Online Versions Of This And Past Issues
(Choose the year and then the date for the online issue you want)

Issue #1073
Including:

From Russ

From Nova Scotia Sus

The Ontarion

Hey There,

    I guess I’m back to boring you all with my medical problems…. Everyone kept telling me to not over do it. As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t, but I sure ended up with a load of hurting. Just under two weeks and ago I went for a nice walk all the way to the far end of the street. My recovery instructions are to do a bit more and go a bit further every day. As I headed up the street I carried my crutches, actually just one crutch as I hadn’t used both for a week or so. As I headed back I realized my hip needed some help so I used the crutch to get home. Once home and rested my hip was fine but my knee (same side) started to throb and by the next morning it had swelled up like a grapefruit. I’ve got knobby bony knees so a big swollen one stands out like a Christmas tree. And it hurt, and it was so stiff I couldn’t bend it.

    We had been told to watch for swelling and to counter with ice so we iced constantly for several days but to no avail. By last Sunday I couldn’t take it anymore and Sue drove me to the emergency department at our little local hospital. It was only 8am so they weren’t yet swamped with ‘customers’. They took a look at my knee and found a bed for me and of course I had to again don one of those horrible hospital gowns. Then the usual blood tests etc. Once available the on duty doctor came in and asked the same questions everyone else had, and examined the knee. I told her I figured I had aggravated it or something. She figured it may be infected and if so that would be quite bad, and the prudent approach would be to assume an infection until proven different. She then explained she’d have to tap the knee to drain off some fluid for testing. She ended up pulling out 3 very large syringes of yellowish fluid which didn’t come near to emptying it but certainly let some pressure off. Then they set up an IV of antibiotics and explained that if it is an infection, the sooner I’m on antibiotics the better. Once that was finished they rapped the stint or whatever the end of the IV thing is called and left it in my arm as the blood tests showed a high probability of infection. I would have to return the next 2 days for more antibiotics. On the third day they would know if it was an infection or some sort of injury and then know how to proceed from there. (Did I mention that having a swollen knee drained is not the most comfortable procedure?)

    The second dose of antibiotics was done in the ambulatory clinic where you can simply have an appointment and get it done. The third and possibly last dose would be in emerg again as a doctor would then decide how to proceed based on the lab results from the knee fluid. So, we got there before noon as per instructions and then the waiting began. Eventually a nurse came out into the crowded waiting room and hooked up the IV right there as they were swamped in the actual department. Long after the IV had drained I was finally taken in to a seating area to wait for the doctor. When he finally came he listened to my explanation of why the knee became swollen and said I’m probably right. And, early test results showed no sign of infection. However because infection in a joint is so serious and if the new hip joint were to become infected it would be beyond serious, he wanted me to come back the next day. At that time the final test results would be in. If they showed any signs of infection I’d have to not only have the IV again, but have to have one every day for up to 6 weeks. If the final results were clear, they would remove the stint from my arm and I could go home, a free man that just needed to let his knee heal.

    So, back in we went for the 4th day in a row, Wednesday. They weren’t as busy but waiting seems to be the way things are. We never seem to see the same ER doctor twice and this time it was a very young woman who checked all the information and asked more questions. She said the test results showed no infection but wasn’t happy with the fact that the knee was still swollen and ordered another round of IV antibiotics, and said she would put a call through to the surgeon for directions. The decision was to have me continue with the daily IVs for another 10 days because even thought there is no indication of infection, blood tests had shown highly elevated levels of white blood cells and they don’t know why, and, they can’t take any chances. That means I have to have the stint in my arm and return each day until the 24th, as well as a visit with the surgeon at Lions Gate on the 23rd. This whole thing has become a very big bummer.

    On Thursday I was able to have my treatment at the ambulatory clinic again which was nice because it could be scheduled and only take just until an hour with no frustrating sitting around waiting in a crowded ER waiting room. Friday was the same. Because that out patient clinic is only open on weekdays I will have to have to go to the ER again over the weekend. And for what it’s worth, the knee is healing and getting better by the day, and I’m pretty sure I simply walked on it wrongly and aggravated that knee joint causing the swelling.

    I have however come to a conclusion….. I’m at that stage in life where when getting up in the morning it’s a good idea to look in the mirror to see if I have a reflection.

