My Journey with GBS

Before moving to Skypointe, I knew I was only able to receive limited therapy due to staffing. I am fortunate to have my occupational therapists Nina and Terilyn to do my range of motion exercises twice a week, but knew something was missing. Around my admission to Skypointe, my swelling of my legs came back. I knew I needed to find a massage therapist as it would help reduce the swelling but it would help with the circulation in my limbs too. My coworker Chris asked her daughter for help as she is a massage therapist. So following Ashley’s advice I went on the MTA website (massage therapy of Alberta) where it gave me a list of mobile massage therapists in Calgary. So I called up the first name on the list - Jenny.  On September 13, 2018 - enters a bubbly and energetic gal from Venezuela. She was excited to work with me and had already done some research to learn more about GBS. The first day was doing an assessment, my goals and what I was hoping to gain from massaging. Then sh...

Birthday 2016 - I was unconscious in ICU at Peter Lougheed Hospital ventilated with a tracheotomy and paralyzed from the forehead down. Birthday 2017 - on unit 39 (respiratory unit) at PLC but now breathing on my own and able to enjoy my carrot cake. Plus I could talk too!! Birthday 2018 - Now living at AgeCare - Skypointe. Still a quadriplegic but have movement in arms, legs and fingers. Making progress is wonderful. We booked the family room at Skypointe and my second family from Three Hills and Okotoks came to celebrate my birthday. Best birthday gift - spending time with loved ones. Thank you James, Paterson and Rish families for making my birthday so special.

My last night with my mom before her move back to Thunder Bay after being by my side for almost 2 years. Below was a tribute to my mom which I wrote on Facebook on September 6, 2018: Well today will be an emotional day. My mom has been in Calgary for almost 2 years. During those 2 years she has come to hospital every day and continued here at Skypointe. This has definitely been an emotional rollercoaster we have been on these past two years, especially during the acute phase of GBS. As I had a severe GBS case, she had to deal with some touch-and-go moments. Tough doing this without her support system of friends. I am very fortunate that my support system of friends were there for her. Thank you to my friends. What can I say about my mom - Awesome comes to mind. All those hours she spent bedside holding my hand, massages of my feet/lower legs to take away the pain, wiping away my tears, and her shoulder as I tried to vent my frustrations and worries when I couldn’t voice them al...

Thanks to mom - she gave me an early birthday gift - a visit from my brother Bruce. Dealing with such a health crisis with your family living in another province, it is difficult/challenging. Knowing how much it meant to have my brother visit last year, my mom mad the opportunity we could have another visit this year. It was so nice that he was able to see me in my new home and not in a hospital setting. I was in ICU when Bruce visited the previous year and just learning how to talk without my trach. Having him to meet the staff and my surroundings around Skypointe was great as I know that is a worry living far away, ensuring I am receiving good quality of care.  We had some good sister-brother chats during his week here. Just like he did last visit, he helped my mom and I with some house maintenance - paint touch ups. What a huge help to me as I had to prepare selling my house. My brother had realized that my front door had seen better days, faded by our weather over the years. ...

Don’t know too people where going to the dentist is a happy appointment. I am one of them. It’s been about 3 years since seeing a dentist and being I was in a hospital for almost 2 years. So the next step was to make the appointment. I called explained about my health status and that I am now in a wheelchair. Knowing the difficulties I faced with Access Calgary due to the width of my chair, I asked it the doors were 36 inches wide. Unfortunately the answer was no. Okay - what do I do now? Dr. Samis, my hospitalist at PLC came to my rescue. He knew of a dentist who used to work at the Dental Clinic at Foothills who now has his own practice - Dr Petty. The day has come, and Access Calgary picks up my mom and I for the dental appointment. Had no issues with the doors (yeah!!) and when I went into their larger room, there was the same lift they use at Skypointe. As I had my sling under me, the dental assistant was able to lift me from the wheelchair to the dentist chair. This was the fir...

Still reeling from the wonderful send-off my coworkers gave me when leaving the hospital for Skypointe - felt the love. About 20-25 minutes later, arrived to the front door of Skypointe. If things couldn’t be better - there at the front doors, my cheering squad: Sara with 3 of her children Casendra, William and Elysia. What a wonderful surprise! The driver got me off the bus and was welcomed with “ Hi Auntie Laura”. How does your heart not melt hearing that. What a welcome home! My mom drove up behind us, so went inside to reception to say I had arrived. They gave my mom a trolley to put things from the car to make easier to move into my room. The whole gang moved to Martindale East - 6th floor to room 6105. My view was construction zone and seeing Country Hills Blvd (one of the major roads going west-east across Calgary. The room was bigger than the hospital but quickly realized that I won’t be able to put too many furniture pieces in my room from my house.  Met DK, the ad...

As you would find in most places in Canada, many patients face waiting lists to be accepted into long term care facility (LTC). I was no exception - on March 23, 2018 my change of status in the hospital changed from acute care to alternative level of care (ALC) or to a non-acute status. In other words, I am now medically stable (my disease is no longer considered active) but I couldn’t go home due to needing total care for basic needs. Plus my house is a bi-level which I could not modify to be user friendly either. June 2018 - I received word from my discharge planner that a newly open facility in the NE quadrant of the city near the airport would have a spot available for me. The unit manager, the occupational therapist and nutritionist from the facility came to interview me to see if I would be a good match for the facility. My mom was able to attend the interview and ask any questions/concerns about my care I would be receiving too. July 2018 - my discharge planner confirmed I w...

