Sun May 1
Steve didn't really want to get up for breakfast - unusual - so he lay in for an hour. He had taken off his wet diaper in the night, without putting on a dry one. When the bed linnen got wet, he kicked it onto the floor. I'll wash it all today. L-A had a chill and wasn't feeling well. I decided not to leave her alone to be in charge of the strange things that go on here from time to time, so we both watched the CTF service on line.
I went though the preparation materials and calls that I had received from TGH in advance of my biopsy. Actually the correct name for what I am having is a Pleuroscopy.
At lunch, Steve was again a no-show. He may have been having a TIA on his bed. In the afternoon I updated my ~4 monthly net worth spreadsheet. Since the last one when we were at Kevin's, I had withdrawn $14,415 to pay a Poulin special assessment from our non-registered fund, and the markets had had a very recent serious reversal, meaning our investments had fallen about $49,000! I should redo the figures after the TSX and other markets recover. There was however good news on the investment front. I went to a realtor site in Ottawa and posted a message that I was interested in condos in the Britannia area. An hour later the realtor phoned me. I admitted I was just looking for a valuation on our condo. He said a unit sold a week or so ago for $346.000, and there had been quite a few sales in the past few months.
This is probably because peope couldn't afford the special assessment. Since I have kept the value of our unit at $260,000 for 4 years, it is good that it has risen probably $80,000, in line with rising property prices across North America.
I woke Steve about 3:30 and suggested he come for his lunch, which I heated up. It is the first time he was late to eat twice in one day. It didn't seem to affect his appetite at 7 when we ate together.
Sat Apr 30
Tara had told us last evening that she would pick up Steve at 9:10 (previously 8:30) to take him to the bank. I was very careful to ensure he had dry briefs and trousers, and a warm coat, and he was ready in good time, having had breakfast. Tara's arrival was on the dot, and off they went to pay his income tax bill, and then have chicken wings.
In the morning I surveyed various anti-virus products and selected Norton's basic offering at a first year cost of $32.59. I don't want a repeat of Thursday night's hack if I can avoid it. I do have Window's Defender, and a free McAfee, which it was necessary to uninstall. Download and installation were lengthy but trouble free. One of the free options was a secure password storage vault. Steve was dropped off by Tara about 1pm, and the first thing he said was 'when's lunch?' So we had regular lunch.
Lynn emailed to say neither of the dates I had supplied to collect our stuff were good for her, and she would give me more options. She also suggested I rent a U-Haul and collect from everybody. I replied explaining why this wasn't possible, including my health. Apparently she has the boxes that Brenda DesRoches had looked after.
We had found more pieces of art in the garage, and I got them down. Many were early works by L-A. They'll go up on Flickr in the next day or so.
For GNiTM morning tomorrow I started on some audio files of Dave Kemp's sermons I had kept since 2016/17, and the first one is 'Our Town,' a very brave indictment of the seedier side of Carlton Place, which I remember well.
Fri Apr 29
On this second day without anti-inflamatories or vitamins I was beginning to feel weaker and not my normal happy self. We went to Cloverdale for L-A's dental appointment as required by Sunnybrook only to find we were a week early. It was correct in my calendar but I hadn't checked the calendar! It wasn't a wasted trip however, because I was able to collect her new accessible parking permit at Service Ontario.
My computer was working fine today - no signs of yesterday's attack. However, it is entirely possible that that hacker can now access my machine. If Windows Defender didn't stop him, I need something else, starting with a screen lock. I needed to look at my MasterCard statement and saw that I had been billed $2 by JustAnswer, and then $66. I checked a number of things - they appeared legit - and then spoke to their customer service who said that as soon as I set up an account I was billed for the first month. I cancelled the account, but I'll have to eat the $66.
I decided it was high time to wash our bed linen for the first time since we came. The sheets are huge, but the washer and dryer handled them well on two separate loads.
In the afternoon I tackled more of the broken links on the Kanata Page, in the resources section. At dinner I tried to open a bottle of sparking rosé, but for the first time in my life failed to do so. L-A had wanted to celebrate her new accessible parking permit. I'll work on the bottle tomorrow evening using some leverage - and then we'll celebrate.
Thu Apr 28
This was my first day without anti-inflamatories or vitamins as required by Toronto General Hospital in the 7 days before my biopsy next Wednesday.
I called Waste Management (800-665-1898) and they confirmed I could bring in the wood from the fence. Mid morning I planted the daffodils that Kate from Humber Valley United had brought at Easter. They are now in the front garden outside 'Tara's' room, and should bloom again in a year. Then I loaded all the wood that hadn't been picked up by neighbours into the trunk of the Malibu. There was just enough room. I checked my email and the CRA pointed me to MyAccount. I logged in there and there were 3 new messages relating to my re-assesement after they disallowed all our medical expenses for year 2020 until they had reviewed the actual receipts, which I had sent them a couple of months ago. The good news was that there was a tax rebate on its way of $1,301.06. This compares with the $1,282.06 demand last year after they disallowed our medical expenses. The other main news was that they said I hadn't told them that my expenses year was not the calendar year, so they had calculated everything based on calendar year. This misunderstanding arose because I
had stated my expenses year began 22 October on my uFile return, but this information doesn't find its way to the tax return(!). I certainly can't find it there. So I called the CRA and queried this, and they confirmed that for 2021 and subsequent years I should use the calendar year. After lunch we made shortbread, and then I drove to Waste Management at 260 New Toronto St. At a kiosk I was told they had a minimum rate to drop off anything of $50. I asked him if he knew anywhere cheaper, and he said there were several places on Shorncliffe, north of North Queen. I drove there and the first one I saw was at 51 Shorncliffe, tel 46-239-2009. I figured it would be cheaper than Waste Management. I drove up a ramp where the car was weighed. On the green light I drove on and a man directed me to back into an alcove. I got all the wood out and stacked it by a wall. Around me were mountains of garbage.
