Home

Around 5:30 pm this afternoon my wife and I brought Derek back to his home. He is quite tired at this time but no doubt happy to be away from the hospital (no reflection on the great staff there!). He had a big day, visiting his friend Simon and dealing with the minutiae which go with hospital discharge. He even managed to walk up one flight of stairs at the hospital and did it again at home. We are all happy to see him back with his family. Airdrie and the kids prepared the house for him and got everything ready so that he'll be comfortable in his recovery.

I'm not sure when Derek will "reappear" on his blog, but since it does not require a lot of physical exertion, I expect that you'll hear from him directly sooner rather than later.

Coming home?

A phone call this morning from Derek has given us another upswing on his way to recovery. He said that he's feeling pretty good and that the withdrawal control program seems to be working. Yesterday evening, he had enough stamina to visit his good friend Simon James in Simons' hospital room five floors below. Simon had to have a heart valve replacement, due to a congenital problem which has plagued him all his life. Simon had his operation on Wednesday and is still pretty groggy, but is coherent and happy to see visitors for short periods. I'm sure that he and Derek have a lot to talk about. Derek intends to visit him again today.

Derek said that the staples used to hold his incision together are going to be removed today. The incision seems to have healed (note to Christa Giles: "knitted") very well. There'll likely always be a scar, but I think that the idea of stapling is to "minimize" its appearance.

It's Derek's choice regarding whether to come home today or stay another day. It all depends on how he feels later on. We'll let you know. You may see Derek on his blog soon.

Upward again

Today, my wife and I both visited Derek again and are happy to report that he is a lot better than yesterday. He's back on controlled doses of morphine - which proves that he really was showing withdrawal symptoms. While I stayed for about an hour, my wife spent an additional two with him. They went to the hospital's retaurant patio - and had a good discussion about things (big bands,various kinds of music, the inventors of overdubbing and multi-channel recording, Les Paul and Mary Ford, etc...) totally unrelated to Derek's fight with the cancer. It was Derek's first time in the open since his hospital stay began.

Derek is now going to follow a regimen of gradual morphine withdrawal, with lower and lower doses stretched over longer and longer periods. This should go on for about a week. Most of this is likely to happen at his home - we'll provide whatever needed support we can help with. This includes looking after our grandsdaughters - not a chore in any case; we love having them at our place.

Things are looking up again.

Morphine

Derek just phoned from the hospital. He has asked me to post the following information: There seems to be a consensus developing among his medical support team that his current symptoms (described somewhat in my previous post) are a manifestation of morphine withdrawal. Derek had this idea earlier and it seems as though the team is leaning toward the same explanation. Before his operation, he was prescribed morphine tablets to control severe abdominal pain caused by the undetected perforation of his bowel by the colon cancer. There now appears to have been some leakage into into his bowel causing the pain. He was given morphine intravenously by the doctors to control post-operative pain and subsequently was able to use a control setup to self administer it when the pain got to be too overwhelming. The hospital team discontinued its use a couple of days ago, and instead prescribed an oral painkiller medication. According to medical literature (I did a quick "google"), the kind of symptoms he's experiencing are consistent with withdrawal symptoms (chills, twitching muscles, perspiration, abdominal and muscle cramps, etc...). Morphine withdrawal symptoms are at a peak 36 to 72 hours after stopping its use. Untreated, withdrawal symptoms take 5-7 days to disappear. Derek says that the hospital is consulting with the appropriate in-house doctors to establish a course of action. More on this when we know.

Too much to hope for

Derek has had a setback. Most of you'll know from his blog that he also has Type 1 diabetes. Right now, his blood sugar levels are out of balance, and he'll probably have to stay at the hospital for a few more days. He didn't get much sleep last night, because he also had "incisional" pains; the cuts in his abdominal muscles and skin are probably "knitting". His sense of humour hasn't left him, though. "The honeymoon is over" he said, "my body has finally realized what's happened". The hospital team seems to be getting his sugar levels back to where they should be, and there appears to be no post-operation infection (no fever). We hope for a quick return to normal recovery

Progress

Hello, all

We've just come back from our visit with Derek at the hospital, and we're happy to report more improvement on Derek's part. He is eating a variety of (semi-solid) food, i.e. Cream-of-wheat, boiled egg, a little toast, some chicken and rice and banana. He also has a good appetite. We walked some more today. Derek is off all the external tubes. The ileostomy is doing its job, but Derek says that he has no control of it; the bag just fills up. With the way he's progressing, it is a good possibility that he'll come home tomorrow (Wednesday), or Thursday. He'll have a special diet, of course; the ladies in our house look forward to cooking for him and keeping him comfortable. There will also be a home nurse to change bandages, and possibly administer medications.

There is still a long way to go, but all of us (including Derek) are certainly relieved that things have gone well so far. I think Derek will be back on his blog in a few days.

All the Best to Jean-Hugues

Hello, all

Those of you are also reading the comments on Derek's and my blog will have seen postings from Jean-Hugues in Paris. He's just gone through the same kind of surgery Derek has had, and for the same reasons. My wife and I send you, Jean-Hugues, your wife Laurence, and your family all the best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.

