Author: Doug Rutherford

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When it comes to your digestive system, no one really wants the details

The title says everything here, I think. That being said, a given a certain degree of squeamishness and calls of “TMI,” I discovered last night that a few more details may be in order.

I was slightly curious of the perception of my state when one of the local papers contacted me about possibly doing a story on my problems a few weeks ago. I declined, since I couldn’t possibly see any angle that would make the story interesting. Now, I see where they may have been heading. The conversation last night suggested that they may try to contact me again. The reasons given were to cover my problems from my botched surgery and the fact that it had to be done here because the territorial government wouldn’t cover the cost of sending me south to have it done. I’m not sure how that rumour got started, but maybe I should clarify a few points in case others have misconstrued my surgical adventures of the summer. Here are the two main facts you should know before we go any further:

  1. My first surgery was not botched. I had a resection leak, as it does in 5% of all resections, because the point were the colon was rejoined didn’t heal. No, the doctor was not at fault. Think of it in these terms. If Alex screwed up the first operation, why would I be looking forward to him doing my final surgery next week?
  2. The idea of being sent outside has never been brought up. Honestly, I’m quite proud that we have the capability to treat our own citizens for a broad range of surgical procedures here, rather than having to rely on some other jurisdiction to do it for us. Even if I was sent out, and incidentally, I’m glad I wasn’t for logistical reasons if nothing else, chances are I would have had the same surgeon, since he has a practice here and in Vancouver (note the nice segue to point number 1).

The main points above should illustrate how things are. Now, with them being said, here comes the details. Those who aren’t interested should probably stop reading now. I mention that since one of my brothers gets a bit antsy if either Clara or I mention the word “colonoscopy” on Facebook, since that’s “inappropriate.” I tend to point out the the main underlying causes of my problem are a) it can be hereditary and b) being over 40. On a personal note, I think point “b” beats the crap out of not making it to 40.

My problem started with a condition called diverticulosis. This is where, either from inheriting it or living long enough, your colon grows little pouches. Since my father has had much the same surgery I had and my older brother has had the same issue, I’m suspecting it’s inherited. If these pouches become inflamed, you have diverticulits. When this happens, the pouches can grow and seek vascular tissue to connect to in other parts of the abdominal cavity. Like the ad used to say, reach out and touch someone. My colon got really friendly and reached out and touched a bunch of things. One of those was my bladder. It poked a hole, forming a connection between the bladder and the colon, also known as a coenteric fistula.

This, while reasonably rare, and more common in women than men, is a bad thing. As one doctor mentioned, if left untreated can be “kind of fatal.” Basically, your urinary tract is a sterile system and introducing bacteria that don’t belong there provides a constant illustration of the idea of the bladder and kidney infections from Hell. This, by the way, is the main reason why I lost 40 pounds between June and the end of August.

My first surgery, which took longer than expected, was to remove the inflamed portion of the colon, about 7 inches, patch the hole in my bladder and pack abdominal fat between the bladder and colon to prevent it from recurring. This was quite successful even though I did require more surgery. Where the colon was resected, however, did not totally heal, leaving me a leak the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Needless to say, having the contents of your colon leaking into the abdominal cavity is another bad thing, so I had surgery to repair that a week later. Given the leak, my surgeons opted to give my colon a little vacation.

As part of the second surgery, I had a loop ileostomy done, where part of the small intestine is pulled through the wall of your abdomen. This leaves you using an ostomy device to collect the small intestine’s contents. Needless to say, this is an inconvenient and annoying situation and more high maintenance than a 1980s vintage Volvo was. Ignoring the more obvious issues, the dietary restrictions alone are enough to drive me crazy. Given the propensity of any mechanical system to eventually fail, accidents occur with the appliance and these aren’t a lot of fun to deal with either. I also realise, though, that there are many people in my shoes who do not have the advantage of having this being a temporary situation because of either colon cancer or far more serious colon afflictions than mine.

