The Latest

HI Everyone,

Confirmation will come on Monday, but I think the plan is for us to fly home on Wednesday. We will be transfered by ambulance to the plane, fly to Winnipeg and be transfered (I believe) home by ambulance.

I am of mixed emotions and ask that you please keep up the prayers. Leaving here will be difficult and joyful at the same time. They are so amazing here at Mt Sinai Hospital, but yet we know we must get home so that Earl can start his next rounds of chemo. The nodules in his lungs are growing so we must get going on the chemo as quickly as possible. I am already shedding tears, as I say goodbye and thank you to the many many people we have met over the last 8 weeks.

To give you just a glimpse of how wonderful the staff have been to us, I will share a story or two. Earl had to go down to interventional radiology for 2 procedures this week, 1st to try and asperate a possible infection in his groin and the 2nd to remove his IVC filter as there is no longer a risk for blood clots. When we went down the second time Dr. Beecroft met us in the hall, and was happy to see Earl. He told us that he had just called our floor to find out where we were, and that he was just about to go up and get Earl himself. Earl has left his mark throughout the various departments of this hospital. He often has staff stop by for a visit. Words cannot describe how much we appreciate the exemplary care we have received here.

Well I guess that's enough for now....and we look forward to being home again soon.

Debbie

The Countdown is ON!

Hi Everyone,
The Good News: Dr. Wunder has given Earl the go ahead to head home. We are busy trying to make arrangements for air ambulance and for care once we get home. Earl had his IVC filter removed yesterday and the VAC is still on. We are hoping that we can continue the VAC therapy in Winnipeg, so are waiting to hear if homecare can provide that service. We saw the OT today and she has gone over what equipment we will need at home and on Monday will work with Earl to help him get dressed in street clothes again.

The Not so Good News: The latest CT scan shows that the nodules in Earls lungs are progressing and therefore it is important to get back to Winnipeg to start chemo. Earl will start on Gemcitabine as soon as we get home. (dates to be confirmed once we know when we will travel.)

I am hoping Earl can settle in easily once at home. I was really hoping that we could arrange a welcome home for Earl at the airport, but that will not work now that we are arriving by air ambulance. Perhaps we can arrange something at our place the night we arrive. I will keep everyone posted and ask that those who follow the blog update those who don't.

I am hoping to take a much needed break next weekend, so if anyone can volunteer some time to spend with Earl, I would be forever in debt to you. I am hoping to go to a friends cottage Fri to Sunday with my quilting sisters. Darby will be at home, but is busy studying, now that he is in fire college. If someone can visit Earl or take him out a little that would be awesome. My Email is hopkins5@mts.net or you can reply to this blog.

We are so very much looking forward to getting back to our life, friends, family and of course our Church.

Love Debbie and Earl

Maybe just Maybe Earl can come HOME!

HI Everyone,

I am back in Toronto and Earl is happy to see me. Darby was here for the weekend and they had a great time hanging out and watching Robot Chicken, which is Earls new favorite obsession. I had a wonderful time back home but it was far to brief.

Dr's on Friday became a bit concerned with Earl's incision and called in the dr's from infectious diseases. They ordered a CT scan yesterday and found a little abscess just under the surface of the skin. He is currently in the procedure room in interventiona radiology with his favorite Paulette and Christina. They are draining the abscess. Earl is out now and we are waiting to go back to the floor.

Dr. Wunder was in yesterday to see Earl and told Earl that he could possibly go home later this week, so cross your fingers and pray pray pray.

Take Care and we hope to see you soon.
Debbie

Earl is Using Crutches

Hi Everyone,



Today is 5 weeks plus 1 day since Earl had his 1st surgery! Earl is feeling stronger everyday and they are starting to decrease his pain medications. He is still on large doses but they are going down and he is not taking breakthrough, except before he gets up to walk (and even then he seldom wants it.) Yesterday was a big day because he walked on crutches for the first time. He was pretty proud of himself and there was lots of encouragement from the staff.

