Update on Hugh

It's time for a little update on Hugh.  The accident was on October 11.  On October 13 I took him to see our family doctor (who he hadn't yet met) at the walk in clinic.  She was somewhat more helpful than the hospital, although she didn't take the cast off to look at it.  She did prescribe naproxen (a stronger version of Aleve) and prevacid (to protect his stomach from the naproxen).

These pictures are from just before we went to the walk in clinic, Oct 13.

These pictures are from October 14th:

Its hard to get a good picture--using a flash makes his skin look shiny and you can't see the bruising, but no flash means it's blurry, although the colours are better.

You can really see how the right side of his foot is either swollen, or out of place.  It looked like this on the xray, but the doctor said it wasn't broken.

These pictures are from October 17:

 The bruising around his toes did not show up as quickly as the ankle bruising.  Is that good, or a concern?

Tomorrow, Oct 20, we go to the "fracture clinic" at the hospital.  Hopefully we'll finally get some answers there.  He's able to put some weight on it and "walk" without the cast, but I'm not letting him, LOL, although he takes it off for sleeping now.  I think that's helping heal the road rash--getting some fresh air on it.

One thing we found out after this accident, is that Hugh has a wart problem on that right foot!  I had no idea--he ALWAYS wears socks, so we don't see his feet.  He had had one on his hand that got large and was hard to get rid of, and last year had one on his foot that was also difficult to treat.  But he's got two huge plantar warts (which he says don't hurt), and MANY (10+?) smaller warts around the toes.  I read that up to 90% of warts will just disappear, but I don't think the plantar warts will, and he's even got some bumps on his knee that look like mini-warts.  My bigger concern though is WHY does he get so many, and no one else in the family (Lucy and Meg have each gotten one or two at a time, easily treatable) gets them that bad.  I never get warts.

Music Monday

I've written before about my love of Genesis.  One thing I enjoy about this group is their auditory variety due to their various life stages.  Many bands that have been around 30 years sound pretty much the same now as they did at their start, which is also a great attribute.  But a band that continually matures and evolves despite some major changes, like the loss of their lead singer and image maker, should also be acknowledged.

The other day on my "walg" I listened to "All in a Mouse's Night" from Wind and Wuthering (1976).  This is a most interesting song, from a fascinating album.  Who writes a rock song about a couple that sees a mouse; parts of the song are from the couple's view and some parts are the mouse's view.  And then there's the poor cat.  What I love about this album is that it is very musical.  It's not formula music to be played on the radio.  It's music that makes you listen.  How much of that is out there now? 

I think the strength of this album comes from the strong musical education of these men.  If you watch this video, it's charming how the guys could be your accountant, your butcher, or your child's teacher.  Music education like they got growing up just doesn't happen anymore.  Much of it was church based, and that is very evident in the heavy Hammond organ and Mellotron use by Tony Banks.

In that video, it's interesting to hear how this is one of Tony's favourite albums.  Is that because his songs did well, or did his songs do well because he liked the album (and the making of it)?  It's also interesting to know that Phil Collins was not doing much composing back then.  In fact, even the singing was still pretty new to him, as you can tell by the thinness of his voice.  He hadn't grown into his role as lead singer yet--even the album notes state that he provided the "voices, drums, cymbals, percussion".  As Phil's confidence and importance in the band grew, the individualized credits for each song were eliminated until all music was written by "Genesis".  And that is also when they started getting more consistent North American air play.  Mmmm.

I would love to find out more about the genesis of the songs from this album.  There doesn't seem to be much indication of drug use by the band, and mind altering drugs don't suddenly provide talent anyway.  What provokes someone to write "Fifty thousand men were sent to do the will of one./His claim was phrased quite simply, though he never voiced it loud, I am he, the chosen one.//In his name they could slaughter, for his name they could die./Many there were believed in him, still more were sure he lied,/But they'll fight the battle on." (One for the Vine; Tony Banks).

