Well...I definitely feel like an update is in order...it's definitely me - not you! When September hit this year - I knew I was going to be busier than ever, and I was right...so let's start catching up. So, just to refresh...in August I posted about Ben's lump on the back of his neck. We [...]
Category: Shriner’s Hospital Stay 2020
This is a collection of all my blog posts leading up to, during, and after Ben’s cervical/Thorasic spine surgery 2020.
2. We are in Montreal
Nothing gets me on the shopping circuit more than planning for a long-term hospital stay. Like a squirrel hoarding away nuts for the winter, I go crazy planning, packing, and repacking. I am a chronic over-packer at the best of times, but this stay has me going a bit nuts. I will be working on [...]
3. Well…that went well!
Despite a way too early start, the day has gone great so far! I was up at 4:30 - getting ready and packing up. I work Ben up at 5:15 to have some juice and get him in the shower. We bathed him last night in chlorhexidine and washed his hair with it, but I [...]
4. We can get out of bed!
We were transferred to Shriner's Monday. It was a crazy, busy day. Once we arrived, I had some paperwork to do and Ben was examined regularly to ensure that he was doing well because he had just gotten off anesthesia. So far, so good. Ben has 5 screws (posts/pins) installed into his head holding his [...]
5. Respect the wine glass people!
Well Known Fact(ish): most medical mom's (maybe most moms now that I think of it) appreciate a good glass of wine. My favourite vice is a nice Cabernet; although lately I've really opened up to a good Shirazzing. By lately, I mean pre-hospitalization because for some reason that makes no sense to me (and many [...]
6. Living in a Hospital
Well, we are a week post-op, and Benjamin is feeling good. I can't help but compare this hospital stay to our last one. The first thing I notice is that we know most of the staff this time. I believe Shriners is considered one of the best employers (could be #1) in Montreal, and it [...]
7. Blind Trust
Well...we have had an exciting few days here in Montreal. Jesse and Hannah came out for a visit because Hannah had two pd days at school. Benjamin had company, and their visit gave us a little break from the redundancy of hospital life. The kids were able to play together and chat. I had an [...]
8. A LOVEly Week
When you are staying in a hospital, the staff tends to go out of their way to make every celebration important, so it wasn't a surprise when our Valentine's day turned into a Valentine's week. For the kiddos, it was a week filled with fun, fun, fun!!! Monday was a holiday here, so it was [...]
9. Cute from the Inside Out! Feb 18, 2020
So...I was sitting with my amazing nurse practitioner today, and we were scrolling through Ben’s CT scans. As the images were moving past, me (being the smart ass I am) said ‘I think I can see what the problem is. There is a puppy inside him’. We both looked again and burst out laughing! Hmmm...no [...]
10. Tomorrow’s surgery
So tomorrow is the day we've been dreading since our last big surgery three years ago. We will start preparations tonight and we will be the first and only patient for our doctor tomorrow. I will head over the the other hospital at 6:30 to register us as inpatients and take care of all the [...]