End of July update

 

It feels as though the past few weeks have been very busy. I travelled back to Vancouver Island to join my sister in Victoria on July 8th where she was scheduled to have angioplasty at the hospital. We hadn't even checked into our hotel when a vehicle backed into my car causing damage to the right passenger side panel. We decided not to consider it as an omen!

The next morning I deposited my sister at the hospital at 7:45am. Unfamiliar with the city, I finally found my way to the downtown area where I hoped to have a quiet morning coffee. Everything was closed. I wandered for about an hour before finding Tractor, a funky little cafe with freshly baked scones. After a bit more wandering I decided to head back to the hotel and have a nap while I waited for the call to pick up my sister. At 1:00pm she texted that she was still waiting...and not happy! Feeling hungry I decided to explore Cook Street, an area of historic houses and shops. With an amazing burrito and a cold bottle of water in hand I drove back to the hotel again. At 3:00pm she texted that she was fed up and ready to leave!   Five minutes later she sent a message that they were wheeling her in for the procedure...thankfully! It was 8:00pm when they released her and we drove to the hotel!!

She had a 95% blockage of the main artery and the doctor inserted a very long stent. He did not want to deal with another 70% blockage at that time saying that, if necessary, she could have a stent inserted at a later date. Due to her history of chemo and radiation treatments he felt that she would not recover well from bypass surgery so that was not an option for the future.

We spent another restless, sleepless night worrying about whether the incision on her wrist would start to bleed again. The next morning we drove back to Campbell River, relieved not only that it was over but also that she had remained at the hospital instead of leaving in frustration. She is enjoying much easier walks now and fully recovered from the trip.

Back home in Langley I am continuing with my volunteer shifts at Penny Pincher, Greek lessons online, Strata Council Treasurer responsibilities and some random painting.

These are all quite small...the next one is much larger!