Universal Studio

We went to Universal Studio today. When we got there before 8:30 am., there weren't too many people yet. We got on a couple of rides before more people showed up at the Park. My mom watched my facial expressions during the rides to assess how much I enjoyed them. I smiled a little bit, but not enough for mom to be sure that I liked the the rides.

After a few rides, I started to be nervous and I refused to go in. I was so resistant that we ended up leaving. We went to the Barney's show in the afternoon. I was again reluctant to go inside. It was a good thing my folks persuaded me to stay because I enjoyed the show very much. There was singing and dancing. I clapped along and I smiled a lot.

Best Christmas Ever

This is my best Christmas ever! I got to go on a plane (actually two planes) to arrive at Orlando, Florida this evening. Then, there was the train ride to the airport terminal. We were at the very front car, so I had a very good view of where we were going. After that, it was the bus ride to the car rental office. We drove round and round trying to get to the hotel. One missed turn took us all over the place. Honestly, I don't mind the long car ride at all. I have been smiling throughout the day.

I wonder what surprises I will have tomorrow. I am so excited that I have trouble falling asleep. Stay tuned and I will keep you posted.

Exciting News

Emily and Peter's flight was delayed by 5 hours. Instead of arriving at 10 pm., their plane landed at 3 am. Saturday - the day of Cousin Andrew's wedding. There are going to be more weddings coming up for our family. In case you have not heard yet, I have an exciting news to share with you. Emily and Peter are now engaged.

Grandma continues with her daily radiation treatment. She is starting to get a "tan" on her chest. Hopefully, she will not get a burn from the treatments.

Family Reunion

Thanks to the support of family and friends, all of Grandma's rides have been arranged.

My mom prepares some foods for freezing to make cooking easier for Grandma. Tonight, she made meatballs. They are now in the huge freezer - our garage.

We are going to have a mini family reunion, as Emily and Peter are coming home tonight. Their flight has been delayed and they will arrive after 2 am. We all look forward to seeing them.

Needing Rides

Grandma went to the WW Cross Cancer Institute for some X-rays this morning and will start radiation treatments tomorrow morning. It is a good thing my mom is available to take Grandma for the early morning appointments this week. Her Friday appointment is 7:30 am.

Since we (Emily, Peter, Mom and myself) will be in Disney World from December 25 to January 5, Grandma will need rides on December 29, 30, & 31 and January 2 & 5. The appointment time is good at 2:30 pm.

Grandma's last radiation treatment will be on January 19. Hopefully she will not experience any side effects from the treatments.

Walk More

Grandma takes a high blood pressure pill daily after she checks her blood pressure. The day after her surgery, her blood pressure was low. Her nurse at the hospital instructed her to skip her medication for the day. Since then, she has skipped a few doses due to low blood pressure. My mom feels that she should be re-assessed by her doctor.

Grandma saw her doctor this afternoon. He told Grandma to stop her blood pressure medication and to see him in three weeks. He suggested that Grandma should go for more walks to reduce weight. If she can lose five pounds, she won't need to take the medication any more. Being winter, outside is too cold and icy for Grandma. "More" walk will become "mall" walk.

The doctor had another advice - do not eat too much salt. Grandma always complains that my mom's cooking is not salty enough. It bothers my mom every time she watches Grandma sprinkles salt on her foods. Recently, she gave Grandma a bottle of salt substitute. You should see how Grandma sprinkles to her heart content. My mom hopes that she will soon ease off on the use of it.

Cold Weekend

Normally, Grandma does not want to go out in the evening. Tonight, when my mom asks if she will go out with her, she readily agrees because she knows that she will be housebound for the next few days due to the expected extreme cold weather this weekend. By Monday, the temperature will be day time high at -29 C and night time low at -34 C. Grandma will have her first radiation treatment on Thursday. The weather will be a little nicer. Day time high on that day will be -16 C and night time low will be -20 C.

Emily and Peter will come home on Friday and Cousin Andrew's wedding will be on Saturday. Hopefully the weather will improve for them by then.

When it is so cold, it will be nice to go some place warm. I have no idea I am going to Florida soon. I will be very nicely surprised by the time I realize what is going on. It is very kind of Emily and Peter to be willing to invite me and my mom to go to Disneyworld with them from December 25 to January 5.

Repeat

I went over to visit my mom tonight. When I saw my new CD player, I remember my mom taught me the word "repeat" last night. I said "repeat" to her, so my mom set it up for the CD player to play and repeat the song "Silent Night".

I watched for the song to finish and I jumped to search for the song. My mom tried to stop me, but she was too late. It was, then, my mom's turn to watch for the song to finish. She sat right by my CD player and stopped me from touching the buttons. She told me "repeat". Sure enough, I didn't need to do anything and "Silent Night" came on again. I think I am beginning to understand the meaning of "repeat" now. I didn't touch my CD player for the rest of the evening.

On the Mend

Yesterday morning, Grandma didn't even want her coffee. That is serious because she loves her coffee. She is feeling better today and she is eating reasonably well.

Grandma attended the Christmas celebration at church this morning. Many of her friends commented on how well she looks.

I am still fixated on "Silent Night" and sometimes I sing along. I have a new CD player for Christmas. I am keeping it at my mom's home so that I can play my CD's when I go visit. This CD player has a "Repeat" button. My mom is teaching me to set it to play my favorite song over and over again.

Radiation Treatments

The WW Cross Cancer Institute called and Grandma has an appointment on December 17 for some preparation work. Her first radiation treatment will be on the following morning. My mom will get a printout of the treatment schedule on the 17th. The 20 treatments will be on weekdays only because the radiation department is closed for weekends and holidays. The treatment appointments are not going to be at the same time each day.

Grandma started to have some feeling of indigestion yesterday. It is getting worse and her surgical wound area is also bothering her today. She is now in bed getting some rest. Please pray that she will get better before the radiation treatments start.

Christmas Party

Today is another long day for us - church in the morning, grocery shopping in the afternoon and a party in the evening.

My mom and I went to my uncle's Universal Dental Lab Christmas party. This is the first year we go without Emily. There were music, singing, dancing, and Santa Claus. I had a good time. My mom asked me several times if I were ready to go home. I responded with a "no" every time.

Silent Night

I am currently fixated with the song "Silent Night". After the song finishes, I search for it to replay it.

Yesterday afternoon, a staff phoned in ill, so my mom had to take me home. I wanted to listen to my CD and refused to go with her. After she got me home, I rushed back to my room. We ran back and forth a few times and eventually my mom unplugged my CD player for me to take with me.

In the evening, we went to visit my mom's friend and had a turkey supper there. It was 11 pm. by the time we arrived home. I was tired, but I didn't want to go upstairs to sleep. My mom succeeded in persuading me to go to bed and I fell asleep fairly soon. My mom took advantage of the quite time to get some work done - work that she planned to do in the afternoon. I woke up before she could go to bed. I was up and down like a yo-yo from my bed, wanting to go downstairs to listen to "Silent Night". My mom kind of debated whether she should bring my CD upstairs to pacify me. She decided not to because she knew that I would be staying up searching for the song repeatedly. She kept hoping that I would give up and go back to sleep. I finally did, but that was more than 2 hours later.

I don't know how much sleep my mom had last night, probably not very much. When she woke up, it was already 8.35 am. She rushed and rushed to get me ready for church. I was such a challenge for my mom. At first, I refused to sleep. Then, I refused to get up.

My mom seldom has headaches, but she is having a tension headache right now.

Support Circles

My mom has learned about the importance of building a support circle for me some time ago. She thinks about it a lot, but has not taken any action yet. Reaping the benefits of a few not so good nights, she finished reading a book called "We Come Bearing Gifts" by Janet Klees.

The book lists some barriers to creating support circles:

* reluctance to ask people to become involved - we feel like we are asking a lot of the time any ways and this is just one more time commitment,

* uncertainty with just exactly what we were asking people to do or to get involved in,

* discomfort with taking charge of the group itself, or uncertainty about who should or would do so,

* some previous uncomfortable or unpleasant experiences in a support group,

* not convinced of the value of support groups,

* having trouble keeping the circle energized,

* having trouble hearing everyone's voice - facilitating the conversation well,

* finding a common time that is convenient to all of the busy members,

* having a sufficiently important reason to call people together.

Some of the above are true for my mom, not all. But, the main challenge for my mom is that she is constantly overwhelmed with the affairs at hand that she does not have the energy and time to devote to starting a support circle. There is always one crisis after another that she needs to deal with.

I am lacking in meaningful relationships with others. This makes me very vulnerable. This book describes helping the individual to connect to the community by facilitating the development of friendships as one of the most important responsibilities of the paid support worker. Caregiving and companionship roles are necessary, but are of less importance. The book suggests that paid supporters should evaluate themselves from time to time by asking the following question:

If I had to leave the country next week and not be able to continue to support this person at all. WHAT WILL I HAVE LEFT BEHIND? Will I leave behind only a good memory in his mind of someone who appeared on the scene and was fun to be with for awhile . . . or will I manage to leave behind something more lasting that continues to make an impact on his life for a long time to come (like: connecting him with a new friend, finding and supporting him in a volunteer position where his gifts are welcomed, or figuring out a business where he is truly involved and the central figure?)

