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Monday, November 24, 2008

Angela's room transfer

FYI to all:

Tonight, Angela was moved to the General Floor. Her new room number is D5(D zone 5th floor) Room # 111A.

The nurse's station phone number there is 519 685-8500 ext. 54857#

For parking etc, it will probably be easier to park on the second level and take the mezzanine walkway across, then the D zone elevator to the 5th floor.

Thanks :)

Ed

my lil sis (7)

Good afternoon :)

Well I have to say that Angela has improved substantially over the past few days. When I went up to visit her today, as soon as I walked in the room, I could notice that the "old Angela" was back with us. Her colour looked healthier and she seemed alot more content.

A couple of "firsts" happened today too! Angela was able to shower for the first time since being admitted. That in itself surely brought some feelings of dignity back to her. She also ate solid food for lunch today. She only ate about half of it but it went down with no issues and she was able to keep it down too. These are all very positive steps. I will CONTINUALLY remind her in the future that I was the one to feed her her first solid meal in the hospital!! lol

Angela has been off the ventilator 100% for 24+ hours now. She should bew able to stay off it for good now as long as her lungs continue to improve the way they have been. With that being said, Ang may be transferred out of the Critical Care Trauma Centre within 24-48 hrs. From there,she would go to the floor and be taken care of from there.
They are also considering transferring her to St.Thomas for the remainder of her stay where she would undergo rehabilitation to regain her strength in her legs and arms. Her time in hospital remains unknown but the Dr. I talked to today said at a stretch, another month.Every case is different though and everyone recovers at a different rate, so we will just play it by ear and go from there.

As I'm sure most of you are aware by now, Angela is able to talk since the being taken off the vent and by capping the trache tube. I know for a fact that Angela was relieved to be able to communicate verbally with everyone once again, but if she starts getting lippy with me, I'll un-cap her and put her on the vent myself!!!! ;)

The neurologist (Dr. Brian Young) will be once again reviewing Angela's condition to determine the root cause of her severe weakness in her right arm. Hopefully it is a "local" cause i.e. torn muscle etc and not a neurological issue. I believe they are going to perform an E.M.G. test on her to test for muscle response etc. ( Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the activation signal of muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph, to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyograph detects the electrical potential generated by muscle cells when these cells contract, and also when the cells are at rest.)

Thank you to all of you for your continued support, kindness and love throughout this ordeal.

Sincerely

Ed McDade

Saturday, November 22, 2008

my lil sis (6)

Happy snowy Saturday morning to you all!

Ugh, enough of this white stuff already. I think I'm going back to Florida! So, I was up to see Ang yesterday and here are the highlights of my visit:

Yesterday they were in the midst of trying to keep Angela a full 24 hrs off the ventilator to allow her to breathe un-assisted. If this 24 hour trial is/was successful, they'll keep her off the vent for good unless her lungs begin to get too tired. Her being off the vent is the major criteria for getting out of that ward and into the general floor wards.

Also, if the ventilator weaning is successful, they can cap off her trache opening which will allow Angela to talk and possible start eating and drinking some solid foods. More good news is that the "echo-cardiogram" results came back and her heart is in good shape!

They had Angela sitting upright in a chair yesterday but after about an hour of this she became very uncomfortable in her lower back area so they hoisted her back into the bed. I asked if I could operate the hoist but they said no :( lol

For those of you who may be visiting in the near future, I'm sure Angela would appreciate the odd magazine or local newspaper to read. If you're there visiting, you could help with page turning as she is still quite weak. In the next couple of weeks, there is the POSSIBILITY of Angela being transferred back to the St.Thomas hospital but I don't think we are too keen on rushing that in case any complications develop between now and then. Baby steps for everything here.

Sincerely,

Ed

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

my lil sis (5)

Hi all:

Just returned from seeing Angela and am happy to inform you that today seemed a better day for her. While my parents were up earlier in the day, they once again allowed Angela to breathe on her own without the assistance of the ventilator. According to the nurse, she did this for 5 hrs today which is a great feat considering she could not breathe at all on her own when she arrived.