We saw Dr Blackstein yesterday also, and he has confirmed the chemo that he wants Earl to have and the great news is, that Dr Wong can administer it back home. We anxiously await more details and a time to start. What Dr B has told us is that the treatment is 1x week for 90 minutes and lasts up to 6 months. Dr B also said that as far as he was concerned Earl could head back to Winnipeg, but we will have to wait for word from the ortho Dr's. Dr Wunder is away right now, but Earl still has to get stronger and he needs to be able to tolerate being up for a lot more than an hour or so. Keep praying that he works hard and get stronger everyday. They also took out his catheter today, so we are down to being connected to just the VAC.

I am planning on coming home next weekend to attend a wedding and have a bit of a break. Darby will come out and spend the weekend with Earl. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends, going to church, attending the wedding and last but not least seeing my puppy. I miss everyone so much. If people can try and call Earl on Friday and Monday, that would be great as I am leaving Friday morning and not back until Monday night.

When the time comes to come back to Winnipeg, I would like to plan and welcome home for Earl at the airport...I will make sure we arrive after supper, so that more people can be there.

Take care and keep the caremail coming....Earl loves it.
Debbie

Earl is feeling better!

HI Everyone,

Earl is starting to feel much better and they are thinking about decreasing some of his pain meds. He has not really been asking for breakthrough pain meds for the the last couple of days with the exception of preparing for physio. The VAC was attached on Friday and changed yesterday. There was still some areas where the healing hadn't really happened so they reattached the VAC and will continue to monitor it.

Earl was up at the edge of the bed on Sunday and out of bed yesterday. He stood up, walked to the desk (about 60 steps) and then sat in the wheelchair for about 10 mins. Getting him into the wheelchair is great news, because with that comes some freedom.

We have been here for over a month now and it doesn't look like we will be coming homing just yet.

Take care and please keep us in your prayers.

Debbie & Earl

Not coming home yet!!!

Earl had surgery on Tuesday to clean out the incision. The surgeon had to due some fancy stitching (kinda of like repairing a frayed quilt) to pull all the tissue together. Because the incision split open in three directions they had to put sutures in a circular patter, with big retention sutures to try and hold it all together. The drains (2) came out yesterday and today the surgeons had a look and have decided to use the VAC therapy, which will hopefully be attached this afternoon. This therapy is quite new and is very useful in encouraging healing in places and in situations where healing in not taking place. He continues to be on bed rest so as not to create any pressure where the fresh incision is.

Earl is still feeling pain, and as usual the pain team is working to help control it. The pain Dr. who sees him every day, told us yesterday that he is pretty much maxed out on what they can give him.

Right now Earl is in Interventional Radiology with one of his favorite nurses Paulette because somehow he has gotten a curl in the tubing of his portacath. The problem with it is that they cannot get any blood return , but they were still able to flush and put fluids in. She has just let me know that they got it working again. This is great, because we do not want to loose his port. She said Earl did really well and slept through the whole procedure. When they were done and they told him it was working....he yelled AWESOME!!!

Well that's it for now, keep calling and sending Caremail.....he loves it.

Debbie and Earl

Good Morning,



Earl needs to go for surgery (hopefully) sometime today. Over the last week they have been watching his incision carefully and yesterday determined that it was not healing and in fact has opened up in places. The blood circulation at the site is not great due to the fact that they had to remove some large veins. the procedure will take about 1 hour and will involve cleaning out the site, trimming the tissue around the incision and closing it up again. They may use a type of vacuum to close the incision. This is a fairly new piece of equipment and encourages healing at a faster rate than tradition sutures or staples. They are also having some troubles with his porta cath, so please pray that we don't loose it.



On a very happy note Earl had a visit from Darren Dreger (a hockey analyst from TSN's Hockey Central)yesterday and if his visit and gift was not enough, he asked Earl who his favorite hockey coach was? Earl answered "Mike Babcock" the head coach of his favorite team the Detroit Red Wings, at which point Darren asked if he would like to speak to him. Earl spoke to him for at least 15 mins, chatting and giving him advice on who should be on the first and second lines.......! After that conversation Darren's phone rang and Steve Yzermen was on the phone, so Earl spoke to him. As most of you who know Earl can imagine he was in Hockey Heaven and still smiling as he recapped the news to friends and family. I am sure surgery was the last thing on his mind and his dreams must have been filled with hockey players in red and white jerseys as he slept last night. Thanks Darren (and Dan from Winnipeg) for making this very special day possible for Earl.