What really strikes a chord for my mom is:

As human beings, we get tired. Families, especially those whose sons or daughters with the greatest support requirements, have maintained many hours a week of physical care and support for their children, including often the general running of a second home. In addition, all families are the main coordinators for scheduling, arranging, filling in and guidance of both paid and informal support persons. This is not only physically and emotionally draining, but continually provides food for the ongoing worries about "what happens when I am no longer here?".

CT Scan of Liver

Grandma went for a CT Scan of her liver. Since my mom was at a workshop, a friend came over to provide transportation. After the test, Grandma had to drink ten cups of fluids. When my mom arrived home, Grandma stated she drank so much that she was almost nauseated. She didn't really want any supper. My mom waited till later and fried her an egg. Grandma ate the egg, toast and soup.

Grandma is really not comfortable with bothering others. She told my mom how long the test took thinking that my mom will pay our friend by the hour. My mom told Grandma that our friend helped us out of love. She didn't do it for money.

Best Behavior

My mom attended an all day workshop to learn about creating a good life for me and planning for my future. Since nobody was available to support me at home for the day, I got to tag along. I was in my best behavior the whole time and my mom is very proud of me. I got quite a few compliments from other participants.

My mom brought along a few flyers and catalogues, pen and paper, scissors, and my iPod for keeping me busy. We walked into the room and my attention was totally captured by the nicely decorated Christmas tree with flashing lights. I started off looking at the flyers and catalogues. This is a great time of the year for me. I enjoyed the pictures of colorful Christmas trees and decorations. Then I started drawing and scribbling. My mom whispered to me from time to time. She took turns with me drawing and coloring when I needed some attention. As my demand for attention increased, she pulled out my iPod. There is new music on my iPod! She must have figured out that I got tired of the music I had on it previously. I bounced with the rhythm and occasionally I hummed along. When I smiled and appeared to be enjoying the music, my mom got curious and took one of my earphones to listen in to find out what was amusing to me. We need to get something to allow both of us to listen to the music at the same time, so that she does not have to snatch my earphone.

Half way through the afternoon, the music went dead. I handed the iPod back to my mom. She figured the battery must be dead. I resumed my drawing and scribbling on the flyers. I was behaving so well that my mom didn't need to employ alternative strategies, such as scissors.

Radiation Therapy

Grandma attended her pre-treatment appointment at the WW Cross Cancer Institute this morning. She has become the first person in our family to have "tattoos". They are permanent on her chest to mark the area for radiation.

There is a waiting period of about 3 weeks, so treatments won't start till around Christmas. My mom wants to be present for at least the first few treatments, so she told them about our Disneyworld trip from December 25 to January 5. If the treatment cannot start on December 22, it will be postponed to after we return to Edmonton.

Social Activities

Since the drains were removed, Grandma feels more comfortable in resuming some of her usual social activities. She went to church on Sunday and she is attending the senior's fellowship this morning. She will go out for lunch with her friends before coming home. It is good for Grandma to get back to some kind of normalcy before she starts her radiation treatments.

Grandma has a pre-treatment appointment at the WW Cross Cancer Institute tomorrow morning. She will be measured and the radiation dosage will be calculated. We do not know when the radiation treatments will commence. We only know that it will be 20 treatments. The radiation department closes on weekends and holidays. Even if the treatments can start on December 1, her course of treatment will span over the Christmas holidays.

Emily and Peter are going to take me and my mom to Disneyworld leaving on December 25. That means we won't be home when Grandma gets her last few treatments. My mom will have to make arrangements for someone else to transport her to and from the cancer hospital.

Dance Dance Revolution

It is so nice to have Emily and Peter home this week. They brought the Wii and a new game - Dance Dance Revolution (DDR). I love the game as it has music, flashing lights, and spinning images. I ask for it by saying, "tap, tap".

I have been reluctant to visit my mom for some time lately. Now that there is the DDR at mom's home, I keep coming to the door and knock on it.

Emily and Peter will be going back to Vancouver tomorrow. We are going to miss them a lot.

Tamoxifen

Grandma starts taking Tamoxifen today. The pharmacist gave her a list of natural health products to avoid. Grandma does not go to health stores to buy supplements. However, the list contains foods that Grandma eats. My mom searched the net to make sure she knows all the listed items and was glad she did. She didn't know anise is the spice we sometimes use in our cooking. She knows the Chinese name but not its English name. Wild yam is on the list and it is a relief to find out that it is not the yam and sweet potato we eat as foods. Grandma loves sweet potatoes.

The following are foods that Grandma should avoid:

* alfalfa
* anise (八角)
* bitter melon (苦瓜)
* dong quai (當歸)
* all types of ginseng (參)
* flaxseed
* licorice
* milk thistle

Oncology Consultation

Grandma saw the oncologist (a fancy name for cancer specialist) this morning at the WW Cross Cancer Institute. The doctor recommended a course of radiation (20 treatments) plus Tamoxifen for five years. Grandma's immediate response was she would not take the radiation treatments. My mom asked for more time to make a decision. The doctor was going to call us in a week and she explained that the sooner the radiation treatments start after surgery the better.

After my mom talked it over with Grandma, she indicated that she did not want to bother others in terms of transportation daily for four weeks. My mom told her that not wanting to inconvenient others is not a good enough reason to refuse radiation. Eventually Grandma agreed to the radiation treatments. She has an appointment to go back on November 26 to do the preparation work for radiation.

Removal of Drain

Grandma's drains were removed today. She dreaded the moment because she had been told by a friend that the procedure is VERY painful. It did hurt, but not as much as she anticipated.

Doctor's Appointment

Grandma will see Dr. Yakimets this afternoon and the cancer specialist at the WW Cross Cancer Institute tomorrow morning.

Drain #1 is ready for removal. Drainage from Drain #2 remains at 38 ml. for the last few days. We do not know whether the doctor will remove the drains or not.

Grandma and my mom are really excited about Emily and Peter coming home tonight. My mom talks about Emily, but I don't understand what she is trying to tell me. I say "mai-mai" (little sister) once in a while. My mom is not sure if I miss her or not.

I feel sorry for Emily because she will not be able to sleep in tomorrow morning. They have to be at WW Cross by 8:15 am. Traffic is bad at that time of the day, so they will have to leave home early.

Soups

Grandma decided not to go to church today because of the discomforts and inconvenience associated with the drainage tubes sticking out of her chest. Drain #2 is still draining 35 - 40 ml. a day. Hopefully, when she sees the surgeon on Tuesday, the drains will be ready (under 30 ml.) for removal. Please pray specifically for this as we anticipate that Grandma will be more comfortable without the drains.

My mom brought home four different kinds of soup for Grandma. We are touched by the love and support of family and friends. Thank you!

Graduation

Emily will be coming home next week for her convocation or graduation ceremony. For her and many others, graduation is an accomplishment and a happy event to be celebrated. For me, when I "graduated" half a decade ago, it was because I reached the age that the school system could kick me out.

Today, my mom attended a workshop called "Beyond Graduation", which explores what a "good life" looks like for people with disabilities after graduation and how they can use their strengths to contribute to the community. Even though my "graduation" was years ago, my mom decided to sign up for this workshop because my days are not meaningful enough. I have a good life and I am well cared for by my support workers. My mom knows that it is possible to make my life better by supporting me to be a contributing member of society. She cannot do this all by herself, so she is working on building a circle of friends for me. Due to my lack of social skills, this has been a slow process.

Beyond Graduation is a project of PLAN Institute for Caring Citizenship. In partnership with Taking IT Global, a website has been created for families and youth to connect and to access information/resources. The website is in its early stage of development. They welcome feedback and suggestions so that they can improve it.

Upcoming Appointments

Grandma's drainage from Drain #2 is gradually reducing. Hopefully both drains can be removed on Tuesday (November 18) when she see Dr. Yakimets.

Grandma will be seeing the cancer specialist at the WW Cross Cancer Institute next Wednesday (November 19) morning. My mom has been able to find someone to cover for her at the Chinatown footcare clinics so that she can accompany Grandma to this appointment. Emily will come home Tuesday night so that she can also be there.

Grandma's CT scan of liver is scheduled for the morning of November 27 at the Misericordia Hospital. My mom has registered for a whole day workshop on that same day to learn about planning for my future. Now my mom is feeling torn between the needs of Grandma and me. She thought about not attending the workshop, but will try to find someone to take Grandma to the test.

Breast Cancer Risk

Grandma has her bone scan done this afternoon. It required two visits to the lab. The first one was for the injection of a dye and the scan was 2 1/2 hours later.

