Scott's Blog

Hello all,

It's Kirsty posting this time. We have not posted for quite awhile, mostly because there was nothing new to report, but we've had a pretty exciting week, so I wanted to share it with you.

On Wednesday, October 21st, Scott was asked to participate in Military Appreciation Night at the Kingston Frontenacs game (our OHL team). Maj. Chris Catry called and explained that Don Cherry would also be participating in the evening, and that the Frontenacs would be wearing 'special' jerseys which they are auctioning off for 'Soldier On', a program to assist injured soldiers. Watch for Don on Coach's Corner tonight as he will be promoting the jerseys - they're really quite unique!

We were also pleased to meet Sgt. Andrew MacLean, a Search and Rescue Technician who founded 'Soldier On' and discussed some extracurricular activity options with Scott. We also had the pleasure of meeting MCpl. Jodi Mitic, a double amputee due to an accident in Afghanistan, who has experienced a lot of the same issues with modifying his home, and discussed peer support with Scott. It was VERY nice to meet these gentlemen.

At the game, Scott was at centre ice with the 'red carpet party' and then our family got to sit in the DND VIP box, where Don Cherry came up to meet the troops. Tanner, Kobe and Rhys were just thrilled and I thought the whole experience was amazing (thanks for organizing Chris!). We were also thrilled to see so many familiar, friendly faces in the stands and Kobe and Rhys' hockey teams both surprised us by attending the game as well. Thank you ALL for your support - it was a GREAT evening. I think Scott was overwhelmed, but very grateful for the experience.

We are also pleased to report that we are moving forward with our home renovations. The military denied our request to add on to our house. We have appealed this decision, but are told the appeal process can take from 1 1/2 - 2 years, so we are paying to add on to our home, and the military will pay to 'modify' our home, which will include things like lifts, an elevator, environmental controls, etc. So, we are not happy to have to fund this on our own, but are thrilled to be moving forward. We will move onto the base during the renovation, with Scott still coming home on weekends, then will move home as a complete family once the renovations are complete.

As for the van, we were disappointed in mid-September when we were expecting to receive our van, only to learn that it had not even been started. The windows were on back order in California, so we are now looking at mid to late-November before it arrives. The van will offer a whole new freedom for Scott as the Kingston Access Bus is very difficult to book on evenings and weekends, which is mostly when we want to use it. Scott has yet to watch any of the boys' hockey games this year, but I call every day to try to get him to any home games. I'm sure our luck will change soon and he'll be able to get out to a few games.

I am in my busy season at work (Fall and Spring are extremely busy for me), so I've been working some weekend events. Scott is still coming home every weekend, so with his folks back in BC now, we have been utilizing respite care for me to attend my events and get to some of the boys' home hockey games/practices. I wanted to say a HUGE thank to all the people (too many to list, but I cannot thank you enough!) who have helped me run the boys to/from hockey, birthday parties, running errands, etc. There is no way we could maintain our schedule without help and I just wanted to say a very heartfelt thank you for all your help!

I know our parents are all struggling with being away, but Mom & Dad Hamilton and Milne, please rest assure that our Kingston family and all our other friends have been amazing and very helpful. We are EXTREMELY busy - with the boys hockey/volleyball schedules, our first unscheduled day is December 24th, so even with help, life is busy - but everyone is busy these days!

One more note of good news is that Scott's health has been relatively good these days. He had to return to KGH to have a new feeding tube put in as the first one was not inserted far enough, but that went well. Besides still suffering extreme spasms, he is doing very well

Thank you all so much. Hopefully we will have more good news to post shortly.

Take care all!

Kirsty
and the rest of Team Milne!

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.

Hello all,

Just wanted to let you know I'm still here. I guess my promise to post more often shouldn't have been a promise! Not a lot to update, so I won't promise any more, I'll just post when there are updates.

Let me start with some thank you's. Kirsty, the boys and I have been completely overwhelmed by people's generosity, and we can't believe we are still receiving donations....we don't want to single out anyone as there have been several anonymous donations directly to the bank, but in addition to those, people have been sending us donations directly and they range from the guys in Afghanistan pooling their money to a young fellow's birthday party who asked for donations instead of gifts, to church's we don't even belong to, to people we've never even met.....overwhelming is the word that seems to encompass how we feel, and a huge thank you is all we have in return.