I'm sure the people who are reading Derek's and my blog are wishing Jean-Hugues a return to a healthy, normal life as well, and are sending you all their support.

Karl

More better

Hi all

We just came back from a visit with Derek at the hospital. He's recovered more since yesterday. His urinary catheter has been removed and he can pass urine in the normal way now. Also, he's had some Jello and chicken broth. His bowels are starting to work and the ileostomy bag is starting to fill up. All this is quite amazing, considering that the major operation he went through took place only three days ago. Together, we also took another one of his walks around the ward. While he is walking slowly, he keeps increasing the distance, challenging his body. It tires him out, but he knows that he's doing the right thing. He'll likely be off the intravenous tube in a day or two, now that he can take medication orally. Considering the circumstances, he's doing amazingly well.

Recovering

We visited Derek (Lauren, Marina [Derek's daughters], my wife, and I) for a short period this afternoon. Derek and Airdrie had walked around the ward a couple of times earlier today (probably about 200 meters - 660 ft) and he was fairly tired when we arrived. We didn't stay long. Derek is taking a lot less of the morphine drip today, but his gut hasn't started working yet (quite normal for this kind of operation). Airdrie has posted a couple of pictures on Derek's blog (http://www.penmachine.com/). We are all pleased about Derek's progress, none more than Derek himself.

Crater Lake

If you've read Derek's post of July 2, you'll remember his reference to Crater Lake and the dark night sky with a multitude of stars. Click on the picture for a larger view of what it looked like.

If you look at this picture in bright surroundings, you will see quite a bit less than what is actually in that picture. This is very similar to the "light pollution" which, in cities, is caused by street and house lights throwing unnecessary and otherwise unused light into the night sky, rather than onto the ground where it would do some good. If people were to use sufficiently shielded, correctly pointed, and motion sensor triggered lights, a fair percentage of this pollution could be avoided. You would also save money, since properly directed light would mean that fewer lights are needed in the first place. Light pollution is a big problem for earth-based deep space astronomy. Many people living in cities have never seen the Milky Way, nor any of the other phenomena in the sky which can only be perceived when the night sky is really dark. Look at the picture in a room with subdued light, and you'll be amazed how much more you can find.

Here are some more pictures which may interest you:

http://qp.pcis.com/QuickPlace/rascvan/PageLibrary88256C7F002AE846.nsf/h_Toc/aee20ecd15a9db4c88256c7f002aeff1/?OpenDocument

Alive man walking

Derek just phoned to let us know how things are going. He's walked from his hospital bed to the elevator and back - a considerable stretch, totaling approximately 50 meters (165 ft) - and sat up for a while. We're all happy with this wonderful progress. It's amazing how well the body deals with the healing when asked to do something. Not too long ago, the procedure would have been to stay immobile and "baby" the body. It seems that the more you ask of it, the better it responds. My wife and I plan to visit Derek later on today; more news then.

One thing which I haven't mentioned so far: everyone of us owes a great debt of gratitude to the doctors who are treating Derek - his team of doctors at the BC Cancer Institute, the surgeons at St. Paul's Hospital who so skillfully removed Derek's colon cancer, and the nurses and staff who look after Derek. Without them, all the good news above would likely have been much bleaker. So, from us (Derek's parents), as well as all members of our family, thank you...

The day after

Hi all,

By now, I imagine, many of you will have seen the short movie of Derek which Airdrie published on Derek's blog (penmachine.com). As you can tell, he is in very good shape. The pain suppressant is working well (a morphine drip which Derek controls by means of a small release button). We visited him yesterday and talked a lot about what he went through and what is still to come.

His operation on July 6 was a lengthy one (4 and 1/2 hours). As I mentioned before, the surgeons saved all his internal "plumbing". His shortened colon was reattached to what little remains of his rectum and he has a temporary ileostomy bag, which will be removed at a later time (likely some months). His left ureter has also been reconnected, but a temporary tube has been installed. This will be removed later as well. All of the original colon cancer was taken out. The cancer had expanded and attached itself to his tailbone; the cancer was removed from that site, too, but this area will have to be watched closely. The next steps in Derek's treatment will involve chemotherapy, as soon as he has recovered sufficiently. Derek has a great sense of relief (as we all do) that the operation is finally behind him, and that he is likely to regain most of his intestinal functions.

There are still many months of treatment ahead, to deal with the metastases, but an important step has been taken. Airdrie and I will keep you informed on our respective blogs.

The Day

Hello, everyone.

Just to let you know that Derek came through the surgery in very good shape. All his internal connections were "saved" for later re-use (click on Derek's blog; his URL link (penmachine.com) is shown at the left. Read his July 5 blog entry). We've just returned from the hospital recovery room, and Derek is of clear mind, if a bit sore. He's been chatting with the nurses - I guess his gregarious personality can't be suppressed. This is a big load off all our minds. More details at a later date. Thank you all for your thinking of us and your support.

An update at 9pm: We just went back to the hospital to pick up our daughter-in-law Airdrie, who spent the evening with Derek in his hospital room. She tells us that he is cracking jokes, and is back to his former, happy personality. Of course he's still on pain medication and there will be a lengthy adaptation time before he can take solid food, etc. We'll visit again tomorrow, and I'll have a progress report then.

Karl