Grandma's road to recovery is not a steady continual improvement. How she feels fluctuates from day to day. Yesterday, she had a good day and today it is not that great. Most of her discomforts are related to the nerves. The following is what my mom has read from a book called "The Intelligent Patient Guide to Breast Cancer":

"Many nerves pass through the breast to the skin and to the nipple. In addition, the intercostal-brachial nerves come from the area between the ribs, through the armpit (axilla) and reach to the underside or back of the upper arm. These nerves are often stretched or cut during surgery in the armpit which leads to an unpleasant tingling, burning, numb or 'thick' sensation on the back or underside of the upper arm. These sensations usually fade partly or completely over several months after surgery, but some numbness is often permanent."

The book also explains about breast cancer risk. The risk for breast cancer increases with age. Women over the age of 70 are four times more at risk than someone who is 40 years old. For three-quarters of the women diagnosed with breast cancer, age is the only identifiable risk factor. The lifetime risk for certain ages is:

* by age 25 - less than 1 in 1,000
* by age 50 - 1 in 63
* by age 75 - 1 in 15
* by age 90 - 1 in 9

At age 80, Grandma's risk is naturally high. Now that Grandma has breast cancer, what are the risks for my mom and Emily? The book says:

"A family history of breast cancer in a close relative such as your mother, sister or daughter contributes to your risk. However, breast cancer in only one distant relative such as an aunt or grandmother has little or no impact on your risk."

Healing Connections

Grandma attended the Healing Connections program this afternoon. There were education sessions led by nursing, PT and OT. The physiotherapist measured the range of motions of Grandma's shoulders. She pointed out how to do the exercises correctly. For example, when Grandma raises her arms above her head, she should be using her shoulders and not arching her back to get her arms up.

One of the sessions was in a support group format. Each woman had a chance to share their stories. Most of the participants were newly diagnosed and had surgery within the last few weeks. The two facilitators were Breast Cancer survivors. There were tears as well as laughters.

A lady there had her surgery one week earlier than Grandma. Her drains are still in. She asked if it is normal for her drains to be in for so long. The nurse stated that it is and that some women have theirs in for as long as 6 - 8 weeks. I certainly hope that Grandma's drains do not have to stay in that long. Grandma is more comfortable today and thinks that the removal of the steri-strips has made a difference. Just imagine how much the removal of her drains will help in enhancing her comfort level.

Incision

Grandma experiences more general discomforts that is affecting her sleep and rest. She takes one to two tablets of Extra Strength Tylenol as needed. This morning, my mom removed the steri-strips on her incision to improve her comfort level. My mom knows that Grandma's discomforts are related to the nerve, not the incision. But she wants to try anything that can make Grandma more comfortable.

The incision line is clean and dry. Due to the irritation of the drains, the area around the drain sites are red. My mom cleaned it and applied a light dressing over it. Drainage from Drain #1 is minimal. Drainage from Drain #2 is gradually reducing from 100 ml./day a week ago to 45 ml. yesterday. Grandma will see Dr. Yakimets next Tuesday (a week from today). Hopefully the drains can be removed then.

One way of managing the edema is to do exercises. Grandma has a whole list of exercises that she does everyday. Tomorrow, she will attend an education and support program at the Misericordia Hospital. The program is called Healing Connections. The multidisciplinary team consists of nursing, physiotherapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), clinical nutrition and support visitors. PT will provide information and exercise sessions. The topic areas covered by OT include management of lymphedema and energy conservation techniques. These will all be helpful to Grandma.

Flu Shot

I got my flu shot during the night after I fell asleep. I should have known that whenever my mom sleeps over in my room, she is up to something - generally not good for me.

Grandma starts to get more visitors and that gives me a lot of opportunities to sneak over to spend time with mom. I am not going to write daily about Grandma as nothing exciting is happening.

Follow-up Appointment

Grandma saw Dr. Yakimets this afternoon. To her disappointment, the drains cannot be removed yet. The doctor would like the total drainage per day to be less than 30 ml. Drain #1 was at a total of 35 ml. yesterday, and Drain #2 was at 55 ml. yesterday and 100 ml. the day before. The next follow-up appointment will be on November 18.

The drainage from Drain #2 increased after Grandma noticed the swelling in her right upper chest wall. The swelling is still present, so removal of the drains may lead to more swelling.

It is not the wound or the incision that is bothering Grandma. She experiences pain in her shoulder and upper arm. Dr. Yakimets explained that during surgery, the nerve under her arm could be injured causing pain, discomforts or altered sensations. The nerve can take up to 6 months to heal.

Dr. Yakimets stated that fourteen lymph nodes were removed and two of them have cancer cells. It is best if none of the lymph nodes are affected. Two is not good, but could have been worse because we knew from the biopsy that at least one node has cancer.

Grandma will have a bone scan done on November 13 and a CT scan of liver is being booked to rule out spread of cancer to these areas.

Pain Management

My mom has told Grandma that she does not have to stoically endure pain and not to wait till she is too painful before she takes her pain medication. She left it up to Grandma to decide when to take Tylenol. After not taking anything for a couple of days, she was becoming more uncomfortable.

Last evening, one of my aunties called Grandma to find out how she was doing. She encouraged Grandma to take her pain medication. So she did and slept well last night. She took Tylenol again today and it helped her to be more comfortable.

The drainage from one drain has reduced, while the other one has increased. My mom suspects that the increase may be related to the edema. She is not sure what the surgeon will do when Grandma sees him tomorrow afternoon.

Drains

Grandma is looking forward to seeing the surgeon this coming Thursday with the anticipation that he will remove her drains. She knows she will feel more comfortable without those tubes hanging out of her chest.

This afternoon, a nurse called to check on Grandma. She stated that the doctor will only remove the drains if her drainage has stopped. Today, one of her drains collected 40 ml. this morning and another 30 ml. this afternoon. Hopefully, the drainage will reduce over the next couple of days. Please pray for the readiness of drain removal on Thursday.

Lymphedema

Grandma has her lymph nodes under her arm removed and this can contribute to lymphedema, a swelling of tissue caused by an abnormal build-up of fluid.

Grandma's right upper chest wall is swollen. My mom examines her and takes note of the extent of swelling so that she can monitor its progression or improvement. There is no redness or sign of infection.

Management is exercises, so Grandma is now on the mat exercising. One of the exercises is to move her arms up and down while holding onto a cane. Grandma's cane has sharp ice-picks at the end. It is kind of dangerous to wave her canes around. Peter's mom gave me a gift from Australia. It is a long wooden musical instrument - perfect length/weight and it is easy to grip. Grandma is using that instead of her cane.

Grandma does not have any heartburn today.

Heartburn

Grandma was tired yesterday. She has another night of good sleep and feels stronger today. With fewer phone calls and no visitor, Grandma is having a more relaxed day.

Grandma experiences some heartburn. This is a pre-existing condition that she has taken medicine for many years. My mom has different snacks and a pot of soup handy so that Grandma can eat small, frequent meals to see if it can help.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Praise the Lord that Grandma is recovering well. As her condition stabilizes, writing about her becomes mundane. However, it is good to stay this way, as I certainly don't want to report any exciting (or nerve wrecking) news.

At bedtime, my mom reads to wind down from her hectic day. She is currently reading the book called Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul. The title of one of the stories captured her attention - This is the way we brush our teeth.

I don't like getting my teeth brushed. Since I love music, a song was created for me using the tune of "The wheels of the bus go up and down". The song goes like this - This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth, this is the way we brush our teeth . . . . .

I hate the song, but I like the story:

Long, long ago, as first-year students, we were on the floor for a short time each day. Our duties were limited to refilling water pitchers, changing flower water, dusting th room, and taking vital signs.

On one of my early mornings on the ward I was asked to clean the dentures of all the patients before breakfast. Delighted with the important assignment, I went to each room with a tray, gathered the denture cups on the night stands of the sleeping residents, and proceeded to the workroom to fulfill my duty. I diligently cleaned the teeth under running water with a special brush and denture cleaner, then placed them all on the counter in a neat row. As I started to put the dentures back into each cup I suddenly froze. Although I have done a superb job of cleaning them, I now saw a dilemma, which held me suddenly suspended. I didn't know to whom the dentures belonged!

Nervously, I went to the charge nurse and confessed my problem. After she wiped tears from her eyes from her laughter, she helped me sort some that she recognized, then we set about the arduous task of fitting the remaining dentures to the appropriate residents.

Room by room, we fit and refit teeth until, hours later each resident was smiling a gleaming smile and anticipating chomping down on breakfast.

The next day when I returned to the floor, the charge nurse began laughing again as soon as she saw me.

"Mrs. Smith's son came in last night wondering who was responsible for his mother's new teeth!"

My heart stopped. Expulsion from nursing school whirled in my mind.

"He said, 'They fit for the first time in fifteen years! We cannot thank you enough!'"

A good night

My mom was happy that Grandma had a good night last night. I had a good night too. I was so tired last night that I didn't even ask for music. I fell asleep shortly after I was tucked in. I snored the whole night through and thank God for an extra hour of sleep.

My mom cleaned Grandma's wound yesterday afternoon. It is clean and dry. She reapplied a light dressing for Grandma's comfort, as the drain site is somewhat irritating.

