All is quiet this weekend ..

It’s early-afternoon on Sunday. I've had the chance to reflect on the last 10 days. What a difference a week makes! As I write, Lisa is slipping into slumberland.

Last Saturday: Last Saturday, Lisa was in the ‘warm room’. Really, the sign should have read “Hot! Damn hot! Hotter than a snake’s ass in wagon-rut”! (The words play-out better if you conjure up memories of Robin Williams in his “Good Morning Vietnam” portrayal of Adrian Kronauer .) That day, Lisa was so hot and racked with nausea that any pain she was feeling was secondary. The room was 35C for 48 hours before the stifling heat was turned down. Note: It takes a Doc and a team of nurses to conclude that patient comfort DOES play a role in post-op recovery.

This Saturday: Lisa and I went for a short-walk on the seawall on Vancouver’s False Creek. We didn’t break any speed-records. I likened her walk to that of one of Tim Conway's characters. (Her nose scrunched up in response.) Much different than her stride two-weeks ago when we ran together in Kelowna. Actually, that's not true, we didn’t run together that day. She ran ahead of me, wearing blue. The longer we ran, the smaller the blue dot became in front of me. I caught up with her by cutting across the city park. Note: I need to run more.

This weekend: It’s been a quiet weekend. Chris, Lisa and I have slept a great deal. In between we’ve shared our own perspectives on Lisa’s experience at VGH. The conversations mapped out the timeline from check-in early Friday morning to Lisa's discharge on Wednesday. Along the way, Lisa learned that I'm Sudoku challenged. Note: Under protest, I'm not practicing.

I learned, through those conversations, that the ‘B-Team’ nurses took over after I boarded the plane for Toronto. The stories of slip-shod patient care made my blood boil and, honestly I'm tempted to delete all the positive things I've written about VGH patient-care but ... that wouldn’t be fair to Yola or the other nurses who are doing a great job. In the final analysis, it's safe to say that, as with many workplaces, VGH is infested with those who are either unhappy in their roles or are, at least, emotionally severed from from the qualities that drew them to the health care profession. In Lisa's case, patient 'care' was not a priority. Those who did make their 'every four hour' visits were rude or, there's that word again, dismissive. Note: Even in the trauma unit, a five night stay pushes the envelope of good patient care by two days.

The week ahead: Now we look forward to the week ahead and to Wednesday’s meeting with Dr. Gelmon. There, Gelmon will map out the next steps for treatment. Until then, we face the natural tendency to fill in the blanks for ourselves. The mood here is optimistic and, I think, realistic - Lisa is bracing herself for a path that includes chemo, radiation, or both. She's also knows that while preparing is good, hearing the words come from Gelmon will carry a much heavier punch. As Wednesday nears, I’m asking for more white-light and thoughtful prayer to make the next steps as light as possible.

More later .. Norm