So, next week, for those curious, I’m off to have my ileostomy reversed. If you read my blog post from three weeks ago, I had a sigmoidoscopy and got to see my wonderfully healed colon from the inside… on television no less. I’m looking forward to the end of my problems, to say the least of the situation.

So these, in slightly less than a thousand words, are the full details of my surgical endeavours. Hopefully, those not really wanting this level of detail stopped reading earlier…

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The Playwriting Competition Cabaret!

I’ve been a little remiss posting in the last week but I’ve been rather busy. Last night was the cabaret for the Nakai Theatre 24 Hour Playwriting Competition, where you present a short excerpt from your submission from the competition. I think 17 people entered the competition and most presented part of their work.

It is amazing the level of what is presently in theatrical progress at the moment. There are quite a few projects that I’m looking forward to see, some probably as soon as May 8th-13th with the Homegrown Festival coming up. I’m workshopping part of my play at the festival, so keep your calendars open.

After the presentation came the naming of the winners. Anthony Trombetta won the category for best new play, with his project Undying, a stoner Zombie romance. The winner of best in the play previously in progress, the Next Time Around Competition, was me!

Thanks to Heather Grant for reading the second part in my play, with no time for rehearsal. It did come off well anyway.

A friend asked when she could see an excerpt. Here’s the part we read last night. It comes from the second scene in the first act. It takes place in a mess tent in a refugee camp, five days after a major earthquake happens on the west coast. The standard warnings that it is a draft and is protected by copyright.

Fracture Zone
© Douglas Rutherford, 2011.

[Hugh starts writing in his notebook. Enter Salome, upstage right.].

SALOME

Hi. Is there coffee?

HUGH

[yawns] Oh, excuse me. Yes. There is coffee but it’s pretty old, though.

SALOME

[pours a coffee and comes to sit next to  Hugh]  I see you in here all the time. I come here often.

HUGH

I do, too. Since I don’t sleep much, I spend a lot of time here. It’s quiet. Easier to think.

SALOME

There’s so much despair and so much destruction outside. Here, there’s none of that. We’re surrounded by so much pain but it doesn’t seem to make it in here when you’re alone. It’s like being on the only solid ground surrounded by a raging ocean.

[pause] You’re always writing.

HUGH

Yes. I want to keep a record of… what happened.

SALOME

I wouldn’t worry. Someone official will do it. That way, the record will be, you know, official. That way, it will make everyone who has to look good.

HUGH

I’m hoping mine is more technical than political.

SALOME

My name is Salome.

HUGH

Hugh, Hugh Ferguson.

SALOME

Small talk. I don’t think anyone here has made much of that since it happened. I miss that sort of thing.

HUGH

Me, too. Of course, it’s not like anyone’s going to ask, “What brings you here?” Salome… a bit biblical?

SALOME

In my family, you wouldn’t expect anything else. It means “peace” in Hebrew. My father was Ezekiel, mother, Ruth, sister Leah… although Jezebel would probably be a bit more appropriate for her as it turned out. My dad was a Baptist minister and a name that wasn’t in the Bible wasn’t fit for a God-fearing child.

HUGH

You seem to have gotten over it.

SALOME

[looks at Hugh] What?

HUGH

[flustered] I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything. It’s just that you don’t seem to be the “fire and brimstone” fundamentalist type.

SALOME

[laughs] I’m not, really, am I? And, that’s a bit of a disadvantage in my line of work.

HUGH

Oh, what do you do?

SALOME

I’m a Baptist minister. Actually, my parishioners would probably prefer a bit more of the “fire and brimstone” fundamentalist type. I’m not much with the brimstone, but I’ve probably got the “fire” part down more than they’d prefer. [smiles] Let me guess. You’re not religious?

HUGH

[emphatically] No. [less emphasis] Ph.D. Earth Sciences, Memorial University.  Somehow, it doesn’t lend too well to the religious paradigm. [pause] I haven’t understood why people put so much faith in religions since I was 10 years old.

SALOME

Actually, you just answered your own question there.