Sleep

I have guessed wrong. Last night, Grandma was tired but was wide awake till 1 am. She got up at 5 am. to make coffee. Other than not feeling rested, Grandma is generally well. She is up and about doing her exercises, walking around the house and watching TV.

Her ears have been ringing since after the surgery. It does not affect her hearing, but Grandma finds it annoying. My mom does not know what might have caused it, or how to resolve the problem. If it does not go away by Monday, she can call and consult Grandma's nurse.

Visitors

After lunch, Grandma crawled into bed because she was feeling tired. A friend arrived to visit and my mom told Grandma not to get up. However, she did not feel comfortable staying in bed while entertaining our guest. Shortly after she left, an uncle and an auntie came to see Grandma. Two more visitors came after supper and they stayed till 10:30 pm.

Grandma enjoyed the visits and did not appear to be overly tired despite being up most of the day. She should be able to sleep better tonight. I will let you know if my prediction is correct or not in the morning.

General Discomforts

Grandma experiences some pain which is spasmodic in nature. It comes on suddenly and it is intense, but it does not last long. The doctor prescribed Tylenol #3, which is a strong pain killer and it is constipating. My mom didn't fill the prescription as plain Tylenol seems to be effective for Grandma.

Grandma slept well the first night home, but had trouble falling asleep last night. Since she is not going anywhere, she can take rest periods during the day.

My mom has misinterpreted Grandma's hunger as good appetite. Grandma clarified that she actually does not feel like eating even though she feels hungry. She finds that everything has no taste. My mom will have to improve her cooking skills and to forget about healthy cooking for the time being.

Drainage

Grandma's drains are draining well. Drainage is now clear with no clot. After pressure on the wound was relieved, pain reduced.

Grandma did her exercises this morning. She is now visiting with a friend from church.

Pain

While Grandma was in the hospital, she experienced very little pain and did not require any pain medication. She took a dose of plain Tylenol prior to going home to ensure that the journey home was comfortable. I made it sound like it is a long journey, but it is actually about 15 minutes only.

By bedtime last evening, her pain increased but she didn't tell my mom. She went to bed and slept reasonably well. This morning, it was only upon my mom's inquiry that she mentioned about the pain. My mom checked her wound and drains. The drains were full and they were emptied right away. My mom milked the tubes to make sure that they are patent. She got some clots out and will check on her drainage hourly for now.

Please pray for reduced pain and free flowing drainage. Thank you!

Good Appetite

My mom can finally sit down to continue writing. As soon as they arrived home from the hospital at around 2 pm., my mom was kept busy with cooking for Grandma (believe it or not). Grandma ate a banana because the nurse stated that her potassium is on the low side. Then she said she wanted eggs for supper. My mom perceived feeling hungry as a really good sign of recovery, so she was happy to fried two small eggs and two pieces of lok bok cake (蘿蔔糕) for Grandma right away. When Grandma finished eating, she asked for more. This totally surprised my mom and she wished she had cooked more. My mom thought that Grandma might not feel like eating after surgery, so she had made some papaya soup. After serving Grandma a bowl of the soup, it was soon time to prepare supper.

In between cooking, my mom was tied up in making/answering phone calls and sending/responding to e-mails.

Coming Home

When my mom arrived at the hospital early this morning, she noted the following progress:

1. Last evening, Grandma was given an injection for dizziness and nausea so that she could drink more fluids. After that she was able to pass water, which was a big relief for her because she was so afraid of catheterization.

2. Grandma is not as dizzy this morning.

3. She is not nauseated any more and tolerated her breakfast and lunch well. She was actually feeling hungry before the breakfast tray arrived. She was wishing for oatmeal, but she got corn flakes. She was nicely surprised by getting pancakes and she enjoyed them.

4. Her oxygen saturation is 100%, so no more oxygen and the uncomfortable tubes sticking into her nose.

5. She is able to get in and out of bed by herself and is totally independent in going to the bathroom.

Dr. Yakimets visited before 7 am. this morning and stated that the surgery went well. He discharged Grandma and would like her to see him on November 6 for removal of the two drains that are left in her wound. My mom has to drain and measure the drainage three time a day.

Grandma was supposed to be discharged this morning. When the nurse changed the dressing, she was a little concerned about an area that forms a skin fold right over the incision line. To be on the safe side, she asked the doctor to take a look at it. A doctor assessed it and she was not sure if it was okay or not. Later, Dr. Yakimets came by the unit and examine the wound. He reassured us that it is fine. As a result of the waiting, Grandma stayed for lunch.

My mom accompanied Grandma to walk around the unit for exercise. They got into the patient lounge. There was a fake staircase for patients to practice stair-climbing. My mom recalled some of the questions Emily asked the night before:

1. Do you need help with taking Grandma home?

2. We have stairs. Will she need to be carried into the house?

3. Who will be strong enough to carry her?

These were all needless worries, as Grandma walked up and down those steps with no problem. There was also a 500-piece puzzle sitting on a table. Grandma and my mom went at it putting in one piece after another. If the nurse didn't come to the lounge to fetch Grandma to remove her IV (intravenous) tubes, they would have stayed and finished that puzzle. Just kidding! They'd rather come home even though they enjoyed working on the puzzle.

Post Surgery

My grandma returned to the nursing unit at around 4 pm. She feels very sleepy and has been sleeping soundly since then. It is good that she can get lots of rest. I hope her roommate can tolerate her constant snoring.

My grandma experiences very little pain and has not required any pain medication. She feels fine when she is lying down. However, she feels dizzy and nauseated when she is in an upright position. She was up twice to the bathroom trying to pass water, but was unsuccessful. This worries her as she does not want to have a catheter inserted. Her oxygen saturation is slightly low and is on oxygen.

My mom came home for the night and plans to return to the hospital at 6 am. because the doctors will make rounds between 6 am. and 7 am.

Day of Surgery

My grandma worried about cancellation of her surgery because that happened twice when she had her liver cysts removed in 2005. Today she got into the OR at 1 pm. as scheduled. She is expected to return to the unit at around 4 pm.

I will write again later this evening to keep you posted.

Surgery

My grandma will be admitted to the Miscericordia Hospital tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and the surgery is scheduled for 1 pm.

The surgery will be 1 1/2 hour long and Grandma will stay in the recovery room for another hour before she can return to the unit.

She will be discharged early Wednesday morning with drain(s) left in her wound. The drainage will be emptied and measured three times daily. A referral can be made to homecare, but my mom feels she will be able to manage caring for Grandma by herself.

Grandma

Based on the markedly reduced frequency of posts, you may have guessed that my mom must be too busy to help me with writing. My grandma noticed a lump in her right breast about a month ago. She went for a mammogram before we left for Vancouver. When my mom saw the mammogram picture, she knew there was a good chance that it was cancer. Biopsies were taken on the same day and the result confirmed the diagnosis of invasive breast cancer which has spread to her lymph nodes.

We returned to Edmonton earlier than planned to see the surgeon. He recommended removal of my grandma's right breast and the lymph nodes under her arm. The tissues will be sent to pathology for analysis, so that the cancer specialist can determine which is the most appropriate treatment following surgery.

My grandma took the bad news well and she has been in good spirits. It is harder for my mom and Emily, as they worry about the pain/discomforts of treatments for grandma. My mom was relieved to hear from the surgeon that my grandma may not need to have chemotherapy and radiation due to her age (80). He thinks that my grandma will be put on hormone therapy. My mom prays that grandma's cancer has a high level of hormone receptors, which will make the tumor more responsive to hormone therapy.

My grandma's surgery will be on October 28 (Tuesday). She will stay in the hospital overnight and come home early Wednesday morning. Her recovery is expected to be about six weeks. The appointment to see the cancer specialist will likely be in early December.

Glacier National Park

Since my one roommate could not go to the Dinosaur Provincial Park, my mom planned another trip a week later to take him to the Glacier National Park. We were supposed to stop by the Waterton National Park as well. However, we missed a turn and headed straight to the Glacier National Park. God knows what is best for us. If we had stopped at the Waterton Lake, we would not have enough time for the Going-to-the-sun Road. Even though it was not peak season (first week of September), there were fair amount of traffic on the road and constructions also slowed us down a bit.

We enjoyed the fantastic scenery and the fresh air. The weather wasn't very good and it rained part of the time. It was very foggy at the high altitudes, so we could not see some scenic views. I can imagine how beautiful the park is on sunny days. We came across a patch of snow that looked like a dove's head. It was so neat!



One funny episode on this trip was watching my mom "wrestle" with the back of the captain seat in front of her. We were sitting at the back bench of the van. I was in the middle and my mom to my right. When she needed to get up, she couldn't pull herself up with her left arm because of shoulder pain. She used her right arm and was not able to stand upright because the captain seat was pushed back. She couldn't step out in front of me because she was hanging on with her right arm. When she let go the grip, she fell back into the seat. She, then, gave the back of the seat a bear hug to maintain an upright position. She inched towards me until she could sit on my lap to swing her legs out. After winning the wrestling match, she moved to sit on my left to make it easier for her to get out.

