29 Jan 09 Varicose Vein stripping Surgery Video … Vidéo de chirurgie de varices – éveinage
OK it’s lunchtime again and I realise this is probably not the most appetizing content to enjoy while dining, but I thought I would share this (graphic) video of how varicose vein stripping surgery is done. No, it isn’t a video of my actual surgery (hmm, 30 incisions would make for a long video) but it shows quiet clearly how it’s done. Not for the squeamish…
Alors, c’est l’heure de diner encore et je réalise que ceci n’est probablement pas le contenu le plus appétissant à savourer en dinant, mais je crois que je vais partager cette vidéo (assez directe) qui démontre comment se fait l’éveinage de veines varices. Non, ce n’est pas une vidéo de ma chirurgie (30 incisions … ca serai longue comme clip)… mais ca montre assez clairement comment c’est fait. Ce n’est pas pour les prudes…
Tags: éveinage de varices, Health, surgery, varicose veins
02 Jan 09 John Travolta starts off the New Year with the death of his son Jett
Well… as I finalize my thoughts of my Christmas with Zachary and Tristan, my mom and … my grandmother in major surgery today (at 96 years!) it was sad to hear that Jett Travolta passed away. Jett Travolta is the son of John Travolta who is pretty iconic – I think most people my age have grown up with him, be it in Saturday Night Fever or Grease or the many more serious (and challenging) roles that he did after the 80s.
Apparently Jett Travolta had a history of seizures and suffered one on Friday at about 10:00 am. While some reports in the past said that Jett was autistic, John Travolta denied that – saying it was Kawasaki Syndrome – some sort of lymph node illness.
Ironic that my 96 year old grandmother made it through major surgery today, yet a 16 year old succumbs to a sudden death.
More details from the AFP:
CNN has also published a nice story including the statement from the Travolta family about the untimely passing of Jett.
Tags: autism, Health, Jett Travolta, Kawasaki Syndrome, Kids, surgery
24 Nov 08 Convalescence leave sucks : After (sequential) extreme varicose vein stripping surgeries in 5 weeks – that’s enough.
Well, here I am, still trying to err… convalesce from the 16 incisions (and who knows how many staples) for the varicose vein stripping surgery on my right leg. I’ve gotten thoroughly tired of my couch-ridden existence off work; in between doses of Ratio-Emtec (acetaminophen + 30mg of codeine) pain killers I try to find a comfortable position. The worst, by far, is sitting or standing in the same position. The blood rapidly pools in my right leg and becomes unbearably (9/10) painful…
Basically it’s been resting / napping / surfing the net for news / watching the government bank bailout of the day and the correlated 400 point swings on the Dow. Yes, I wish I could be stable and pain free enough to be back at work so I could bitch about projects, bureaucracy and that lovely usual stuff. Wonder how the French expression “ca pourrait être pire” is so true and appropriate.
It also highlights the real-world benefits of having a career with an organisation that provides excellent health benefits – and more importantly: respects the health benefits!
Obviously, I won’t be getting any transdermal Fentanyl (a.k.a. Duragesic) for this kind of pain, and at least I am now a bit more familiar with what to expect given that just 4-5 weeks ago I had the cutting and stripping done on the left leg. That one is healing relatively well although it was a bit early for it to become the “strong” leg.
I’ve also learned to keep pain meds close to me – especially at night; no one likes to get out of bed in the middle of the night… imagine if it involved excruciating pain around 16 (precision) cuts in one leg …
(more…)
Tags: codeine, Fentanyl, Health, Kids, Love, surgery, varicose veins
01 Nov 08 Tristan & Zachary first Halloween pumpkin carving experience
At first Tristan and Zachary were somewhat disinterested in the pumpkin ritual as they were distracted by that (evil) TV and some usual crapola on Teletoon or whatever….
Tristan and Zachary’s first experience at carving and prepping a pumpkin was fun; ok, granted, it may seem a bit late to experience their first pumpkin carving but such is life. 
They had seen my Ace compression bandage earlier in the day covering my leg from thigh to foot over the vein stripping incision bandages… (no they didn’t see those yet)..
Tags: Food, halloween, Kids, Love, pumpkin carving, surgery, Tristan, varicose veins, Zachary
24 Oct 08 Tristans novice hockey qualifying tryouts tomorrow and the real priorities in life :)
So I sit here (and occasionally walk) while recovering from the varicose vein surgery (a.k.a phlebectomy) and hoping the swelling stays in control with the Ace bandage.
My mom and I shared a very tasty steelhead trout… or steelhead salmon (truite saumonée en français) along with Rosti from Ikea, some stirfried broccoli… and then around 20h40, the phone rang and it was my dearest eldest son Tristan calling.
He sounded in good spirits and very relaxed, recounting his ped day at school where they painted a custom t-shirt (which hadn’t dried yet) and said he was ready and looking forward to the hockey tryouts tomorrow; he is in MAGH-3 and the novice evaluation is to determine which specific level within novice he’ll be playing in. It’s probably more stress for some parents than for the players themselves, but I’ve learned to be zen about these competitive sports (again, more competitive for parents than the actual mini-athletes) and keep in mind that it’s about the love of the game and not just the end result. He certainly loves the sports, whether it’s swimming, soccer, or playing defense or goalie in hockey.
So he asked about my surgery, and mentioned that it was probably “worse” than his tonsil surgery…. I told him that his tonsil surgery was indeed pretty painful and that mine was different; with a spinal anesthetic vs. general anesthesia for his procedure… he asked if I still had my bandages on and I of course said yup (it will probably be important for them to see my bandaged state)…
We both agreed that we wouldn’t be running around or playing soccer tomorrow together 
… then he had a quick chat with Oma (in English and French mixed) before it was time for his bedtime… and as I promised him, I would be going to bed shortly after… so now I check out (with the help of some 30mg codeine ) and a body pillow and … lui rejoindre dans les bras de morphée durant cette nuit.
Tags: Health, hockey, Kids, Love, St-Basile-le-Grand, surgery, Tristan
