Appointments, Visits, Corrections and Awareness

On Wednesday, the physiotherapist came and liked the new stretches that Judy had found.  Way to go Judy!  While Tina was doing her stretches, Carol and I were exploring Waterton.

On Thursday, Mom and Dad took Tina to Kingston and met Jenn there.  Jenn took Tina into her pulmonary function test.  They then had an appointment with Dr. Fitzpatrick to go over the results of the test.

There was very little difference from her last breathing test.  The doctor said that there was a slight decrease but they were not concerned about it at all.

The doctor did suggest a "cough assist." This is a machine that blows air into the lungs and pulls it out quickly to clear mucus.  A Respiratory Therapist from Home Care will come and set the machine up and explain it all to Tina and whoever might be there that day.

She is scheduled for a follow up appointment in 6 weeks.  They were a little concerned about her bruising around her eyes after her fall.

They all made a trip to Costco before they made their way home.  It was a full day.

Meanwhile in Alberta, Carol and I called Hart n Hart to order our STEELE Standing sweaters and shirts.  We need to make sure that they are ready for our cottage time.

On Friday, Carol left for home.  It was so nice to have her here.  She got my gardens looking better than they have ever been.  We did chat for a bit while she was driving and said hi to cousin George who was visiting Tina.

I need to make a correction from my last post.  I thought that Tina had fallen later on Saturday but it was actually in the morning.  So after Tina smashes her face, she went on a road trip with cousin, Tammy.  Now that's one tough girl.

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I got filled in on some more meals that had been delivered.  Thank you to:

• Thelma (friend) a for bring salads, deviled eggs and more
• Judy (cousin) always plans some kind of lunch and this week she brought subs from a Butcher Shop
• Nancy H (home church connection) brought homemade soup.
• Casey (friend) brought a meal.  I think it might have been chicken tacos.
• Dawn & Bert (pastors) - meat dish in a jar and a dessert

Thank you to all and if we missed anyone, we apologize and thank you too!

What are the types of ALS?

The most common form of ALS is called sporadic ALS, meaning the disease can affect anyone regardless of gender, ethnicity or age—although it most often affects people between the ages of 40 and 60.

The other type of ALS is called familial ALS, which means it is capable of being passed from a parent to his or her child. Approximately 5 to 10% of ALS cases are familial.

Regardless of whether someone has sporadic or familial ALS, 30% of all people with the disease have a form referred to as Bulbar ALS. In the early stages of Bulbar ALS, the motor neurons in the corticobulbar area of the brainstem are the first to be affected. This means that the muscles of the head, face and neck become paralyzed before muscles in other parts of the body.

Tina was told that she doesn't have the familial type but not really what she does have.  All we know is that it is not nice but she is STEELE Standing and we are standing with her.  Thanks for standing with us.  

Words cannot express how much it means to us when family and friends are willing to spend the day with Tina.  

Thanks for STEELE Standing with us.  Thanks to those that have or are planning to spend time with Tina.  Thanks for the meals and treats.  Thanks for praying.