Other songs could be on the pop charts today, both musically and lyrically:  "You, you have your own special way,/of holding my hand keep it way 'vobe the water,/Don't ever let go-Oh no, no, no./You, you have your own special way,/Of turning the world so it's facing/the way, that I'm going, don't ever don't ever stop." ("Your Own Special Way; Mike Rutherford).  Also, "But I, I would search everywhere/Just to hear your call/And walk upon stranger roads than this one/In a world I used to know before?I miss you more//Than the sun reflecting off my pillow..." (Afterglow", Tony Banks).  I'm surprised there aren't more remakes of Genesis songs, like "That's All"    (I don't particularly like this remake, although for some reason I'm wondering if this isn't the song I'm thinking of...is there another countrified version of a Genesis song?  Oh my goodness, look who also performed it!  How fascinating to hear such different versions.  I can see myself spending too much time on YouTube today!).

Anyway.  That's Music Monday today!

Happy Anniversary?!

It seems this year my family's wedding anniversaries bring unfortunate events.  My brother had his derelict minivan stolen out of his driveway.  And yesterday it was our turn for not celebrating  our anniversary.
Back in April, for Rob's birthday, I bought him a high speed go-karting experience at a place north-east of here; adjacent to a popular motorsport race track.  In the summer, my younger brother, Michael, also bought the voucher (it was through wagjag, sort of like "Groupon"; a discount service where a company offers a deal, as long as a certain number of people pre-purchase it, and you don't get charged unless the minimum number of people buy).  They were excited to go together, but trying to arrange two very different schedules...on top of that, some of the info said it had to be done during the week, not on weekends.  Sigh.  The vouchers expire on October 31, AND, we're away from Oct 22 to Oct 30!  Finally, the boys agreed that yesterday, Oct 11, our anniversary, would be acceptable.  Their time slot was 1pm, and it was supposed to last 1 1/2 hours.  I expected them back around 3:30-4pm.  I had Hugh and Meg booked for dentist appointments at 4:45pm, and I told Rob he could either take them, or he could stay home and cook dinner.  He chose to stay home.

At 4:25 they still weren't home.  I called Michael's cell, and they were about 10 minutes from home (and in "my" truck).  I decided to wait for them, rather than take Rob's truck.  They showed up, and we left.  We parked in a municipal lot, on the south side of the main 4 lane road through town (Dundas Street, or "Highway 2").  It's 1/2 the price of the parking meters right by the dentist, and I usually have to go to the bank or library right by the parking lot.  But it means crossing Dundas Street...lights are two blocks in either direction.  I grew up in this area, and crossed this street very regularly from a young age.  During the day, I will usually cross the street with the kids, rather than go out of the way to the lights.  During the "rush hour", I play it by ear, but usually go up to the lights if we "have time".  Yesterday, since we were rushing, I opted to jaywalk.

We waited for the eastbound lanes to stop (backed up from the lights, two blocks up).  I held Meg's hand in my right hand, and Hugh was beside her.  We crossed through the two stopped lanes, and I stopped on the yellow line.  I looked down to Meg, to make sure she didn't have her feet sticking out, and saw that Hugh wasn't there.  As I turned to my left, I heard the screech.  And thud.  And screams.

I looked over and saw him on the ground, on his back like a turtle.  He was screaming about his foot and his glasses.  I got his glasses, and he got up and took a couple steps towards me, but then dropped down to the road.  Traffic had stopped, but we were in the middle of the road.  A woman stepped forward and asked if she could help--she was a nurse.  She directed two men to scoop him up and carry off the road onto the grass in front of the church.  People were milling around but I just focused on Hugh, I assumed someone would take it upon themselves to call 911 (I don't have a cell phone).

911 was called, and the nurse came back to see in I needed anything.  I said we were supposed to be at the dentist beside the church and could she go tell him we weren't coming.  Dr. Greenglass and his hygienist soon appeared, and although I'll never love going to the dentist, LOL, it was really nice to see their familiar faces.  I asked if they could call Rob and tell him to come down, along with Hugh's health (insurance) card. 