Dinosaur Provincial Park

My mom wants my roommates to be able to get away for a short vacation, so she planned for a trip to the Dinosaur Provincial Park. She booked tickets for a 2-hour bus tour as she knows all of us love car rides. Unfortunately, one of my roommates got sick and he could not go. My other roommate and his parents came along. We spent a night at Brooks on September 28 and went to the Park the next morning.

The landscape in the area is really unique and beautiful. We were happy we signed up for the bus tour because we were taken to areas restricted to unguided visitors. It was a good thing my mom signed up early as the bus tickets were sold out. We stopped at various interesting spots and we found a fossil of a vertebra. (Actually, the fossil was intentionally left there for us to find.)

Birthday Cakes

I had two cakes for my birthday yesterday. My mom baked a chocolate zucchini cake and Emily bought me an ice cream cake. Both of them are yummy.

Peter has a spacious apartment with a large balcony that surrounds his unit. There is a hammock on his balcony. I had been in one when I went on the Bahamas cruise. It was a struggle for my mom to put me in last time due to the fear of the unknown. This time I willingly got on. My mom swung me from side to side and I loved it. When she stepped inside to fetch my pillow, I decided to swing myself. I ended up rolling off and fell out. That was more fun to me than swinging from side to side. I started to constantly roll off and my mom soon got tired of helping me back onto the hammock.

I have one piece of advice for Peter - Orientate all guests on how to turn off the bathroom lights. It took my mom and grandma some time to figure out how to turn the lights off. When they pressed the switch to turn it off, the lights went bright and dim repeatedly and did not turn off. Eventually they find out that they can turn the lights on and off by tapping (not pressing) the switch.

The apartment has a nice view of the Coal Harbour and the mountains to the north. Stanley Park is only a block away. We went out for a walk one evening and came across a whole family of raccoons. I didn't see them initially and was not sure what the rest of the group was excited about. Then I heard some sound next to me and I looked. It was a raccoon sitting inside a bush staring at me. I got startled and quickly walked away.

Vancouver

I have not written for a long time because my mom has been too busy to help me with it. I have been away on various trips and it is time-consuming for my mom in terms of organizing the trips. Since the Jasper camping trip, I have visited the Dinosaur Provincial Park and the Glacier National Park. I will write about them at a later date. My last and current venture is visiting Emily in Vancouver.

We (Grandma, mom and myself) left for Vancouver on September 29. My mom had to take care of payroll/pay cheques (Beraka Residence and Chinese Outreach) and submission of invoice/receipts to PDD before our departure. She worked till 4 am. and went to bed because she was tired. She got up at 6 am. to finish all the priority tasks. We set off at 10 am. and arrived Vancouver after midnight because my mom had to pull over periodically to take breaks.

We are staying in Peter's apartment because it is bigger and we want to spend time with him. Peter has this neat computer game that he specifically acquired for me to create creatures. I call the creatures dinosaurs. I build my dinosaurs by attaching body parts to the body. I have fun attaching multiple heads and multiple eyes onto the creature. I can also make it tap and dance. Initially, I constantly verbalized, "Help, please." Then I say, "eyes" to indicate my wish to create dinosaurs and I say, "dancing" to indicate I want to make my dinosaur dance. Instead of helping me, my mom, Emily and Peter teach me how to play the game. Through exploraton and practice, I can play independently some of the time.

I have commented in the past that I am not at risk for addiction to computer games because I have a short attention span. This game proves that I was wrong. I can spend hours in front of the computer. I enjoy the game and I giggle aloud. I bounce as I watch my dinosaurs dance. One day, when we were at Emily's apartment, I could hardly wait till we return to Peter's apartment. I expressed my desire to my mom by saying, "Peter, computer".

PS. Today is my 26th birthday. My mom forgot about it and had to be reminded by Emily.

Jasper National Park

I went camping at the Jasper National Park with my mom, Emily and Peter. I had a wonderful time. As you can tell from my pictures, I had fun walking on rocks. It sure was good exercise for my balance. There were many other activities I enjoyed during this trip, such as picking up pebbles to throw into water, looking at and listening to the roaring waterfalls, sitting in front of the campfire, and putting logs in the fire to keep it burning. Generally I don't say much, but I was so happy this weekend that I vocalized more than usual and I sang as I listened to my iPod. My cheerful spirit was contagious and I made my folks chuckle on many occasions.

One of the challenges for us was the large number of dogs we encountered. I had to constantly scan the surrounding to make sure I was safe. Peter was on such high alert that when he heard the sound of chains as he walked past a vehicle, he immediately thought of leash and dog. He turned around and sure enough a dog owner was letting his big dog out. After Peter told him about my fear, the dog owner quickly opened his hatchback to shove the dog back into the vehicle and slammed the door shut. The poor dog barely got his feet on the ground and was suddenly pushed back into the car. He probably wondered what on earth was happening.

After we came home from Jasper, I watched suitcases being packed and I was excited to be on the road again. I realized it was not another camping trip when we arrived at the airport and the suitcases disappeared into the terminal with Emily and Peter. I started to say, "mai-mai" (little sister) 2 - 3 times per hour after Emily left.

Update on Mom's Injuries

My mom sustained shoulder separation from a bike accident five weeks ago. Her shoulder pain has been her focus as the severity of her shoulder pain overshadowed her hand injury. Her shoulder pain is constant while the thumb hurts only when she uses it. Her thumb pain stops her from performing any task that requires the strength of her thumb. She cannot use her left hand to squeeze toothpaste, wipe her glasses, turn door knobs, open caps, pull seat belt out, pick up anything (including light objects), etc.

Yesterday, my mom went to see her doctor and was told she has torn her muscles and tendons of both her shoulder and her thumb. It will take time for them to heal. As my mom reflected on her injuries, she realized that the "googe egg" on the back of her hand was not a bruise, but a hematoma from the thumb injury. No wonder she had no pain on the back of her hand even though it was multi-colored (blue, black and purple).

The thumb has caused a lot of inconvenience for my mom, but she adapts well and she is able to modify how she gets things done. For example, she has trouble with buttoning my pants, so I have now gained two pairs of pants with velcro fastener.

Laundromat

I used to enjoy going out, but now I often refuse to go out with my caregivers for walks. In order to stimulate my interest for going out, my mom decided to take me to a laundromat about 6 - 7 blocks from home. With the help of a caregiver, my mom took me out. She told me we were going to see big washers and dryers. I understood the words, but I didn't really know what she meant.

It was like tug-of-war part of the way to our destination. When we eventually arrived at the laundromat, I quickly walked in. I sat and watched the washer contents spin round and round. We stayed for about half an hour. It was another tug-of-war trying to get me home, as I kept wanting to return to the laundromat. We visited the laundromat again the next day. When my mom told me about big washers and dryers, I knew exactly what she meant.

Tonight I refused to go out with my caregivers again. When my mom learned about that, she asked if I wanted to see big washers and dryers. I walked with my mom hand-in-hand to the laundromat. We stayed for about 10 minutes only. I wasn't ready to leave, but I listened. We met 5 dogs on our way home. My mom held my hand and reassured me. I walked on calmly, as my mom redirected my attention to sprinklers and a truck with flashing lights.

I was so well behaved that my mom rewarded me with a small bowl of taro chips and a glass of orange juice after we got home.

Elebits

I have been playing Elebits with my mom every day. You can read a previous blog for more information about this game. My mom does not have enough IT or computer game knowledge to help me with explaining it.

I am supposed to shoot the Elebits, but I am more interested in throwing things around, especially shrubs and trees. I throw all the shrubs in sight and have fun doing it. I cannot understand why the trees simply won't budge. I am going to keep trying until I succeed. I am not going to give up because of two reasons. Firstly, I have inherited my mom's stubborn gene. Secondly, she has taught me well in terms of perseverance.

Games can be quite addictive and one can sit and play for hours. However, I am not at risk for addiction. I love the game and I ask for it whenever I visit at my mom's home. I am only interested in playing for a short time. Generally, my mom sets the game time to be 15 minutes. I can now recognize the beeping sound for Times Up. Sometimes, I say "All done!" and turn off the Wii.

Shoulder Separation

My mom went to see her doctor and was told she has a shoulder separation. It is also called acromioclavicular joint separation, or AC separation. This can happen after a a fall on to an outstretched hand (commonly seen after falling off a bicycle or horse). My mom started to learn about this condition after she was diagnosed.

The standard treatments include ice, rest the arm (use of sling), and anti-inflammatory/analgesic. My mom did 2 out of 3 treatments right. She applied ice and she took anti-inflammatory. The use of sling would have helped her in reducing the amount of pain and discomfort she experienced last week. Also, she should not have used the arm to carry groceries and heavy stuff. I am not helping her either. I have made her cry out with pain many times when I suddenly grab her sore hand, or pull on her sore arm. My mom is right-handed, so she generally sits on my right side to make it easier for her to help me. Now, she has to constantly remind herself not to sit on my right side, as this will put her left arm at risk for being grabbed or pulled. My mom has been on the alert, and yet it is impossible to completely avoid being grabbed by me. I can suddenly reach out and yank her arm without any warning sign.