*

    Next weekend is Christmas (you probably knew that). I’ll be sending out the Squamidian as usual for the 24th, it will be the Christmas issue, and I invite each and all of you to send in your message or story. Lets get some group participation happening. Russ will be taking that weekend off and we all wish him the best. So, please try to get your story to my by Thursday so I have lots of time to put the whole thing together. Come on, you know you can do it.

doug

****

Russ

Old home remedies concluded.

    Dear Fellow Squamidians, for the past two weeks I have been writing about my personal experiences with old home remedies, and some I have not yet tried. Besides enjoying writing these stories I have learned there are more old home remedies than one could 'shake-a-stick-at' (to quote my mother-in-law - - bless her dear, departed Irish soul) Today we will continue by saying none of us (Brubacher's) ever tried the Thuler urine cure, instead as kids with earaches, our dad* would gently blow his warm, breath (which always smelled of Copenhagen Snuff) directly into our ears. IT WORKED! When I was married I used the same 'blow-job' when my wee-wife had an earache.

    For 'clogged ears' (earwax build-up), try regular vinegar, or apple-cider vinegar to loosen wax before removal. CAUTION: Don't use Q-TIPS for removal of wax! Here is what the 'experts recommend: "The most tried, and true remedy is heat, or warm compresses" says Brandon Hopkins, MD Surgeon, Head and Neck Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio.

    Note: Flushing ears during a warm shower usually works for me. But, if normal, safe attempts to remove ear wax fail, don't do as my Staff Sergeant used to do - to wit: dig deeply into his ears using a large size, metal paper clip! It was sickening to watch, and more sickening for us having to use his 'used' paper clips!

*

    Grandma's lye soap is made from only 3 ingredients - lard, lye and water. It was used for many ailments in the old days, from treating poison ivy and bug bites to cleaning clothes, dishes and floors. Along with this, lye soap is more 'moisturizing' than most modern soaps. Lye soap is still very popular, commercially produced, and many prefer it to well-known, soap brands. This question will reveal your age - do you remember listening to "Big Sister"? RINSO was advertised on this 'soap opera' from 1936 to 1946. (Wikipedia)

    In 1934 I was just 5 years old, and we were living on Peppler Street in Waterloo, and our neighbors had an iron pot heating over a bonfire in their back yard; being a curious child, I walked over to them and asked what they were making in the large, black pot - to which they answered (in a German accent),

"Szoupe" - which I understood as "soup"

Can I have some? I asked.

"Go home and ask mudder to giff you szoupe-dish", replied the man. I did, and she did. They scooped some liquid into my soup-bowl and I proudly carried it home to show mom.

"That's not soup" she said, pinching her nose, "That's soap!" Needless to say, I was very disappointed - I was hungry, and a bowl of hot soup sounded delicious!

    How Lye soap is made: Lye is made from wood ashes steeped in water (it was first called 'potash', being ashes soaked in a pot). This is actually the origin of the word Potassium. Lye is very toxic and can harm the skin if touched without protection. So toxic, drain-cleaner' is made from Lye and Caustic Soda.

    Before 'soap-flakes' or 'powdered soaps' were available, I remember watching mom shred, or peel a bar of soap to use as laundry or dish-soap.

    "Stop using dirty words or I'll wash your mouth with soap"! warned mom. I learned some dirty words from the big boys, and kept on saying bad word in order to be 'accepted' by them. Mom wasn't impressed, hence the day finally came when she washed my mouth with lye soap! It tasted awful, burned my cheeks and tongue! She stopped scrubbing only when I began to cry. One mouth-wash was plenty!! I stopped using dirty words forever! (at least when mom was within hearing range!)

    *Aloe for minor burns. We, Bobbie and I, grew an aloe vera plant and squeezed some juice from a leaf onto our non-severe burns - to accelerate wound healing. But, when we were kids, our parents, and yours, Doug, always put butter on our minor burns. Not a wise old remedy!

    One time, at our cottage here in Point Clark, my wife lost her balance, and accidentally placed her hand upon a hot burner! She had to go to Emergency at the Kincardine Hospital. And she didn't have to wait 6+ hours to be treated by a doctor as is the case nowadays!!