The "first responder" EMT arrived, a nice, friendly, non-young man.  He got Hugh's shoe and sock off and we saw the extent of the damage.  Wow.  We were certain there'd be some broken bones, although he had all his pulses and could move his toes.  He also had a cut on his knee, and road rash on his elbow and back.  But looking at his clothes (including a WHITE t-shirt, you'd have never know he just collided with a car!).  How fortunate that Hugh doesn't like sandals!  An unmarked cop showed up, and the ambulance came and got Hugh loaded in just as Rob showed up.  The cop said I could go in the ambulance, but he was waiting for a marked police to show up and take the actual report, and then the ambulance left (nearly getting hit by a Ford pickup as it made a U-turn).  Rob left with Meg to go home.

The new cop took over.  Picture this....distraught mother...barely over 5ft tall.  Dark black cop WAY over 6ft tall, who did not take his sunglasses off.  He had the warmth and compassion of an ice cube.  He never leaned forward or bent down, he was fairly soft spoken and with an accent and we were still beside a busy road which made it hard to hear him.  He would probably have been great when arresting someone, but he totally missed on the sympathy aspect.  However, he at least wasn't too hard on me, perhaps because I did say this was my fault.  He said he wasn't going to press charges (against me or the driver), but it would actually be up to his Sargent about that and if CAS is contacted.  I'm not surprised, but I think it was pretty obvious that this was not a case of neglect or intentional harm!

I spoke briefly with the driver before I left.  He seemed okay, although I have no idea what he was like immediately after the crash.  His windshield was broken he said, but it didn't seem that Hugh hit his head, and his foot had obviously been twisted or driven over.  I don't think his lightweight, combined with the slow-ish speeds could have meant that his elbow did the damage.

I got home, and Rob wasn't home!  I collected my stuff and was getting ready to leave when he showed up with both girls (Lucy had been at her friend's house).  He drove us to the hospital, dropped me off, then took the girls to his parents and came back to the hospital just as Hugh was getting examined.  I want to say a HUGE thank you to the paramedic who stayed with Hugh in the emergency department until I got there!

The doctor was not exactly Mr Pleasant either.  Although after seeing Hugh he disappeared for awhile and when we saw him later he was much better.  I guess we weren't the only ones missing dinner!  He ordered a urine sample and foot x-rays.  That didn't take too long, but waiting for the results took awhile.

When the top view popped up on the screen, I was concerned as everything looked a little angled.  On the side view, there is a bone at the top of the foot, with some grooves in it, but I didn't know if that was normal.  But the side view scared me.  I had never seen an ankle x-ray, so I really had no idea of "normal".  There is  a bone that sort of droops down on the side, looks like when you squish a S'more and the marshmallow oozes over the side.  There was also a horizontal line just above the end of the leg bone.  Turns out this is normal, and the small segment at the end of the leg bone is the growth plate.  I had Googled x ray images yesterday morning and didn't make a distinction between adult and children, so at first I got mad....then I googled for children specifically and it seemed to be a normal thing.  The doctor said it was badly sprained, but no breaks.  He'd need a splint.

However, there was some blood in his urine, "+3".  He said if he was an adult, this wouldn't be a concern, but he consulted with the urologist, and this number is above the cut off for okay, and he would need a CT scan.  Mandatory.  Rob was really upset with this; I guess working in the nuclear industry now has made him more aware of the issues.  We had to go out to the main waiting room, where there wasn't a single book, toy, or magazine.  The TV was on, but we couldn't see it.  Hugh was freezing, we were all hungry and tired.  Rob went and got a snack, but of course, there's all these signs that say patients can't eat or drink.  I let Hugh have a little bite of doughnut and sip of water.  Rob called his mom and she had given the girls a bath, which was great since the next day was picture day!  She would take them back to our house so they could go to bed.

(the line going across his leg is his tan line from wearing socks all summer!)

