Jack and I went to the specialist office today to find out whether or not he would need surgery on the removal of a large kidney stone - and yes he does. The stone continues to grow and in just over 2 weeks has gone from 2.0 to 2.1 cm in size. The stone that was removed a couple of weeks ago, was 1.0 cm in size...so quite large.
Jack will have surgery on Tuesday, April 22 and will be kept in the hospital for 2-3 days. A catheter will remain in the large kidney after surgery for 2 days. This will allow the doctors to run dye into the kidney a couple of days after surgery, to determine that the kidney is functioning in a normal state. The stone is sent to a lab to determine what kind it is etc. and then a follow up appointment to the specialist will determine if Jack has to be on a special diet.
The down time will be at least a good month before Jack can hit the golf course...and if you know Jack that was the first question that he asked. I on the other hand wanted to know if would be able to help in May to set up and take down at my parents celebration weekend, but I was clearly told "NO". So I guess that he just takes on the supervisor role, which I'm sure won't bother him to much. As well he can't vacuum, pack around groceries etc...I'm not sure what he will do - perhaps just sit in the hot tub and take it easy!
But being more realistic we are quite pleased with both the urologists that we have seen and am very pleased at how fast they can get him a hospital bed to have everything taken care of. But as we both have said all along, this must all be entrusted in God's hands and we believe in that. God will be there to make sure that things go all right and to that we say "Amen".
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Dr. Baverstock
Jack went into Rockyview Hospital on Friday, Feb. 29th and had a good size kidney stone removed from his urinary tract. Dr. Baverstock had Jack watch on the tv monitor while him and his assistant tried to remove the stone. Medical intervention is so unique now a days. You can not only get into someones body but you can take a camera with you and see almost anything.
After the successful fishing exercise it was determined that Jack cannot have the large 2cm kidney stone that is left in his kidney zapped to a million pieces. He will have to go back and see another urologist to have this one surgically removed. We are waiting to hear from the next specialist as to a date that this can be booked. We truly want to thank everyone that sent cards, flowers, books and lots of prayers. We feel very blessed to have so many praying for Jack's complete recovery. Thank you friends!
This situation has put a new perspective on our family dynamics. In life we all try and see where we fit in with the order that we are given. When we remarry for the second time around, we must go through this exercise all over again. This situation allowed me to talk about things that Jack and I have been talking about for sometime. Everyone needs a plan in place should a serious situation come up or even the inevitable - death. When making phone calls to 2 of Jack's kids we discussed what/who would be notified and who would be involved in making decisions. I have always wondered how this discussion would go but I actually felt good about all the angles discussed. Jack and I have talked at great lengths about what each of us would want and who we would want to be around us - the only difference is that we had to put some of this in motion. You could call this a "dry run" for the inevitable. I think that the cards are on the table and everyone knows there order - I just hope and pray that we don't have to go there for quite a long time.
After the successful fishing exercise it was determined that Jack cannot have the large 2cm kidney stone that is left in his kidney zapped to a million pieces. He will have to go back and see another urologist to have this one surgically removed. We are waiting to hear from the next specialist as to a date that this can be booked. We truly want to thank everyone that sent cards, flowers, books and lots of prayers. We feel very blessed to have so many praying for Jack's complete recovery. Thank you friends!
This situation has put a new perspective on our family dynamics. In life we all try and see where we fit in with the order that we are given. When we remarry for the second time around, we must go through this exercise all over again. This situation allowed me to talk about things that Jack and I have been talking about for sometime. Everyone needs a plan in place should a serious situation come up or even the inevitable - death. When making phone calls to 2 of Jack's kids we discussed what/who would be notified and who would be involved in making decisions. I have always wondered how this discussion would go but I actually felt good about all the angles discussed. Jack and I have talked at great lengths about what each of us would want and who we would want to be around us - the only difference is that we had to put some of this in motion. You could call this a "dry run" for the inevitable. I think that the cards are on the table and everyone knows there order - I just hope and pray that we don't have to go there for quite a long time.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Dr. Love (this should say it all)
We were back at Peter Lougheed Hospital this morning where Jack got a second visit with Dr. Love. I believe that with a name like this, it's more comforting to be in a hospital setting.
Well Jack did very well with his test. His body seemed to be more receptive to having evasive equipment down his throat and shooting dye into his duct, located in the liver. After only a short time in surgery it was determined that there were no gall stones or accumulation of bile. This is kind of baffling given the yellow jaundice look and his blood cell count. However, we are very happy to hear that both the pancreas and liver are in good working order.
