Still weighting
Thanks to Joey’s excellent MRI CD bootlegging skills, all CD’s are in the hands of the professionals who requested them (and even one who didn’t; Dr. MacDonald was surprised to receive his copy, but I asked him to keep it on file anyway. He had mentioned looking at it a few weeks ago to see if the appetite center was affected, but perhaps was looking for the report rather than the MRI itself).
The results are still pending, but a complete set of the pieces to the puzzle are in the box, ready for assembly. It is interesting to note that the Jewish General charges the patient $25.00 for a copy of his MRI on CD which takes days to process, and they are very particular about who picks it up, paying special attention to the signature on the request form. The MNI, by contrast charges nothing, and they prepare it by the next day for anyone to pick up, signature or no signature.
I called Denise, the neuro oncology coordinator at the Neuro on Monday morning because she is the one I was instructed to leave the CD’s with for Dr. Kavan. I wanted to know her schedule, so I could drop the CD’s directly into her hands, rather than have them go astray. I also had to pick up the MRI CD from the Neuro on the same day for Dr. Sultanen, but only after 1:00 P.M. When she understood my dilemma (I would have to go twice to meet both deadlines) she asked me to hold the line; she arranged to have the whole kit and caboodle take place in one fell swoop. I was so relieved to find a human being on the other end of the line.
I decided to go one step further and ask her to find out from Dr. Kavan if he expects me to keep our Thursday appointment with him at the Jewish (as scheduled on September 7th before he realized the MRI findings would be questionable). She called me back today to say that no, I should call him tomorrow morning instead. She left me a number with an extension. I wondered if I’d actually find him on the other end! She also told me to cancel the appointment at the Jewish.
I was at the Jewish this afternoon to see the CNR team, so I decided to cancel the appointment for Thursday in person. The secretary was surprised, because my appointment was already cancelled by someone else and rescheduled for October 12th. I was perplexed. When I arrived home there was a message from Dr. Kavan’s secretary at the Jewish saying he’d be out of town on Thursday (tomorrow) and so the appointment is rescheduled to October 12th. The prospect of speaking with Dr. Kavan tomorrow morning seems much less likely now. Oh well, we’ve waited for news since August 30th, what’s a few more weeks!!!
We will see Dr. Sultanen tomorrow afternoon, so we may get some preliminary findings from his angle. He only received the CD today (I dropped it off on the way to the CNR clinic), so I’m not sure how detailed his response will be. I am curious to hear what he has to say.
One thing Joey noted when copying the CD’s is that each institution’s MRI format is different (by now, he’s see the MRI from Clarke’s, the Jewish and the MNI). We even caught a glimpse of some lady’s knee on one of them! It is apparent that comparing them will more than likely be a challenge for anyone who attempts the task. It is crystal clear that from this point on, we will be sure to have the MRI done in the same place, so as to avoid all this nonsense and confusion. The jury is still out as to where it ought to be, but the information does keep pointing towards the neuro, for obvious reasons.
The good news is that Gilly gained about 3 pounds since September 7th. His appetite has been increasing steadily, to the point where I could almost describe it as normal. We don’t know what to attribute this to, since he started the anti-depressant and the steroid at the same time as taking a holiday from Temodal, but unquestionably the indicator on the scale is moving in the right direction. Nelda offered Gilly one of Dr. MacDonald’s fresh apples from the market, and he gladly took it and ate the whole thing. It was so large that I was sure he’d hand it over to me to finish, but he polished it off and smacked his lips.
Mood too has improved. When I call home during the day and ask, "How are you doing?" I receive a cheerful, "Great!" That's more like the Gilly I once knew. He’s more wakeful in the evenings, but tends to sleep in very late unless wakened. Today he was roused from bed to answer the door to Emma, his friend from the fruit store. She called last night to ask if Gilly would enjoy a visit. I hardly expected her to find him in bed! She came bearing gifts; his favourite fruits. He enjoyed the visit immensely, and I'm thankful she was there to get him up to face the day.