I drove back up the ramp and the car was weighed again. At the office they calculated that the price was $30. I asked him what would happen to my wood. He said it would be shipped to Michigan where they would process it for recycling. I was relieved that I'd got this far without being stopped by the police - though I had loaded the car carefully for safety. I drove home to tea and warm shortbread with my sweetheart. Now the wood was gone, it can rain or snow tomorrow and the front yard will look good when Tara gets here.
About 5:15 my computer screen lit up with an apparent security alert from Windows Defender. There was a number I must call to get back control of my machine. I rebooted, but the same screen came up. I decided to call the number, and a man calling himself David Brandon with an Asian (?) accent guided me through the process of getting my machine cleaned up. He ran a series of scans in dos mode which he said proved that our local network of 2 computers and 2 phones was being monitored and watched for the last 48 hours. Laurie-Ann didn't like what she was hearing of the situation, particularly after he had asked that her machine be switched off. Brandon had by now opened a secure line to my phone to prevent the hackers listening, and he said his number was 301-539-2580, and his Employee ID at Microsoft was MS4147382. He said the hack was at 4:30 AM the previous night (when my computer was switched off). He said any credit or debit cards with numbers beginning 5,6,3 and 4 had been hacked. He asked that I check my banks and credit cards for the last 48 hours for unusual transactions. There were none. Then he said he wanted to call my bank, and put me on via the secure line he had
set up so I could advise them of the hack. But when the bank asked for my debit card number, my suspicions became severe enough to pull the plug on him. He had said that when I was speaking to the bank he would not be able to monitor the call, but I didn't believe him. We had dinner then, and after dinner my machine appeared normal.
I searched for Microsoft help and was directed to JustAnswer.com, which I assumed was a Microsoft facility. I briefly described my experience and asked if it was a scam. I had to pay $2 to get that far, requiring me to give them my credit card number. I was put on to a specialist, Dan Potts, who, after my initial brief statement of my experience, pronounced it to be a well-known scam. That was a relief, so when I got an email from them inviting me to open an account with JustAnswer, I did - that was a mistake.
Wed Apr 27
Slava was due at 8, so I rose at 7:30. While she was washing Steve I checked the oven. The oven cleaner had done an excellent job; when I cleaned it off with kitchen roll the oven looked better than ever. I attacked the few remaining burn marks with our SA cleaner. L-A finished preparing Scotch Broth from the stock from our recent lamb roast, and we set it to cook on the stove.
I took Steve to his 3-monthly visit with Dr Judah. I had a list of his current pills, and the TIA history, plus comments on his increasing incontinence and 'confusion,' which he readily admitted to when the doctor asked him how he was. The TIA history was a worry, but Dr Judah thought there may be other explanations, such as seizures.
He listened to his lungs and measured his blood pressure. Many aspects of Steve's health are satisfactory. Nevertheless, Dr Judah wanted more accurate diagnoses for the things that ail him, so he will set up appointments at Etobicoke General for an ECG, for neurological tests and a brain scan. We have a next appointment with him at 11:30 on 1 June. It was cold going home and Steve had to walk for 5 minutes back to the car, but he managed it well with his cane.
Back home we lunched on Scotch Broth and bagels. My day so far had been good, despite the switch from Feramax to Pharmanex iron. About 4 pm in a break from helping with evening meal preparations, I broke down the final garden fence panel and piled up the planks, then raked last autumn's leaves that had been beneath it. I had been in touch with Chantelle who said she had TB and debts. Today she sent me photos of her confirmation at Easter, 10 days ago, which I posted on FaceBook. It melted my heart. I sent her R500, less than she had asked, but will certainly help her. As I was working on this, Google showed me a video called From science to God, by Dr Sy Garte. This had many parallels with my own faith journey, and on FB I said "this one's for you, Carlos F.
Tue Apr 26
I got up late. When I finished some journal updates, and wanted to check something on my calendar, I saw that TGH would be phoning any time after 10, which was in 10 minutes. They had actually left two reminder messages on my voicemail. The prep nurse, Leslie, called with various instructions. No Aleve or vitamins for 7 days before the biopsy, but can take Tylenol. Shower in the morning before I come, and wear clean clothes. No ring. Bring a bag for glasses, dental plate and phone. Expect to go home 1 - 2pm. Bob Stambula needs to know that.
By the time the call was over, L-A was tired of waiting for me and had started preparing the breakfast, with grunts and groans. Steve had fallen into TIA18. This was the first since 15 April, 10 days ago! We let him sleep it off, but then he did have his breakfast. An hour later an anaesthetist called and told me it would be a semi - general anaesthetic. I would be very drowsy, but wakeable. The drugs they would have given me would make me feel good, but with reduced judgement facility. So I must not drive or make financial decisions for 24 hours. So now I knew the real reason I needed Bob to take me home.