The next big test is when Jack has to go to the Rockyview Hospital to see a Urologist. This is the only other explanation that a gall stone got into the urinary tract and caused all these problems. Medical science is so mysterious and yet a person just has to go with the system. God has a plan for everyone and we know that we have been truly blessed with so many people offering prayers of hope, recovery etc. for Jack. We thank everyone for helping us get through the past couple of weeks.
Well Jack did very well with his test. His body seemed to be more receptive to having evasive equipment down his throat and shooting dye into his duct, located in the liver. After only a short time in surgery it was determined that there were no gall stones or accumulation of bile. This is kind of baffling given the yellow jaundice look and his blood cell count. However, we are very happy to hear that both the pancreas and liver are in good working order.
The next big test is when Jack has to go to the Rockyview Hospital to see a Urologist. This is the only other explanation that a gall stone got into the urinary tract and caused all these problems. Medical science is so mysterious and yet a person just has to go with the system. God has a plan for everyone and we know that we have been truly blessed with so many people offering prayers of hope, recovery etc. for Jack. We thank everyone for helping us get through the past couple of weeks.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Jack - udate
Jack and I have been learning all about the Emergency systems at several hospitals in Calgary and we must say that every medical person has treated us with the most respect, knowledge and care - more than anyone could ask for. We even had the first physician that we saw at the Urgent Care Unit call us on Saturday, to ask why the hospital never admitted Jack...to which all I could say is that they were jam packed with people and no beds. However, Jack saw a liver specialist this morning, but unfortunately his body didn't want to accept the test that he was scheduled for and so we must return on Wed of this week for the same one. If that test is unsuccessful again, then they will put a wire in from the liver to the pancreas and see if they can get the dye to run in that way. And how ironic that the doctor's name is Dr. Love... Then on Friday, Jack will be getting into the Urologist for tests on his kidneys etc. We are grateful that some very fast acting physicians have made some phone calls to make sure that Jack is seen right away. We trust in the many prayers that are being offered for Jack and appreciate everyone calling and praying. I will update this once we have more information.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
My Man Jack - Learns the System at ER
What a week it has been here in Calgary for us. Last week Jack hurt his back; we had our booster shots to go on a fabulous Mexican holiday and then it all fell a part. Jack started to show signs of his needle not agreeing with him - fever, chills, nauseau etc. but by Friday he was totally bedridden, fever running 100 - 104 chlls, sweats, sore back and not eating. His last meal was Saturday morning. Of course being a strong man he was adamant that he didn't want to go to any walk in clinic or the hospital..but after a terrible long weekend of sleeping on the couch and being very ill, I finally pursuaded him to go to the South end Emergency Clinic. Very good service and the nurses & doctor realized that Jack was quite sick and needed transfer by ambulance to the Rocky. So there we went and sat with several sets of paramedics while they all changed shifts. But Calgary was experiencing an overflow crisis and couldn't take care of all the walkins along with the left overs from the long weekend. And here we were caught in this. We have a real problem in our health care and folks we need to become more involved and get things changed.
Okay I'm off my soap box and need to report that after staying from Tuesday afternoon till Wednesday 4:00 am and then back to the hospital at 9:30 and staying until 8:30 pm this evening we are both glad to be home. Jack had a fantastic doctor that realized that his jaundice was real; his liver has some issues; his 2 cm kidney stone in his right kidney needs to be looked after and everything needs to be seen immediately by specialists. So Jack is now waiting for the appointments, after meeting with the liver specialist. He is on antibiotics and pain killers plus he is starting to feel hungry again so those are all good signs. Are trip is cancelled for now, but then again God didn't want us to get down to Mexico and have all these issues, now did he? God has been truly remarkable standing by us and carrying us through this ordeal. Just when I thought that he didn't care about us I realized that he did because if we would of gone to Mexico our insurance wouldn't of covered any of our medical expenses then where would we be? Plus, we wouldn't of had such great friends, neighbors and family phoning us to say that they are thinking and praying for us. And to this I add, AMEN - God is Truly Good! Thank you everyone for being there for us. We love all of you!
