Here we are once again, off on another adventure. I haven't blogged about our trips so far in 2010. A quick recap. During the last days of the Olympics we received a phone call from April's daughter asking us to come to Halifax asap. It seems April's grandson - Zac, 19 yrs - was in Halifax hospital and was only given a 20% chance of surviving. Apparently he was sitting on the family couch with his little sister - Payton, 13yrs - when he coughed and started bleeding profusely. Payton took one look at him, got up and called 911. This probably saved Zac's life. The doctors tried to stop the bleeding from his lung but they were not able to do so. Zac was whisked off to Halifax (he lives in Fredericton NB) because they have the best thorasic doctors.
To make a long story short, we could not get a plane out on the last day of the Olympics and had to be satisfied with the red-eye arriving in Halifax at 7 am. When we arrived at the hospital, Zac had been in a coma for 5 days and not getting any better or worse. On Thursday he finally started fussing and it seemed he was trying to come out of it and finally on Friday morning, he opened his eyes, spotted his grandmother (April) and he said "Well look who it is!". From then on he has been getting stronger every day. He got out of hospital and was home on Mar 8th. More testing has been done since then but there is still no reason found for the bleeding and the doctors do not know what caused it.
We did get to play for one day and took a trip to Peggy's Cove. It was bloody cold and as windy as I have ever seen but beautiful, clear day. We enjoyed the break.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
FLOWERS in and around Vancouver, BC
It is awesome to live in this paradise!!! Having just travelled from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and noticed there are no flowers yet in Halifax and so many in Vancouver, I feel blessed to live here. Winter blues are being chases away by bright, colourful flowers !! Hey, Mother Nature, keep up the good work !
NATURE'S DOODLES
This rusted post is fascinating. Nature has certainly been doodling through all the layers to make these beautiful designs. I love rust as an artistic expression. It is so random and yet has a pattern. Peggy's Cove, NS
ZAC IS HOME...
Zac is home and sleeping in his own bed!!! There is a bed, nurse and doctor shortage in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick like here so the patient gets to go home as soon as they can get him out of the hospital. He will have to go for X-ray and a broncoscopy in about 4 weeks, just to make sure he is ok. And he is on antibotics for the pneumonia.
What caused the bleeding? The doctors do not know. Is anyone researching this, Probably not. No money, researchers or time. So we may never know.
Sherri and Darren (parents) are finally coming down from the roller coaster ride. Imagine, one week ago we were all sitting a waiting room in the ICU, tears in our eyes, not knowing whether Zac would live or not. The prognosis was not good! And today he is home, weak but still home, walking slowly and a bit unbalanced but he is getting better and stronger every day. He is a fighter and a survivor and well loved. Thank you to everyone who sent their hugs and prayers. It worked.
I will keep you posted on Zac, on his progress and I will let you know if anything new comes from the doctors.
What caused the bleeding? The doctors do not know. Is anyone researching this, Probably not. No money, researchers or time. So we may never know.
Sherri and Darren (parents) are finally coming down from the roller coaster ride. Imagine, one week ago we were all sitting a waiting room in the ICU, tears in our eyes, not knowing whether Zac would live or not. The prognosis was not good! And today he is home, weak but still home, walking slowly and a bit unbalanced but he is getting better and stronger every day. He is a fighter and a survivor and well loved. Thank you to everyone who sent their hugs and prayers. It worked.
I will keep you posted on Zac, on his progress and I will let you know if anything new comes from the doctors.
Monday, March 8, 2010
WE ARE HOME, at last
It seems so long ago we were called to come to Halifax asap. Here we are a week later and it has been a round trip. Zac is doing great. He was moved to a semi-private room, is mostly lucid, is very hungry - a good sign that he is on the mend. But, he is also very weak and must slowly build up his body again. Yesterday (Saturday, March 6th) was a beautiful, sunny day in Halifax so we decided to take one day and explore. Since we were so close, we chose to go to Peggy's Cove. Just a short distance from Halifax (45 minutes). We started out at Tim Horton's and got a cup of tea, a muffin each and then headed out on another adventure....