Steve was still very drowsy. L-A had an appointment with Richmond Gardens X-Ray etc at noon, but we weren't comfortable with leaving Steve in his present condition. So I called and postponed the appointment till 4 this afternoon. Steve was well enough to lunch with us about 1:30. We left for Richmond Gardens at 3:15. L-A had taken a Diclofenac and a Celebrex to try and prevent any reoccurence of the visit here last Saturday. It worked. She and the walker almost waltzed through the corridors from the rear entrance and elevator. On our arrival we found that this 'repeat' appointment wasn't for the mammogram again, but for an ultrasound requested by Dr Lindholm.
She disappeared into the ultrasound room. They had asked us to bring the report on her previous mammogram, which is on a memory stick. But they found that the technology used in Worcester Radiology was different from theirs and they couldn't display it. However, they made a copy of the files and will investigate whether it can be converted.
Going home was straightforward except she felt more dizzy than usual. She thought it was she'd taken the Celebrex as well as the Diclofenac, so next trip out she'll stick to just Diclofenac. Steve was fine after being alone for shortly more than an hour.
I had another go at the fence post and after sawing for 5 minutes, I was able to knock it over with my shoulder. Back inside helping with dinner preparation I felt extremely fatigued. Maybe I had got too energetic with the post. When the dinner was ready I went to Steve's room but he said he just wanted to sleep more. This wasn't like him at all. I said I would keep his dinner for him.
We watched the first episode of 'Jaguar' on Netflix, because it stars Blanca Suarez - Lydia from Cable Girls. We weren't disappointed by this triller about tracking down ex-membes of the Nazi high command as they attempted to escape Europe. Steve woke up ready for his dinner about 9:15, in a good state. L-A was planning a roast for tomorrow and the oven had been smoking recently, so I squirted in some of Carol's overnight oven cleaner spray. There was a loud knock on the door, with flashing lights outside. With my mind still cogitating about post-war Spain in 'Jaguar' I had thoughts about a police visit to arrest us all. But it was UPS with the Nu Skin delivery: Overdrive and the new Iron product from Pharmanex. So when I prepared my pills for early morning I decided to take 2 Iron (18 mg total) instead of Feramax (150 mg) on the basis that Pharmanex would have ensured the iron would be highly absorbable. I also had my last Overdrive for a week since TGH said no more vitamins till after the biopsy.
Mon Apr 25
To be at Sunnybrook Hospital by 9:30 - taking Steve with us - we needed to be up by 7. We were - but he was up earlier. After I persuaded him to change his briefs and put on fresh trousers, he joined us for breakfast. He was in good spirits. I remembered two other things in addition to the package I had prepared over the last few days - the memory stick with the SA mammogram, and to take an Overdrive. We left the house about 8:15, and drove for the most part along Lawrence Ave W, which we rightly surmised to be less busy than the 401 at this time. Although it sounds like a routine drive, I was conscious of the fact that if I lost concentration even for a second and we were in an accident, our present circumstances would change from instability and an uncertain future to a national state of disaster, to borrow from South Africa's emergency preparedness states.
Maybe thanks to prayer we not only arrived in time at Sunnybrook, but managed to park in a disabled spot next to an elevator that took L-A a few steps with her walker from the main entrance to M building. I escorted her but didn't enter, and was relieved when I saw an orderly offer to take her on a wheel chair to M6. I returned to the car and Steve and a pleasant chat. Over the next 2+ hours we chatted and dozed and L-A and I texted. Steve talked about wanting a pee, but when I brought him the small plastic urinal, he wasn't able to perform. Eventually L-A emerged having met separately with Drs Andrea Eisen and Amanda Roberts. She was well pleased, and came with future appointments in June and October.
We returned via the 401 to Java Joe's where we lunched on very think egg salad sandwiches and European cookies. At one point Steve insisted on eating the egg from inside his sandwich with a wooden sugar stirer, in danger of dropping the egg into the coffee. Back home, after collecting an M&M order, I had 5 minutes sawing the post in the garden before the forecasted rain started.
Steve is exhibiting more signs of dementia. He often thinks he is somewhere completely different, often a place from earlier in his life. During our drive today he told us the car's brakes needed attention, and then recommended a mechanic he used to work with but could no longer remember the name of. The brakes are fine, and it turned out when I questioned him later that he was hearing uneven road noise and blaming the brakes. He quite often brings up subjects that exist only in his mind. Skills he used to have he has now forgotten. I am wondering if I should explain that it is the nature of his illness that he would forget such things, and not to get upset with L-A should she tell him how to do it. He hates being told to do anything, treating it as an insult to his intelligence.
We video-called Amanda, who on top of her many other medical conditions has now been diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She wants a second opinion, and will probably get it. She isn't too impressed by the doctor who gave her the first opinion. she lost 100 lb a year ago and looked and seemed much better than we remembered her from 4 years ago.
When I took Steve his half pill, he dropped the water glass on the floor and it broke. I think he may have been in the early stages of a TIA.
Sun Apr 24
L-A wasn't keen to go to church, after her sudden knee problem yeterday, but I went. I was feeling a little glum, and I needed some energy from outside myself. There was plenty of energy in the sanctuary, as our favourite guitarist played bass really well and sang. After Lilian Brown's message, I went to the coffee shop and got L-A an oatmilk latte. This was very well received when I got home. After lunch L-A processed the bone from the leg of lamb from last week, producing lots of stock for scotch broth.
