Little by little, I am getting there

My second bed rail arrived yesterday and was installed.  I almost missed him as I was downstairs with my walker getting my mail when he arrived.

Luckily we connected.  It is wonderful to have these bed rails - makes life so much easier especially at this time.  I am still a long way off from being back to normal and have to pace myself in doing things even around the house.

I am thankful to have these bed rails and that they are available for trial and then purchase if it goes through CCAC.  I will buy them as they will be good to have at this age and onward.

My apartment is beginning to look a little better but there still is a lot to get done.  Nothing spectacular just the normal daily events but they take longer than usual.

Today seems to be a dull day but thankfully I have a cozy little home, food on the table and good friends and family.

What more can a person need?

Thanks for dropping by.  Not much is going on until I can get out and about.....

Linda Marshall's book launch at the Club

On September 23rd, Linda had her first book launch at the Hamilton Club.  There were many people in attendance and almost every seat was filled.  Each guest got a signed copy of her book "Giving Back".

She will have another launch in October and hopefully she will have as many people then.  I understand that her book can be purchased from Amazon as well.

Shendal, as the General Manager of the club, spoke first and then Greg (a very close friend of Linda and her family) introduced Linda to the assembled crowd.

Linda spoke of her experience in writing the book and all the help she had from friends and family. Her words were well received. She spoke of the joys of giving back and related life experiences which have given her insight.


 Linda does speaking engagements and can be reached at linda@marshallconnects.com or twitter  @marshallconx

  Chef Michael prepared a delicious luncheon which also was enjoyed by those assembled.


I took a few pictures but since the room is on the dark side, they are not as clear as they could be.

Shendal welcoming the guests

Greg - introducing Linda

Linda speaking


All in all, a nice event for those who attended.

Thanks for dropping by.

Six weeks away from home

Six weeks ago, this is what I started to write.  "It is now 4:02 p.m. and thus far no call from the drug store who will deliver the items prescribed by the physio therapist.  I am hoping that they will come today. CCAC was contacted by the Emergency doctor at the Juravinski Hospital when they did not admit me.  For those outside of Ontario, CCAC means Community Care Access Center and is the agency who oversees the medical needs of the people in Ontario.  For an example, they can send a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, personal care worker and many, many other things for

housebound people.  It is like an umbrella - with many spokes.

I have had a lovely day with lots of good company.  David, from the library came over with my "holds" and we had a wonderful chat.  He is an older person but I don't know his age. A very interesting person to talk to and to listen to."

Those were my words of six weeks ago.  A great lapse of time has passed since I put this into the "save" position on blogger so I could finish it. To be exact, six weeks of hospital and convalescent care.

Sometimes it is good that we cannot see into the future.That way we do not fret about it but just carry on when trouble strikes.

How does one describe six weeks which go by in a flash, never to return again?   Three weeks in the Juravinski  hospital in two different wards, then another three weeks in St. Joseph's Villa in Dundas recuperating.

To make a long story short, all the pain that I was enduring was because of a broken bone in the tail-bone.  Suffice it to say, I would not wish the pain and suffering that this brings onto anyone.

I met some lovely people in the hospital, both patients and staff. On the whole, I would say it was a positive experience.

The most positive part was at St. Joseph's Villa where I could receive the care I needed but had more freedom.  There was plenty of routine there as well, but at least I could sit outside in the beautiful grounds or sit on the screened in veranda on my floor.

The grounds there are lovely, it is in a more rural part of Hamilton which I really enjoyed.

Here are a few pictures.

My most favourite spot - the balcony on the 5th floor
I sat out here after breakfast and before physiotherapy and then in the early part of the evenings.

I loved this little welcome sign

The history of the place

Rhona brought me these lovely flowers

This was my little room - I really liked the bed rails - they were so helpful

Part of the recreation room

A lovely picture in the Physiotherapy room.  We had a class of exercises plus four different machines to work on.  I actually enjoyed all of them as it made me stronger.  I also liked the staff there as well.

A larger view of my room

The front of the building where I was

The other side of the building where long term care is provided

The Bill of Rights

Gerri - one of my table mates

Eileen - one of my table mates

Annie - my table mate

My final full day - they had a concert.  I was just lucky to have heard about it so I went.

