First taste of Canadian hospitals

This weekend was a long weekend in Canada and so many people took to the roads to travel to their cottages etc. We decided to join in with the locals and take a trip to Barrie on Saturday.

We had heard quiet a bit about the city, located north of Toronto on Lake Simcoe, so drove there via the scenic route of Highway 7 (part of the Trans-Canada Highway) rather than the quicker route along the 401 and 400.

When we got there we walked along the waterfront which was reasonably busy with people in boats, jet skis and others lazing on the beach. The weather was glorious about 25C and it made wandering around a pleasure.

We walked all along the coast of the lake and into the main town. There were fairs going on and the local radio stations were out entertaining everyone. Barrie has a strange monument on near the harbour, which reminded us of the Angel of the North in the UK.

After spending a few hours here and trying the local ice cream, we took a steady drive back and stopped off in Peterborough for a meal at Kelsey’s. All in all it was a great day out.

On Sunday morning I spoke by phone to my aunt and uncle in Spain. They were surprised that we were having such nice weather. I think they believe we live in perpetual snow!

On Sunday afternoon I started to get a really bad pain in my lower abdomen, but tried to ignore it, but had a restless nights sleep. On Monday it was no better, but I tried to work through it, but again had a very rough night, so on Tuesday morning after being badgered by hubby, decided I should go to the ER to find out if it was anything major. I have already had my appendix out, so knew it wasn’t that, but it was very painful.

We got to the ER at 8.20am and paid for the parking ($3 per hour) and almost immediately got seen by a triage nurse. She took my blood pressure, temperature and medical history and then told me to wait in the waiting room. There were a few people about, but not too many. We ended up waiting until 12.30 when I was called to go through to see the doctor. They would not let my husband through, so he had to wait again.

I was asked to put on a gown and wait. I ended up waiting only about five minutes for the doctor. She asked me some more questions about my medical history and various other things and then examined me. She said she thought I had an ovarian cyst and that she would get me on an IV drip and get x-rays etc done.

After she left I waited for about five more minutes and a nurse arrived to take some blood and set up my IV containing a litre of fluid, painkillers and anti-inflammatory. About ten minutes later I was wheeled to X-ray and a woman there took x-rays of my chest and abdomen and I was then wheeled back to emergency.

About ten minutes later then bought my hubby round to see me and we chatted for about twenty minutes before he was kicked out again. After about an hour my IV had stopped and the doctor came back to go through my results. She said she was 99% sure I had a cyst and that I did not have an infection as my white blood count was good.

She discharged me with some painkillers and said she would also refer me to a gynaecologist for follow up. I told her that I was actually still waiting for a referral from the walk-in clinic for a gynaecologist relating to contraception and she was staggered that I had waited so long. She said she would get their gynaecologist to contact me to speed things up. Then I was on my way at about 3pm.

Felt much better after I left as the pain had reduced considerably and last night had a good nights sleep. So, apart from the initial wait I received excellent service from the hospital.

The hospital phoned at 7.30 this morning asking me to attend for an ultrasound scan tomorrow morning, so looks like I’m back there then. Still in some minor pain, but bearable.

On a lighter note we saw the first hummingbird of the year today, so hopefully we will see many more in the coming months. Also, the killdeer chicks are really growing fast and will soon be flying as their wings are much longer now.

The robin has laid three eggs in her nest and is now spending a lot of time sitting on them whilst the male forages around for food in the garden. We can see the eggs through the deck slats and I took this pic, which you can just make them out.

We also seem to have a very crafty raccoon. Ronnie as we call him seems to have realised that if he comes early in the evening he can get all the left over bird food before the other raccoons arrive. He has started turning up in broad daylight anytime after about 7.30pm. He then eats everything from the ground in the back garden, goes up the tree and eats everything from the feeders and then wanders round the front to do the same there. He is obviously very savvy!

Tags: Barrie birds doctor lake medical raccoon