Okay I'm off my soap box and need to report that after staying from Tuesday afternoon till Wednesday 4:00 am and then back to the hospital at 9:30 and staying until 8:30 pm this evening we are both glad to be home. Jack had a fantastic doctor that realized that his jaundice was real; his liver has some issues; his 2 cm kidney stone in his right kidney needs to be looked after and everything needs to be seen immediately by specialists. So Jack is now waiting for the appointments, after meeting with the liver specialist. He is on antibiotics and pain killers plus he is starting to feel hungry again so those are all good signs. Are trip is cancelled for now, but then again God didn't want us to get down to Mexico and have all these issues, now did he? God has been truly remarkable standing by us and carrying us through this ordeal. Just when I thought that he didn't care about us I realized that he did because if we would of gone to Mexico our insurance wouldn't of covered any of our medical expenses then where would we be? Plus, we wouldn't of had such great friends, neighbors and family phoning us to say that they are thinking and praying for us. And to this I add, AMEN - God is Truly Good! Thank you everyone for being there for us. We love all of you!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Freezing Cold
Wow - winter blew in with a vengeance. We got to -42 last night with a wind chill. I can't remember it being that cold in many, many years. We got some snow but not a whole bunch. My folks came for a visit on Friday and were unable to go up to Edmonton this morning, nor could they head back to Saskatoon. But being the retired folks that they are, they can hang around another day, eat left overs and just plain chill out and I mean chill out! We had all the kids here for dinner last night, so it was a great time having them visit and get there Grandparents all caught up in their daily lives. Ryan brought Lauren over for everyone to meet - a very nice girl. She is attending U of C and is pursuing a medical degree just like her mother. Her parents and brother now live in Houston, Texas. Lauren and Breanne's boyfriend, Marc reminisce about Montreal as Marc is from there and Lauren went to McGill University there last year. It seems like they have experienced a lot of the same places.
I took my parents and we drove down to Vulcan on Saturday. We visited with my great Aunt Bertha. She talked a lot about being the last of the Alain kids. It took me a while to figure that out, but she is right. My grandfather died a few years ago and so she is the last surviving sibling. I guess that we just take it for granted that all family members are from the same side of the family and in fact there not. However, we did have the best visit with her and she is looking great for being 88. Her mind is very sharp and she could look through pictures and know everyone in there. Norbert & Shirley don't get back to Vulcan until April, so perhaps Jack and I will have to go down and have visit with her sometime soon - maybe when it warms up some.
I took my parents and we drove down to Vulcan on Saturday. We visited with my great Aunt Bertha. She talked a lot about being the last of the Alain kids. It took me a while to figure that out, but she is right. My grandfather died a few years ago and so she is the last surviving sibling. I guess that we just take it for granted that all family members are from the same side of the family and in fact there not. However, we did have the best visit with her and she is looking great for being 88. Her mind is very sharp and she could look through pictures and know everyone in there. Norbert & Shirley don't get back to Vulcan until April, so perhaps Jack and I will have to go down and have visit with her sometime soon - maybe when it warms up some.
Monday, January 14, 2008
January is moving right along
Where has time gone? It seems like just last week when we were in Saskatoon and now it's the middle of January. I managed to go back to work for three days the first week and 2 days the second week and then my head cold(the same one that I suffered with in December) managed to come back with even worse symptoms - I lost my voice! I know that everyone is thinking, that Jack must of been happy, but believe me he wasn't. Just ask him! I was off work for three days last week and ended up taking a really strong antibiotic to kill off this viral infection. By Sunday I was back to my old self and feeling 100% better. I did accomplish a lot with working on my scrapbooking so that it is good. Plus we bought a fitness machine for me and I have really enjoyed working out on it. Jack is looking at getting a gym membership for him.
The kids are all fine - just don't see them much and so with mom & dad hopefully coming up at the end of January they should all be re-adjusting there schedules to come for dinner one of the nights. Jack needs to get his grandpa duties set up with one of Jaelyn's girls as we promised a special outing with one of the girls at a time. Time is the problem between theirs and ours but this is a priority. Life is interesting and we need to make time for these priorities and schedule them. Till next time!
The kids are all fine - just don't see them much and so with mom & dad hopefully coming up at the end of January they should all be re-adjusting there schedules to come for dinner one of the nights. Jack needs to get his grandpa duties set up with one of Jaelyn's girls as we promised a special outing with one of the girls at a time. Time is the problem between theirs and ours but this is a priority. Life is interesting and we need to make time for these priorities and schedule them. Till next time!
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