The landscape is from some science fiction, very barren yet hauntingly beautiful. The soft curves of the time worn rocks. The contrast of some nature-made Inukshuks against the blue sky. Peaceful and very windy.. I attempted to get closer to the lighthouse but the wind was blowing so strong that I was almost blown off my feet so I abandoned my destination and April and I went into the little gift shop instead. No wind in here. After we wandered around the shop for a while, it was time to continue on our way.
April and I have a game we like to play called the Right Left game. One person drives and other gets to tell them where to go. April said left so we did a circle route from Halifax and back, just to see what we could. We encountered quaint little houses, beautiful scenery and no open restaurants...Good thing I remembered to bring water, some fruit and a knife. Picnic in the car looking out over the Atlantic Ocean.
We got back to Halifax by 3 pm and did a check on Zac, just in time to watch as he was wheeled passed us on his way to the ward on the 6th floor. No more ICU, no more pampering. And hopefully, no more bleeding and life and death situations. The doctor thinks if Zac continues with his recovery at the same speed as this last week, he should be home in Fredericton by the weekend (Mar 13th). WOW! All this is one week. I am totally amazed. Who would have thought???
We are so happy that this story has a happy ending. Now to see what the fund-raiser will bring and to watch Zac recover completely. It would be wonderful if he could play football again soon, but only time will tell if this will be possible.
Thank you for coming along on this rollercoast ride. We are so glad it is almost over so we can get on with some more fun exploring.
Next stop......Puerto Vallarta and this year, we are going to stay in an all inclusive in a little town north of Puerto Vallarta called Bucarius. TEN more days but who is counting?
Saturday, March 6, 2010
YAHOO !!!
great NEWS!!!!
Zac is breathing on his own and has been for over 24 hours. He is now talking some sensible sentences, has opened his eyes and recognizes faces. And he out of ICU. We are so relieved and happy.
April, Sherri (Zac's Mom), Darren (Zac's Dad) and I were talking tonight that this last seems so surreal. One week ago the doctors were not holding out any hope of Zac coming out of the coma let alone be up and walking today. He stood for a minute or two, was lucid, ate breakfast and had a decent dinner. Not much but decent. Hospital chicken, mashed potatoes and a bit of turnip. This is such a triumph.
Last Tuesday, when April and I were wandering around the airport waiting for 6 long hours to board our plane, we bought two Olympic t-shirts that say "BELIEVE". It was a small gesture but we sensed we needed some small hope, even if we had to carry it in our suitcase. It worked. We believed that Zac would come back to us and he did.
Did I tell you that all of Zac's friends are holding a silent auction and beerpong and having t-shirts printed to sell and all the money is going to help Zac and my step-daughter and step-son-in-law out financially. At one time or another this last week, his friends have come to Halifax to see him, talk to him through his coma and I believe this all helped to bring Zac around.....
This one for the graditude journal!!!
Zac is breathing on his own and has been for over 24 hours. He is now talking some sensible sentences, has opened his eyes and recognizes faces. And he out of ICU. We are so relieved and happy.
April, Sherri (Zac's Mom), Darren (Zac's Dad) and I were talking tonight that this last seems so surreal. One week ago the doctors were not holding out any hope of Zac coming out of the coma let alone be up and walking today. He stood for a minute or two, was lucid, ate breakfast and had a decent dinner. Not much but decent. Hospital chicken, mashed potatoes and a bit of turnip. This is such a triumph.
Last Tuesday, when April and I were wandering around the airport waiting for 6 long hours to board our plane, we bought two Olympic t-shirts that say "BELIEVE". It was a small gesture but we sensed we needed some small hope, even if we had to carry it in our suitcase. It worked. We believed that Zac would come back to us and he did.
Did I tell you that all of Zac's friends are holding a silent auction and beerpong and having t-shirts printed to sell and all the money is going to help Zac and my step-daughter and step-son-in-law out financially. At one time or another this last week, his friends have come to Halifax to see him, talk to him through his coma and I believe this all helped to bring Zac around.....
This one for the graditude journal!!!
Friday, March 5, 2010
FABULOUS NEWS !!!
We are dancing in the streets !!!! Zac is breathing on his own, the tubes have been removed and he is somewhat conscious. Who knew this could possibly happen?
When we were called on Sunday morning and asked to hurry to Halifax asap because there was doubt that Zac, April's grandson, would make it through the night, it looked certain we would be planning a funeral. I was prepared to help in any way I could to keep everyone from falling to pieces and, to some extent, I did.
