Home Sweet Home!!

No it is not a caterpillar - it is a moustache!!

Welcome Home

It has been a busy few days - getting the patient settled back into his own home! Yes - Dad was released from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. We were released without any help or assistance, no prescription for oxygen and no game plan for the future! So we are taking it one day at a time - and so far so good!

Dad is settling in quite well. A sleepless night the first night, but he thinks he has it figured out - extra pillows and the couch seemed to do the trick!

There were a few of his friends from the golf course that were missing his company, so he joined Brad and these friends on the back nine for a "ride along". The fresh air did him good and put some color in his cheeks.

We are all learning to live with a "new normal" for the time being. It is going to be very important that Dad get some exercise - a walk around the house, regain some sort of an appetitie - he is excited to see and eat food (finally) and get some good rest.

Since we have Dad back home, he would like to say thank you to so many wonderful friends and family for their thoughts and prayers (food and flowers) - which we feel contributed to his home coming.

Like we said above - we are taking things one day at a time and right now rest is very important in his recovery process. When ready, Vic-la-Vic will be back on the social scene!!

A huge thanks to you all.

Love, from the Family.

The Start to Another Week

It has been a few days since we last provided an update and we now have a little more to report.

Dad says that he cannot even put into words how much better he is feeling now, compared to even a few weeks ago. He said that on a scale of 1 to 10, he was feeling like a 2. He now feels like a 7 or 8. It appears that his appetite is returning - even on hospital food.

Dad was moved from the ICU to a private room in the respiratory unit last Thursday. The information we received was that the specialist at the Foothill's hospital (the Dr. we have been waiting to visit dad) has been reviewing Dad's file and she feels that it is not necessary to make a special visit to see Dad at the Rockyview. She has requested that Dad visit her in September in her office. So, you may be shaking your head right now as to why in ICU did it appear very important to the doctors that this specialist see Dad as soon as possible - so are we!!

On Friday, the respiratory doctor felt that Dad was able to be released and come home. Once again - are you shaking your heads - given what Dad has gone through in the last two weeks??!! This doctor left no instruction as to what was expected of us or Dad if he were to come home - was home care required?? should therapists be scheduled for home visits?? should home oxygen arrangements be made?? Lots of unanswered questions.

Dad has not come home. As a family we were concerned about his oxygen levels and that he was still requiring oxygen in order to keep his levels up. On Saturday when the respiratory Doctor visited Dad, we asked if there could possibly be an underlying issue as to why Dad is not receiving enough oxygen. Her response - "I was wondering that same thing". Dad is being kept in the hospital for a few more days as he will be undergoing a few more tests.

So, our apology if this update does not have more of a positive tone to it. There is definitely a huge level of frustration on our part. To this day, we have not been able to get a clear answer as to what contributed to the deterioration of Dad's health in the first place. Yet, after two weeks of amazing doctor dedication and numerous tests - we are supposed to take Dad home with no game plan??

We will keep you posted.

Love, the family.

Family Arrives

Another day goes by - and another day with no doctor's visit!! Frustrating to say the least!

Dad had another great day! For a second day in a row, the nurses got Dad into a wheelchair and out into the fresh air. Yesterday his first comment when he got outside was - "Sun - I haven't said that word in so long!!" (the things we take for granted).

Speaking about things we take for granted - today was his first shower in 12 days. He was just beaming to feel the water running over him - such simple things make him so happy.

Mid afternoon Dad's sister, brother-in-law and niece arrived from Regina and Vancouver. Dad was so elated to have them here and by his side.

One of Vic's favorite things is to have dinner at a local Chinese food restaurant with this family - we all went, enjoyed each other's company - but there was definitely a void at our table. The service was the pits and the mood just wasn't the same.

We are hoping the specialist will make her appearance tomorrow.

Our next update will be when we have something significant to report.

Thanks for checkin in!

Love, the family.

Patience is a virtue . . .

On one hand it was such a great day for dad. They removed more lines - leaving him with only a nostril oxygen tube and a saline line. He started his day with drinking lots of liquids to the nurses ordering him a solid dinner. Which believe it or not - he was excited to have the hospital food!

The physiotherapist was in to visit him today. Dad told Pam that she had him "up dancing".

So while he was very patient with the breathing tube - he is now having to exercise his patience once again waiting for the doctors and specialists to visit him. WE ALL ARE!!

On another good note, Dad will be moving out of the ICU to a room on another floor. For some reason he seems to think that he will be in a private room with a window - whatever Vic wants, Vic gets!! That's our "5 star" Dad. By tomorrow, we hope he will be settled in his own room.

The specialist at the Foothills has been notified that Dad is waiting for her visit since last Friday - so we can only hope that tomorrow will bring her presence.

Not much else to report today.

We are enjoying all your notes of best wishes and are passing them on to Mom and Dad.

Love, the family.

Miracles Do Happen

In yesterday's message we said something to the effect "what a difference a week makes" - today's message "what a difference 2 hours can make!!"

This morning Brad & Tracy were the first visitors to arrive. Dad appeared to be sick and tired of being "sick". The breathing tube plus the two other tubes were really starting to take their toll.

First thing this morning he asked for his clipboard and wrote this note "I dreamt that they took out the tube and getting ready to pull everything out today". You will never guess what - that is exactly what happened today!! At about 12:15 pm the ICU doctor came into his room, checked a few things out and told the respiratory technician to take the breathing tube out. We will admit - we were all a bit nervous as this is what they did last Tuesday and within two hours he crashed. Well it is 7:30 pm and all is GREAT!! Not only do miracles happen - but we think dreams also come true!!

