New Year's Eve

I (Kari) just spoke to Carole this morning. She was feeling well enough to have a bath but was quite tired afterwards. She is asking anyone coming to visit to just keep it short. Happy New Year everyone!

Tuesday

George and I were in today at lunch for a quick visit.

Carole was doing OK considering, but seemed fairly weak and tired.
She wanted a sub, which we brought, so it is always good to see her with an appetite.

Not much more to report. She is not doing the best, but always seems to be able to put on
a smile for visitors.

She does tire quickly, so I am glad she told us to make it a short visit, which we did. I don't want her to feel she has to entertain, so keep the visits short but sweet when she is tired.

RR

Dec 29, 2008

Spoke to Carole this morning and she had a rough night. She asks that people please not visit right now and perhaps not call until she is feeling stronger.
Paul R

Monday

Carole is very tired today...her blood pressure was low so the nurses were in every hour to check her levels which meant not a good sleep last night. She doesn't feel up to visitors today in the hopes that she can get some sleep and feel better tomorrow.
Michelle

That darned phone

Carole is having trouble getting rest in the daytime lately with the phone going non-stop.
We are not sure what the solution is.
I hope everyone heard about the no calls between 12 and 3pm plan?
She is trying to use that as a regular rest time as she does not sleep well through the night.

I am going to ask her if we can set her up for outgoing calls and perhaps voicemail. She would feel better about turning off the ringer then.

As it is now, if she misses a call, she does not know who called. She has had a few times where she was in the bathroom, and the phone is ringing! We all know how frustrating that can be. Not a good time to be in a rush!

So, everyone try to ease up on the calls and avoid calls from 12-3PM.

And calling the nurses station instead of calling is not working as we had hoped. All they do is go wake her up and tell her who is calling. As you know, Carole is quite the light sleeper and even if they just open the door to see if she is awake, it wakes her up.
Not sure what the solution is on that.

For those who visit and post info, keep it up. Maybe if we can get more info on this blog, there will be less need to call so often? Everyone wants to know what is going on, but the calls are making rest difficult.

Thanks

RR

Sunday

I (Kari) was in to visit Carole this afternoon. She was just getting ready to start another transfusion as her hemoglobin was quite low. She was fairly sleepy and groggy (all the benedryl) so I expect that she will be sleeping most of the evening- hopefully this will help perk her up by tomorrow. I helped her turn the ringer off before I left at 3pm.

Saturday

Carole had another episode early this morning and is receiving a blood transfusion. She asked me to have one of the nurses turn the phone off for now, so hopefully that has happened but she will need to rest today and she'll be very sleepy because of the benedryl.
Michelle

Christmas Day

Monica and I were down early this afternoon and Carole was having a good day.
Paul and the kids were there along with her Aunt from Montreal and Michelle.

Not too much to report. She seemed well, and to be enjoying her Christmas despite the location.

If anyone else has anything else, feel free to post or send info to me to post.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas

RR

Christmas Day

I was asking Carole today about Christmas day this morning.

As much as she would like to come home, she is not seeing it as likely to happen.

When she has bad days, it comes on quickly, and she feels better knowing that from the hospital room, she can get quick help.

I asked her about some kind of schedule for the day, so that she can get some uninterrupted family time, but she did not think it was needed.
I suspect the kids will go down in the morning, and if there are other visitors after that, the usual common sense applies. Let her rest if she needs it, and keep the party to a dull roar!
She knows that most will have things on the go that day, so did not think there would need to be crowd control in her room.

I plan to pop down around lunchtime tomorrrow and will post if anything has changed.

RR

Tuesday

I (Kari) just spoke to Carole...she sounded pretty good though she said that she is retaining a lot of fluid and I know that she finds that frustrating and uncomfortable. I am going to head over right after work (around 4pm) and told her that I would call beforehand to see if she wanted me to pick her up something for supper.

Monday- no calls

Carole had a rough morning and is resting. I would either check with the nurse's station or just hold off calls until later this afternoon.

Saturday / Sunday

I was down Saturday around 5PM and Carole was doing well.

She did express concern about Christmas day, so we are still playing that by ear.

