Cam I Am

The next 3 months seem to be holding a lot of promise.

In about 2 weeks, I finally get to see the neurosurgeon about my back.  At this point, I’m fairly sure that surgery is going to be in the future for me.  It’s not exactly what I want, but in a way, I’m looking forward to whatever it takes to make the pain go away..

In early May, my youngest brother, Andrew, is coming out from New Brunswick for a visit.  He’s bringing along his girlfriend of three years now, so it will be nice to finally meet her.  Last summer, Andrew came out to visit for about a week, we did a few tourist-type things and he got to spend some time getting to know our daughters some more.   This year, he’s going to take Martha around Vancouver and visit with us only a couple of the days that he’s here.

In mid-June, Colleen and I will be going to Chicago!  That weekend, she has a conference to attend for work, but I’m tagging along for the fun of it.  We’ll probably spend a couple extra days so that we have some time together on a vacation.  I was there about 10-12 years ago with my friend Mark (the memories of conversations of sporks and alarm clocks!), but I was on the outskirts, not the downtown core.

Around the same time that we return from our trip, Mark and his family will be in town with his family.  They are going to be RV’ing across Canada and staying in town for 6-7 days.  I’ve known him for almost 20 years, so I’m sure that they’ll be plenty of stories we’ll be recounting (and our wives will probably not want to hear them again), but I’m looking forward to having our families spend some time together.  I remember Mark and I having a conversation many years ago about how we would never own a mini-van.  Now, I have two, and I believe Mark still has one.  

I think that’s all that is in the works between now and the end of June.  I really like it when family and friends visit.  I also am excited that Colleen and I get to go on a vacation without the kids.   The last vacation that we took was in 1998.. 

I just got off the phone with Telus.  I cannot believe how much they can screw up a simple task.

In early January, I switched phone providers from Telus to Shaw.  We transferred our number over and everything seemed to go well.  Since I do this for work all the time, I thought that it would be another simple transfer.

Apparently not.

Last month, we got another bill from Telus for around $139.00.  They tend to bill a month in advance, so my wife called them and asked what’s going on.  She was assured that the situation would be taken care of and that the next bill would reflect our final amount owing.  Great!  All taken care of!

Apparently not.

I come home today and find another Telus bill.  Great!  We can finally pay off the true amount owing!  I open it.  Amount owing: $210.

What the hell?  So I call them again!  I go through their extremely annoying voice-activated menu system on the phone and eventually get a person on the end.  She answers in the typical way, asking how she can help me.

I tell her that I got my bill…  and I shouldn’t be..

She seemed quick enough to react, put me on hold for a couple minutes, and then comes back to say that it is taken care of and that the next bill I receive will be corrected.

I wouldn’t think that a task such as finalizing and closing an account would be so difficult.  It’s very frustrating to deal with a company that you have no desire to do business with..

We’ll see what happens with the NEXT bill..

Later today, I’ll be driving to Richmond General Hospital for my third (and final) cortisone shot.

I’m looking forward to it.

As strange as it sounds, I welcome a man who will push a needle into my spine. 

Many people have warned my about the risks and potential problems that occur in having the shot, including my family doctor and the doctor who injects the shot, but I feel that I’m doing the right thing.

The first shot worked great!  It lasted just over 2 months.  The second didn’t seem to provide much relief.  But what about the third?   What if it doesn’t work?  What if it does, but doesn’t last long?  This is the last shot that I can have for a year.  I’m a little concerned about the what after this wears off?  Will I need to go off work again because I’m unable to stand/walk for long?

Time will tell I guess.  I’ve been focusing on April 15th for so long.  (This is the day that I see the neurosurgeon to see what happens next).   If surgery is required (which is likely at this point),  how much longer will I wait for it? 

I know that no one at this point has an answer for me.  I’ll go get my shot in about 3 hours, spend the rest of the night laying on the couch to let the cortisone do its thing and then go back to work tomorrow..

Picture this..

You go for a night out to watch a movie.  You spend the money for a couple tickets, the popcorn, some pop, and maybe some M&M’s.  You go into the theatre, watch the show, have a good time.

Ordinarily, this is an outing that costs a few bucks. 

You walk back out to your car to discover that your car has been keyed..  Wait..  so is the car next to you!  Wait a second!  Every car in the parking lot has been keyed!

Unbelieveable?   You would think so, but this happened in Coquitlam on the weekend.

 Here is the little blurb from News 1130’s website.

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