I am also glad to tell you that we are using all these donations towards a van. We are awaiting information on the van conversion, and once we receive that, we will be purchasing a vehicle for conversion. We are VERY excited about this and want to thank you all for making this possible. It will be a whole new freedom for me and I cannot wait.....won't be the hummer I wanted, but it will be just as big!

I have not regained any movement, but am getting stronger every day in the movement I have. I seem to suffer chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), so this seems to be par for the course. I've been feeling well this week though

I have also been going home for overnights every weekend. I go home Saturday morning, and return Sunday evening. We have a nice family dinner with my folks on Saturday and just quiet family days on Sunday. The boys seem to really like this as they find the hospital a little boring. We are all anxious to get me home permanently, but that's still a few months off. We have seen 'first draft' plans for our home renovations, but even once the plans are finalized, it will be awhile awaiting approvals, permits, etc. Kirsty and the boys will have to move out of the house during the renos. (not sure where yet), but we all realize this is one step closer to getting me home.

Anyways, that's the big update. Again, Kirsty, the boys and I cannot thank you enough for your incredible generosity, both financially and emotionally. We appreciate all the prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes you have all been sending our way.

Sincerely,

Scott & Team Milne

I promised to post more often, so here I am.

I've had a busy two weeks. Our friend, Cheryl McKinnon called on behalf of the PSP staff and asked if my family and I would drop the puck at a hockey game - CFB Kingston vs. the Ottawa Senators Alumni. I was honoured to have been asked, and the boys and I got to meet some retired NHLers and had a really great time!

Kirsty and I were also invited by Rick Smith to attend a Hot Stove Dinner with Boston Bruins alumni and it was a great night as well. A special thanks to Chris and Hershey McKiegan for helping to make this happen

Another highlight was getting to go home on Saturday for my first time since the accident. Scott and Deanna arranged for a temporary ramp (Scott built) and it was so nice to be home. It was a quiet day with my family, but it's just the beginning. This weekend I am going to spend my first 'overnight' at home for Easter - I will be home Saturday & Sunday. Just one night for the first try, but I'm looking forward to that too.

The key in getting out to all of these events has been my health - I've been feeling better, as well as transportation. We have had some difficulty booking the Kingston Access Bus, but they always try to come through for us in the end. We have been looking at vans and will need to move to a full size van due to my height, so we're anxious to get going with that so that I have my own transportation and am not relying on a bus service. Kirsty and I are also going to look at some homes of folks who have modified their homes, or built their homes to be accessible. This is the first big step in deciding what we will need to do to modify our home for my permanent homecoming. So, things are slowly moving forward.

Other than that, not much else new here. I'm still plugging away at therapy and get a bit stronger every day.

Thanks so much for your continuing support!

Scott (& Kirsty & the boys )

Another note of thanks to Lisa Barton and Nicci Rea who ran the Peterborough Half-Marathon on behalf of Team Milne. They raised a whopping $1,101.00 and we want to say a HUGE thank you to both of them as well as everyone who contributed. I can't imagine running a 5K run, let alone a half-marathon - but these extraordinary women did it, and raised money on our behalf while they did it, so we just want to say thank you!

Team Milne

Thank you, thank you and thank you!!!!

We were completely overwhelmed Saturday night at the Milne Family Fundraiser. The incredible organization/planning of this event, the number of people in attendance, the level of volunteerism as well as the amount of items donated to the silent auction and balloon draw were absolutely amazing. We had no idea of the grandeur of this event and just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone involved.

Scott was very disappointed to have to leave so early, but at this point, he is at the mercy of the Access Bus so this dictated the timing of his appearance.

As Claude mentioned, right now the Department of National Defence is covering most of Scott's costs, and will be assisting in home renovations as well. We are going to keep this money aside for items Scott will need that the military will not be able to cover. The fundraiser raised an incredible $30,000+, and that is thanks to ALL OF YOU

Scott and I were both in tears on Sunday when we were discussing the event and we hope that you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we did.

Saying thank you cannot even begin to cover what we are feeling, but at this point it's all we can say.

I don't think you will ever realize how much you have touched our lives by your incredible support and generosity, but please know we truly appreciate it and are completely humbled by the support of all of you and the greater Kingston Community.