Take care and keep him in your prayers please.

Love Debbie

Earl takes 80 Steps

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it's been a few days. I was away at my brother's cottage on Lake Rosseau from Tuesday to Friday, so was not able to update.

Earl was happy to see me and even happier to see Dale, who has joined me here in Toronto. I am so glad to have her here and we are planning a fun evening together tonight. He was being quite silly last night, but we were happy to see him laughing.

Earl took 80 steps yesterday and then was ready to get back into the prone position. He has been told to stay in bed now for the rest of the weekend because his incision is opening and we don't want to stress it any more. The Dr's will decide on Monday what to do with it. The opening has been packed and they are keeping a close eye on it.


The address here at Mt Sinai is
600 University Avenue Toronto ON M5G 1X5
phone number is
416 586 4800 ext 4381 #
You can also send Care Mail by logging on to the Mt Sinai website at this address https://www.mountsinai.on.ca/patients/support/forms/caremail-basic-e-mail-
message

Take Care and have a good weekend...we miss you all
Debbie

Earl Takes 50 Steps

Hello Everyone,

Earl is recovering nicely and the pain is finally under control,,,,,not gone but definetly under control. He is starting to feel more energetic and has been sleeping well.
Yesterday was a great day: Firstly, Earl had visitors from Winnipeg, Mike (his worker) and his wife and baby. Earl was so excited and so looking forward to a friendly face. Dr Blackstein (oncologist) came to see us yesterday and the great news is that he does have chemotherapy for Earl. He needs to have alook at Earl's scan's and history and then he will let us know next week what the plans are. He suggested that it may be possible for us to have the chemo in Winnipeg, so let's hope that's what ends up happening. This was the best news we've heard in a while. Praise God!
The next exciting news of the day was that Earl took 50 steps with the walker, making it out into the hall where there was quite a crowd gathered to cheer him on. Mike was there, and that made it all the more exciting for Earl. We tried to get him to sit in a wheelchair, but it was far to painful for him, so we turned him around and he walked back to the bed.
Dr Wunder came later in the day and seems to be very happy with Earl's progress. There was some thought throughout the day that Earl may be brewing an infection in the area of his surgery, but Dr Wunder looked and thinks everything is fine. He gave Earl some instructions about how to get more comfortable and challenged him to try and lay on his stomach. It gets pretty hard to be laying on one side for such a long time.
Well, thats about it for now. Keep those emails, calls and caremail coming (Earl had 10 caremails the other day....he was thrilled)
Love and miss you all,
Debbie

Earl's Getting Bored!!!

Hi Everyone,



Well the good news today is that when I arrived this morning, Earl was in a bit a of tizzy...because he's is bored. Praise the Lord, cause I think that means he is feeling much much better. Who know's what we are in for now.

They removed the epideral on Monday evening and he is starting to really "wake up" now. His pain is still significant, but he is doing well with it. He still has his pain pump and they are adjusting his oral pain medications, accordingly.

For those of you who wish to send him greetings you can log on to the https://www.mountsinai.on.ca/patients/support/forms/caremail-basic-e-mail-message Earl loves to recieve his mail each morning. This morning he asked me to keep one of his letters close to him (the Patterson's most recent care mail) because he said he wanted to be able to read it when he wanted. He says it makes him feel stronger.
We all love to receive mail and for him it is his only connection to all of you.

Earl sat up yesterday for over a minute and is anxously waiting for physio to come today.
Earl says hi and he misses you all!!!

Love Debbie

Day 4 Post Surgery

Hi All
Today is day 4 post surgery. Earl was up early this morning and when I came in he told be he had been doing a few exercises in his bed. He is still heavely sedated, but the pain is still there and he continues to use his pain pump although not as frequently. His hemoglobin was low yesterday so they gave him to units of blood (no reaction)which should give him a little more energy.

The Dr. came to see him this a.m. and decided to change the dressing and remove the two drains. Earl was amazingly calm (although he did access his pump to the max) the incision is quite big, but I peeked and it looks really really good.