HUGH

What?

SALOME

“Faith” is why people put faith in religion. [Hugh starts backing into his chair. Salome laughs] Don’t worry. I’ll try not to convert you. But, I’ll have to ask you not to explain things rationally in return.

HUGH

[a little less on edge] Agreed.

SALOME

Earth Sciences? Geology, right?

HUGH

Yes.

SALOME

Do you know anything about earthquakes?

HUGH

That’s what I do. I work for the government as a seismologist.

SALOME

I wouldn’t say that out loud to many people here. People are confused and upset over what happened. A government geologist would be a great target if you need to let off some steam.

HUGH

[pensively] I’d never thought of that…

SALOME

Well, we’re the only ones here.

HUGH

It’s 3 AM. I’m not surprised.

SALOME

Don’t let the clock fool you. I think I’d worry about anyone who could keep normal hours after the quake. [pause] Hugh, how bad do you think it was?

HUGH

For sure? I don’t know, but I could make some guesses. The shaking lasted pretty long… maybe two or so minutes. I’m not sure. It’s not like I was timing it when my truck was bouncing along the road and rolling in the ditch. [Salome smiles] It was probably a big one and pretty shallow.

SALOME

[Salome looks at him quizzically] What does that mean?

HUGH

It means even more damage. I guess most of Vancouver and Victoria are gone, and all the coastal or low-lying areas were hit with a tsunami pretty hard… judging by the damage I was able to see. If the entire plate front let go, and I think it did, it’s probably the same in Washington State and Oregon too.

SALOME

So much damage. So much loss….

HUGH

I tried to get downtown a bit, see how bad it was, but couldn’t. It was impossible to move through what was left. I didn’t get too far west but there really didn’t seem anything intact to see. The army picked me up and brought me here. I didn’t see any survivors.

SALOME

How many are dead, do you think?

HUGH

I don’t know. One, two million? More? The tsunami probably did damage across the Pacific, too.

How many people lived in Vancouver, but there’s only, what, 200 survivors in this camp?

SALOME

Victoria, too?

HUGH

Look at it this way… Esquimalt navy base was the closest base to here, but you’ll notice that the army is here running this camp. My guess is there’s nothing left of Esquimalt.

SALOME

It’s the will of… sorry, there goes our agreement.

HUGH

I guess that’s only fair. I was being rational.

 

 

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The last milestone approacheth

I eagerly await my final surgery, which was tentatively scheduled for December 8th. I say tentatively, since it was largely dependent upon the results of tests on Friday. After all, why finish the repair job until you were sure the last repair had completely healed.

This is particularly important since, after the first surgery, I painfully learned that it had not healed and sprung a leak at my colon resection a week after the surgery… and on the day I was probably going to be discharged from the hospital. This made Friday an important day. End result: all has healed quite nicely, although there is some inflammation at the site of the second repair job. In short, my December 8 surgery date is now fixed and I can’t wait (looking forward to surgery is a good sign, right?)

In case you’re wondering how such an “inspection” takes place, picture a camera and light on a tube, the easiest point of access and run with that idea. Remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train. It could be your surgeon.

And, since the inspection was only the area of the surgery, there was no anaesthesia. Yup, that meant I got to watch this time. For what it’s worth, seeing the inside of your colon on television is actually rather neat when you get used to the concept, particularly when you see surgical staples sticking through the side of it. Although, I don’t mind taking the odd TV gig, that wasn’t what I normally had in mind…

 

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The Euthanasia Question Reopens

Two events this week have called the right to die question before the public. First, Gloria Taylor, a BC resident with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig ’s disease), and four others have filed suit before the Supreme Court of Canada to challenge Canada’s laws prohibiting assisted suicide. Taylor said her condition is deteriorating and she wants the ability to say when she dies.