Later on, while we were at the CNR clinic, our silly dog managed to kidnap one of the enormous mangos to take to bed with her. She really is a card, this hairy (and I do mean hairy) fruit thief. She would have made an amazing mother; so nurturing.
We finally have a fence. It’s terrific, except for one slight problem; the dog can crawl under it with ease (or so I would imagine). The installers were so proud of their work at days end; they failed to understand why I was so irate when I noticed the gaping holes. Jimmy, who I understand now is a salesman and knows nothing about building a fence, met us way back in June (I think) and told us to take down all the foliage to make way for the fence. Unfortunately he failed to consider the need for the bottom of the fence to reach the ground or thereabouts. He knew it was for our dog. I mentioned this several times as being the central reason for a fence. The fence does hug the ground in some areas, but not everywhere. This is a huge problem. The owner of the fence company promised to come and take a look to see what can be done to solve the dilemma. It’s back to the drawing board for a while longer.
I am not amused. I was hoping to close this chapter by the weekend, but the conclusion hasn’t been written yet. In the scheme of things, it’s not that serious; I’m sure we’ll think of something, however my nerves are shot from all the serious issues still pending; I am not as laid back as I’d like to be.
I cannot begin to express the magnitude of our gratitude for the acts of kindness that continue to come our way. We have received gifts, offers of every kind, visits, invitations, homemade goodies, phone calls, emails, blog comments, care packages and more. It is obvious that people care, and this is demonstrated in so many ways; all gestures are deeply appreciated, even if not acknowledged in a timely fashion. Time has taken on a whole new meaning. I need one more day at least to be added to every week; preferably one on the weekend (or mid-week with weekend properties). I can dream, can’t I?
I must say that my time at work is getting easier as routines fall into place for Gilly in terms of eating both breakfast and lunch. Everyday we solve another matter, and life improves for us all. My days are packed during the week, but I am less stressed out over Gilly’s daily care. I can focus on my work more, and can actually say that this week’s teaching experiences felt downright gratifying. I have been enjoying my Tuesday Yoga sessions and Wednesday walks with friends at work; a break during the workday is rejuvenating. Everyone seems to echo the same sentiment; you’ve got to take care of yourself, Cindy. I’m trying, people. Squeezing some fitness into my week is a giant step forward.
The results are still pending, but a complete set of the pieces to the puzzle are in the box, ready for assembly. It is interesting to note that the Jewish General charges the patient $25.00 for a copy of his MRI on CD which takes days to process, and they are very particular about who picks it up, paying special attention to the signature on the request form. The MNI, by contrast charges nothing, and they prepare it by the next day for anyone to pick up, signature or no signature.
I called Denise, the neuro oncology coordinator at the Neuro on Monday morning because she is the one I was instructed to leave the CD’s with for Dr. Kavan. I wanted to know her schedule, so I could drop the CD’s directly into her hands, rather than have them go astray. I also had to pick up the MRI CD from the Neuro on the same day for Dr. Sultanen, but only after 1:00 P.M. When she understood my dilemma (I would have to go twice to meet both deadlines) she asked me to hold the line; she arranged to have the whole kit and caboodle take place in one fell swoop. I was so relieved to find a human being on the other end of the line.
I decided to go one step further and ask her to find out from Dr. Kavan if he expects me to keep our Thursday appointment with him at the Jewish (as scheduled on September 7th before he realized the MRI findings would be questionable). She called me back today to say that no, I should call him tomorrow morning instead. She left me a number with an extension. I wondered if I’d actually find him on the other end! She also told me to cancel the appointment at the Jewish.
I was at the Jewish this afternoon to see the CNR team, so I decided to cancel the appointment for Thursday in person. The secretary was surprised, because my appointment was already cancelled by someone else and rescheduled for October 12th. I was perplexed. When I arrived home there was a message from Dr. Kavan’s secretary at the Jewish saying he’d be out of town on Thursday (tomorrow) and so the appointment is rescheduled to October 12th. The prospect of speaking with Dr. Kavan tomorrow morning seems much less likely now. Oh well, we’ve waited for news since August 30th, what’s a few more weeks!!!