The also covered the trache hole so that Angela could try to talk. The nurse said she was able to but didn't say a whole lot, probably due to discomfort in her throat. They have moved Angela down one room on the opposite side now because her old room did not have a lift device that might me needed for her on-going physio. As a bonus, she now has a room with a huge window so she can see the world again:)

Angela's lungs seem to be improving also. Not once while I was there did she cough. The nurse said they were able to suction quite a bit out today, which I would think means its beginning to loosen up.

I still have a concern about Ang's heart though. That issue was kind of put on the back-burner to concentrate on the more pressing issue of the moment....keeping her breathing! lol Perhaps one of the other family members will ask some "heart" questions tomorrow.

I quizzed Ang with some questions that would force her to think back prior to being admitted to hospital. She was able to answer some, but not all questions. I think the question of whether or not she remembered that she and her boyfriend (if you could call the slimeball that) had recently split up. She said that she didn't remember that but our parents had told her. Please tread lightly if you ask her any questions. She does not need any added stress at this time. As for her boyfriend of 5 years....I guess he must have forgotten where the hospital is. No visits, no calls, no nothing.Thats ok though, what comes around goes around ...

Angela has a good network of friends and a loving family that will get her through this bump in the road.


Lastly, but not as important....I am off to Hamilton to see if there is someone there that can try to make a brace for my leg to combat the "drop foot" and "foot inversion" problem I have. Its getting harder and harder to walk on that stupid leg lately.

Ok, thats about it for now.

Take care and thank you for all your continuing support and care for Angela throughout this unfortunate event.

Ed McDade

Sunday, November 16, 2008

What a difference a day makes!

Good evening :)

Well I just returned from seeing my little sister Angela and let me tell you....Wow, what a difference a day makes. I had my daughter here this weekend so I did not go to the hospital yesterday but received regular updates from my family. They told me that there had been improvements but of course, being me, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.

As soon as I walked in the room I got a little grin from Angela and right then I knew that we were going in the right direction. Ang is able to recognize people now, is able to squeeze your hand, wiggle her toes and blink all on command now. This tells me that the fighter in her is still alive and kicking and is not about to give in to this. I sat by the bedside and actually watched TV with her tonight. Throughout my time there I joked with her about various things and I could tell she appreciated my humour (even if it was lame). Every time Angela would cough, she'd raise her eyebrows as if to say "Gawd, I just want to get better and get out of this place.

Apparently sleep hasn't been high on Ang's priority list over the past few days so I told her to close her eyes and rest or I'd duct tape them closed and force her to sleep. ;) Believe it or not, she must have thought I was serious because when I began to stroke her forehead and hair, she closed her eyes for me. That moment between us was precious but even more precious was when I told her I was going to head home and let her rest, kissed her on the forehead and told her I loved her. Angela shocked the heck out of me by mouthing "I love you too" back to me. Needless to say I called mom and dad and told them the news on the way home and they were happy happy happy :)

Even though Ang and I have not been the closest of siblings in the past, I think tonight was a turning point in many ways.

Now that Angela has reached this point, I think that visitors are equally if not more important to her. I think she will be able to appreciate more, the number of people who have come out already, to cheer her on, to pray and hope for a full recovery. Its going to be a long road for Ang, but with the amount of family and friends that have been there to support her thus far, I KNOW she's going to come out on top of this a survivor.

Good night to all.

Ed

my lil sis (4)

What a wonderful day it was yesterday. Angela made some definite forward progress throughout the day. She was able to respond to commands such as "blink twice and squeeze my hand". You could also tell that she understood what was going on around her even though she was not verbally able to respond. My sister Karen joked about how she had 2 hot male nurses and Angela was able to raise her eyebrows and almost produce a grin.

Although the doctors tell us she still has a long road ahead of her (with all the family along side her every step of the way) it was so good to hear the happiness in my parent's and sister's voices. Its been an exhausting 8 day for all of us and Angela was able to give us that glimmer of hope to let us all know that it was all worth every second of every day.

Its been the family coming together and rallying, as well as all of our beautiful friends out there that have offered their support, kind thoughts, visits and prayers that have made this happen. You are all truly amazing people.

I will try to update later this evening after I visit Angela.