In the afternoon I demolished the second last fence panel, piling the planks neatly to make it easier for people to take them. I studied the route to Sunnybrook hospital and made a time plan. Steve and I get up at 7 tomorrow and have breakfast at 8. Our dessert at dinner was the last of the beigli with berries and cream.
Sat Apr 23
Most of my morning was spent preparing all possible medical reports and other items for Sunnybrook on Monday.
We left Steve alone a couple of hours when we went to Richmond Gardens X-Ray & Ultrasound for the mammogram that Lindholm had arranged. They have a back door allowing elevator access to Unit 202 on the 2nd floor, but since it wasn't close to the surgery, a nurse called Jeanne offered to walk me to it. She even said she'd meet me there in 5 minutes with a wheel chair. So we parked round the back and met her, but the chair was too small for L-A. So she got all the way to the surgery using her walker.
After the various registrations, they invited her to come to the room with the mammogram machine, but since arriving, L-A's left leg had become virtually unuseable, as happens occasionally. Jeanne had an idea. They had a stool with 4 wheels, and when L-A sat on it, I could push her to the mammogram room.
The mammogram proceeded normally. When she came out Jeanne and I got her to the car. I pulled the walker, L-A sat on the stool and held the walker handles, and Jeanne pushed the stool, the hardest job. She came originally from Guyana a long time ago and has 3 granchildren in Canada. She had gone far beyond the normal expectation for nursing service.
Mid afternoon I worked on the broken parts of fence in the front garden, pulling off more planks and adding them to piles, and starting to saw off the post just below grass level. I will do more sawing on sunny days. I went to the Richmond Gardens web site and found a place for comments, so wrote a strong endorsement of Jeanne's help for us.
Fri Apr 22
The two birds that slept under the awning two days ago slept there last night. It seems they are regular visitors. I spent the majority of the day reimagining and reprogramming The Kanata Page. Over four years many of the links no longer worked, particularly links to substantial organizations. Quite a few links were broken because the entities they pointed to no longer existed, based on Google searches. It seems change is a constant here as elsewhere.
I removed all party political material that can change every 4 years or less, reducing the maintenance load in the future.
Joan Duffy had sent me a Nu Skin order worth $300+. Instead of sending her the goods myself I wanted to send them as from a member of my downline. This would earn me a 5% commission. I checked the Nu Skin site and found that I only have one remaining downline member: Bill Albrecht. I called him and he put me on to Vickie. She kndly brought me up to date with his health situation, cancer of the vocal chords, which has miraculously responded to immune therapy treatment.
They were happy to give me their login info so I could make the transaction for Joan. I also ordered for us an Overdrive for L-A and the new(?) Pharmanex iron supplement for me.
Eric Manalang emailed to say that my appointment on 17 May was not for the eye operation to remove the oil, but a preliminary consultancy for that. He also asked if we had any relevant medical records, so I sent him 6 documents, including Dr Acton's referral.
I cleaned the outside of our bedroom window to see if I could photograph our nightly ornithological visitors better, and later did do. It is blurred but recognizable.
Mario the neighbour can come by a week ago and, suggested I put up a sign for free wood on Harrop Street to attract more passers by. I did.
Richmond Gardens X-Ray & Ultrasound called to offer a mammogram tomorrow either at 8am or 2:30. We chose the latter.
After lunch I went to the IDA to collect L-A's prescriptions. Dr. Lindholm had told me he wouldn't prescribe Muprocin to replace Banogen. The good news was that he had allowed her 180 pills of Lyrica, $96.99, for a single dispensing fee of $7.99. Not so good was that it was also $7.99 for 90 Eltroxin, costing $5.54. And Dr L had refused to renew her Celebrex, citing liver damage and other side effects at her age. He had prescribed no substitute. The best over-the-counter anti-biotic cream the pharmacist could offer for her lymphedema was polysporin.
When I got home and showed what I had managed to obtain to L-A, she said she would return to low doses of Diclofenac (Arthrotec), which she still has in abundance, prescribed by Esguerra. She said there was a large bottle somewhere. It was actually on her 'dressing table' (chest of drawers) but I didn't see it. So I went through the 4 suitcases in the bedroom, then the one in the basement, then the two in the garage and finally the two trunks in the garage before I gave up the effort. I actually found it in the bedroom when I went to bed and decided to have a second search of the chest of drawers.
I relate this story to illustrate the nature of our days living out of suitcases here for 3 months so far, and who knows for how long in the future.
Dr Lindholm called to say he had requisitioned a mammogram. We hadn't requested this but maybe he had been reading the documentation I had provided at our initial contact.
Tara messaged L-A to say she would take Steve to the bank on 30 April. I called her to say I would be happy to take him sooner than the day before his deadline, to avoid the risk of her not being able to come on that day. She passed the phone to John who said I had pestered her 3 times about this (untrue), and told me to back off from Steve's financials. Later he sent me an email stating that 'Steven' didn't want me to have anything to do with his taxes or his money. All I had done was collate his financial piles into subsections for ease of reference, submit the relevant tax documents to H&R Block,
and then take him there to collect the finished return. Had I not done this, would Tara have done it? My motivation as an ex-professional financial planner for 25 years was to see that a job needed doing, and to do it, since I had the skill. It's essential now however that we minimise any further family dischord so I'll be lying low.
