Archive: June 2006

Northlands Park has become Northlands. We have worked hard at re-branding the company and the new look was revealed to staff yesterday. New logo, new colours, including a new website. It's amazing where logos are put that have to be removed and/or replaced. Lots of work still ahead. I will be rolling out our new corporate intranet today.

Had a busy day yesterday, getting wallpaper for all our computers organized, among other things. Seems so trivial, but a great deal to our marketing department. Human Resources thought I would convert all their documents for the new intranet. Doh!

A lot of positive comments on the new intranet. A lot of suggestions too. I'll be busy for quite some time.

I wonder what is going on. This morning I roll over in bed and my nose starts bleeding. So I take it easy all day. Then at 4:30 I spring another leak. Call the doctor in the morning and stop aspirin for now...

Another nosebleed, this one at the office. I wasn't going to take any more chances with the blood thinners, so I asked a coworker to call an ambulance. The attending doctor cauterized two bleeders, but said I might be back because he did not close a "gusher." I hope I won't be back...

Supposed to take it very easy for 24 hours, so I'm off work tomorrow. 

Yesterday, David Simms, webmaster of the North American Lily Society (NALS), passed on part of a message from Victoria Matthews (International Lily Registrar with Royal Horticultural Society [RHS] in the UK):

Regarding copyright, I have spoken to the RHS and in fact, although the Register and Supplements bear the copyright sign, there is no copyright on scientific information such as descriptions of plants. After all, it can be very difficult (if not impossible) to write a plant description using different words. It is not possible to copyright for example, "flowers yellow with brown spots, up-facing, appearing in May".

This is a great step toward taking the Lily Register on the Lily Gallery site into new ways of sharing information. We encourage input from all lily fanciers by making use of the suggestion box.

Had another nosebleed at 7AM which I managed to stop, then another one just after 8AM. So we went to the emergency at NE Community Health Centre. The doctor did not want to cauterize the same spot that was done a week ago, so he packed the nose. Packing is worse than cauterizing, because a compressed piece of material gets shoved in each nostril (almost up to the brain, it felt like) and then expanded with a saline solution.

At about 11AM we went home, had a bite to eat, and then the bleeding started again.

This morning we were told that if bleeding started again, to go to the University Hospital emergency. So off we went. Spent 4.5 hours sitting around while the doctor kept an eye on me. They did some blood tests and they all came back ok, so no problems with platelets or hemogloben.

So now I'm sitting at home, oozing a bit of blood, once in a while spitting blood clots, watching the Oilers play against the Hurrincanes.

A nosebleed is a rather unsettling experience. Trying not to choke on your blood, squeezing your noze, and finding blood coming out of your eye.

Have to get the packing out on Wednesday, and I hope I won't bleed again...

Well, the packing came out without bloodshed. Those things are huge. Never would have thought they could fit into my nose. No wonder it felt like he was going for the brain on Monday.

Off work for the rest of the week, trying not to bleed again. The doctor recommended a humidifier on at night for the next couple of weeks, and if we get dry weather, to continue that. You were right, Phil. With my humidity meter, I should be able to tell when I need to run the humidifier. 

Although I'm still spitting blood clots from the back of my throat from time to time, there are no major leaks. In about half an hour I'm walking over to the doctor's office for a bloodwork and cancer checkup. I'm sure the primary topic will be what these nosebleeds mean and what we can do to prevent them. The humidifier I was running last night worked to get the humidity up to 68%. Too bad it warmed the room up also. It's been raining pretty much all day, so outside humidity is fairly high too, compared to other days.

Saw the family doctor this afternoon, and the CEA test for cancer was good, 0.7. The other blood tests were good also. He wants to see me again in 3 months.

As far as the nose bleeds, vaseline and a humidifier is his recommendation too. Don't need the humidifier today, though; it's been pouring rain.

Noticed 2 more lilies up. Atoll looks like it came up today or yesterday. Davidii must be up a couple of days already, I just missed it between the weeds. 

Cecile took me to the emergency again at 12:45 this morning. Had a lovely time with Dr. Stag who shoved HUGE tampons (approx 3/4" wide and 3.4" long) up my nose to stop the bleeding. Those packings were pushed that far because the suspicion is now that the bleeder is very high up, and I tend to think so too as I was still spitting blood and blood clots after the packing went in. So at 3:45 I was back in bed. Dr. Stag called at 7:30 that he had made arrangements for me to see the "ENT" Ear-Nose-Throat specialist first thing Monday morning.

Not sure what will happen on Monday at the University Hospital. What I am sure of, is that it won't be pleasant. Possibly surgery.

I had planned to take the kids and grandkids to the Northlands Family Picnic tomorrow. That won't be happening, so we'll try to get them over here so they can all see my new bandaged face. Happy fathers day to me...

Despite feeling crappy with a packed nose and a bit of a fever, I enjoyed tonight's Oilers game against the Hurricanes. A 4-0 victory now ties the Stanley Cup finals. Monday will be the deciding game.

Go Oilers...

Too bad the Oilers did not come home with the Stanley Cup. They did however do one heck of a job getting to game 7. Go Oilers!

Saw Dr. Morrissey this morning, but considering that I was still spitting up blood, he felt it was better to leave the packing another day. He gave me antibiotics to help heal the nose once the packing is removed. I have to come back tomorrow.

Around 10AM, Dr. Morrissey took the packing out. I could not believe it, SIX feet in each nostril. I'm glad he wasn't the one who put it in. He tends to tie two together and put twelve feet in. It was almost as painful taking it out as putting it in.

I'm to "read books and watch movies" until July 4th. Just so the nose can heal up. During this period, I use the prescribed antibiotics, nasal spray and vaseline. He did not seem concerned about a humidifier, one way or another.

Enjoyed my "un-official" birthday lounging in the backyard, reading my new martagon book by Eugene Fox, sipping iced tea. As I'm still under rest orders from the doctor, we did not invite anybody. Nevertheless, it was much better to sit outside with +30 Celcius, than inside on December 26th.

"Da nose" seems to be holding. I just keep lubing it, and run the humidifier at night, even on hot nights...