Within an hour of the tube being removed - he looked unbelievable! He was taking the deepest breathes he has taken in 6 months and with each deep breath came the biggest smile. His eyes were just dancing!

The nurse got him up and he was walking today! Then they got him in a wheelchair and Pam and Mom took him outside for some fresh air. We knew Vic was back when he asked to get his picture taken with the cute ICU nurse!

We cannot even begin to tell everyone how amazing the staff at the Rockyview ICU has been. We have been blessed in so many ways.

So while the acute problem seems to be under control and improving - they still need to determine the underlying issues and deal with whatever that may be.

We will sign off this evening hoping that you are feeling our high spirits and positive thoughts for another encouraging day tomorrow!

Love the family

July 17th

Today is Saturday, July 17th - and what a difference a week makes!!

It has been two days since our last update - and they have been two very encouraging days.

There was a ICU doctor shift change - and you won't believe it - the new doctor is a polish Ukrainian!! He has a wonderful beside manner - and he has been so good with not only Dad but also with getting to know Mom.

Ok - so the update - there is much discussion around the carcinoid tumor in his abdomen. The doctors were going to wait until a Dr. Graham returned from vacation - however Dad's file has now been referred to a doctor at the Foothills who is world renowned for being a specialist with this type of tumor. Being the weekend - we really don't have any new information to report. We hope that there will be more to report early next week. Surgery still is imminent to determine the type of tumor. Not sure if there were "strings pulled" or not - but Dad was moved to a private room in the ICU. This is like a 5 star hotel for him compared to the room he was sharing with another patient.

In the rounds this morning, there was talk about possibly removing the breathing tube within the next 24-72 hours. The doctor told Margo that his lungs sounded "beautiful". Music to our ears!! The ICU nurse seems to feel that if the tube is removed - Dad would be strong enough to enjoy a few minutes of fresh air outside. Dad is not able to verbally communicate with us - but is putting the clipboard and pen to good use. His "penmanship" looks exactly like it did a year ago.

We would like you all to know that his spirits are lifting, he is enjoying his music and he continues to give us the "thumbs up" sign. As always, his strength is keeping all of us going.

You couldn't wipe the smile off of Mom's face this morning when she came into the room. Dad held his arms up for her to come and give him a hug. Unfortunately, she continues to have some pain with her knee. We had hoped she would be seeing the orthopaedic surgeon on August 15th, however, his office called and rescheduled the appointment until September 15th. We are praying she can last that long. Lots of icing and Advil.

Once again - we believe the love, prayers and support from all our friends and family are contributing to his steady recovery. We can't thank you enough!! Keep them coming!!

Love from the family.

July 15th Update

Hello all:

We are now at day 6 - for those of you who did not know about our setback on Tuesday I will start there.

"Minutes" after we sent our positive report - he was doing so well they decided to remove the breathing tube. We were able to visit him. His color was great, his eyes were alive and he was whispering "I am lying here wondering what my first meal is going to be when I get out of here". This was huge - as he has had no appetite for about 6 months.

The physiotherapist came in to get him up walking and suddenly all his vitals failed and the team of 10 was back at it!! We were told again by Dr. Weibe - we were back at Saturday night and things did not look good. Again, Dad rallied through the battle and it has been a stable situation since.

Yesterday he had a CT scan on his abdomen. The carcinoid (sp??) tumor, which has not yet been biopsied, has grown slightly since it was originally detected about 2 months ago. The plan as of now is to have Dr. Graham review the scan tomorrow and unfortunately it is too embedded to do a needle biopsy - so surgery will be required. When that will be - we are not sure.

There has been a discussion that the tumor could be causing neurological damage - resulting in the weakness in his legs and his lungs.

We have discovered that any information we are passing on to you is still just "theories". They have yet to determine the underlying problem while they are dealing with the acute issues.

In our last email, we mentioned possible issues with his heart and his brain - again - nothing has been diagnosed or proven in this regard.

Mom had a very good day yesterday. Her leg seemed to be responding well to the medication, and she wanted us all to come back to the house and she made ribs and was very comfortable back in her kitchen.

We cannot thank everyone enough for the love and support our family and Dad has received.

We will keep you updated as best we can.

Love from the family.

July 13th Update

This morning's update:

We just had the round with Dr. Weibe. We all have the feeling that the doctors, nurses, specialists were much more relaxed and calm than we have seen them the last couple of days. They are even cracking a few smiles!! This is good news!!

So, dad had a really good nite last night. We have asked him if he is getting bored and he is nodding yes!!

He is going to have another CT scan on his abdomen today. They are going to try and lie him flat for a bit - if there is no fluid build up and his vitals remain stable - they will be removing the breathing tube today.

There is one doctor that Dr. Weibe would like to do the surgery on the tumor in dad's abdomen - and he is on vacation until Friday - so this biopsy/surgery is being delayed until Friday. As far as the heart tumor goes - there is still fluid around that - so they are deciding which tumor is less risky to start with.

Because dad is improving - they have decided not to do the test on the brain. I am praying this is the right decision!!

We have kept the heart and brain issues from mom. She does not need that added stress at this point.

Keep you all posted.

Tracy