Sincerely,

Ed

Saturday, November 15, 2008

My lil sis (3)

Yesterday, a tracheotomy was performed on Angela. This was done because the throat air tube can only stay in for 7-8 days before the possibility of infection, scarring etc sets in. During this time, they also did a lung biopsy and also got a "Lumbar Puncture" which, if you have ever had an epidural, you can appreciate the discomfort of it. This test is used for extracting fluid for testing. They are testing for meningitis as well as a number of other possibilities.

The CAT scan performed did not show any signs of bleeding in the brain but the EEG did show some signs of seizure activity.

Angela is still quite swollen everywhere, including the brain (encephalopathy)??.

Her lungs are not clear but a chest x-ray is performed daily to monitor progress.

I noticed a lot more coughing from Angela since the new trach was put into her throat but I'm sure this due to the newness of it.

I won't bother to list all of the different tubes coming and going from the poor girl's body but I'll just say that there are a lot!

An MRI was completed yesterday and hopefully we will know more today of the results. The Neurologist is coming in this morning for a consult with Angela.

This morning when I talked with Angela's Primary Nurse, he said that he was getting some "Command Responses" from her. (She could lightly squeeze his hand and wiggle her toes on command) and was otherwise a quiet night for her. Soooooooo, these are good signs. Its nice to see some forward progression for Ang, it gives us all a little more confidence that she'll recover.


I'm sure I've forgotten small details but I think this is the gist of it! Its been a very long 8 days for all of us and we appreciate all that everyone has done.

Very sincerely,

The McDade's

Thursday, November 13, 2008

My lil sis (2)

Hi all:

The previous and next few posts will undoubtedly be about my little sister's progress so please bare with me as I feel that it is substantially more important than my current state of health. I have absolutely no problem with you shifting the powerful momentum that has kept me going over to my sister now....she needs all the help we can muster. wink wink

Well I just returned from the hospital after spending some time with Angela and here is where her health stands:

The CAT scan results came back showing no abnormalities.
Ang still has an elevated temperature of 38.6 degrees
Still requiring 50% oxygen at this point.

Neurologist visited her today and ordered an MRI and an EG. EG has been completed and MRI is scheduled for 10:45pm this evening. I believe the concern is that since Angela has been taken off the sedative drugs for almost 48 hrs now, the staff feel that she should be more responsive to stimulus such as a command etc. On a positive note, Angela seems to be able to at least hear what is going on around her at this point. Her eyes will open if you speak to her and she seems to be able to focus on you for 5-7 seconds before returning to the "gaze". It was very cute to actually see her yawn twice while my dad and I were there this evening. I'm not sure if a yawn is a reflexive reaction or...? Irregardless, it was the first time I was able to smile while in that room.

The MRI and EG results will be reviewed by the Neurologist hopefully tomorrow and with any luck, he'll be able to answer some on the unknowns regarding Ang's current state and quality of life moving forward.

Once again, myself and my family appreciate all your kind thoughts,acts of kindness and prayers through this most trying time.

Sincerely,

The McDade Family

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

My lil sis


Hello :)

For anyone who happens to read my blog, as a favour to me, I'd like you to please redirect your thoughts and prayers to my younger sister Angela. Angela has been in the Critical Care Trauma Centre at the new Victoria Hospital since Friday, after being transferred from St.Thomas. Angela we have found out had developed a severe pneumonia. This Pneumonia was/is bad enough that her lungs were not even visible on an x-ray. Angela's lungs were not functioning to get the oxygen to the bloodstream and therefore she required 100% mechanical assistance to breathe from Friday until today. They have eliminated the sedative drugs today in hoping that we will get some kind of stimulated response from her whether that be a physical response to a question or some type of controlled body movement. We will see what transpires over the next few days regarding that.

At the time of writing, Ang has developed a bit of a fever but as the nursing staff had said..."we've messed around with her quite a bit today so this is not totally uncommon"

This is going to be a long haul for Angela and the family I think. There is some heart muscle damage that we know of but it is secondary right now to getting her lungs functioning again. Angela is a working single mom of 3 great kids ranging from ages 7 to 17.