At about 9:10 they called us back, and Hugh had to drink two big cups of a cold, watery fluid, quickly.  He was freezing!  Then the nurse had to put in an IV.  He did awesome, even though we could tell it hurt.  We were escorted to the CT scan, and that was all done by 9:50.  The technician said they use a lower dose on children, but then we were told by another nurse that they don't dose by size.

We had to wait in the main waiting area again, until about 10:20.  The results were fine, though we were told he needed to drink more.  We had to remind the doctor about the splint, and then had to wait again.  A nurse came to do that.  Finally, at the end of the night, we get someone with some personality and social skills (the CT escort and the CT tech were also nice).  She got him into an "AirCast" ($175!).  However, none of his wounds were cleaned up or dressed.  We left just before 11pm, and Hugh noticed the full moon, LOL!

Hugh has a loft bed, so his mattress was moved to the floor, and we visited with Rob's parents for a bit.  The day before, at Thanksgiving Dinner, when we each had to say what we're thankful for, I said good health, and having family close by again.  Who would have thought the very next day we'd be calling upon them in an emergency!

Hugh was pretty tired on Wednesday morning, so he stayed home until lunch.  The rash on his back was hurting more than anything else, except for his leg getting tired from dragging the heavy cast around.  We hadn't been given ANY instruction on how to care for him (except to see the Ortho. next Thursday).  I took the cast off, and the sock liner was stuck to the raw parts on his leg.  Not too bad though.  He iced his foot for 20 minutes, kept the cast off for a bit while I took pictures, then we put him back together.

This morning, he did say his foot hurt (finally).  He did go to school, although we almost missed the bus.  Luckily, the bus has to drive towards us, so they can see if we're running down the street, LOL.

I'm taking Hugh to the walk in clinic after school, where our doctor works.  She hasn't met him yet (she's met everyone else, LOL).  I just want to know how best to care for him, what's the best painkillers, etc, and to have documentation in case anything turns up later.

I will mention that Meg was an awesome girl during all this.  She didn't see him get hit, thankfully.  She was calm and not demanding while Hugh was being attended to.  She did start talking to the first responder about her upcoming trip to Pingle's Fun Farm (which is owned by my ex-aunt and her husband).  Lucy woke up when we got home and she got to see the cast, but when I took Hugh into the office at lunch, one of Lucy's classmates was there and she said Lucy started crying when she told the class what happened.  And then there's me.  I am able to keep calm (but still shook up) during emergencies, but then later, I crash.  As the day wore on yesterday, I felt worse and worse.  There was a lot to do, emails, people to phone, this to write out, dinner to make, and I didn't want to do anything.  I was exhausted, with a minor headache, and a deep feeling of horror mixed with relief.  I think going for my "walg" (walk and jog) would have helped this morning, but Lucy woke up and then threw up on my kitchen floor.  But she's totally better now, so I'm taking her to school in a few minutes!

Music Monday

I was all set to write about this song last Monday, but then found out the CD doesn't include lyrics :(  Then I got really busy and now it's this week, LOL.  I promise I won't do country music each week!

"I'd Rather Be Happy Than Right".  There's no video to go with the music, so you have to intentionally listen.  But it's an easy listen!

As a woman, I do think every man should hear this!  It's like a Dr Phil episode in a song.  And better looking!  LOL.

However, this caught my ear:  "if I want to be happy later on tonight, I better let her think she won the fight, cause I'd rather be happy than right".

Good point, LOL.  But....shouldn't the woman also/sometimes  let the man think he's won the fight?  Mr. M and I totally disagree on some renovating things right now, but I can let it slide and let him think he's "winning".  I think it just comes down to this...what can you let slide for the sake of happiness?  The paint colour?  Do you really need to comment on her lipstick?  His mismatched socks?  What you focus on expands!