Anyone who knows me - I love a good movie. Being in hospital for almost 2 years - I missed a few movies for sure. Now, I have the ability to sit in a wheelchair for 4 hours and have a wheelchair that fits Access Calgary vehicles; it was time to plan a movie date with friends. My longtime movie parter is Sara and she became my social director planning movie dates with her and her family. It was wonderful as it gave me back something I enjoyed so much before getting sick. The first movie in May 2018 was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom . It was exciting as Sara brought along her husband John, her sister Amy and her brother John who brought his client Harold (also in a wheelchair). Amy gave me my snacks throughout the movie. You know, having Harold there didn’t make me self-aware that I was different being the only person in a wheelchair, I was able to enjoy the time with friends. The second movie in July 2018 was Mission Impossible 6 . Sara sent out the invite - along with Sara and mys...

The weather was finally becoming like spring. More sunshine and warmer temperatures, so it was wonderful to get out of my hospital room for a little bit of fresh air. My mom and I found a small area with benches and shaded by trees just around the corner from the main entrance to the hospital. When it was nice outside we would venture out for a change of scenery. Across from the hospital is Sunridge mall where Cora’s restaurant is. During my time in ICU, Cora’s became a “home away from home” for my mom. To get a break from the hospital, she would go to Cora’s for lunch. Due to mom’s frequency going there, the waitresses got to know and my health crisis. Many times my mom would return saying the girls there are praying for you. Of course, when family friends or my cousin Pat from Edmonton - my mom would go to Cora’s. One week she went to Cora’s 4 times with different visitors!  May 2018 - it was my turn to go to Cora’s. My mom, our friend Marilyn drove me over to Cora’s for lunch...

On Saturday May 9, 2018 I was able to participate in a Walk and Roll for GBS event. While I was in ICU, my coworker Chris said my fellow coding coordinators along with our coding specialists wanted to do something for me, similar to what we did for our coworker Bev - participated in a walk to raise money for Ovarian cancer. Natasha (coding coordinator) lead the planning of doing a walk to raise money for GBS. I was moved to tears hearing that my data collection team wanted to do this for me. It took a year of planning but Natasha worked with Kim Lange (Alberta director for the GBS/CIDP Foundation) to plan the event in my honour. So happy the event took place in 2018 as I would have been able to attend to “roll” in the event. We had a beautiful sunny day to walk along the paved trail in North Glenmore Reservoir. It was also my first trip on Access Calgary (transit for the disabled). The trip was about 40 minutes long - luckily it was relatively a smooth ride as we are in construction ...

Being on unit 54, I learned with patients with dementia that it helps if you try to be in “their world” when communicating. The unit had their rooms in an oval type shape, so majority of the you see patients going around in circles. My room was on a corner so there were at times I had visitors which lead to funny encounters. The first day I arrived such an encounter occurred. A gentleman from the room next door came into my room by accident. Being confused he asked me “ What are you doing in my home? Get out of my house. ” I replied, “ Oh didn’t your family tell you, I am renting this room. Your is next door. ” He seemed content with that response and turned to leave my room. Unfortunately as he turned around his diaper fell down to his ankles. As he bented down to pick up his diaper, his gown open in the back   showing his backside. It was too cute seeing him shuffling to the room next door trying to hold onto his diaper. He visited my room a few more times before being transfer...

It was 6.5 months on the acute rehabilitation unit 58 at Foothills where I learned: - To sit in my wheelchair for 4 hours consistently every day - To feel comfortable sitting in public and being fed by someone else - To accept my new reality with the help of my psychologist - Finding tools to decrease my stress or pain level through yoga breathing and music - To play cribbage again with the help of a card holder - To use technology to be able to connect with family and friends again. My lifeline! As I achieved the goals set on the rehabilitation unit, I now am placed on the waiting list to move to a long term care facility (nursing unit). As there were no openings, I was transferred back to PLC unit 54 - Transitional unit; patients awaited placement to a LTC facility. Some patients due to mobility issues cannot live on their own (like me) and of course some had a form of dementia and cannot live on their own anymore. I feel that being on this floor, it surely prepared me to sor...

About a month after my impromptu interview with Global for the music therapy program, I was approached by my recreational therapist if I would agree to be a part of video for Alberta Health Services (AHS) staff promoting the music therapy. Being a part of the AHS organization, I agreed. June 2018 I sat down for about 30 minutes to discuss how the music therapy sessions was beneficial for me. It is amazing how music can change one’s state depending on the musical tone. If you incorporate meditation type music with yoga breathing, you can feel the stress leave your body. You play “happy “ music with a great beat - hard not to start swaying to the beat, feeling you are dancing. When I did the interview I had been transferred to the Transitional unit at Peter Lougheed Hospital awaiting placement to a long term care facility, which majority of the patients had a form of dementia. I observed how they had played some Johnny Cash or Kenny Rogers which calmed a couple of patients. I truly b...