Jeffery's Journey

Monday, March 17, 2014  Day 5 Post op

It was a short night. I got to bed about 0130 hr and was awoken at 0645 by John trying to get his work truck out of the back lane again. Manitobans are used to trying to "rock" the vehicle to try and become free from what is keeping you stuck. He eventually had to have the company send out a tow truck to put chains on the vehicle and help pull it out. I am getting very tired of the joys of winter. Shirley and Darryl your posted picture on FB of your life in Africa looks very appealing right now!!! Don't you miss our winters??
  Today Jeff is free of the chest tubes. This makes it much easier to go to the bathroom himself and to take short walks. He has not ventured too far from his room.
In the morning I stopped at Sears to have adjustments made to his new Medic Alert bracelet so it would fit better, It states that he has a mechanical heart valve and is on anticoagulants(blood thinners). People with medical conditions or allergies should definitely wear these bracelets or necklace to advise medical help of what their needs are. Especially in an emergency when you may not be able to speak for yourself.
  He was having a large bore needle inserted as an IV when I arrived today. That was needed for the CT scan that he went to around 1100 hr. He also has another IV site still in to be used for meds if needed.
He had finished his  lunch  before I arrived so we went for a walk and then he settled in his chair. At rest time he moved to his bed to relax.  He did sleep and I sat in the chair.
   I received a call from my sister to let me know how my DAD'S morning had gone at oncology at the Victoria hospital. It was decided that my Dad was not ready nutritionally to start chemo. He is less able to eat/drink this week than last and has lost more weight. They are now changing the plan slightly. This morning they took bloodwork and found that his calcium level was not where it should be. They gave him a litre of IV solution and also calcium. He now will NOT start chemo Tues am but instead receive another litre of IV and then go home. They are trying to book him for day surgery to have a stint inserted into his esophagus to make a bigger opening for him to eat/drink. Then they want to hold off on chemo and start radiation first to shrink the tumor in the esophagus. They hope to be able to do that this procedure this  week. It would be done at HSC hospital and that is where he would get the radiation treatments.
  Mum also emailed me to say that Dad had received some cards from people in the States and Canada who are involved in a group known as Prayer Warriers through Stampin Up. Complete strangers praying for their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who request prayer.  They were really blessed by these cards(homemade) that offered them encouragement and prayer too! I had put that on their prayer chain as I am a member of that support group. There is also requests on the Hope Wall at our Winnipeg Christian radio station, CHVN 95.1. We have had many "i prayed for you today" responses emailed back.
Now back to Jeff:
In the morning  he had received a lovely fruit basket from our church family and it was delivered by his good friend,Donovan and his mom. Thanks guys for bringing it in. Jeff was glad to see you. He also had a visitor, Shellie P. from HOPE Centre ministries. This is the organization that Jeff attends for bible study every other week on Thursday evenings. Some other days the "boys" will get together to hang out, go to a movie or have coffee. Last Thursday when the group met they put a gift basket together for Jeff and also spent time in prayer for him. That day was Day 1 post operation for Jeff, and coming before the Lord with our concerns is always a  great idea. Shellie arrived with this huge basket full of fun things, all of the items numbered and Jeff had to open each one separately. They contained items with a note that had been attached with a band aid. HOW CLEVER.  There were chocolate bars and candy with notes such as..Make sure to cheer when the Jet's Skor, Jet's napkins to use when watching the games, a trophy that said #1, angry bird plush toys, gel pens, candy that was for the SMARTIES that had looked after the surgery, not to laugh but to only SNICKER. Lots of fun things like that, which really made him smile. Thanks to the Thursday night Bible study group who put it all together . That was very thoughtful !
Jeff also received a visit from the hospital chaplain who prayed with us.
   I went home for supper before Jeff got his meal. I had left a little later than I should have and was right in rush hour. Because of the snow,MANY of the traffic lights in the city where only flashing or not working at all. They say that there are also now over 1000 households in Winnipeg with either no water due to frozen water pipes or they are at risk of developing problems and those people are being told to run their tap continuously in a steady stream to avoid the lines from freezing up!!  WOW, this has been a brutal winter.
    John,Ian and I finished the delicious lasagna that Gerhard had made. Thanks again guys! It was very much appreciated.
  Tonight we were back at the hospital, Ian and the boys friend, Gavin also visited. We brought Jeff a Tim's decaf double double which he enjoyed. He doesn't have a TV in his room so Ian has been filling him in on what has been happening in sports.  There is talk that Jeff may be discharged tomorrow. I work Tues evening again from 1700-2300 hr so that may be another busy day for the Wiens' household.
THANK YOU FOR UPHOLDING US IN PRAYER, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING PEOPLE HAVE DONE FOR OUR FAMILY THIS WEEK.
   TALK TO YOU TOMORROW for the continuing saga. Good night, Dorothy