With sincere thanks,

Kirsty, Scott and the boys (aka Team Milne)

Please click on the FUNDRAISER tab on top of the page to see another online auction for two pairs of Leafs tickets in the gold section.

Hello all,

I have now made the transition to St. Mary's, and it was more difficult than I had anticipated. This past week has been a tough one due to some medical complications, but I seem to be feeling better this weekend, so hopefully next week will be a better one. Overall it is going well, but it's very different than ICU.

I participate in Physio Therapy (PT) and Occupational Therapy (OT) for an hour each/day, Monday - Friday. They work me very hard and I am feeling it. Although I have not regained any new movement, I am getting stronger with the mobility I currently have, and am very focused on develping these muscles, particularly those in my right arm as this is where I have the most movement so far

I've had a few visitors, but visitors are welcome in the evening from 6-8 pm, and on weekends, any time after 10 am. For those who come to visit, or have visited in the past, I apologize if I am sleeping. This has been a big transition and I am feeling exhausted quite often, but I also enjoy seeing all of you, so please feel free to visit if/when you are able.

As for the fundraiser, Kirsty has been keeping me aprised and I have visited the fundraiser portion of this blog and can tell you it is very humbling. I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored/donated items for this event, as well as those who have volunteered their time to organize it. I am going to try very hard to get to the fundraiser, but my recovery will dictate whether or not this is possible. I am not currently allowed to leave the hospital unless it is for medical purposes, but I'm working on it, and will try my best to at least make an appearance.

So, thank you all so much for your continuous support of Kirsty, the boys and I - we TRULY appreciate it!

Scott, Captain of Team Milne

Please click on the FUNDRAISER tab on top of the page. There currently is an online aution there on a pair of tickets for the Leafs vs the Sabres on Feb 17th. Click the FUNDRAISER tab above for all the details.

Hello all,

On the home front, let me start by thanking EVERYONE who has helped our family with meals, with a special thank you to the Knight Family and Cheryl McKinnon for receiving/delivering these delicious meals. This has been a HUGE HELP and got us through this critical stage of Scott's accident. With Scott progressing so well, and the boys' schedules so busy, the moms have agreed to do the cooking until I am home more (and Scott gets home) to do the cooking. For those of you who do not know, Scott is a WAY better cook than me

At the hospital - MORE great news. Scott has been breathing off the ventilator 24hrs/day for approximately a week now!! Since Scott is now breathing on his own, they removed his traecheotomy Monday, so he is now officially tube-free! This is very exciting and so nice to see his face/neck without tubes. He got fitted for a new collar today as he no longer requires the hole in the front for the traech - so now it just looks like he has whiplash

Another piece of great news is that with Scott breathing on his own and all of his tubes removed, he is now ready to go to a rehabilitation hospital. The lack of a ventilator also opened the doors to St. Mary's on the Lake as an option for rehabilittion and after visiting last week, Scott has decided that St. Mary's is the place for him. So, he's going to St. Mary's tomorrow - yes, tomorrow, Thursday, January 15th!!!

With this VERY exciting transition in Scott's recovery, comes one drawback. While visitation is less 'policed' at St. Mary's than it is in ICU, there will be fewer times when Scott will be allowed to receive visitors. This move will provide Scott with a far more structured environment. He will be able to receive visitors in the evenings and on weekends and I don't know the timings yet, but will post them as soon as I do. I will also ask you to keep in mind that particularly in the early weeks, Scott will be exhausted, and not always up for visitors. If you do come to visit Scott and notice that he seems exhausted or preoccupied (or he simply falls asleep on you, and he has done this), please do not take it personally. He's made terrific progress to date, but has suffered a very serious injury, and will be undergoing very extensive rehabilitation and his body will need to rest. He is particularly bad at telling folks when he's too tired and not up for visiting, so if you do visit, please just keep this in mind.

Again, thank you for your continuing support of Scott and our family. We are SO grateful and know we are truly blessed to have so many people who care and are always willing to help us out.

Many, many thanks!

Team Milne

*** Added Jan 16th: Cheryl McKinnon now has fundraiser tickets for sale at the Military Fitness Center - Claude - ***

*** Mick & Lu Halerewich also have tickets available for sale - Claude - ***