We will see Dr. Sultanen tomorrow afternoon, so we may get some preliminary findings from his angle. He only received the CD today (I dropped it off on the way to the CNR clinic), so I’m not sure how detailed his response will be. I am curious to hear what he has to say.
One thing Joey noted when copying the CD’s is that each institution’s MRI format is different (by now, he’s see the MRI from Clarke’s, the Jewish and the MNI). We even caught a glimpse of some lady’s knee on one of them! It is apparent that comparing them will more than likely be a challenge for anyone who attempts the task. It is crystal clear that from this point on, we will be sure to have the MRI done in the same place, so as to avoid all this nonsense and confusion. The jury is still out as to where it ought to be, but the information does keep pointing towards the neuro, for obvious reasons.
The good news is that Gilly gained about 3 pounds since September 7th. His appetite has been increasing steadily, to the point where I could almost describe it as normal. We don’t know what to attribute this to, since he started the anti-depressant and the steroid at the same time as taking a holiday from Temodal, but unquestionably the indicator on the scale is moving in the right direction. Nelda offered Gilly one of Dr. MacDonald’s fresh apples from the market, and he gladly took it and ate the whole thing. It was so large that I was sure he’d hand it over to me to finish, but he polished it off and smacked his lips.
Mood too has improved. When I call home during the day and ask, "How are you doing?" I receive a cheerful, "Great!" That's more like the Gilly I once knew. He’s more wakeful in the evenings, but tends to sleep in very late unless wakened. Today he was roused from bed to answer the door to Emma, his friend from the fruit store. She called last night to ask if Gilly would enjoy a visit. I hardly expected her to find him in bed! She came bearing gifts; his favourite fruits. He enjoyed the visit immensely, and I'm thankful she was there to get him up to face the day.
Later on, while we were at the CNR clinic, our silly dog managed to kidnap one of the enormous mangos to take to bed with her. She really is a card, this hairy (and I do mean hairy) fruit thief. She would have made an amazing mother; so nurturing.
We finally have a fence. It’s terrific, except for one slight problem; the dog can crawl under it with ease (or so I would imagine). The installers were so proud of their work at days end; they failed to understand why I was so irate when I noticed the gaping holes. Jimmy, who I understand now is a salesman and knows nothing about building a fence, met us way back in June (I think) and told us to take down all the foliage to make way for the fence. Unfortunately he failed to consider the need for the bottom of the fence to reach the ground or thereabouts. He knew it was for our dog. I mentioned this several times as being the central reason for a fence. The fence does hug the ground in some areas, but not everywhere. This is a huge problem. The owner of the fence company promised to come and take a look to see what can be done to solve the dilemma. It’s back to the drawing board for a while longer.
I am not amused. I was hoping to close this chapter by the weekend, but the conclusion hasn’t been written yet. In the scheme of things, it’s not that serious; I’m sure we’ll think of something, however my nerves are shot from all the serious issues still pending; I am not as laid back as I’d like to be.
I cannot begin to express the magnitude of our gratitude for the acts of kindness that continue to come our way. We have received gifts, offers of every kind, visits, invitations, homemade goodies, phone calls, emails, blog comments, care packages and more. It is obvious that people care, and this is demonstrated in so many ways; all gestures are deeply appreciated, even if not acknowledged in a timely fashion. Time has taken on a whole new meaning. I need one more day at least to be added to every week; preferably one on the weekend (or mid-week with weekend properties). I can dream, can’t I?
I must say that my time at work is getting easier as routines fall into place for Gilly in terms of eating both breakfast and lunch. Everyday we solve another matter, and life improves for us all. My days are packed during the week, but I am less stressed out over Gilly’s daily care. I can focus on my work more, and can actually say that this week’s teaching experiences felt downright gratifying. I have been enjoying my Tuesday Yoga sessions and Wednesday walks with friends at work; a break during the workday is rejuvenating. Everyone seems to echo the same sentiment; you’ve got to take care of yourself, Cindy. I’m trying, people. Squeezing some fitness into my week is a giant step forward.
posted by Gilly at 8:36 PM
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