Physio is hoping to get him up and sitting at the edge of the bed today, but we will see, because I think the dressing change really tuckered him out.

He is in good spirits when he is awake for the most part.

Take care
Debbie

Surgical Day 2

Earl has been moved to a private room (actually the first room he was in on our first visit to Toronto) The phone number is now 416-586-4800 (5900) ext 4381. It is a great room as it is just outside the nurses station (don't worry about the noise, Earl is a diehard earplug wearer) so they are close if he needs them.

I would consider this day a tough day, and he slept pretty much the whole day. He had a few tears in the morning, but once shed they were forgotten. Dr Wunder and his daughter Taryn came to visit and really brightened our day. Earl was presented with a gift from Taryn and when he is craving chocolate he will be rewarded with the toy inside the kindersurprise egg! Could it be an NHL goalie mask?????

Today is a new day and Earl is up and watching TV. Christine goes home today, but I am not sure I can let her. She has been a godsent angel for us and we are thankful that our family back home supported her travel here. She misses the boys and her husband, so I guess I will let her go!

I will update again later.
Love Debbie

Surgical Day 1

Earl is resting and the pain level is good. He ate a little breakfast this morning, but really is very very tired. His blood pressure is a bit low right now, but they are watching him carefully.
The report for sugery is this. Dr Wunder said that when his was disecting some of the veins and blood vessels he discovered tumor in some of the small veins. This meant that the cancer was growing in places higher that he had hoped and that he would have to remove the leg and the pelvis. The good news is that they were able to stretch his glutious maximus (big bum muscle) around to form a pad (bum cheek) which will give him a firmer cheek than if they weren't able to use it. I haven't had a look and am thankful for my niece Christine and the nurses, so that I don't have to. The resident said there are more than 100 staples.

I will update the blog with this information and ask that you be patient with me as I try to make sure everyone is aware of things as they happen.

We will likely be here for another 2 weeks as Earl heals and is feeling ready to travel.
He does as most of you know have a phone in his room 416-586-4800 ext 4839 He is in room1102 not 1110 (which is the room they will tell you he is in)

Take care
Debbie

Surgery Tomorrow

Hi Everyone,

Earl is settled in here at Mt Sinai in room 1102. It has been busy few days with appts and tests, but time is up and surgery will take place tomorrow. The tests Earl had, revealed that the tumor has grown quite large and is actually filling up his whole upper leg and has moved into the veins. This being so, the dr's here all agree that Earl's should have his leg amputated. There does not seem to be too many nodules in his lungs which means all going well he should be able to have the lung surgery and chemo.

Earl is doing quite well considering and as usual is finding many positives in this otherwise negative time. He concentrates much of his waking time to dreaming up things he will now be able to do, without the annoying prothesis.

Despite the rather grim news, we are doing okay and are thankful for the many blessings God sends us each day.

Love you all,

Debbie and Earl

Off to Toronto

Hi Everyone,

Well, we finally got the call from Dr. Wunder and he wants to see Earl this Monday. We fly out Saturday, and we will keep you up to date on what the plans are. Darby will be at home, so he is around if you want to talk to him.
The plan so far is that we will show up at Mt Sinai on Monday morning, go for xrays and then to see the Dr. Monday evening there will be a Sarcoma Team meeting and Earl's case will be discussed and plans made. Dr Wunder may do surgery on Thursday, but that is yet to be determined..
We are so relieved that things are moving ahead. After I got off the phone last night I could have lit up a dark room. Earl looked at me, I started to cry, we hugged, we cried and then Earl hollered Praise The LORD!!!!!
Please keep us in your prayers as we are headed into a very busy stressful week.
We love to hear you tell us that you follow the BLOG, and it inspires me to keep it up to date.
We will be in touch,
Debbie

Manitoba Marathon "Inspired & Inspiration"

Well, we made it to the finish line of the 2008 Manitoba Marathon. Earl and I met Earl's physiotherapist April there and together we found our way (actually pushed are way) to the finish line. We had a front row seat as Mike came across the finish line. Way to Go Mike...that was a long run! Mike was happy to see Earl, and they had a big HUG! Joanne, joined us and we had a chance for some kodak moments. It was a great experience and Earl really enjoyed being out of the hospital and in the presence of crowds of people.