She knows that if she had a bad spell, she needs attention quickly. She had an incident earlier in
the week, and her blood pressure had dropped quickly and that scared her. At that point, she did not seem overly confident in getting home on Christmas day, but as always, things can change.

I am thinking that we may have to bring Christmas to her. It is a tough day for people to get out, but we always manage. I will try to find out if there is a certain time that she wants to designate for the kids, and rest. We can work visits around that.

Big Paulie was in this morning and there was no new news.

RR

A note re calling the hospital

Carole has not been sleeping well at night lately, so she needs rest in the daytime.
There have been a lot of calls, so she is asking to have Noon - 3PM as a call free time.
So, no calls during that time will hopefully mean some uninterrupted sleep.

Spread the word

RR

Ornament Exchange

I (Kari) just spoke to Carole. She is in the process of having another transfusion which means that they have her on Benadryl so she is very drowsy. She is not feeling well and is not up for a gathering tonight, so we will not be going down for the Ornament Exchange. Her aunt from Montreal is coming today...so I would check in if you are planning to go down tonight.

Wednesday

I called the nurse's station a few minutes ago to ensure that Carole was well enough to accept calls..they assured me that she was...so i called and woke her up...ugh! Anyway, we spoke briefly and said that she was feeling much better than last night..was just trying to get some rest. You may want to get very specific when you call the nurse's station to ensure that she is awake...

Tuesday night

Carole had a tough night but did bounce back somewhat...what a fighter! Maybe call the nurses station to find out how she is doing before calling the room directly or before popping in...she needs to get lots of rest so she can make it home for Christmas, which is what she wants more than anything.
Michelle

And yet another fav food

I have been told that the poutine from Steamey's on Quinpool Road makes the cut.

I have never been there, but a quick google tells me that it is at 6300 Quinpool Road.
My professional courier experience tells me that this is just to the downtown side of the KFC, by the MacDonalds. Make sense?

RR

The salad that Carole really likes

Just in from Rhonda:

It's the grilled vegetable salad...she loves it!!! Make sure the get the bread, oil and vinegar as well....she always manages to eat all of it!!!
From Il Macarto, on Spring Garden

RR

Foods that Carole likes

As we know, the hospital food is not always that great.

Carole has a few favs that she likes brought down from time to time, so I thought it smart to post them here so people will know.

Subway - I am not sure if this is the only type of Sub that she likes, but she requested this from me recently:
Turkey and ham, whole wheat bread, with black olives, cucumbers, green peppers, lots of lettuce, a bit of mayo, and salt and pepper. NOT toasted.

I know she likes the soup from Swiss Chalet as well.

There is some kind of "from the heavens" salad from Il Marcato on Spring Garden as well?
I think Rhonda has the details on that one.... please post it Rhonda!

So, if you are in the neighborhood of the hospital, and want to drop off a good meal, give Carole a ring and see what she is up for.
Do like I do... show up at a meal time, with a meal, and you might get to eat the hospital food!
Hey, I'll eat anything.....

RR

Monday

I was in today at lunch, and Carole was having a fairly good day.
I brought her some chili and a lobster that friends had sent.

In return, she let me eat her fruit tray. Hey, I pay HST, let me have some fruit once in a while!

She does not like being hooked up to the IV pole again, but I did hear her talking to the nurse about getting home over Christmas, and they can still make that work, pole and all.

RR

A Visit with Carole

I was in to see Carole this afternoon. She was laying in bed with her feet elevated to try to reduce the swelling, which is frustrating her to no end. She sucked back a fruit smoothie and we spent an hour chatting. Just as an FYI to folks....the girls from the "Ornament Exchange" group will be making our way to the hospital this Thursday for 7 pm (as long as Carole is feeling up to it) to have the ornament exchange...so she will be busy that evening.