Part of the recreation room - we had singsongs provided by Frank once or twice a week
Frank is a wonderful man who is a Personal Support Worker.

Two of the highlights for me of my stay at St. Joseph's Villa was when my pal Jeff picked me up and took me to Pier 8 and treated me for lunch and then we sat and chatted while enjoying the water.  I enjoyed this quiet time with a good friend.  Another one was with Jeff also when he picked me up at the Villa and brought me to our annual picnic for the Whitehern guys and gals.  It was a big surprise and we all had a great time.  Jeff played his ukulele and sang which was very enjoyable.

I had emailed him asking permission to put his version of both these events onto my blog as he did such a good job of writing them, but could not find them on facebook anymore.  It is really too bad as I had a good laugh when I read them and wanted to share them with you so you could be amused as well.

Ah well, perhaps I will find them another day but I will publish this now.  Hope you have a good evening and a good sleep.

Visit from Kelly and Linda

What a pleasure it was to see both of these gals today.  Boots took to Kelly so wonderfully well that you would think they had known each other all their lives.

Linda and I were amazed with the affection shared  between the cat and the visiting human.

We had a lovely chat and it brightened my day so much to be able to just chat with them and share a few laughs.  

Before their visit, Linda had asked if I had a yearning for anything special and I said Kentucky fried chicken and they kindly brought me some.

I really enjoyed the meal, three pieces of breaded chicken with a nice potato salad.

Good friends and good company are always welcome.

About six o'clock, my neighbour Rosemary dropped by for a nice little visit.  It was great to see her.  She lent me some more DVD's to watch.

Thanks for dropping by.

The on going saga

It has been fifteen days now that pain has never let me loose.  It has me a vice which is unbreakable even with strong meds.

Walking (baby step by baby step), standing (a few seconds only), sitting and rising are occasions which I never thought much about until this situation occurred.

Point to take here is to always be thankful when your body is in harmony.  It is a real blessing which most of us take for granted. We shouldn't.

I cannot thank people enough for their prayers, thoughts and practical actions in this difficult time.

Their loving kindness wraps me up in a warm blanket soothing my hurting body and reminding me of the wonderful people in my life.

The Doctor at the Emergency said that it may take a few weeks before I can do much so it is a lesson in how to graciously accept help from those kind people who are taking me under their wing.

Similar to Almighty God, who in spite of our brokenness, surround us with His love and compassion and care.

My favourite saying from the Bible is this:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  Proverbs 3, vs. 5 & 6

Thanks for dropping by and may God keep you under His care and protection as you walk along this rocky path called life.

Quiet time for me for who knows how long?

I have been incapacitated for about 8 days now, unable to walk, sit, stand.  Food is not attractive to me at this time either.

Pain is my unwanted companion, ever present, but unwanted.

I yearn for the day when I can walk, sit and stand again.

Ah well, it is another way to learn more patience I suppose.

They are putting a urgent request for home care for me tomorrow morning so hopefully that will help. I cannot do my regular chores or look after myself well.

My doctor has been away two days so could not get better pain meds but her nurse will bring it to her attention first thing in the morning.

The first ones were very bad for me (Tylenol 3) and they did not even touch the pain.

I hope that I can get something to ease this more than unpleasant pain.  It is debilitating to say the least.

Thanks for dropping by.  It was wonderful to have two friends drop by, Rosemary to pick up my mail downstairs and Janet to do my washing for me.

I am so blessed with good solid friends.

I thought that things would improve

I have followed the doctor's orders, rested, done what I am told but I still cannot walk without a great deal of pain. It is now more than a week.

The Tylenol 3's are not helping with the pain at all but they are making me drowsy which is good.

To even get my morning coffee is a real challenge for me.  I have to use my walker to get into the kitchen, wait for it to drip through, then ferry it back.  There is no room for the walker in my bedroom so have to use a cane and carry it with me from the sitting room into the bedroom.

I am so thankful that I have a walker or otherwise I don't think I could cope right now.

Yesterday I had a reaction to the Tylenol 3, had not been able to eat for a few days and I lost everything that afternoon.  Fortunately, today I was able to stand for a few minutes and cook so that is a step forward.

I hope this silly sciatic nerve gets lost real soon!


Thanks for dropping by.