Firstly I would like to thank my family for being able to unite as a family unit during this crisis. Its times like this when we all need to form that circle and not let go. Angela needs to be our common focus and I am positive we will continue to make this happen until she pulls through this.

To our family friends....thank you for all you support thus far. I know it makes a world of difference to my parents and sisters.

To my sister's and my friends...again, I also thank you for the kind words and prayers for Angela. Once again, you've shown what true friends are all about.

Your acts of kindness have ranged from prepared food to just being there, popping in for a visit at the hospital and offering a warm hug.

Thank you all and please keep "Angie Pangie" in your thoughts and prayers.

Most Sincerely,

Ed

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

WE DID IT FINALLY!!!!!






Well my friends, we finally made it to the land where dreams and wishes do come true. Yes, we finally made the trip to DISNEY!!

What a trip it was. Without having any of you fall asleep on your keyboard, I will attempt to give you the Readers Digest version of our trip.

Our trip started out on October 21st at 6am with Back Ty Limo Service picking us up at my house. Both myself and Faith had never been in a limo so I thought it would be nice to start the trip off with a "first" even before the sun rose that day. For my Cami friends, you may remember the owner of Black Ty Limo, Jammie D. He was our driver that morning and my thanks go out to him for his excellent service and his thoughtfulness by providing us with a great discount for his service.

To backtrack for a second...we ended up extending our trip on the front end by two days because Westjet's flights were booked solid on the day we intended to leave. No fault of Westjet, it was my last minute planning. So that being said, we now had 2 days to relax and enjoy the resort at Disney before we hit the parks. I ended up renting a 4 wheeled scooter for the 5 days that we spent at the resort and Disney. It certainly came in handy and saved on some exhaustion I'm sure!

For Faith, I think the highlight of our time at the Magic Kingdom was getting to see all the characters and getting her "Princess Make-over". The make-over was amazing. Faith got to choose everything she wanted to wear from her shoes all the way up to her hair and crown. The Fairy Godmother that did her makeover totally fit the part. She was a very attractive woman in her late fifties I'd think, with long grey/white hair. All throughout the makeover, she'd be whispering Faith's ear, telling her stories etc. The look on my daughter's face was absolutely priceless. I was so happy that I was able to capture it on video and camera. That hour of watching her getting her makeover will forever be in my heat. The kid made her Dad melt;)

After 3 days of Disney, we embarked on a 4 day cruise on the Disney Wonder ship. Our accommodations were fabulous and I was lucky enough to get us a stateroom with a huge balcony facing the rear of the ship. There were so many activities on the ship that I'd have to say that we enjoyed it more than Disney itself!! Every night, Faith's bed would be turned down by our attendant (Ferdy) who would make an animal out of a white towel (Towel Origami?) and have it waiting on her bed. Faith was excited every evening to see what surprise he had left for her.

During the cruise we stopped at 2 ports of call: Nassau Bahamas and Castaway Cay, which is a private island owned by Disney.

Everything about the trip was fabulous, especially the cruise. I will never be able to thank everyone enough, who contributed in one way or another to make this dream become reality. I will forever be in your debt and I will never forget the kindness you have all shown during this trying period in my life. You've helped form some of the best memories possible for both myself and Faith. For that I thank you.

I do have to admit that the trip did wear me out somewhat so I'm just slowly now trying to get back on my feet figuratively speaking, and get things back to normal. In other words, be patient with me when it comes to phone calls, e-mails etc. (I know....I sound like a broken record)


I truly would like to acknowledge the following kind-hearted people who helped to make this happen (If I have missed anyone, please accept my apologies in advance) The names are in no particular order:

My Cami Automotive Inc family (both hourly and salary)
Dawn, Lynn and Bernie Ruddick
Michele and Con Manicom
Norma Joyes and Gary Jasper
My loving parents
Marilyn and Robert Thompson
Brent Barton
Lynn Johnston and Joe Blanche
Lori Cadotte
My Military Family
Brad and Jenn Norman
Westjet Airlines
Black Ty Limousine
Tanners Studio

You have all made a little girl's dream come true and allowed her Dad to pocket some very precious memories.

Thank you all.

Very sincerely,

Love,

Ed and Faith McDade