After 43 episodes of Cable Girls we reached the end tonight. What a fine series! We also reached the end of Jeremiah in our Bible reading - 53 chapters, and almost as full of action as Cable Girls. We have really come to love Jeremiah, the man.
Thu Apr 21
I woke up with an idea to solve partially the problem with Steve peeing over the bathroom floor in addition to into the toilet. He says he doesn't do it - suggesting someone else is responsible. Anyway, my idea was to get one of those toilet carpets that fit round the base of the toilet bowl.
I also needed to be sure that when Tara goes to the TD on Saturday she really will be able to settle Steve's tax bill. Delay could result in interest charges. So when I went out about noon I started with the bank. They looked at the payment form from his tax return, checked his current account was in order, and yes, Tara can deal with it. Since she has PoA, Steve doesn't have to accompany her. I then went on to Walmart, but the only toilet carpets they sell are combined with bath mats for $24.
All the mats are cloth and rubber, not easy to launder. They didn't have them in beige. I went home and made one with an old towel for zero cost. It has a slot for the warm air vent. It can be laundered and dried easily. I believe it will be functional.
Wed Apr 20
It was Slava's day as psw, and as she did last Wednesday she arrived early, about 8:15, waking us up. This time she was a lot more successful getting Steve to co-operate. At breakfast when my back was turned he opened L-A's Chela-Fer pills and took one, and when I remonstrated, said that all the pills were the same. Then he said "I'm not stupid." He certainly isn't. He put two daughters through university, having not attended university hiimself.
Tara confirmed that she will take Steve to the TD Bank on Saturday to pay his tax bill. She says there's enugh in his bank account to cover it.
I emailed Pastor Kate at Humber Valley United Church, thanking her for bringing round daffodils at Easter, and giving her a link to Carol's art.
Tue Apr 19
I took Steve for an appointment with Nataliya at H&R Block to collect his completed tax return and sign several forms. Before signing the forms he read through (or pretended to read through) the two pages of legalise on each one, something most of us don't bother with these days, because we know that whatever the form says we can't refuse to sign, and still get the service. He was rationally behaved throughout. He had a large tax bill; Natalia explained that he was no longer able to income split since Carol's death, and he needed to increase his withholding on the Via pension to bring down his bill for next year.
I paid the H&R Block bill since Tara has his credit card. I will get him to write me a cheque. At lunchtime Steve turned up with his TV controller in his hand rather than his walking stick. He is showing more evidence of confusion in daily living. The snow which came down last night wasn't in evidence today. I put out a box of metal waste from the basement and it was all taken.
I posted Carol's finished art album to Flickr, and then announced it on my FaceBook. Later in the evening after seeing the number of visitors to the Flickr album rise from 1 to 21 in the day, I posted it to Carol's FaceBook (yes, it's still there) and to the FaceBooks of our 7 mutual friends.
Two birds joined us for the night under the eaves of the awning above our window.
Mon Apr 18
I finished digitising Christine's CDs, moving them to their categories on the red disk, and then emailed her with a word of thanks. Then I emailed Joel Bernard with a another word of thanks.
I had performance problems with uFile; maybe this bank holiday half way through April floods their site. Later in the day uFile had recovered somewhat and I keyed in a bunch more of L-A's expenses. Snow started.
We had found 6 letters to Carol from the 1960s. The most interesting aspect was the stamps, so I photographed one of them and posted it on FaceBook, but I got no requests from them, so it seems than none of my 'friends' collects stamps.
I was unexpectedly fatigued, and slept for an hour and a half in the afternoon, during which snow started in earnest.
Sun Apr 17 - Easter, AKA Resurrection Sunday
I got up at 8 to have Steve fed before Alison came at 9. Our plan today was to attempt to take him into Catch the Fire, but if that failed, to take him back home. However, at about 10:15 his shoes were nowhere to be found, so I decided to discuss his coming to church with him. He wasn't keen; no interest in new experiences. Tara then kindly stepped in, reminding him that he used to go sometimes with Carol, and that even when he didn't feel like it, once he was out of the house, he started having fun with the women. It was all to no avail. In the end, shortly after Tara and Kennedy left (with a bag of chocolate eggs that Kannedy could hide, and then search for), L-A and I left for church, telling Steve it was just for half an hour when I would be back.
I dropped L-A at the main church door, and she went in with just her cain, not the walker. I parked for an intended 10 minutes in case of problems. After 5 minutes my phone rang. L-A had experienced a wardrobe malfunction - her prosthetic bra became unhitched at the back. I had been the one to hitch it, so I felt responsible. She couldn't continue to the service, so she asked me to take her home. When we got there Steve didn't ask any questions, but since he was lying on the couch, he got to watch the whole of the service that L-A had missed, online. It included a powerful testimony from a lady who had been in jail resulting from cocaine addiction, but after meeting God in a prison Christian meeting, she was now, 2 years later, even being re-united with her 5 children. She had attended CTF for the last 6 months. Watch here, 1 hour 8 minutes in.
For dessert after lunch we had Easter bunnies - one for Steve and half of one each for us. Very tasty. Steve ate his like he was on a mission and nothing would stop him. A lady pastor from Humber Valley United Church brought daffodils for Steve, as widower to their dear congregation member!