Music Monday

Today on my walk/jog ("walg"?  "wog"?), "No Time to Kill" by Clint Black (1993) came on my mp3 player.  I decided to actively listen to it, instead of passively.  I found the lyrics quite motivational and thought I'd share them today as part of a new series, "Music Monday"

No Time To Kill
(Clint Black/Hayden Nicholas, 1993)

There's no time to kill between the cradle and the grave
Father Time still takes a toll on every minute that you save
Legal tender's never gonna change the number on your days
The highest cost of livin's dyin' that's one everybody pays
So have it spent before you get the bill, there's no time to kill

If we'd known ten years ago today would be ten years from now
Would we spend tomorrow's yesterdays and make it last somehow
Or lead the cheers in someone else's game and never learn to play
And see the rules of thumb are all the same that measure every day
The grass is green on both sides of the hill, there's no time to kill

No time to kill, even I've said it and probably always will
But I can look ahead and see that time ain't standin' still
No time to kill but time to change the kind of hurry I've been in
And quit this work and worry lookin' back at where I've been
If you don't look ahead nobody will, there's no time to kill

If we had an hour glass to watch each one go by
Or a bell to mark each one to pass, we'd see just how they fly
Would we escalate the value to be worth its weight in gold
Or would we never know the fortunes that we had till we grow old
And do we just keep killin' time until there's no time to kill

This song came out while I was dating Jim, and we also saw Clint Black on the tour for this album.  If I had known then what the next 10 years would bring, what would I have done?  Continue to enjoy the time we had until it ended, or just give up then?  We did have some great times, but I could have been having those great times with someone else!  Dr Phil often says that time is going to pass anyway, so why put off what ever it is that you keep putting off for a better time?  How do you know there will be a better time to travel/have kids/get fit/learn Spanish?

Ten years ago, 2001, well, we all know what that September brought.  For me, I was still emotionally recovering from a 13 week miscarriage.  Hugh was 15 months old and a handfull and we were still trying to figure out our lives together, LOL.

Ten years from now, what do I want to look back and remember?  That I re-found the inner strength in me, and really, truly started pushing myself when I exercise!  That we went through some rough times this summer but came out WAY stronger and better!  That the kids could go through another major change and start taking a bus to a new school!  Life is really good right now and I want to be able to remember this in the future when hard times come around again.  I'm trying not to waste my days, but I'm also not trying to "save time".  The kids are going to grow up; I can't save time and deny that.  Enjoy time!!

Indianapolis, Day 8

As we were getting ready for our last night in Indianapolis, we had a special visitor!

Apparently there is a red fox family that lives on the hill behind the house, but we never got to see them, so seeing the deer so close to the house was a treat!
Day 8 was Saturday, and we left bright and early (6:20am) to come home.  The sun was barely up, and it was going to be another hot day!

 The trip home was pretty uneventful.  There was no construction this time, and we stopped for lunch at a Subway instead of a picnic.  I even got to access the free Wi-Fi from the Wendy's across the street to update my Facebook status, LOL.

 The border crossing was pretty slow...slow enough that we could snap this picture without holding up traffic!

We did have two slowdowns coming through Toronto at 5pm on a Saturday.  There was this crash in the westbound lanes.  There weren't very many emergency personnel there, and the people standing around looked horrified and shocked.  I googled when we got home but I couldn't find out anything.

Shortly after this, while we were in the eastbound express lanes, Meg said she had to go to the bathroom!  She had just gone when we came through Kitchener!  Nothing like having to move over 8 lanes of traffic and find an exit with good bathroom potential while travelling through Toronto! We were lucky though, and there was a nice Shell station just off the highway.

We got home shortly before 6pm and the kids instantly turned on the TV!

 I was hoping to get some pictures of Indianapolis, but you couldn't walk around the neighbourhood we were in.  The city itself feels like Calgary or Ottawa.  Sufficiently large, but not overwhelming.  It's easy to get around (except for a bit around Broad Ripple where the river gets in the way), but the residential areas within the city are not like they are here.  This area was developed in the mid-late 1930s.  The houses are spread out and well treed.  However, there are no sidewalks, and not even any shoulders to walk on!  The public school is just up the road, but even as an adult, I felt unsafe when Rob and I went for a little walk up the main road. 