What my mom needs is some good rest. She has been sleeping poorly since the injury. Now that the pain is not as acute, hopefully she can sleep better.

Travel Fever

We had gorgeous weather today. My mom felt it was such a shame that she could not take me out on a bike ride. Her left shoulder and hand are still too sore for her to feel comfortable taking me out on my bike. Furthermore, the steering wheel on her side is a bit off after the bike accident. She does not have the strength in her left arm to fix it. She is also not sure if she knows how to. My mom decided to take me out for a walk instead. The plan was dropped as it suddenly rained heavily and hailed.

My grandma is going on a 6-day bus tour to Regina and Winnipeg leaving in the morning. A friend of hers is also going and she lives near the location for boarding the bus. So, my grandma went over tonight to her friend’s home to sleep over. Initially, my mom did not intend to take me along for a car ride, as it would be close to my bedtime. Since she felt guilty about not taking me on a bike ride, and then failing to take me out on a walk, she changed her mind.

As my mom helped me with putting my shoes on, I saw the suitcase. I started to giggle loudly and uncontrollably. I giggled all the way out to the van, and I continued to giggle aloud on our way to drop Grandma off. My mom has heard me giggle in my sleep while on a cruise, but she has never seen me laugh like this and for such long duration.

My mom suspects that I am suffering from “travel fever”. Before I continue, I need to clarify what I mean to my non-Chinese friends. I am not talking about Post Travel Fever. When the Chinese talk about someone has a fever (發燒友) for something, it means the person is crazy about it. Having a “travel fever” means I love traveling to the extreme. I was so delirious with joy because I thought I was going away on a trip.

I saw the suitcase went with Grandma when we dropped her off. My mom also told me we were going home. No more giggles from me.

A Friend

I have met a very nice young man, Peter, through my sister. He blogged about me some time ago and the following is what he has written:

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Timothy is Emily's brother, and I've always found him to be great fun to hang out with. More importantly, it makes you feel so good inside any time he achieves something new. I've rarely blogged about him before; I just never knew what to say. I think I know what to say now, but first I want to share some of the stories from times spent with him:

I bought a Wii when they were first released. I took it to Edmonton on a few trips, but then realized that Timothy might be able to make use of it than I had been. Emily bought the WiiPlay pack, and she found the perfect game for him - cow racing. You hold the remote sideways and tilt it left or right to steer, knocking over random objects as you go. He loved playing it, even though he never finished the race on time. :)

Emily's mum bought a side-by-side sit-down tandem bicycle a few years ago. It's quite well engineered, with a park brake, dual handle bars, independent gears, etc, though not the most stylish vehicle on the road. ;) Emily and I took Timothy for a ride up and down the local streets - Tim and I rode, while Emily walked alongside keeping an eye out for traffic and dogs. To begin with I would do all the steering, but at the halfway point I just took my hands off the handlebars and left it up to Tim. Within a few minutes, he was able to both pedal the bicycle and simultaneously steer us away from parked cars in the street. Even better, if I pointed left or right at an intersection, he would make the turn by himself! I was very impressed, and could even take a break from pedaling myself... ;)

Emily picked up a second-hand copy of Elebits for the Wii. Now, as far as Wii games go, Elebits is pretty sophisticated - the left hand is used to move the player around the level, and the right hand is used to control the camera and shoot targets. Emily realized early on that Tim couldn't handle both aspects at the same time, so she would move the player around the level, and Timothy would be left in control of the camera and shooting. Funnily enough, Timothy loves things that spin, so when he found a ceiling fan within the game he would keep directing the camera so that he could watch it! No matter where you moved in the level, he would consistently pivot the camera to watch the fan. It was cute, but more importantly demonstrated his increasing ability to control his movements within the game. When I visited Edmonton last, Timothy was controlling both aspects - player movement, and camera control. He even started hunting down Elebits, the way you're supposed to! :) I can only hope things continue to improve.

Timothy loves music, and is always asking for the music to be turned on when at home or in the car. It seemed appropriate to get a second-generation iPod Shuffle for him - they are nearly indestructible, have very few buttons, have a strong built-in clip, and can be volume limited in software. We set him up with his new iPod, pre-loaded with some of his favorite music, and we took him for a trip to his cousin's house (where, coincidentally, he got to play Guitar Hero with Emily's help). Nothing remarkable happened on the trip, though he did seem to enjoy his time with his cousins. However, when we got home, he ran straight to his mum and was singing the words of the music on his iPod. I had never heard Tim sing before, and that was one of those "so good" moments I mentioned. I can only call the iPod a success. :)

Timothy is a special kid. He'll always need someone there to help. I'll never be able to just sit down and make small-talk with him. But you know what? That's okay. I know that I still want to hang out with him. Timothy is special in so many other ways.

And I never liked small-talk anyway. :)

Aftermath

Other than a big bruise on my right upper arm, I appear to be fine after the bike accident. My mom examines me every day and asks me if I am sore. I don't understand what she is asking, so she has to use her judgment to determine the appropriate course of action. Since she has a lot of pain, she assumes that I have some pain too. She decided to give me one small dose of anti-inflammatory a day for pain relief as well as prevention of local tissue inflammation/reaction.

My mom had so much pain the first day that she needed to take both muscle relaxant and anti-inflammatory. She went to bed before 9 pm., which is extremely unusual for her. She woke up every hour from pain, mostly in her left shoulder.

My mom notices new bruises in addition to the goose egg on the back of her left hand:

1. Bruise on her left palm, medial to the base of her thumb. No wonder it hurts so much when she tries to use her thumb. She can't even hold onto a pen firm enough to remove the cap.

2. Bruises on her left forearm and elbow

3. Bruises on the left side of her chest and left hip

5. Bruises on her left thigh and left knee

6. Bruises on the base of her right thumb, right knee and right lower leg

She does not see any bruise on her left shoulder, even though that hurts the most. She has trouble using her left arm to turn the steering wheel. So, her right arm has to take care of both changing gears and turning the steering wheel. My mom does not want you to be alarmed. She is slowly getting better. She is coping well and when you see her, you cannot even tell she is in pain.

River Valley Trail

Edmonton is known for its beautiful river valley trail. My mom has thought about taking me there for a bike ride for some time. She finally did it this morning.

The first part of the trail was going downhill and it was easy riding. I just loved it as we breezed through in relatively high speed. My mom used the brake to keep us from going too fast. As I was enjoying the ride, my mom worried how we were going to make it up the hill on our return. When we drove by a few cyclists, she stopped and asked for help with regard to the right gear for going uphill. They helped her to set the gears to the most easy riding setting. We rode for 2.5 km and reached Government House Park. We made it there in about 15 minutes. It would have taken us an hour to walk this distance. Right by the park, we came to an area where there was a steeper incline for a short distance (maybe 10 m). We couldn't make it up the hill, so my mom got me off the bike and we pushed it up the hill. The trail ahead looked level enough for my mom to feel comfortable to continue. We pedalled another 2.5 km along the River Vally Road. We passed the Victoria Golf Course and the Victoria Park on our left. Some downtown buildings were visible behind the trees. My mom decided to turn around when we reached the High Level Bridge.

The weather was nice and I saw a motor boat as we travelled alongside the river. When we got back to the steeper incline by the Government House Park, I saw a dog. I got nervous and suddenly pedalled really fast. Since we were going downhill, our speed picked up rapidly. My mom could not remember if she actually braked or was only thinking of braking. We lost control and our bike flipped over in a flash. The canopy collapsed on top of us. Thank God we flipped over on the grass and not on the cement. My mom helped me to get up and checked me out. I could walk and seemed to be fine. The posts holding the canopy up got bent. A man came by and helped to straighten the posts so that the canopy could be mounted on the frame again.

We continued our homeward journey going mostly uphill. At some locations, my mom could not get the bike going if I did not help in pedalling. We got off and push part of the way. Then we got back on and pedalled some distance. After getting off and on several times, we eventually made it home. I don't think we will go there again. This suits me fine as we met way too many dogs along the trail.

My mom has a bruise (a goose egg about the size of a toonie) on her left hand. Her left shoulder and wrist are sore. Guess what she is getting as treatment? I am sure Emily can guess right.

Medical Advice

Since Emily settled in Vancouver, she has called my mom twice so far. Both times were for medical advice. The first call was when she sustained her first injury from getting her palm crushed as she pushed the handle of the vacuum cleaner down. The second call was when Peter suffered from low back pain. The medical advice she got on these two occasions was "apply ice". Emily made a comment about ice being the standard treatment plan.

There is a good chance Emily will not call for medical advice again as she knows the answer. My mom should have varied her response to ensure future calls. Anyway, my mom is not sure if she should look forward to hearing from Emily again (for more medical advice).

In the past, when my mom and Emily were in different cities, my mom could often catch Emily online and was able to chat with her from time to time. The truth is . . . . . It is not when my mom and Emily are apart that she goes online regularly. It is when Emily and Peter are apart that she capitalizes on all the high tech available to stay connected with him. Now that they are both in the same city, they can meet face to face instead of virtually.