As of this morning Earl's team is registered for the Terry Fox Run, which takes place in September. I am the contact and the team name is "Earl's family & friends" You can join the team in many ways, participate in the walk/run, volunteer, donate! Earl's goal is to have 100 people on his team and he wants to raise $5000.00.... Let's join together and make this wish come true.

Medically, we are going to have a White Blood Cell Scan done tomorrow and Wednesday and the results should tell us if Earl has or has not got an infection. Please pray that the results come quickly so that we can move on to the next step.

Congratulations Mike and Earl....and a big thank-you to Joanne...at last count they have raised $500.00 which will be donated to Earl's Charity of choice, The Terry Fox Foundation.

Take Care Debbie

June update #2

Hi Everyone,

Earl had an appointment with the lung surgeon on Friday and he informed us that he will not operate on Earl's lungs until the primary cancer is dealt with. The orthopedic surgeon at Concordia is still investigating the possibility of an infection, and so Earl will be going for a White Blood Cell Scan this week. This test takes two days to complete and Earl will have to be transfered to another hospital for it to be done. If the result shows infection Earl will undergo surgery here to wash out the infected area and replace the damaged spacer. If the results show no infection we are hoping we will go to Toronto, to have them remove the spacer and replace it with the prosthesis. While there we are hoping that the oncologist will give Earl chemo (the one that is not available here)

I am taking Earl to the finish line of the Manitoba Marathon tomorrow morning to meet his teacher from grade 8. Mike is running the race for Earl and I know with Earl as his inspiration he will do really well. Stay tuned for some pictures.

Please continue to pray for Earl, as he tries to stay positive and that he would be the fighter that we all know he is.

Debbie

June Update

Hi everyone,

It has been a few weeks since my last update and I thought it was time to send a new update.

Earl continues to remain at Concordia Hospital and will likely be there for a while yet. It's been a pretty rough couple of weeks and Earl is still feeling a fair amount of pain, which they are working very hard to bring under control. Earl's leg is in rough shape, with a huge blood clot (DVT), possible fractures in his femur and tibia and the latest news is that the tumor is back. We are currently waiting for the Dr's to decide what kind of surgery they will have to do to take care of the multitudes of problems. Last week was a week of bads news, and has left us quite devastated. Not only is the cancer back in his leg, but it has now spread to his lungs. We are waiting to see if lung surgery is an option and we are waiting also to see if Earl will be able to receive chemo. the Dr. here has said that he has given Earl all the chemo he can but that there is a Dr. in Toronto that may have other options. Let me tell you waiting is the hardest thing there is.

We hope to have news on all fronts soon, and in the mean time I want you to know that Earl is taking the news with a very positive attitude, He just said today that having a positive attitude is the best treatment there is.

For those of you in Winnipeg, please keep in touch with him and he loves to have visitors, for those out of town Earl does have a phone in his room 204-667-1560 room 228

Earl needs lots of encouragement to keep him up and the stories you share with him help alot. He had a special visit from Sister Ginger, who is the director of the day care he attended when he was four, and they had such a nice visit talking and sharing stories. Earl's favorite is how he used to ride around on a pink tri-cycle and terrorize the day care.

Anyway keep in touch
Debbie , Earl and Darby

Earl still in Hospital

Hi Everyone,

Earl remains in Concordia Hospital and is currently on bed rest. The Dr's are still doing tests to determine what is causing the pain in his left leg. He was scheduled for surgery today, but it has been delayed for a few days. Earl has an appointment with his oncologist on Thursday morning at 10:15, so please keep this in your prayers. He had a CT scan of his lungs done 10 days ago and this is the followup to see what the scan showed.

take care, and keep praying
Debbie

Earl back in Hospital

Hi everyone,

I had to take Earl into Concordia ER yesterday as he was complaining about pain in his leg and was unable to weight bare. Blood tests indicated a possible infection or inflammation so upon admission, they started him on IV antibiotics and are giving him morphine for the pain. I will know more later today, when I have had a chance to speak to the Dr.

Please keep him in your prayers! He is very discouraged and tired of all that he has gone through.

Debbie