Scott's Blog

Hello all!

Let me start by thanking all of you on behalf of my family and myself, for your continued support. This posting is long overdue and I'm afraid it is because the Spring/Summer have not gone as smoothly as we had hoped.

The first frustration is with my health. I continue to be riddled with these damned urinary tract/bladder infections and they knock me out, but the antibiotics knock me out even more. On top of that, I've contracted a bacteria called MRSA (very common in a hospital setting), which has me on isolation in my room, which actually doesn't make sense to me or my family as I still go to therapies without gowning up, etc. Then I had to go back to KGH for day surgery to have a G-tube (feeding tube) put into my abdomen as I have not had much of an appetite with all these infections and antibiotics and have lost approx. 60 lbs since my accident. I now receive feeds through the night and Gatorade sometimes during the day to keep me healthy & hydrated. I also have an ulcer on my tailbone that I got day 3 post injury, that is progressively getting worse. The doctors hope that increasing my nutrition and putting some weight back on will help with this. My newest ailment is another infection that has gotten into my bloodstream. I'm on a very heavy-duty antibiotic to combat this. I also suffer very bad spasms (which is not completely uncommon in my situation), but they seem to get worse with all these infections, so they've put me on a third antispasmatic medication to help combat this. A side effect of this is lower blood pressure, which often causes me to black out when I sit up (in bed or in my wheelchair). With my health not being the best these days, I've spent a lot of time in bed which prevents me from attending therapy, which is a big frustration as my goal is progress, not regress.

On the home front, the military is also frustrating me. I have met with Commanding Officers, Base Commanders, representatives from Ottawa and two Generals who have all said to let them know whatever I need, and that money is not an issue. From the beginning we were told that we would have to add on to our house, or re-build. Now they are saying the military does not do either one of these things as public funds do not cover 're-builds', that they can only modify our existing dwelling. For any of you who have been to our home, you know that this is not possible. We live in a modest two-storey home that is simply not large enough for me to maneuver throughout (not the best time to be so damned tall!). Our master bedroom is upstairs and too small to fit my bed & chair. I cannot get into any of the bathrooms in our home, so we need to add on to our house and install an elevator and a master bedroom & bathroom on the main floor. The military had hoped we would move, but we live on 3-acres in the country, are close to town, live nextdoor to one of our best friends, and live on the water (not nice swimming water, it's marshy - but we have a great ice rink in the winter)....so we do not want to move, and have made this clear from the beginning. Now we're waiting for DND to officially say 'no, we will not add on or re-build', so that we can try to access funding elsewhere to cover this portion. Needless to say we haven't broken ground or made any modifications to the home that will assit with a permanent homecoming. Kirsty had hoped I would be home by August, but now I'll be really lucky to be home by Halloween (1-year post injury), and more realistically, my family is VERY hopeful I will be home in time for Christmas.

The van has also been another fight. We purchased a Dodge Sprinter cargo van. This is more expensive than a normal van, but we felt due to my height and traveling with the boys that this vehicle would require the least amount of modifications (the military is paying for the modification portion). This vehicle was the best option for the size of our family and our travels (i.e. hockey tournaments), not to mention when you add luggage and all of my items to travel with (portable lift-fits into a ski bag, commode chair-does not fold down, mattress-fits into a hockey bag, and all my additional healthcare supplies). Even with this large van, it will be a tight squeeze to fit everything/everyone. The military said they'd pay for all modifications, but we had to fight to get windows in the van (windows!), and a bench seat for the boys to sit in that folds into a bed in case I need care while we're traveling. We lost the fight on having the ugly white van painted (very cargo-looking), as well as having a stereo/DVD system installed for traveling (which we have in our current family vehicle for traveling). But this will be our main family vehicle, so on top of having to purchase this expensive vehicle (which we would not have been able to do without the fundraiser money - thank you!), we have to pay to have it painted and an entertainment system put in. So this van, which we purchased months ago, just got sent for the conversion 1 1/2 weeks ago due to all the red tape in getting approvals on the conversion process. The quote for the timing of the conversion is 10-12 weeks, so we are VERY hopeful that it is ready sooner, but realistically we likely won't have the vehicle (Milnemobile) until the end of September/early October.

Well - that's the past 2 1/2 months in a nutshell. I realize I haven't posted, but honestly not much has changed, except that my level of frustration has greatly increased.
Kirsty, the boys and I are trying very hard to stay positive and we are hopeful we are now heading in the right direction. I'm hoping to start feeling better to get back to therapy next week. For the house, the submission went to Ottawa yesterday, and when they officially say 'no', then we can move forward with other options. I am also hopeful the van will be finished early, but am grateful it's finally started! The weekends at home (I come home every weekend now) are a real lifesaver and Kirsty and the boys seem to like having me home I feel better, I eat better and it's just nice to 'be home'.

Thank you all for your continued support. Please keep sending those positive thoughts and prayers our way - they really help keep me and my family stay positive!

I know this hasn't been a very uplifting posting, but that's the way life's been. Hopefully from here on out, the red tape will be cut and the stars will align and we will get going with everything, so that I have more positive things to report in my next postings. In the meantime, Team Milne will soldier on, remain positive, and hope for the best.

Cheers my friends,

Captain Scott
& the rest of Team Milne

PS If you are wanting to visit me at St. Mary's in the evenings, please call first (613)548-7222 x.2230 and just check that I am up for visitors. I always feel terrible when folks have made the trip to the hospital, paid for parking, and then I am not well enough (or just resting) for company.