When April and I finally arrived at 7 am on Tuesday morning, and saw Zac for the first time, he did not look good. His whole body was swollen due to the air escaping from his right lung. He had pneumonia and the blood was still in his lungs. Not a good sign! As the day progressed, he did get a bit better and on Wednesday, a little of the swelling had gone down, but the doctor was still very worried about this and cautioned that he was not anywhere near being well and he could take a nasty turn for the worst. By Wed evening, he was doing better on the reduced oxygen mix being pumped through the tube into his lungs. Thursday the doctors asperated a lot more of the blood clots from his lungs, pneumonia was still there and quite severe. He was given ice baths to bring his temperature down, he had cold cloths on his body and a fan blowing over a bowl of ice - all to gethis temperature down to normal.
Obviously, these treatments worked and the decision was made to remove all tubes and he was able to breath on his own. He is also coming out of the sedation and was pleased to see his life-saving sister, Payton, his Nana and grandpa and the rest of us. He is talking - most of it about wanting to leave this 'hotel' because it is not as nice as the one everyone else is staying. It is funny to hear him and know he will be so embarressed when he finally hears what he did today.
This morning April and I took some time and went through the Atlantic Museum of the sea and walked through the Titanic portion. The museum has a few bits of information but a friend has a lot more memorbilia and info than what there was displayed here.
Since Zac is doing so well, we are taking a day to drive to Peggy's Cove because we have not been tourists here. It is supposed to be sunny and clear and the temperature is supposed to go up to 7 degrees.....YAHOO ! Today we walked about 5 blocks from where we parked to the museum and it was so bitterly cold and the wind was biting. We both have wind burn but I am sure this will be gone by morning.
I will keep you posted and will add pictures tomorrow (Saturday).
Oh, and the rest of the good news......April is coming home with me . Originally we did not have a return ticket for her. I got a seat-sale on WestJet and on the same flights I am on so we are both happy campers.....
Stay tuned.......
When we were called on Sunday morning and asked to hurry to Halifax asap because there was doubt that Zac, April's grandson, would make it through the night, it looked certain we would be planning a funeral. I was prepared to help in any way I could to keep everyone from falling to pieces and, to some extent, I did.
When April and I finally arrived at 7 am on Tuesday morning, and saw Zac for the first time, he did not look good. His whole body was swollen due to the air escaping from his right lung. He had pneumonia and the blood was still in his lungs. Not a good sign! As the day progressed, he did get a bit better and on Wednesday, a little of the swelling had gone down, but the doctor was still very worried about this and cautioned that he was not anywhere near being well and he could take a nasty turn for the worst. By Wed evening, he was doing better on the reduced oxygen mix being pumped through the tube into his lungs. Thursday the doctors asperated a lot more of the blood clots from his lungs, pneumonia was still there and quite severe. He was given ice baths to bring his temperature down, he had cold cloths on his body and a fan blowing over a bowl of ice - all to gethis temperature down to normal.
Obviously, these treatments worked and the decision was made to remove all tubes and he was able to breath on his own. He is also coming out of the sedation and was pleased to see his life-saving sister, Payton, his Nana and grandpa and the rest of us. He is talking - most of it about wanting to leave this 'hotel' because it is not as nice as the one everyone else is staying. It is funny to hear him and know he will be so embarressed when he finally hears what he did today.
This morning April and I took some time and went through the Atlantic Museum of the sea and walked through the Titanic portion. The museum has a few bits of information but a friend has a lot more memorbilia and info than what there was displayed here.
Since Zac is doing so well, we are taking a day to drive to Peggy's Cove because we have not been tourists here. It is supposed to be sunny and clear and the temperature is supposed to go up to 7 degrees.....YAHOO ! Today we walked about 5 blocks from where we parked to the museum and it was so bitterly cold and the wind was biting. We both have wind burn but I am sure this will be gone by morning.
I will keep you posted and will add pictures tomorrow (Saturday).
Oh, and the rest of the good news......April is coming home with me . Originally we did not have a return ticket for her. I got a seat-sale on WestJet and on the same flights I am on so we are both happy campers.....
Stay tuned.......
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