It’s the middle of summer, and so far, it has been a good summer.
My vegetable garden is growing well and we are now starting to harvest and eat our crops – carrots, beets, turnips, zucchinis, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, rhubarb and tomatoes.
We eat and enjoy as the crops ripen and put the rest into the freezer for winter consumption.
This is a good variety of veggies for such a small plot of land.
It has been a hot but enjoyable summer. I cannot get any sun on my body because of my medications. Therefore, I only enjoy the days when I am well covered, or late in the day when the sun is going down. I really enjoy working in the garden even more now that I am not playing golf. From now on my major tasks are picking our crops and keeping up the watering both in the front and rear of our property. I will admit that my wife does a lot to help me in the garden when my health issues prevent me from being active. Due to my medication, I am unsteady on my feet and require a cane to walk around.
Falling is a great fear to me, especially at my age (83).
I’m still spending quite a lot of time in the London hospitals for appointments with my specialists:
– oncologist for care for my melanoma cancer;
– rheumatologist – the head of my medical team;
– neurologist – only via Zoom when necessary for my MCI/dementia/Alzheimer’s issues;
– infusion of IVIg – given by IV for 2-2.5 hours twice a month at a London hospital;
– speech pathologist – they trained me in the use of the 46 muscles in my throat used to swallow when I lost swallowing capability with my autoimmune disease;
– dermatology – nurses specially trained nurse for skin concerns;
– nutrition – I go to the local hospital in town for nutrition guidance;
– optometrist for my annual eye check;
– ophthalmologist for new cataracts and other eye issues; and
– plastic surgeon, who removed two large melanomas in my upper left chest area.
In the next month I will be meeting with a registered mental health counsellor. I do not have mental health issues (that I know of) but their skill set and training crosses many of the issues as detailed above.
My frustration is that each specialist deals with one health issue. I hope that this specialist will help me to understand the complete picture of my health in my whole body and brain. I call it Total Health.
My rheumatologist at St. Joseph’s Hospital is the head rheumatologist specialist at that hospital. She coordinates a group of other specialists that she felt could be involved in my issues. I was in University Hospital in London late in 2021 for 30 days while they were searching for the “trigger” for my autoimmune disease. The conclusion was that the melanomas were causing the dermatomyositis. I am still in this process today. My case is unique and they may do a case study of me for a doctor’s knowledge seminar.
Coordinating my program for the Huron East Family Health in Seaforth is my primary care doctor (PCD) – a family care specialist. She maintains all my records and looks after all my issues, above and beyond. She is the one who found the correct specialists for my medical needs. She sent me for blood and took a sample if skin from a rash and sent it out for analysis. When the results came back, she sent me to the proper referrals which got the ball rolling. That was 11 months ago, and the ball is still rolling.
I anticipate the end (positive) in 2022. I have a lot of faith in my medical team. All I need is a lot of patience.
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Bob Murray is retired from the graphic communication (printing) industry and has been living in Seaforth since 2015. Murray was diagnosed with dementia in 2013 and works hard to stop the progress of the disease to AD. He shares his experiences in his column entitled “My Voyage with Dementia.” Follow him on his blog entitled Voyage with Dementia – https://myvoyage553264702.wordpress.com.
