to participate for the fun of it. People have already been very generous and are in no way “expected” to play the game.
Well the weekend past was moving week once again for Georgie and Me. If I do say so myself I did a magnificent job of supervising the whole thing while others only worked. Luckily we had a visit from Ed and Mike on the weekend and they along with Georgie did most of the lugging, pushing and cramming. My Brother Johnnie came up from Oshawa to help us out as well.
Mike was down in Hartford for Pratt and Whitney and stopped off in Toronto on his way back. We picked him up at 11 am. Ed was down in California for Supportsoft and stopped off here on his way back to Halifax. Ed did not know Mike was going to be here. So when Ed called us to pick him up, Mike took the car to the airport to get him. Quite a surprise.
We were living in a two-bedroom apartment on a temporary basis until a bachelor apartment became available in the same building. Now its not easy to take the furnishings from a large, two bedroom apartment and put them into a small bachelor unit. But luckily thats where my supervising skills came into play and we had only an arm chair and a rocker left over. Sleeping standing up is not that difficult.
Its too bad Jean Marie couldn’t have been here to make it a true reunion. But I see she was busy adding those beautiful comments to the blog. I just keep asking myself… where did we go sooo right?
I’ve talked about this before but an incident that happened earlier today demands that I again scream to the heavens about the goodness of people and how often kindness just seems to smack us in the face.Georgie met our letter carrier at the door today so she could give her a letter that was for the people who were in our apartment before us. They started up a conversation and Georgie mentioned that we will be moving in a week to another apartment in the same building. She explained that only a few people had our address so it wouldn’t be much of a problem. But the carrier made a note of our current address and the new one and said she would look for any mail coming to the old address and re-direct it. The conversation continued with Georgie telling her that the building management informed all its tenants that a planned power shutdown would occur for three hours on two consecutive days this week. Now this presents a bit of a problem because they had no idea what times the shutdown would occur. I depend on electricity to run my oxygen concentrator and the elevator to get in and out of the building. .
The letter carrier said oh that’s not a problem dear. Here is my phone number, I’ll give you the keys to my house and you can stay there on those two days. Can you believe this!
This woman, who never laid eyes on us in her life, was offering up her house to a couple of complete strangers. I guess it helps that she’s a Maritimer. (New Brunswick). If things like this don’t restore your faith in humanity, nothing ever will.
It reminded me also of an elderly woman who introduced herself to us the day we moved into this building. She asked what apartment we were moving into and arrived a little later with a note containing her name and apartment number. She said if we need anything just ask and inquired as to whether we had enough linen. I mean what can you say when things like this happen to you.
Some of you have been asking me to update my blog and perhaps outline what a typical day is like for us here in Toronto. I’ve been reluctant to do so because it won’t keep you sitting on the edge of your seats or clamoring for a sequel for sure. However, inquiring minds want to know so here goes.I will use a typical day when I go to the hospital for therapy, otherwise you may be staring at a blank sheet.No alarms. We wake usually around 7am and Georgie is the first up. She cranks up the oxygen levels on my concentrator (the machine that extracts oxygen from the ambient air) so that I won’t start my day in a coughing fit.
Sometime after that I plant my feet firmly on the floor and get up all in one smooth movement. But sometimes my feet land on my oxygen tubing and when I stand up, it rips it off my ears and nose. That little trick happens at least four or five times a day. I swear by the time I get a new lung I will be ready for an ear transplant or at the very least an ear reduction.
Getting a shower is by far the toughest thing I have to do in any day. It ranks above the treadmill and exercise bike when it comes to exertion. Georgie helps me dry off which, for me, is even tougher than the shower.
Breakfast is the same thing I’ve been eating for 15-years: Sixteen frosted mini wheats, about a half cup of shreddies, and a good dose of all-bran. Add milk until this becomes a soggy mush and then slice a banana up on top of it. Follow that with a cup of coffee.
Now its time to check the Cape Breton obituaries through my Cape Breton Roots website and see if I am in there. Nope . Now we’re ready to leave for the hospital.
Down the elevator to the basement where our car is parked. But before she goes to our parking space to get the car, George checks the area where people put items they are getting rid of. I call her Sanford and Son. (A 70’s television show based on a junk dealer). But the computer chair I’m sitting on and a beautiful shaving mirror, came from that corner. Georgie threatens to start charging me for those things if I keep ribbing her.
