Cam I Am

I’m just going to cover a bunch of things in this post..  Little things that don’t warrant a post of there own.

1)  It snowed today..  In parts of Vancouver..  In April…   What that hell is with that?  Snow and cherry blossoms don’t usually go together..

2)  It seems that Global TV has finally gotten with the program (pun intended!), and is finally going HD.  The channel line-up change on Shaw is happening this coming week, and it will be a nice addition to the line-up.  It’s very unfortunate that this is happening at the expense of several jobs that were cut a few months ago.

3)  How the hell can three kids make such a big mess in so little time.  Every time that we clean up the house, our three daughters find a way to destroy it in less than 5 minutes.

4)  I’ve noticed over the last few days since I severely reinjured my back, that I don’t seem to care about some things so much.  I usually am a fairly avid coffee drinker, but this morning is my second cup in about a week an a half.  Also, I play Scrabble on Facebook a lot, but again, today is finally the day I’ve decided to catch up on them..

That’s about it..  I’m sure that everything will correct itself within our household.  I’ve decided to try to return to work sometime next week (if my doctor allows) and I’ll do work in the office until after my surgery: I’m pretty sure that’s the only way I’ll be allowed to return to work by all parties involved.

In the last couple days, I’ve received some news that I’ve been expecting and dreading.

First, I finally had my appointment with the neurosurgeon (that I’ve waited for 7 months) to determine that I do need back surgery, and that it should happen within the next couple months.  This is welcome news and not.  I need my back to heal, and clearly other methods have not worked.  There are risks involved, but the outcome could be very good.  I don’t have an exact date yet, but I should have that within a few days.

Second, I saw my doctor..   I’m off work again, probably for another 4-5 months.  This poses all sorts of problems such as money and plans that my wife and I have made.  I had only been back to work for 3 months after being off for six months because of my back.  The other problem is that my wife and I were planning to go on a vacation (without the kids) to Chicago.  We haven’t been on a vacation in over 10 years, so anyone could imagine our disappointment.

Other than that, I’m managing.  I’m glad that I’m off of the serious painkillers, but I haven’t found a reasonable substitute.  I’m hoping to see my doctor next week again to find something.

Please accept my apologies in advance for any poor typing or things that just don’t make sense!

I’ve had an interesting weekend, starting early Thursday morning.  I drove into Vancouver for my afternoon shift, in extreme pain because of my back.  I believe that I was swearing out loud to myself to try to relieve some of the pain I was experiencing.

When I got to work, it was very clear to everyone that I was in no shape to attempt a regular route of work, so  I was offered the easiest field task I could have possibly been offered, but after 5 minutes of driving there, I was in so much pain, I returned to the office in tears.  A couple of the supervisors lay me down and offered to call an ambulance for me, but I told them that my wife was coming.  At this point, I could barely walk, sit or stand.  I had to be helped info lying down face first.

After my wife arrived and loaded me into the car, we drove off to Burnaby General Hospital, because we were familiar with it.  After waiting 2 hours, I got a morphine shot and some tablets and was sent home.

They did virtually nothing for the pain.

So, the next morning, we went to our local hospital.  We were taken in right away, the doctor accessed me and figured that since I’m seeing the neurosurgeon for my back on Tuesday (today), that he’d prescribe my stronger pain killers, and introduce them to my through IV.

So..  now that I’m on Percocet, the pain is gone, and to a degree, my preception of time is too..

I’ve spent yesterday and today home from work.  Unfortunately, it’s not because I took some vacation time.  It’s not even because I’m sick.  My back is acting up again… 

I’m not entirely sure of what happened on the weekend.  I know that there was about a day and a half over the weekend that I didn’t have anymore of those wonderful little yellow pills that I’ve been taking.  I managed to get to the doctor to get a refill, but since then, I’ve been in a lot of pain. 

It usually takes a fair bit for me to phone in sick.  I don’t like missing work, even when I am sick.  I can only imagine what my supervisor is going to say when I go back (hopefully tomorrow).  I’m not going to be impressed if they put me on light-duties to “help me out”.. 

I see the neurosurgeon on the 15th..  it’s been a long 7 months waiting just for the consult with them.  Hopefully they have a real solution for my disc.  Everything up to now hasn’t worked.

That aside, we’re doing alright..  We are trying to look forward to the future, even though it’s uncertain about what’s going actually happen in the next 3-6 months..  I’ll know more in a couple weeks..

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.. 

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..

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it appears that I am finally going to be returning to work on Wednesday, January 9th.. 

But it isn’t exactly on my terms..