Sunday

I (kari) was talking to Carole today- she is feeling pretty good, aside from her swollen feet and legs. I mentioned that I wouldn't be in this afternoon and she said that she wasn't sure if she would have any visitors...so, if anyone is thinking about dropping by...this may be a good day to do it...I told her that I would call later this afternoon and would run by if she was lonely...

update

I was just talking to Mario and he said that Carole had some transfusions last night and was very tired. They are now thinking that the blood is coming from tumors that are rupturing and the only way to know for sure is to be doing a CT scan at the exact moment when the rupture occurs. On a more positive note, her original liver transplant surgeon became involved again today and has made a suggestion that if nothing else, has given Carole some hope. He is proposing to give her a med in the iv that is used in transplant surgery that basically is intended to seal the tumors and help to lessen or maybe even stop the tumors from rupturing and therefore stop her internal bleeding and need for blood transfusions. I don't know if it will work or for how long and to what extent but Mario said that just the suggestion made Carole perk up a bit in the hopes that she can get home for the holidays for some bit of time.
Michelle

Wednesday Morning

I was speaking with Mario this morning, and Carole is still not doing so well.
She does not want a lot of visitors right now.
Definitely call ahead if you were thinking of going down.
Mario said he was going to turn the phone ringer off for a while so Carole could rest, so if you
call and don't get an answer, that would likely be why.

RR

Tuesday...not feeling so good

I dropped down to see Carole after school today to drop off some soup and the nurse told me that she'd had quite a bad night - lots of blood loss from throwing up so she was having tests done when I got there. The nurse also said she was very, very weak and they'd be doing transfusions again as soon as Carole got back from having the tests done...the tests were all bloodwork. Maybe call the nurses station on 7A before visiting in the next little bit...they will tell you how she is.
Michelle

Sunday

I (Kari) was in to see Carole after the baby shower- she hadn't had any visitors thus far- such a yucky day out. She had a fruit smoothie and was waiting for a roast beef dinner that Rhonda was delivering. She was feeling pretty good- no bleeding and her blood work is looking good- so, she is hoping to get home soon. I am flying out to PEI tonight (weather permitting) so please keep blogging...so those of us who are not able to visit can see how she is doing.

Saturday lunchtime

Monica and I were down late this morning and Carole was doing well

We brought a sub, and she wolfed it down. Always good to see the appetite working.

She wanted to go outside for some fresh air, so we did so, and it was good.
A bit cold, but she needs some sun once in a while.

A daypass for this weekend was not in the cards. She needs to get bloodwork done in advance to be allowed out for a visit. Maybe sometime through the week?
And there is a get together next Sunday that she is hoping to be able to come to.
I am sure the doctors will assess that next Saturday to see if it is a go.

Thanks to those who helped with the cleaning bill... we make a good dent. Hopefully, it will all be taken care of soon.

RR

A small problem with the cleaners

We had hired some housecleaning friends of Michelle's a while back to come by Carole's home once in a while to keep the place maintained when Carole was not feeling well. A few of us had agreed to chip in on the bills as they came. Well, the cleaners let the bills accumulate a bit, and now owe them close to $700! A bit of a surprise for sure.

So, if you had agreed to help out with this service in the past, now is the time.
In hindsight, we would have maybe hit you up for $10 each month over the last 6 months that the cleaners had been coming. But without getting a bill, we did not bother anyone, so now we need to hit you up for a bit more?

Anyone wanting to chip in, please contact Michelle or myself, and we will get this bill taken care of. Contribute whatever you feel is fair and that you can afford.

PS- We cancelled the cleaning for the time being. With Paul F at the house, and hopefully the kids helping, things should be taken care of.

Thx

RR

Thursday

Hi everyone,
I was just talking to Carole about an hour ago and she is really tired and was planning to turn the phone off and try to get some sleep. Rhonda brought her a sub for supper (yeah!) so she didn't need anything.
Michelle

Wednesday night

I was down to see Carole tonight, and she was doing well.
She was done with the latest transfusion.

Colton, Paul F and Sylvie came by as well.

There was another scan done, so she is waiting to hear.

Other than that, business as usual down there.

If anyone is planning on going down, call first and see if you can bring something down.
She gets some cravings that the hospital chefs can't handle.

RR

Update on Carole

I just spoke to Carole- she is very tired as she was up through the night having another transfusion. Her blood count was very low so they thought the best remedy was to do the transfusion. We didn't talk long as she wanted to get some sleep...

Sunday night - this coming week

Carole had a good visit home today, but got a bit sick after dinner, and went back to the hospital a bit early.

The hospital food has not been the best at times, so if anyone is heading down this week, maybe call ahead to see if she wants some lunch etc brought down. She has a few favorites that are easy to get.

473-1510 - just ask for her room

RR