Step 1 -- Success!

The tracheotomy came out in five minutes just after 8 a.m. this morning.

I actually had a terrible night, waking in pain from my shoulder at 12:30.  Got a shot of tylenol through my feeding tube, but a bit gurgled up into my throat and I lay there coughing til 6 a.m.  No sleep for me.  I was really afraid they would decide to postpone it.

But the Respiratory Therapist arrived and shortly it was all over.  Just a large bandage covering it, which will fill in in a few days.

Lookingforward to the swallow test tomorrow.  And I was told this afternoon that I will get to try  a trial motorized wheelchair in the morning, not the permanent one, but similar.  On  we go!

Big Steps!

I'mm up for a couple of big changes in the next twodays.  Tomorrow morning my traecheotomy comes out.  Not a big deal itself, but big implications.

It means that I'll be able to leave the  floor on my own - lounges, the cafeteria, the whole building to explore.  And those gardens!  I'll be outside every day!  And it let's them schedule the swallow test.

The swallow test is on Thurs., and if all goes well I'll be eating and drinking by Friday.  Yeah!  Big changes compared to the last 5 months.

Now just  bring on that motorized wheelchhair!

The History Of Parkwoof

In 1874 the Hospital for Incurables was opened by the Women's Christian Association in London. Over the century and a half since then, the hospial has  moved to four locaions, the newest it's present one, in south London.  It's now known as Parkwood Institute.

Parkwood is a specialized hospital, focussing on rehabilitation and the care of veterans rather than the usual acute care most hospitals do.  For example, on my floor they deal with acquired bain injury, and amputees as well as spinal cord injuries.  The focus is on getting you back home.

A brand new building is the newest facility at Parkood.  Opened in 2014, it is the Mentjal Health Care Building, and picks up on 150 years of mental health caare in London.

Mrs. Furry Gnome has been at home in Meaford for a few days and has turned to making jam of several varieties.  With more jam than we can easily use over the year, I'm thinking I'll be eating it by the spoonful!

I'm sitting here looking out the window at a rainy day.  It's a holiday here, so things are quiet.  But my stubby fingers are not cooperatinng, so I think that's it for today.

Lammas

For centuries, perhaps dozens of centuries, we have relied on wheat as the primary grain for making bread (and beer).  At this time of year, halfway between the spring solstice and the fall equinox, times would have been hard as food supplies ran low.  It was natural that a celebration was held as the new harvest came in.  It was natural too, that a portion of the new harvest would be given to the landlord and the church.

One of my favourite harvest pictures from last year.

Lammas reflects the continual unfolding of the seasons, but is perhaps one of the most important to recognize.  We have the equinoxes and solstices, but the halfway in between points, Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain, are less recognized.  And they all have a touch of paganism about them.

Of these, Lammas is the one I usually remember as it passes by.  The annual harvest is both important and very tangible.  And I do love a nice chunk of freshly baked bread (and a good beer).  So here's to the harvest this year;  we certainly have good weather for it.

In case you hadn't connected the two, we do still have celebrations of the other three mid-point Pagan festivals, much evolved.  Imbolc has become Groundhog Day, Beltane is May Day, and Samhain is Hallowe'en.

And so the seasons continue to unfold.

Choosing a Wheelchair

Have you looked closely at wheelchairs recently?  I'm familiar with the standard manual wheelchairs with the large wheels,  but today there are a wide range of wheelchairs, including motorized electric chairs with a variety of amazing features!

We anticipate that I will be in a wheelchair the resr of my life, so it's important to get a good one.  We also want to maximize my tindependence, so a motorized chair is appealing.  Luckily for us, the Ontario government heavily subsidizes the purchase of wheelchairs.  Yesterday we went to get measured up.

We've chosen a motorized wheelchair, with a large tilt mechanism, so I can tilt back and go to sleep - very helpful to avoid skin sores and muscle atrophy.  You can tilt almost horizontal!

But that's not all!  This wheelchair has a lift mechanism that will raise the eat platform by about 18" so I cen be eye-to-eye with someone else.  It uses small scissor jacks under the seat to do this, and it will even work while you are moving.  You can guess what we decided on.  I look forward to still being able to get dishes out of the kitchen cupboards.  I am NOT just going to be a helpless invalid!

Of course there is a price tag for all this, would you believe about $25,000!  Not even a good sewing machine costs that much, though some come close.  With the subsidy and health insurance, we'll only pay a few thousand - still a lot, but I'm going to live in this chair 12 hours a day for the rest of my life.

One thing I realized as we've gone through this process is that we will never be able to visit friends or stores again if they have steps or a curb leading up to their front door, a serious limitationof a wheelchair life.  Haven't solved that one yetbut I think I'm about to become a advocate for wheelchair accessibility!




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Birds at Parkwood IIhehe

The rest of the birds I've seen here are all actually going to stay here all winter.  Here they are.
Ut as Blue Jays
House Sparrows - the little flock has grown to about sixty.ir young.
Goldfinch - just a few individuals but they are brilliant yellow.
 Cardinals - furtive at this time of year, but we've seen a few.
Crows - one or two soaring past the window.
Mourning Doves - a pair that sat in the spruce tree one day.
Blue Jay -two or three dashing  about as Blue Jays do.

You may note that there are no Chickadees or woodpeckers on the list.  They are still dispersed in the forest raising their young.  Certainly  it makes a big difference to have some live creatures around outside.  Adds some iterest to our walks.

Birds at Parkwood

Shortly after arriving here, we went walking by the frogpond, and found an older lady who feeds the birds.  With a handful of cracked corn, she had attracted a busy flock of House Sparrows.  I decided it would be fun to keep track of the birds I see here over my stay.  So far I've seen14 species.

So here is the first list of birds.

American Robin - scattered across the lawn digging up worms.
Flicker - on the lawn with the Robins, digging up grubs.
Redwing Blackbird - I first saw several females joining the House Sparrows to feed.  Later the males got bold enough to join in.
Blackbirds - a large flock swirled through the sky outside my window a few days ago.
Chipping Sparrow- one solitary bird in the flock of House Sparrows .
Turkey Vulture, one, soaring through the sky with its huge shallow 'V' shaped wings.

This group of birxds will all leave us for the winter, migrating  to warmer climes, though I increasingly hear of Robins or Vulture s staying in southern Ontario over the winter.  Lots of other birds that  migrated here in the spring have raised their broods and quietly headed off again.  It's so obvious when they first srrive, with their sprirng mating or territorial calls , but now they just quietly vanish for another year.