Emily's Room

Now that Emily has moved out, I get to sleep in her room when I spend Saturday nights at my mom's home. My grandma have forewarned my mom about me getting into Emily's stuff.

Last night, I was thrilled to be allowed into Emily's room. The first thing I saw was the stereo system and I immediately asked for music. Then I saw a whole stack of CD's. My mom tucked me in and I continued to bug my mom for music. Finally, she gave in and look for a CD. She checked every single CD case and all of the CD's were gone (with Emily). She went downstairs to get a tape. My mom had to get up to flip the tape over to play the other side. After she did that a couple of times, she put in a CD.

My mom was beginning to wonder if I would sleep at all with so many things of interest to me. She was glad that at least I was staying in bed (with her repeatedly reminding me to keep my head down on the pillow). There were different gadgets on the floor - some of them with blinking lights. A laptop and a destktop computer were on the table. My mom was checking e-mails and the mouse was so cool. It changed colors from green to purple to blue to red. When the light hit mom's Koala Bear gel wrist rest, the colors shone through it. It was beautiful!

There was also a fan on the desk. My mom had debated whether she should remove or hide it. She decided to leave it to put me to the test. There was so much to see that I either did not even notice the fan or I was not interested in it.

I eventually fell asleep after midnight and I was up before 7 am. My mom persuaded me to go downstairs for breakfast. Since we still had lots of time before leaving for church, my mom allowed me to go back into Emily's room for music. She told me to sit on the bed and I complied. She left the room to go washed up and get dressed. When she returned to the room, I stayed sitting on the bed enjoying music. She praised me profusely and hugged me. My impressive performance is going to guarantee future access to Emily's room.

Family Vacations

While my mom was still in Vancouver, Auntie Paula's family went there for a family vacation. My grandma, mom and Emily joined them for a visit of the Butchart Gardens in Victoria. The last time my mom went there was about a quarter of a century ago. The trip brought back fond memories of her visit there with my dad. I was there too - a chubby kid of 10 months old.

Our extended family used to go on vacations together every summer until some of the cousins started to attend university. Summer school and summer jobs made it difficult to find a suitable time. Initially, our family did not join the group vacations as my mom generally drove to New York to visit her brother's family, or to San Francisco to visit her cousins. My mom stopped long distance driving temporarily after she had 4 motor vehicle accidents (October 1992, January 1993, February 1994, July 1994).

My mom decided to particpate in the "extended family vacation" in 1994. Our family went as "passengers". My mom missed the driving and the convenience of being in our own vehicle. It was definitely easier to look after me in our van.

It was a big group of 32 family members. When our gang pulled into a gas station, we saw a banner on the roof of MacDonald's stating "Kids eat free after 5 pm". It was after 5 pm. and we had kids. An auntie went over to check it out and confirmed that when an adult purchased a meal, the accompanied child can get a kid's meal for free. Perfect! We had 16 adults and 16 kids. This could be a historical moment for this MacDonald's in a small town having 32 Chinese customers marching in at the same time. The waitress serving us was overwhelmed by taking such a big order. She made mistakes with our drinks so that we ended up with many extra pops. We also had so much french fries that the kids could eat to their hearts' content. There must have been a lot of pops and french fries that 16 kids could not finish them all.

Vancouver

My grandma, mom and Emily arrived Vancouver on June 18. Internet access in Vancouver was not as good as my mom anticipated. She was not able to "steal" wireless internet as all networks found were secured.

When helping Emily to move into her apartment, my mom's van broke down. The fan did not come on and the van overheated. My mom's friend knows a mechanic, Mr. Ma. He was such an angel that he cancelled his afternoon tea with a friend. He drove all the way across town to my mom's rescue. At 4 pm. Saturday afternoon, obtaining parts could be tricky.

A call was made to the North Vancouver VW dealer to ask about the required parts and the closing time. They closed at 5 pm. giving them enough time to get there from downtown Vancouver. Mr. Ma offered to drive his car as my mom's van might not make it there. It was upsetting that the person on the phone did not say the parts department closed at 4 pm. Mr. Ma called someone in Richmond to obtain the parts from Richmond VW dealer as there was no way they could get there in time.

Mr. Ma drove from North Vancouver to Richmond to pick up the parts and then drove all the way back to downtown to fix the van. It was a round trip from west to north, then from north to east down to the south before heading back to the west. He did not even accept my mom's payment for his time and service. He took $20 for gas and $6 for parts.

My mom drove Emily and Peter around to shop for a computer desk and a chair. She did grocery shopping for some very basic items. She made about 200 meatballs to get Emily started.

My mom would have prepared more foods for Emily if she had time. She received news that a long-time friend passed away and his funeral was on June 30. She drove back to Edmonton on June 29.

Money Exchange

I am relieved that my grandma, my mom and Emily have recovered from their flu. Grandma is still coughing, but has improved significantly. They have returned to Hong Kong on June 8 and will fly back to Vancouver on June 18.

Even though they have visited with different family and friends daily, they have not met up with everyone yet. They particularly enjoy their visits with Cousin S's family. They are excited that they will see Cousin P again tomorrow night. Cousin P moved to Toronto a few years ago. She works for Air Canada and flies to Hong Kong once a month. It is so interesting that they can get together twice in Hong Kong.

My mom ran out of cash and was in debt shortly after she arrived Hong Kong from paying for visa applications and tour packages. My mom had traveler cheques in US$ and C$. When she went to the bank for exchange to HK$. The first bank she went to only accepts US cash. The second bank she went to charges a fee for exchanging traveler cheques (no fee for exchanging cash). My mom proceeded to sign the traveler cheques and after she signed a bunch of them, she was asked for her passport. She could not produce it as it was submitted for visa application to enter China. Cousin P came to her rescue and brought her $2,000 Canadian dollars so that she could pay off her debts before leaving for China.

When my mom went on a tour to China with grandma in the fall of 2005, she brought cash with her. When she exchanged currency during that trip, the rate for cheques was higher than the rate for cash. So she brought cheques this time and yet it would have been better if she had brought cash.

Guilin Trip

Grandma started to cough the day before they returned from the Eastern China trip. She appeared to improve somewhat after they returned to Guangzhou. After a 5-day trip (May 27 - 31) to Guilin （桂林）was paid for, Grandma stated that she was really uncomfortable. My mom wished she had said so sooner. Grandma was taken to the hospital to see a doctor. The chest X-ray showed pneumonia. However, Grandma did not feel she was probably diagnosed. The X-ray technician was very rude and impatient. She was not properly positioned and the X-ray was taken while she was coughing. The doctor suggested admission or outpatient IV antibiotics for 10 days. She requested oral antibiotics and took one dose of IV antibiotics before she went home to rest. My mom observed Grandma's condition to determine whether they had to cancel the trip or not. Grandma started to improve after commencement of medications.

The Guilin tour was actually only 3 days. They decided to go by train as a new experience and to avoid the need to show their Canadian passports. Some tour company charges foreigners an extra $400 for their tour packages stating that this is the requirement of the Guilin local authorities. They boarded the air-conditioned train at night and arrived the next morning. They slept on a 3-level bunk bed, which was actually more comfortable than anticipated.

They visited several parks （e.g. 象山景區）in Guilin on the first day. There has been a lot of rain recently and the water level is high. Some of the walk paths are submerged in water. The heavy rain and run offs stir up the soil making the water a muddy color. It rained most of the morning as they toured the parks. For fear of damages to the camera by the heavy rain, Emily did not take any pictures until the afternoon. Emily was not enthusiatic at all, as she was not feeling well.

They decided to take it easy in the evening and rested in the hotel instead of venturing out. Grandma was constipated, so my mom and Emily went out to look for laxative and purchased fruit for Grandma. Emily took Tylenol for fever and aches. She had trouble sleeping, but eventually fell asleep. By that time, my mom was wide awake and decided to work on completing a project evaluation report for submission online. Shortly after my mom fell asleep, Grandma woke her up to help her as she was very uncomfortable from constipation. My mom was up most of the night and was tired.

They took a boat ride down the Lijiang （漓江）the next morning before checking into a hotel. My mom and Emily were going to look after Grandma at the hotel the rest of the day. Grandma got better by the end of the boat ride, so my mom and Emily felt comfortable leaving Grandma at the hotel and they went with the gruop to three additionally paid attractions. The first one was taking a bamboo raft up and down a river with calm and clear waters. The second one was to visit a tribal village （圖騰古道）. The aboriginals acted out to entertain the tourists. My mom and Emily felt that they are being exploited and did not enjoy the visit at all. The last stop was to visit a cave （聚龍潭）. My mom thought it was very nice, but Emily was not impressed.

The highlight of the last day was to visit another cave（蘆笛宕）in the morning. This cave was really impressive! The cave they saw the day before was no comparision to it. Emily took a lot of pictures and some of them turned out quite nice.