 (Obviously, we were driving here, LOL, but we did walk one night).  A large area of Indianapolis is like this.  Comparable streets in Orangeville (Ontario),  would be Hansen Blvd, Blind Line, Alder Street....the main roads through areas, but in this case, there are many homes on them too!  In Whitby, think of Manning Dr, Garrard Rd, Thornton Rd, Adelaide St, Burns St, even Henry St and Cochrane St.  Two lane roads that are thoroughfares but also residential (albeit, low density).  Makes for beautiful drives, but not for exercise.  Rob also noticed areas like this on a recent trip to South Carolina.  Perhaps the fight against childhood obesity should start with re-vamping roads so that they are child-exercise friendly! 

This is a small ravine, or gully, between Lou's house and the neighbour.  The landscape is very interesting.  Although Indianapolis is fairly flat, the micro-topography shows a different story.

This is a bed of beautiful hostas at the neighbours.  It was stunning; this picture really doesn't show it well enough!  The flowers were a much more intense colour in real life!

I'm not going to show any house pictures, but I did have to share this one.  Who wouldn't love this in their family room?!  It was custom made to fit the wall/TV and houses everything a child could need or want.  Imagine how much tidier we could be if we had something like this (we used to have some great built ins in our townhouse, but not here).

Our trip to Indianapolis was great, despite the high heat.  I know it might not sound like a tourist town to visit, but really, it is very tourist friendly, with lots to see for visitors of all ages.  Great food, incredible architecture in the downtown and  along the residences on Meridian Ave, shopping (a Cutco store!!), trails, etc.  I would definitely recommend it for those who don't want a beach vacation or don't want to visit a large city.

Indianapolis, Day 7

Phew!  Life got a little crazy there.  Last week was the last week of summer break and the girls were in daycamp and Rob was away for 4 days so I thought I'd get lots of blogging done.  Ha!  Especially since I had to upload some videos to YouTube and for some reason it takes like 1/2 hour for a 2 minute video.  Anyone know why?  The video was shot with my old Canon Powershot compact, 5.0mp camera, nothing fancy.

Anyway.  Day 7 was the last day of camp for the kids, and this meant Lucy's camp was putting on their performance.  It was a 20 minute musical called "Annie Jr. Jr".  The orphans tell the story of Annie, without characters like Annie, Miss Hannigan, or Mr Warbucks.  Just the orphans.  I hadn't realized that Lucy was the first one to actually speak in the play, and I totally missed taping that :(  But I did get some other videos.  If you go to the YouTube link in the first paragraph, you can see the three videos I took of the production.  Lucy is the one with blonde braids, glasses, and the brown t-shirt dress.

We were VERY impressed with Lucy's performance.  She was on the younger side of the group, but you couldn't tell.  It's hard to believe this is the same girl that wouldn't even look at strangers as a toddler.  She's thinking she might like to join a youth theater group now!

 Hugh's class didn't come to the production as they were still fine-tuning their robotic vehicles and vying for the title of camp champion.  Most of the kids didn't want to leave and it was only when the parents started dismantling the cars did they finally concede to the end of camp.

Meg didn't mind coming home, although carrying two Dixie cups with sugar solution and Popsicle sticks that "CAN'T MOVE!!" was a chore.

For Friday afternoon, Rob, Lou's husband and I took the kids to the JCC again (Jewish Cultural Center, where they have an awesome outdoor aquatic park; see Day 3).  Meg had been asking to go every day!  Unfortunately, the smaller kid area was closed, so the other areas were a bit more crowded, but that resolved once the day camp kids left.  To celebrate our great trip, I even tried the water slides!!  The tube one was very dark and kind of scary but I figured if the kids could do it, so could I.  And it was fun!  A couple weeks ago I even went down the water slide at a pool here!

It was rather sad to pack up Friday night.  The kids had a great time together, although it was definitely tough on everyone at times---adding 7 people to a family of 3!  They have great memories of the trip though and we'd love to do it again.