November 24, 2014: Ivan's Swimming Slowly

Hello Everyone,

     Ivan returned to his important routine, the morning swim. He just swam for 15 minutes (usually he does 40 minutes or more) but came home feeling much better. It helps his arthritis and he feels nimble when he swims regularly.
     The damp cold weather is not improving joint pain, but each day is a step forward.
     This weekend is the reunion (about 37 years later) of all the folks that crossed the Atlantic aboard the Arctic Fox II. Ivan is so pleased that everyone has made time to come together.

   

Thing are Going Well! November 21 /2014

Hello Everyone,

Just a quick update on Ivan. As usual he tried to do too much in his jewelry shop this week, but quickly realized his energy couldn't support major tasks. He is now pacing himself and feeling much better.

We will do the Robert's Creek Craft Fair this weekend. We set the table up in the quiet of the early afternoon and look forward to a good turn out tomorrow.

His resilience is truly amazing!

Warmest Greetings to all,

Evi

Life continues....

Hello Everyone,

Ivan is glad to be home and rushed down to his shop on Friday to try and finish some orders for ETSY (he has 4 silver peace doves to make). We tried to encourage him to take it easy. (without success)

We were booked into a local Craft Fair at the Sunnycrest Mall that I did with lots of help. Yesterday was very successful for both my silks and Ivan’s many new silver creations.  Today was quiet, but doing shows is a great way to learn what is popular, what to make more of, and what the trends are.

Ivan has a sore back so stayed home and rested thankfully. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow.

I will keep the blog happening every 4 days or so for another few weeks. 

Warmest Greetings

Evi 

The Bird of Paradise

Hello Everyone,

Dr Wadge just discharged Ivan from St. Mary's Hospital. I'm about to go pick him up.

He is thrilled.

He is feeling well.

I'm getting ready to do the Craft Fair at the Sunnycrest Mall Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15 and 16.

Lynda and I plan to encourage Ivan to rest???

I will keep you posted!

Thanks as always,

Evi

Thursday November 13 /2014 ALL IS WELL!!

Hello Everyone,

I met Ivan at VGH early in the morning. His angiogram was scheduled for 10:00 am, with a 3 hour recovery period.

When I returned at 1 pm Ivan was out of recovery and complaining that they hadn't fed him! He looked great and was feeling fine. The good news is that the angiogram showed no blockages or any other problems. He was feeling relieved and anxious to get back home to pursue his projects.

The Cardiac Testing Center just does angiograms and has no time to chat with family members. They made it clear the results go to Dr Wadge who may need to do further detective work to try and figure out what caused last week's two episodes. (or maybe we will never know)

Lynda and Evi (after organizing all his jewelry) think he has been working too many hours. He has no "pause" or "stop" button and this is an ongoing problem. We hope to launch a discussion on "slowing down"  as soon as he returns home.

Ivan is on the 7:20 pm ferry in the ambulance that returns him to St Mary's.  My assumption is he will spend the night at our local hospital and get discharged in the morning.

I will keep his medical journey blog details going for another few weeks with the hope that we do get some explanations.

We are all delighted with the current results.

I want to thank you Tania for being there for me, Lynda for making me dinner, Kate and Ricky for making me breakfast and all my friends who have been so
supportive and caring.

Warmest Greetings,

Evi

             Seems like there is hope we might get to Mexico if life stabilizes:)

I expect there will be a follow up with our internal medicine specialist so  I will keep the blog going.

Wednesday Nov 12, 2014 - Yeh! Ivan will be transferred to VGH tomorrow at 5 am

Hello Folks,

The current plan is that Ivan will be transferred to Vancouver General Hospital tomorrow morning at 5 am by ambulance. (there is a 6:20 ferry) He should get the angiogram in the morning around 8 am.
I will meet him at the hospital and be there before and when the procedure is complete.

They will return him by ambulance to our local hospital for a short time and then hopefully he can return home.

Of course I won't know the results and details until tomorrow.

He is loving receiving visitors (so thank you all) and he had a good sleep last night and looks well.

I will put a post in tomorrow as soon as I am able.

Thank you all,
Evi

We don't yet know which day Ivan will be transferred....

Tuesday Nov. 11/2014

Hello Folks,

Ivan just saw Dr Wadge and she told him she didn't think he would be transferred tomorrow. (today is a stat holiday in Canada) She was a little worried he would go "stir crazy"  so she said he could walk around slowly. (he was told not to be active a day ago)
His major crisis was he couldn't get the NY Times on his Kindle, but I fixed that from home. He is enjoying all his visitors, so I encourage folks to plan short visits tomorrow (we are OK today, he has folks coming). Phone me if you want an idea of when a good time is  (604 886 8097). Ivan is in room 222 at St Mary's Hospital in Sechelt.
I will keep everyone posted when we know the transfer date.
Thank you all so much for your care, your visits and keeping our Ivan cheerful.
Here is a photo of Ivan and David during a spring visit!

Warmest Greetings,
Evi

Ivan is still at our local hospital, but comfortable

Hello Folks,

We (Lynda and Evi)  just visited Ivan at St Mary's. He is now in room 222, and more comfortable.

Since tomorrow is a stat holiday it is not looking very likely that Ivan will be transferred to Vancouver for the angiogram. He has been told to take it easy
(which is a bit confusing considering the day before the heart specialist told him to exercise?). But hospitals often don't make much sense.

He looks rested, has his ipad, kindle, music and has commented that the food is considerably better than usual:)

We are hoping he will be transferred on Wednesday.

I will keep everyone up to date,

Warmest Greetings,

Evi

The Are Planning to Transfer Ivan to Vancouver for an Angiogram Today or Tomorrow or the Next Day??

Hello Folks,

Good News! Ivan saw Dr Wadge and the plan is to transfer Ivan to a hospital in the city for the angiogram by ambulance, then return him to our local hospital. They are not yet sure it it will happen today, but hope it will be within the next 2 days.

It may happen as early as tonight.

This is the best possible next step.

I will head to town when Ivan does and be with him right after the procedure.

Send Ivan lots of healing luck,

Warmest Greetings,

Evi

Ivan's New Medical Events: Nov.9 - 2014

 at Hello Friends,

Ivan had two episodes of unstable angina this week. The first took place on Tuesday afternoon Nov 4. He ended up in an ambulance headed to emerg. at St Mary's Hospital. He came home 12 hours later.

He was given a stress test on Friday Nov. 7 and Dr Sara Wadge confirmed that he had unstable angina and he should slow right down. He was put on medication to assist but unfortunately on Sat. Nov 8, he had another event that landed him in emerg at St Mary's.

He is now under observation and the hope is he will be transferred to St Paul's or VGH for an angiogram to figure out what is causing the problem.

I spent the day with him and he feels much better. He has no chest pain and he was quite animated and conversational. However his blood test results are a concern and he is high risk until they figure out how to treat him.

Thank you all for your care and thoughts. I will do my best to keep the blog up to date.

I am extremely tired.

Warmest Greetings

Evi