A couple weeks ago, I went to see my doctor; one of the many follow up appointments regarding my back injury.  I explained to him that I needed to return to work because it won’t be long before we have no resources/options left.  (Yes, I know that “wii” went a little overboard on Christmas, but even without that, it wouldn’t be long anyways). Anyhow, at this appointment, I asked him for a note to return to work, but he said no.  He did give me a note for “work conditioning and strengthening”.  He wanted to have me do it for 3-4 weeks, but I convinced him to see how I was doing about 2 weeks into it. 

I’m sure some of you have been through this type of program.  It isn’t cheap.  I phoned around to a couple places, and the average price is $40-45 an hour.  That’s $160-180 per day..   and I’m supposed to do this 4 days a week.  Clearly, I’m not going to be able to pay for it one my own, but my doctor said that my long-term disability benefits should pay for it..

After a few days of trying to track down an answer, I got one today from BC Life/Pacific Blue Cross..  in short, they said that they “wouldn’t be likely to pay for it up front, unless it was part of a return to work strategy”.  I told the lady on the phone that I was attempting to return to work, and this was part of the plan.  Then, the lady said that “I could go now, and pay for it myself and TRY to get reimbursed later.”

I’m sorry?  I’m still waiting for the LTD Benefits to be approved.  I figured switching from Short-Term to Long-Term would have been fairly easy, but apparently not..  and where am I supposed to pull that kind of cash? 

At this point, I’ve called my doctor and arranged for a note to return to work next week.  I haven’t done anything for 5 1/2 months, and it’s going to take some time to get back into shape to properly do my job.  In the meanwhile, I’ll have a higher risk of re-injury because I haven’t gone through any sort of program to return to work..

So…  we’ll see..  I’ve wanted to return for a while now, and now that I am going to be, I am a little nervous about how I’ll do..  The last thing that I need is to hurt myself (even worse) and end up back off within a few days..  I’m going to do what I can to keep safe, but the risk is there..

Foolishly, I assumed that BC Life would have preferred to pay for a few weeks of therapy and then send me back.  Alternatively, I could stay on LTD for months still…

I’ve enjoyed staying home with my girls.  I’ve been able to spend time with them, play games with them, get Lizzy off to school, and put the younger two down for a nap..  The down side is that it doesn’t (financially) pay to stay home..  it’s too bad..  I could easily be a stay-at-home dad..

Oh well..  we’ll see how this returning to work goes..

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that 2008 will be a great year for you all.

I’ve been trying to find the time to write this post, but with all the activity over the holiday’s, it’s been hard to find the time just to write anything..

So I’ll put it all in one long post here! 

On Christmas Eve, we made plans to go over to my wife’s uncle (my uncle-in-law?), for brunch.  Around 9:30 in the morning, my neighbour came over and knocked on my door and asked what I was doing later that morning.  I told him of our plans, and then he said “that’s too bad.  I have an extra seat available on a one-hour flight over the Vancouver area”.  I looked at my wife, and she said that it was fine to skip out on brunch.  My friend Mark has been telling me for quite some time that if I came back to Oshawa again, he’d take me on a flight, but I haven’t been back to Ontario for years now..  This was a great opportunity for me! 

My neighbours Steve and Caroline and I drove out to the Pitt Meadows Airport (YPK)  and were introduced to the pilot.  He took us out to his Cessna 182, a little 4 seater plane.  Fortunately, it was a nice clear day, so I’d be able to see a lot! We took off and flew around the area including Pitt River, Pitt Lake,  and Stave Lake.  After that, we flew over Mission, Abbottsford, Langley, White Rock, Surrey and then back to Pitt Meadows.  I have to say I enjoyed it a lot.  The landing was a lot smoother than the commercial airlines that I have been on.    I’ve got a lot of photo’s on my Facebook Profile, but here’s a couple pictures from the trip!

This first picture is over Pitt Meadows or Maple Ridge.  I believe that those are cranberry fields below, but I’m not sure.

This next one is a picture over Stave Lake..  well..  the water level is low now.. 

The third picture is me! 

This shot is of Vancouver Island off in the distance, but I was impressed that I caught the propeller in this shot…

Next is a shot of us landing..

And last, this is a shot of my standing next to the plane.. I wish that my neighbour wasn’t talking to me as he was taking the picture!

So, that was a pretty good start to Christmas Eve..  The rest of the day was fairly typical of our family.  We had a good day together and after dinner we started a new tradition for us.

For years, I have never really liked the idea of opening a gift on Christmas Eve..  I have always thought that we should wait until Christmas morning.  But my wife had a really good idea.  She thought that every year, we should let our kids (and us) open a gift..  but they will always be new pyjamas!   This way, they would look nice for Christmas morning pictures.  So, the kids opened them up and were more excited about the PJ’s than I thought that they would be..  they put them on, and shortly after went to bed. 