Toronto, for its size, is an easy city to get around once you realize where North is and that Yonge St. Divides East and West. Georgie does the driving to the hospital because (she would tell you she’s a better driver than I) but really its so she can let me out at the front door. When we first arrived we were parking in a garage next to the hospital and it was costing us 24-dollars a day. Then we found one a little distance away for 15 where you could walk to the hospital through a connecting tunnel without going outside. Still later Georgie found one a couple of blocks away for ten bucks but it’s a little too far for me to walk so she drops me off at the door.
Toronto did the first lung transplant in Canada back in 1983 and that makes me feel good about who is going to cut me open. These people know what they’re doing. One of the most important aspects of a transplant is building up your strength to prepare you for the operation. That takes place in the physio room on the 12th floor.When we walk in, there are usually anywhere from a half dozen to thirty people or more in the room. About half are transplant hopefuls or people who have had the transplant and the rest are support people like Georgie who keep records of their loved ones exercise and vital signs.
This past week We met Reg MacDonald from Newfoundland. Soon after arriving in Toronto on November 7th We heard there was another MacDonald who had just arrived there from Newfoundland and we were anxious to meet him. He had been asking about us as well because his son who lives in Halifax had been keeping him up to speed on Mike and Ed’s efforts to get the Provincial government to cover the cost of the drug valganciclovir. As it turns out Reg who is originally from Reserve Mines, Cape Breton, suffered a collapsed lung soon after he arrived here. They were about to cut him open and glue the lung to his chest wall when a set of lungs became available . So instead of fixing the collapsed lung, Reg got a pair of new ones. He had been in Toronto only 13 days. And that’s how fast it can happen although that is certainly not typical. Other people we meet at the exercise room have been waiting for more than a year.
Its nice to meet people who have gone through the operation and watch their recovery. Many of them run into complications after the surgery but still manage to bounce back and declare how well they’re feeling. Most say without a doubt it was worth it just to get rid of that oxygen tubing hanging on their face. And I noticed that all the ones I met still have two ears.
We start our exercise regimen with a six minute rest ( I love that one) followed by a short walk through a marked off section of the hospital corridors. When we come back Georgie checks my pulse and blood oxygen levels. A few warm-up exercises and then on to the treadmill for a twenty minute workout at 2.7 mph. I know that seems slow but there are people here who cant do 1-mph.
When I first went to Toronto I was using 3 litres of oxygen per minute at rest and 4 lpm when I was moving around a lot like fishing. Now I’m on 4 at rest, six when I’m walking around and 8 with an oxy-miser when I’m on the treadmill and bike. An oxy-miser looks like you have a pink dog bone tied under your nose and it commands a lot of stares. But it has the effect of turning 8 lpm into 10 and allows you to do more rigorous exercise.
I use some weights to strengthen biceps and triceps, leg weights for the leg muscles and a few other exercises before getting on the exercise bike. This is my least favorite of exercise machines. And they are about to increase the resistance level……… again.
By the time we get back to the apartment it is usually time to start getting lunch. After that I check for e-mails and then go do some flying on my computer flight simulator. Georgie goes for a walk. She walks in different directions and on any given day will cover 4 to six kilometres. She knows the downtown pretty well.
On Wednesdays there are general meetings for all lung transplant people. They sometimes have a special speaker who is a lung specialist or an expert in some aspect of the operation or followup
On the 24th of January we are going to be treated to a very special performance by magician Brian Michaels. He was the opening act for Celine Dion on her world tour. He is often seen in the hospital elevators and does some impromptu magic for people.. He is quite good apparently.
And we missed our chance to shake hands with Royalty shortly after arriving here. It was early November in one of those Wednesday meetings for lung transplant patients where the countess of Wessex (Prince Edward’s wife) was a special guest. She talked to a lot of the people and shook hands with most of them. Wednesday’s we don’t usually go to the hospital unless there is an important speaker or the meeting is one we should definitely attend. The exercise room is usually crowded on that day and unless I have other scheduled tests or doctor’s appointments we try to avoid it.
The evening usually means flicking through the TV channels trying to find something to watch. Just like home eh?. By 10-30 I’m ready for bed. Georgie again cranks up the oxygen levels until I’m well under the covers and then gets some well deserved rest herself.
Its important to mention that without Georgie it would not be possible for me to be here. They told us in the original screening that it was essential to have a good support person with you. Its not until you’re here that you realize the horrendous job she has to do. Without her love and care this would be an impossible mission. We also get a ton of support from family and friends living here and I just don’t know how we could have made this journey without the people back home who have been so generous. We owe a huge debt that can never be paid.