Coming Home!

Originally published May 31, 2013

So the big news is that hubby is finally coming home - Friday morning! After having been hospitalized since January, we're excited about his homecoming. The house renovations are mostly done thanks to our awesome contractor, and the last few things will be cleared up this week. CCAC will be delivering some home help aids (a temporary ramp for the front steps; appropriate bathroom fittings; a roho cushion for his wheelchair) on Thursday, but they can't say what time, so I'll be stuck at home until they arrive. Hopefully, after dinner we'll go up and start packing up his room and belongings and bring them back to the house so he only has to grab his toothbrush and cell phone on Friday.


CCAC has also arranged for us to have some help during the first month - a PSW to help get him up and dressed in the mornings, and to help get him prepared for bed at night. I'm not sure if we'll actually need that type of help, but they're sending it to help get us started. If we find we don't need it, we can cancel either one at any time.

We still have to get the bed lowered, since hubby can't actually get on it because of it's height

- he needs it to be lower so he can transfer to it easily from the wheelchair. We came up with a number of options (a ramp beside the bed; remove the box spring and replace it with plywood but that made the bed too low) but the easiest and most cost effective was to order a low-profile box spring and replace ours with that one. It's slated to arrive Friday morning ... just in time. It will lower the bed by about 3", letting him get into it with help.

Other things that we'll need to work out are how to get him to Barrie and Toronto for his chemo treatments. The schedule runs for 21 rotations (we're at the start of the 3rd rotation of the schedule) and has him going to Toronto on one Wednesday (a full day for chemo, clinical tests, lumbar puncture), the next two to Barrie for a chemo treatment (one shot), then back to Toronto. Once he's home from the hospital, we'll be responsible for getting him to those appointments. Under normal circumstances, he'd be able to get help from the Canadian Cancer Society (volunteer drivers), but because he's in a wheelchair, they can't accommodate him - most of the drivers are seniors, and nobody has a wheelchair vehicle. 

While he can get into certain types of cars, he needs help getting in and out, and the wheelchair has to be taken apart (seat and back and cushions have to be removed), then folded and stored (and the chair is pretty heavy for a senior to manage on their own). Some Wednesdays my daughter will be able to take him, but she's recently gone back to work (after being on disability for some months due to a car accident), and is working the next 2 Wednesdays. She's trying to work it so that if they schedule her in future for a Wednesday shift, they give her a night shift. But on days when she can't do it, we still aren't sure how we're going to get there and back. The local wheelchair service doesn't run out of town; RNR Transports (patient transfers) cost $100 an hour; taxis cost almost as much and we don't know if they'd take him. I think once he gets home, one of biggest issues will be arranging the transport for these appointments.

But ... he's coming home, and today that's all that matters!

Renovation Materials

Contractor: Dan Taylor
Tiles: "Naturi" Walnut (from Home Depot)
Sink Taps: Banbury High Set by Moen (from Home Depot)
Bathroom Towel Bars/Toilet Paper Stand : Sage by Moen (from Home Depot)
Shower Head Set: Drill Less Sidebar by Pfister (from Home Depot)
Grab Bars: Designer Grab Bar with Shelf and Standard Safety Bar by Moen
Sink: "Marina" from American Standard (from Home Depot)
Tall Cabinet: Holden Floor Cabinet by Foremost International (from Home Depot)
Medicine Chest: Wall Cabinet Medicine Cubby (with mirror and baskets) by Zenith
Wallmount Cabinet: White Glass Door Wall Cabinet from Home Depot
Shower Curtains: Walmart
Wood Laminate: Twelve Oaks Heirloom Collection - Remi
Paint: Bathroom (Behr -Toasted Wheat (bathroom); Stone Brown; Grape Green (livingroom)