6-day Trip to Eastern China

Since my grandma, my mom and Emily arrived Hong Kong and China, they have done a lot more walking and climbing of stairs. In Hong Kong they live on the 4th floor and in China they live on the 3rd floor. Also, there were a lot of walking and climbing during their tour because many of the attractions are on hills. Climbing hundreds of steps in the heat takes away the enjoyment of the scenery. To add to the challenge, my mom carried her laptop everywhere she went due to the fear of theft. From time to time, Emily took the laptop from her to give her a break. Although it was hard work taking the laptop with them on the tour, they were happy to have internet access at three out of five hotels.

The day in Nanjing was very hot. My grandma decided not to climb up the hill to the tower and waited at the bottom of the hill. My mom had to take a rest to cool down before she could finish the climb. Emily got to the top and waited for my mom. It was so hot up there that they didn't stay for long or explore the area. They came down the hill to take shelter in the shade. It was when Grandma asked if they saw the bridge that they realized they forgot that the purpose of the hike was to see the Yangtze Bridge (長江大橋). China hired an American consultant to assess the feasibility of building the bridge. His recommendation was that it was impossible to build a bridge at the site. The Chinese went ahead against his recommendation to build it. As a result, the Chinese are very proud of this bridge.

It rained the next day in Wuxi (無鍚) when they visited the Big Budda (靈山大佛). The rain was so heavy that they were completely wet. Fortunately, the weather was warm so they did not feel cold. After having lunch there, the rain stopped. They were able to walk around and watch the musical fountain show. This attraction is nicely designed and built, but my mom felt sad to see so many Chinese worship the idols.

The next stop was Suzhou (蘇卅) and they took a boat ride in the evening. It was an unplanned activity to replace a cancelled show. To grieve for victims of the earthquake, the government ordered no entertainment for three days. It was a disappointment because Emily really looked forward to the show.

The highlight in Shanghai (上海) was meeting with a friend, as they had a very nice visit. They were really impressed by her apartment, her collection of art work and porcelain dolls. They were taken to a fancy restaurant for a very nice supper which was VERY different from the meals offered by the tour. Emily was happy that the washroom in the restaurant was really nice and clean. Earlier that day, Emily had a tummy ache and was forced to use smelly washrooms. Fortunately, her diarrhea did not last long.

The last stop was Hangzhou (杭卅) and the weather was decent as it was not extremely hot. They were pleasantly surprised when they reached the Leifeng Tower (雷鋒塔). The tower was built around 950 AD by the emperor to celebrate the birth of a son by his concubine. Then there was the legend of the white snake falling in love with a human (白蛇傳). The white snake was imprisoned by a monk underneath the tower. The local people believed that the tower had magic power over snakes. The silk worm growers started to steal bricks from the foundation of the tower for protection from snakes. Eventually the tower collapsed. The tower was rebuilt a few years ago with esculators to take tourists up the hill and elevators to go up the tower. Emily enjoyed reading the story (in English) about the white snake legend. She commented that all towers should be rebuilt and modernized.

Eastern China Tour

While travelling in China, internet is available most of the time to my mom and sister, Emily. However, they cannot access some of the websites, such as blogspot.com. My mom cannot view the blogs but can now post new notes with Emily's help.

Grandma, Mom and Emily arrived Guangzhou (廣卅) on May 12. They joined a 6-day tour (May 17 - 22) to Eastern China (華東) to visit Nanjing (南京), Wuxi (無錫), Suzhou (蘇卅), Shanghai (上海), and Hangzhou (杭卅).

It was chaotic when they boarded the plane, as passengers did not take their assigned seats. My mom and Emily got bumped and they sat by the emergency exit with one other passenger. They were told to read the instructions, which stated that passengers who cannot understand the written instructions and passengers who cannot understand verbal instructions of the crew should not take the seats by the emergency exit. My mom and Emily can read the instructions but cannot understand Mandarin. The other passenger can understand Mandarin, but he indicated that he is not literate. None of them should have taken those seats!

After being pushed and shoved constantly by crowds, my grandma, my mom and Emily got a little smarter on their return flight to Guangzhou (廣卅). They kind of stayed back to be the last ones to board the shuttle bus to the plane. They became the first ones to get off the bus. Since Emily is more agile and swift, she got the job of boarding the plane as fast as she could to grab their assigned seats on row 7. My mom stayed behind to escort Grandma. When it was time to get off the plane, they remained in their seats. The 100+ passengers who passed by them stared at them wondering what was wrong with them. They eyed them as if they were insane. What was the point of rushing anyway. They all had to wait for their luggages to come out before they could leave the airport.

The weather was reasonably well. It rained one day and the other days were sunny. It was nice and cool in the early mornings. The temperature started to climb after 9 am. My mom's biggest challenge was the heat. The tour bus air conditioning was either off or on a low setting. My mom was uncomfortably hot most of the time. Emily's biggest challenge was the toilets - the strong smell and the squatting. She tried her best to avoid the need to use them. She had a tummy ache while in Shanghai (上海). Fortunately, her diarrhea stopped after running to the toilets twice.

It was interesting to hear the tour guide's explanation of the history and culture of the various locations. Due to my mom's limited command of Mandarin, she could not understand all of the narrations. She interpreted as much as she could for Emily. If Emily ever returns to China for a visit, she should join an English speaking tour.

There were lots of tourists everywhere. Sometimes there could be 3 to 4 tour guides around us speaking at the same time. There were constant shouting, arguing and loud conversations. What was sad to witness was that many tourists showed no respect for public property: spitting, throwing garbage/cigarette butts on the ground, climbing over barriers to take pictures, touching artifacts, banging displays, etc. It was the shoving and pushing that got to Emily. Even when the people in front were not moving, the people behind kept pushing.

Quangzhou

My grandma, mom and sister are thrilled that the tour they signed up for has been cancelled. The complicated visa application process has delayed their trip to Quangzhou to visit family. They will leave for Quangzhou on Monday (May 12) and stay for about a week as they plan on returning to Hong Kong to take a tour to Shanghai and Eastern China in late May and a tour to Taipei in early June.

My mom finds it difficult to organize their travel plans because they had to wait for the visa approval and then the confirmation or cancellation of their signed up tour. When they arrive Quangzhou on Monday, my mom will look for available tour(s) there.

My mom is now searching online for China/Taipei tours departing from Hong Kong. Hopefully, there are tours that suit their schedule.

Extreme Heat

I have talked about extreme cold in Edmonton. Now, it is time to talk about extreme heat . . . . .

My mom’s hot flushes make the heat unbearable for her at times. Her glasses steam up and sweats pour out of her. She cannot understand how anybody can wear sweaters and jackets in such hot weather. Yet, an amazingly large number of people she meets on the street wear thick and dark color clothing.

My mom and sister continue to “steal” wireless internet, but are getting less successful with it. As a result, my mom cannot post notes on a regular basis. Over the past few days, my grandma, mom and sister have been meeting with different family/friends each day.

My sister bought two cell phones and had been to the store in Mong Kok almost daily to exchange them because something was wrong. She is now very familiar with the streets in Mong Kok.

The application for visas to enter China is successful and they can enter China two times. They signed up for a short trip to China simply for meeting the requirement of visa application. The trip can be cancelled if not enough people sign up for it. They are hoping for cancellation of the trip so that they can go to Quangzhou on their own to visit my mom’s cousins. They will know two days before departure date (May 14).

Shopping Excursion

My mom and sister went on a whole day excursion. They met with friends for lunch and then went shopping at Mong Kok. They got more experienced in bargaining. However, when the vendors readily agreed to their price, they wondered if they had lowered the price enough.

Since they were meeting with mom's nursing school classmates for supper, they decided not to go home and continue shopping. It was a lot more walking than usual and their feet were getting tired. Whenever they walked past a shoe department, they sat down to try on a few shoes. They have tried on shoes, sandals, slippers and runners.

They had an enjoyable evening visiting with old friends. A reunion is planned for their 40th aniversary in the year 2010 - Alaska cruise departing from Vancouver.

Money Exchange

My mom was told that it is better to use her credit card to pay for major expenses during her visit in Hong Kong. It turned out that some places do not accept credit card payments while others charge a 2-3% service charge. My mom accumulated a debt of over $3,000 shortly after her arrival in Hong Kong.

It was time to visit a bank to exchange for Hong Kong dollars. An auntie accompanied my mom and sister because service fees can be waived for having an account with the bank. The “mission” failed at the first bank they visited. This bank does not accept Canadian dollars for currency exchange. My mom has US traveler cheques but they only accept cash.

Off they went to a second bank and this bank accepts cash and traveler cheques of both Canadian and US dollars. Service fee of $50 can be waived if the exchange value is over $3,000. My mom proceeded to sign her traveler cheques and was then told that there is a service charge of $60 for cheques. My mom decided to continue with the transaction as she was in need of Hong Kong currency. Unfortunately, the transaction could not be completed because she did not have the original copy of her passport. All the passports have been submitted for visa approval and will not be available till May 7. They went home to gather cash and returned to the bank to accomplish the mission.