    * Next Saturday is December 24th and I will not be writing about "old time home remedies" - I know this will hurt, but I promise to appear again the next Saturday when we'll be writing about Chicken soup for colds; Witch hazel for hemorrhoids; Lemon for motion sickness; Apple (raw) for cleaning teeth; Cod liver oil for inflammation; ice for headaches; Milk of magnesia for canker sores; ground flax-seed for constipation; cucumbers for eyestrain; Lavender for foot odor; duct tape for warts; etc.

Until then;
God bless,

Uncle Russ.

****

Nova Scotia Sus

    Christmas is just around the corner...how did it get here so soon? We went to Walmart to pick up a few things and only got inside the door noticing how long the checkout lines were. We did an about turn and quickly left. We should have known since the parking lot was full.

    Then we thought of another store out our way that sells everything under the sun, some new and some used. No one in the parking lot except us. An older gentleman at the counter and happy to see a customer. It was a wonderful experience wandering through the treasures he collected over time. We came away with some perfect gifts and I know we will be back.

    We have some snow on the ground now just in time for Christmas. Hope it stays. Not too deep just the right amount.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Sus

****

The Ontarion

Hello everyone!

    What a week or two I’ve had! Three weeks ago I had surgery on my right eye to correct a Cataract. I was surprised to learn upon my positioning on the operating table that this procedure wasn’t accomplished via a laser treatment but with an actual manual slicing of the eyeball and the insertion of a corrective lens! I could actually feel the surgeon slicing into my eye with his scalpel and it was at that point he told me how the procedure was being performed. If I’d known that before hand I wouldn’t have been so shocked at the time. Oh well, now I know what to expect when he removes the cataract in my left eye on January 6th of this coming new year!

    The second but happier surprise was when I went into his office for a check on the progress of this surgical procedure this past Tuesday. The Doctor that was taking the place of the original surgeon due to an overflow of patients that day assured me that the tests performed on my recently operated eye showed that the surgery was a success and that the fact that the vision in the eye was still a little fuzzy after three weeks had been a remarkable success and it would take up to a total of 6 weeks for the eye to heal completely but that the sight would eventually clear up to perfect vision. I was happy to hear that and am looking forward to the day when it is totally healed!

    The second surprise that same day was after a visit to the kidney clinic at Grand River Hospital and a consultation with my Kidney specialist that resulted in him telling me that I have no need to go on dialysis since my kidney function has improved markedly and that he is very happy with the results of the latest tests on my heart and that showed my heart function was very good and since the heart was pumping very well it proved that my kidneys were regenerating and in much better shape than when their deficiency was first diagnosed! SO, the entire day’s visits to the doctor’s offices were totally positive and of course with all that good news in one day, I came home feeling very happy indeed!

    The third day of medical news came today when my surgical date at St Mary’s Hospital to remove what the doctor there thought was a spot of skin cancer on my right shoulder went well. Now all I have to do is wait until January 9th to revisit him to find out if the chunk that he removed from my shoulder today was cancerous or not! He stated today that upon removal of that piece of flesh he now thinks it was not looking like it actually was cancerous. However I still have to wait for the next visit to find out for sure!

    My next adventure will take place January 6th to have the cataract in my left eye removed and hopefully that will be my last time under the knife, so to speak, and I can relax for a while! I’m beginning to think that I’m a medical miracle. I told the doctor today that if I had a dollar for every stitch in my body, I’d be a wealthy man and the three people in the operating room burst out laughing! That got me thinking that all those stitches have been making the doctors that installed them the wealthy ones! Thank goodness for OHIP!

    Well, so much for this week’s report on my medical adventures. Hopefully I won’t have any further doctoral writings to report in the year to come and I can get back to writing about more interesting happenings in my life and what’s going on around Waterloo Region!

    Thank you all for reading this week’s report and of course all of the preceding columns! It’s always fun to try our best to come up with something interesting each week and also to read the Squid members replies and comments after each Squamidian weekend! Please don’t stop writing in to Doug! It’s been quite a success since we restarted the Squamidian series again and it show us (Doug, Myself and Russ) that there are people out there that read our efforts each week and still care that we’re continuing to produce this fun news letter!

Thanks again everyone!

Bye for now….Greg.

****

Take Care
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.