The afternoon for me was spent digitising Christine's CDs, photographing the final batch of Carol's pieces, which were on the living room walls, defrosting the downstairs freezer, and helping L-A prepare our roast lamb Easter dinner. It was a first class meal, and followed by beigli. As with the chocolate after lunch, Steve's conquest of his beigli showed a man determined.
But then, something interupted him, a spasm of some kind that jerked him to the right (he normally sinks towards the left during a TIA). He had a very frightened look on his face. L-A had shouted, calling me over, and I straightened him on the chair, and soon he regained his normal state, reached for his beigli, and finished it. I have been quite fatigued today, which is normal for me the day after taking tramacet. Tomorrow should be a good day. L-A ordered me some Red Bull which arrived as part of a Sober's delivery mid afternoon, and I drank one. I find energy drinks do help when I am extra fatigued, and I haven't tried Red Bull before.
Sat Apr 16
By 8 I was ready for the day. Celebrex hadn't given me a heart attack, and tramacet was working just as well as ever, making me feel that all's right with the world, and certainly no pain in my body. At this rate of consumption, once every 3 weeks, my stock will last me months, and give me a way to ensure a great day.
We had egg and chips for breakfast. I digitized a number of CDs that had come from Christine and/or Joel among ours picked up on 8 April. After my recent experience with needing my ears syringed, I realized thst something similar could be causing the problem with Laurie-Ann's Apple ear buds. Lo and behold, when I looked into the ear buds with a magnifying glass, I saw that both of them had ear wax in them! I removed it with a paperclip, and the problem was resolved. They sounded better, and with perfect stereo, than they had for years.
After lunch I continued working through the CDs from Christine, digitizing a number that weren't on the red disk. Then I keyed in more medical expenses. I discovered that 'vitamins and supplements are not deductible unless recommended by a doctor to treat a health condition, such as iron pills for anemia.' So I can list my iron supplements.
Steve dined with Tara and Kennedy on pizza in his room, while we had spaghetti bolognaise. We all had beigli for dessert. After dinner L-A and I watched an Easter passion play. I had continuedto feel the benefit of celebrex + tramacet all day, but tomorrow it's back to the normal routine.
Fri Apr 15 - Good Friday
I posted the CWCP broadcast of 'The Terrible Meek' to FaceBook for Good Friday. Then I listened to 'Hey Hey Rise Up.' the first new music in 30 years by Pink Floyd - David Gilmour and Nick Mason, Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney joined by Ukrainian singer Andriy Khlyvnyuk of the band BoomBox. I posted the excellent video to FaceBook.
I photographed another 10 of Carol's pieces and uploaded them to Flickr. Some of them had been hard to shoot through glass with sunlight around, but on the high resolution big screen they all looked good.
It was a very windy day that blew over all our garbage bins. I noticed a stranger (to me) in the side yard, who turned out to be the next door neighbour trimming down our bushes to dissuade them from damaging the intervening fence. Luckily Tara had arrived and she spoke with him at length.
We had decided to have a fish meal at lunch time, it being Good Friday, and I drove to McNies on Burnhamthorpe to get it, ordering 3 portions of haddock and two of chips. Imagine my surprise when I opened the package and found 5 portions of chips - and no fish. I drove back to find I was expected. They had 3 haddocks waiting for me.
TIA17 came after eating our quite nice haddock and chips. In the afternoon I checked historical exchange rates between the CAD and the ZAR for 2021, and decided to settle on the average .0848 for calculating medical expenses. I keyed in the first 10 expenses.
Since we had eaten a full lunch, we had a smaller evening meal, but towards the end of it Steve slipped into TIA18, the second time we know of when he had two in one day. Tara was here to assist and in both cases we got him to safety. Healthwise I had to struggle somewhat today, with chest and lung pain, and stress. I decided, as an experiment to take a celebrex and two tramacet tomorrow morning instead of my regular selection of pills.
Thu Apr 14
I woke in the night (not unusual) to see a new face lying beside me - scary! It turned out to be her pillow with it's design artwork.
I spent the morning cleaning up several web pages relating to our wedding, including the service sheet, which were full of broken links developed over 23 years.
The afternoon started with adding Asbestos.com to the Recovery Page, leading to a full refit of that excellent resource. I emailed Danielle DiPietro at Asbestos.com saying I would love to be allocated a 'patient advocate.'
Tara had messaged that she and Kennedy won't be here on (Easter) Sunday, but will come for a visit tomorrow. At first this was hard on L-A who really wanted to go to Catch the Fire for the Easter service. But we figured out a solution: I will drive her there, and then return 'home.' I'll then pick her up at the end of the service.
I finished digitising the new-to-me CDs that Christine had put with ours, and labelled the boxes of CDs that we now have availanle for sale.
We listened to several hours of Windows of Opportunty from 2015. I made initial steps towards filling out our 2021 tax return.
Wed Apr 13
We were woken by the doorbell ringing at 8:10. It was the Slava the Polish psw, a competant and compassionate lady. She went to his room to find him soaking, and the bed, sheet and blankets soaking. These I had laundered yesterday. He refused to let her give him a shower. Maybe he was tired after yesterday. There was one benefit from this - the dressing on his forearm would stay on a day longer. She asked me what should she do. I asked Steve to get off the bed and take off his wet trousers, but he complained that he wasn't going to take orders from me. I said she should go to her next appointment, and I would deal with him. When she had gone I told him I wouldn't be getting his breakfast unless he first cleaned himself up (take off his wet pants and diapers and put on clean). He turned over and stayed in bed. I am writing this an hour later and he's still there.
