Teddy's Talk

2003 in Review...

Since I'm not sure what's going to be happening tomorrow I thought that I would post my year in review today.

2003 started out with my mum going into the hospital in January with a gallbladder attack. She was there on her 49th Birthday. Feb. 20th she went it to have the thing removed and was sent home the next day. By Saturday she can't get outta bed because she's in to much pain and turned green. Sunday they call an ambulance to take her to the hospital. She stays there for a week, the do nothing but pump her body full of pain meds. I spend Saturday night, Sunday morning with her {to this day all she remembers of that night is me watching movies with no sound} She would sleep for 15 minutes wake up take another med shot {she had the pump where she could give it to herself} have a drink of water and throw up.
6:30 am I call dad he's on his way. 7am they start with the dye so she can have a scan done. 7:15 second drink of dye {was suppose to be every 30 mins but the nurse screwed up the time} 7:30 third dye drink and they come to take blood. Mum start to shake, cant breathe and her heart rate goes up way to high. I'm made leave the room and the lady in the next bed is removed, were both sent to the chapel. Dad shows up he can't go in so we start calling my sisters and brother. We are all there within 30 minutes. They get the heart rate down some and take her for her test. We call all of the family, even the uncle that was pretty much kicked out of the family because of stuff that he did.
Mum is taken to icu after the test and all of her sisters and brothers show up. My mum was transfered to another hospital in Halifax, this would be the second. They have to open her up as the gall bladder operation left a tear in her bile duct and her body was filled with bile {which is why she turned green and started to swell } They can't do the operation right away because of her heart rate going up and she needed plasma. The entire family gave blood. They operated and took out 5 liters of bile but can't repair the tear.

I was sent home at 7pm to sleep. Didn't sleep, went back to the hospital. They put mum in the icu stepdown unit. She stayed in this hospital for 3 days and than was moved to another hospital. 3rd one in less than 2 weeks. She stayed in the hospital until the middle of April. We visited everyday and I got to sleep in all 3 hospitals. In March I ended up quitting my job because of all of the stress. When mum came home she had the VON coming to the house to take care of her. I spend many days at the house so I could give my dad a break. The VON stopped coming in June. Mum goes back to the hospital to have her stint replaced only to find out that the one that she had dislogged it's self, no bile was building up so they didn't put in another.

August saw her getting the tear fixed. 8 operations and 7 procedures later and she's doing great. Her belly button is now off to the right side about 5cm's from where it should be and her belly look's like frankenstines face. But she's healthy and said that she's going to keep her battle scars. She's now on a heart pill for the rest of her life because of the bile going through her body for a week it caused some damage.


Mum and Darcie at Mother's Day Brunch 2003.


They end of September saw Hurrican Juan hit Nova Scotia, we were without power for 3 days. I learned that you can boil water with tea lights and the metal basket from the deep fryer along with a tea pot. My dad and BIL wouldn't leave the house and it was in the direct path of Juan. The mobile home shook and they sat at the bottom of the hill until it was over. The ocean came over the sea wall a good 500 yards. Alot of tree's are gone, the old growth at the biggest park gone and closed down. The public gardens distroyed. My parents lost some siding off of the side of there place and we had to fix the power box as it was bent. They were without power for a week and a half. But had it back in time for Thanksgiving. No one was hurt and that's the main thing.


The Start of Juan.


What the beach looked like after Juan


Dakota and Patrick sitting on the stump of what was the tree at the end of the driveway.


Dad & David working on the roof.


Leo working on the roof.


Mike's Hand after taring the roof.


Dakota and Patrick at Lawerencetown beach the day after checking out the waves.

The end of November I got the flu and it wouldn't let me go. I ended up with an infection in my lungs. I got rid of that just before Christmas. Had a wonderful holiday and now have the flu again.

So that's the wrap up of 2003 for me.
Here's to a better 2004.