Now, the part I have left out is that my in-laws had given us a gift to open on Christmas Eve as well.  For about a month, I was looking at this wrapped gift, wondering what it was.  The only clue I was given is that I would want it the night before Christmas; I would be disappointed if I opened it the next morning..

Well, I opened it after the kids went to bed..   It was a video camera!  I was very happy indeed. 

Christmas morning came and the girls opened their gift.  Considering the year that we’ve had, we did quite well!  Elisabeth was excited about the Wii that we bought her.  Another gift that seems to be a hit with all three of them was a toy vacuum cleaner.  Naturally, it doesn’t actually actually clean anything, but it makes cool noises and talks to you!

We had some friends over for dinner, and had a great day.. 

On Boxing Day, we celebrated my wife’s birthday.  Even though her birthday is on the 27th, we thought that we’d have a night where we went out with friends for dinner for her birthday, and leave the 27th for a family type of night. 

New Year’s Eve was not so exciting.  We celebrated with the kids at 9pm, watching the ball drop in New York..  after that, it was off to bed for the kids, and Colleen and I stayed up to watch TV..  Colleen was asleep by 11pm, but considering she was up since 4:30am for work, I’m impressed she made it that late.  I stayed awake (playing with the Wii!), woke her up at midnight to wish her a happy new year, and then we both went to bed..   Not very exciting, but was fun.

Yesterday, (Jan 1st!), we went to see our friend Sharie who just got home from the hospital from having a baby!  (Congratulations!)..   After a couple hours, we went to Richmond to go to a restaurant were we were invited to celebrate another friends (Socheary and Vince) baby girl.  I don’t know much about Chinese culture, but it seems that they have a big party for a baby (and parents), when they are one month old.  Either way, the 10 course meal was very good and I finally got to meet their baby girl.

So, in case I forgot to say it, congratulations to Sharie and Keith on the birth of your little girl, Taylor, and congrats to Soch and Vince on Ashley’s birth/one month celebration!

Well..  I think that is about it..

Yesterday I went to see my doctor..   I went in hoping that I would be able to return to work in the new year..

Things didn’t work out exactly as I hoped…

Since I had my cortisone shot earlier this month, I’ve been able to do a lot more around the house.  I’m not pain-free, but I figured that I could return to work, as long as I was careful.

My doctor checked my range of motion and then said, “I can’t send you back to work the way you are”.  While I was expecting this answer, I was still disappointed..  He then said that if I was the determined to try, he said that I had to go to physio for “strengthening and work conditioning” for 3-4 weeks..  I managed to negotiate with him a little and had him agree to see how I’m doing after 2 weeks..  If I’m getting worse again, I’m off for some time to come..  Hopefully, things go well with it and he’ll let me return after a couple weeks of that…

This uncertainty still causes stress.  My poor wife and kids have had to put up with me being grouchy and short-tempered.  The frustrating part is that I can completely recognize when I’m in a mood, but find it difficult to snap out of it..  I’m really greatful for them, their patience and understanding…

So, in four more weeks when I see my doctor next, I hope that I get the news I’m looking for…

I’m a Facebook addict..  I freely admit that..  While I’ve been off work, I’ve spent more time logged into Facebook than I care to admit..

So, while I was on today, and one of my friends, John Giles,  posted an interesting link about Mac users vs. PC users.  At the end of this rant, was an interesting quote.  The author was commenting on the iTunes End User Agreement; specifically about how we are not to use iTunes to create biological or nuclear missiles..

After I laughed my ass off, I decided to check it out..  and sure enough, it does state that!  In fact, here is the actual wording:

“By using the Apple Software, you … agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of missiles, or nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons.”

There it is..  I’m not allowed to make a nuclear weapon using iTunes..  That’s too bad!  I mean, that “Launch Missile” icon in it is just going to waste!   What are they thinking? I know that they are covering all the bases with endless possibilities, but still..

Something else that is bothering me is this political correctness crap.  “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holiday’s”..    We live in Canada, where we predominantly celebrate Christmas..  So say Merry Christmas!  What’s the big deal?  Are we REALLY offending anyone with wishing them a Merry Christmas?   I’m not knocking on their doors like JW’s trying to get them to convert to my beliefs!  (I’ll save my opinion on THAT issue!)..

It’s a holiday..  Yes, there is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but it’s about being with family..  it’s about giving gifts to those who you love..  it’s generally a happy time of year..  If  you don’t celebrate Christmas, that’s fine!  When someone says Merry Christmas to you, just say thanks and move on!

The political correctness pendulum has swung too far…