By noon I had asked him if he would change his trousers and diaper, but he wouldn't. I reminded him there would be no breakfast while he was wet.
The Polish psw had told me she had left a voicemail on the home phone to say she'd be coming here at 8. I decided to check the home phone voicemail. It hadn't been initialized, so she couldn't have left a message on that phone. With a little help from Google I initialized it and set it up, so now people can indeed leave messages.
We had lunch at about 1:30. By then Steve had finally decided to change his trousers and diaper, so he was invited. He hadn't had any breakfast, so he happily got working on his leftover portion from last night's dinner. When he was satisfied he lay on the couch. I took the wet bedding to the washing machine.
This was my chance so I swept and washed the floors in the kitchen, the bathroom and Steve's room. Then I drove to H&R Block to take Steve's second American pension statement. Nataliya should now be all set to complete his return.
Laurie-Ann received the long-awaited call from Sunnybrook hosptal, with a date of 25 April for an initial appointment. We will take Steve with us. It's a great relief that her referral has finally reached its goal.
L-A had noticed that my web page '50 Years On' was seriously out of date. For the next couple of hours I repaired the broken links and added additional events since I'd created the page after my Dartmouth reunion in 2008. I also updated our families page. Then I posted '50 Years On' to Facebook.
Steve wandered into the kitchen and I served him the coffee and cookie he had left after lunch. I discovered him with his fingers in one of Laurie-Ann/s medications. When I asked him not to play with other people's meds he complained that I was messing with his income tax. I responded that I had just taken his tax forms to H&R Block, and sorted his filing system to make it far easier to access.
When I started preparing supper, I put on 'The Gospel Music of Johnny Cash.' I hoped that as we ate Steve might put two and two together when he learned from Johnny's explicit words that one of his favourites was a strong believer. During supper L-A asked him if he had any choices for music at his funeral, which threw him through a bit of a loop. But he did say that he wanted a Christian funeral. That makes him more of an agnostic than an atheist. After Johnny Cash I played some Christian songs by Elvis. Later in the evening he asked "When would we be going home?" He thought he was in Fort Erie.
Tue Apr 12
Fried egg on crumpet with mushrooms for breakfast. After breakfast I finished sorting Steve's tax documents, and I am pretty sure I now have the property tax detail that Nataliya wanted. I cleared some metal items including a car bumper from the garage and put them on the kerb. They were quite heavy. This gave more room for soring the boxes Mercifully they were taken from the kerb some time in the next hour.
I got Steve to sign cheques to me for $300 for food and $109.51 for his glasses frame and medical expenses.
Jason, a sanitation inspector came to assess the need for a sump pump and later a back-flow valve for the basement. The pump would cost $4,000, less a $1,700 grant from the municipality. Jason wanted to check the water meter, and I couldn't remember where I'd seen it. I asked Steve if he knew, and much to my surprise he came downstairs and went to it, behind the bar.
I drove to Cloverdale to give Steve's property tax information to Nataliya. She says that since he received the disability amount last year, it will also be claimed this year. She doesn't know for how many years his disability tax credit would have been applied for by his doctor - that form would now be in the hands of the CRA.
I reported these things to Tara by email. Steve had his weirdest day since we came. He had TIA16 while already lying on the couch, talking gibberish. He went out of the front door and sat on the chair for a while. 10 minutes later I went out to see him bringing the two garbage bins back from the kerb, which I had placed there an hour earlier. At dinner I saw a bad cut on his forearm, and he admitted he had fallen on the driveway. He was in his socks. He had managed to get himself off the ground, which may be when he scraped his arm. For some of the day he talked to himself, sometimes about fantasies in his mind.
After dinner we couldn't get him to leave the dining room, and he wandered around looking for tiny morsels to eat, even though he had only eaten half his main course. Eventually he went back to his room, only to re-emerge later. He asked if we could play some Johnny Cash, but at this time we declined. We watched Cable Girls together, and then as L-A read from Jeremiah, he heard it. Then we prayed including praying for him, and he stayed. Eventually he did go to bed, but compared with a 'normal' day he had had very little sleep today.
Mon Apr 11
TGH emailed with the detailed schedule of tests prior to my biopsy on 4 May, including needing to find a 'responsible person' to take me home afterwards.
Continuing to work on Steve's documents for his tax return, I noticed that he received a disability amount last year. I asked Nataliya by email if this doesn't mean he is still eligible this year.
Eric Manalang told me he had now received the referral from St Andrew's and would get back to me with a booking.
I began checking that we had indeed digitised the CDs that I brought back from Christine, ex Joel. After dinner we watched our home movie of Carol's and Laurie-Ann's visit to New York City in 2009: New York City '09 - Travel the Road. It held Steve's attention, particularly when Carol was on screen.
Sun Apr 10
Tara had told us that there were additional financial files beside the microwave. Abstaining from church today gave me some time to work through them. Instead of continuing the 'one pile' system for his correspondence and financial files, I separated them into categories.
Julia Loewen had asked how we were doing, so I sent her a resume. Neesa had also asked, so I replied with a briefer resume focussed on the biopsy.
We watched the movie 'The Courier,' with Benedict Cumberbatch playing Greville Wynne, the British salesman who with Oleg Penkovsky got thousands of photographs of Cuban missial silos in 1962 and other material from the Russians, probably contributing to Khrushchev's decision not to fire the missiles.
After I had gone to bed, L-A challenged Steve after finding him spooning out the Cretan Thyme and Flower honey. Apparently it was a tense moment. I had unfortunately left the honey within reach after using it on the dessert at dinner.
Sat Apr 9
Steve suffered TIA15 after breakfast. We suspect he has them occasionally when lying on his bed, that we don't find out about. In this case I got him to the couch and he sat there hardly moving for half an hour, before lying down.
About half of the wood from the fence has now been taken by local residents, prompting me to recommend to Tara cancelling the contract for it to be taken away for $600. I said I thought it would all be gone in a couple of weeks, and I would saw off the one post still standing.
L-A had asked Bella to confirm that Marsha's mother was ill and there was no food, but Bella reported that things seemed normal, and her mother wasn't ill, so we won't be sending a rescue donation. Bella also said the bank had charged a R10 fee on her last allowance, to I sent her R510 for the one due on Monday. It's sad that just R10 is so vital to their budgetting.
I went through Steve's papers again but couldn't find the items Nataliya told me in an email that she needed - his US pension and his municipal tax statement. However Tara remembered that she had taken one of these to scan, but hadn't done so. She said that there was an additional repository of tax and other correspondence beside the microwave. There was indeed, and I will go through it tomorrow. Tara won't be visiting us this weekend because Kennedy has a birthday party on Sunday. I need to see if Steve is in receipt of the disability tax credit, and if not to arrange that. It would mean that the CBI costs (for psw) would be treated as medical expenses.
Late afternoon I found time to take the boxes out of the car, and bring in some of the stuff including L-A's clothes. L-A is in extra pain in her legs, so we decided that I wouldn't go to church tomorrow but be extra support for her.
Fri Apr 8
My trip to Ottawa and back can be characterised by the following memories:
I just took one extra Overdrive. I was alert all day - not just because of the Overdrive.
I didn't scoot over to the left lane for the 401 when on the 427 at the start of the day. So I took Eglinton and drove East. The sun was a blessing (for navigation) but a nuisance (I couldn't read any street signs). After 10 - 15 minutes I picked a road to go north on, and it turned out to be the one which led to the 400, with an easy turn off to the 401, which was jammed. Eglinton had been moving fast, so the dogleg probably saved me time.
I only stopped once, for Tim Horton's coffee and a doughnut, at Trenton. After that I didn't feel the need, and I arrived at Christine Jenkins' house at exactly 1pm, as I had estimated to her. I loaded the boxes I had left with her, and also with Joel Bernard, who had moved. He had returned all the CDs that I had given him, even though I had digitized them.
Leaving Christine's I sent a text to L-A with a progress report. 2 minures later I heard the ringtone for texts from L-A. I hadn't heard this since January. We had concluded there was a problem with her phone which required technical help. But she had now successfully sent me a reply! I certainly felt it was a TKOG. Later she told be that Apple had downloaded a new revision of the software. Possibly this had been a known problem and they had fixed it. Or, just maybe, our loving Lord had delegated a technical angel to fix it.
It was so good to spend some time with Marv and Sydney. She gave me more clothes, and a good lunch. We prayed. Marv is well and takes no pills, at 88. With Sydney's help I moved the boxes and suitcase she had stored four years for us into the car. I had planned to call on Karen when I left, but Sydney thought she would soon be out with her (new) dog, so called her, and Karen arrived 15 minutes later. So now I was surrounded by two of our most faithful supporters. How good is that(!) Sydney gave me a large coffee and a muffin to see me on my way.
I drove 'home.' But first I filled up with gas on Carling ($82.31), and then popped down to Poulin to see and photographed our home with its new windows. For the rest of the journey I needed to stop just once, at Trenton, for coffee and a sweet treet. My phone rang (via bluetooth) at one point and it was Nataliya from H&R Block saying she needed more documents. I asked her to email me with the details. The 401 was moving well all the way. I got home at 9:30.
Laurie-Ann had clearly looked after Steve well, and he had not suffered a TIA - TKOG.
Thu Apr 7
Pill-wise (my regular Tylenol based selection), I think this will be a good day.
I sent Tersia R500. She and Anthonica have been extremely short of money. I felt it was right to do this. Holy Spirit looks after them as well.
I helped L-A do a FIT bowel cancer test and will send off the sample today. L-A received an email from Marsha Browers saying her mother was ill and there was no money in the family. James called on Messenger video (as he does most days) and showed us a great movie of Sagan opening the book Makak Makes Music that I sent on 31 March.
In the mail today: material from Asbestos.com on mesothelioma. At first glance I am on the right track. There is a curable benign version. Build up of fluid in the pleural space is definitely part of the equation.
At 5 I actually met Dr Lindholm, who syringed my ears, finding significant gobs of ear wax. I should now go back to the hearing centre and see what they measure.
I went on to Far East Chinese Food and ordered from a list L-A had drawn up. It turned out to be excellent and should do us for tomorrow as well.
Wed Apr 6 My 35th anniversary of arriving in Canada
L-A slept in till 10, by which time Steve and I had eaten a big breakfast: s