If you are unfamiliar with ALS, it “is a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscles. “ It results in the loss of the ability to move your arms, legs and body and causes the muscles in the chest and diaphragm to loss their ability to move, making it impossible to breathe without a ventilator. Most patients die from respiratory failure and the normal life expectancy of someone suffering from the disease is three to five years (for a description of ALS, its symptoms and treatments, see the National Institutes of Health web page).

This morning, a report by a Royal Society of Canada panel of six Canadian experts in bioethics, clinical medicine, health law and policy, and philosophy released a two year study on euthanasia in Canada. The panel recommended that Canadians should have the right to choose assisted suicide without legal penalty. This was based on a variety of factors, including the fact that several other jurisdictions have had euthanasia laws on the books without leading to non-voluntary or involuntary euthanasia. The recommendations stated that “Canada should have a permissive yet carefully regulated and monitored system with respect to assisted death” and that doctors and patients should have the rights as individuals to choose whether to participate in assisted suicide based on their moral beliefs. They also considered palliative care in Canada and made several recommendations on the current palliative care system.

This is the second time the question has been placed to Canadians with such national prominence. In 1993, Sue Rodriguez, also suffering from ALS, lost her case in the Supreme Court to have the assisted suicide laws overthrown in a 5-4 decision. She, with the help of an anonymous doctor, ended her own life in 1994. No charges were filed in her case.

This is a contentious issue with organizations dedicated to both the pro and con sides of the argument. Any discussion that reaches parliament probably will be heated and emotive.

My opinion on this manner is easiest expressed in terms of what treatment I would like in these circumstances. I would like the choice to say when I have decided that my time is over. I have absolutely no desire to burden my family and friends with a lingering death and leave them in a situation where their lives are on hold for the sole reason that mine is. Guess what. The world will not end because I’m not here. At some point after my passing, people will eventually move on and speeding this is a good thing. And, I would like to have a number of options available should that time come, above and beyond saying, “I’m going skiing and may not be back for a while.”

The arguments against assisted suicide have largely concerned moral standards and the potential that people may be forced to involuntarily commit suicide by doctors or relatives. Washington and Oregon states both have good laws and regulations that prevent this and the Royal Society panel found no evidence that this has occurred. Any new law permitting assisted suicide in Canada could easily incorporate the Washington and Oregon provisions.

This leaves the moral question. If, as recommended by the Royal Society, this becomes an individual decision of patient and doctor, then their moral viewpoint on the issue is the only one that should matter. My morals incorporate the belief that I should be able to choose an alternative to a long, painful death from a debilitating disease. Others feel differently. They should have the right to choose otherwise for themselves; however, there are many groups that feel that I should not have that choice for myself and I resent the arrogance, and that is exactly what it is, of those who would inflict their moral viewpoint on others.

Hopefully, the Supreme Court of Canada finds in favour of Taylor et al. If not, with the current discussion once again in the news, it is past time that parliament consider this question with an open and objective mind. I’m placing my hopes in the hands of the Supreme Court, since “parliament” and “open and objective minds” lately seem to be two concepts too far apart…

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Why people hate politics

I’m beginning to understand why the voting rate has declined to the extent that it has. It’s not that hard to realise why people can be so disillusioned with politics and politicians in light of recent events.

Thursday’s news is a perfect point to highlight this state of affairs. After several years of deliberation over campaign funding irregularities, the Conservative Party of Canada and their fundraising arm plead guilty in a plea bargain to overspending their allotted amount of advertising. As part of the plea bargain, the related charges against four individual members of the party were dropped. The party was fined a total of $52,000. To most, this would represent an action that we should, at least, express some embarrassment for. Absolute contrition would be an even better response.

So, imagine my disgust to hear the response of Fred DeLorey, the Conservative Party’s director of communications, who said in a written statement quoted by the CBC, “This is a big victory for the Conservative Party of Canada… Every single Conservative accused of wrongdoing has been cleared today.” A second response quoted on CTV news was equally astounding. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre said. “We acknowledge there were some administrative mistakes and we are paying for those through a modest fine.” But, he said, “the practice in which we engaged in was legal and ethical.”

This is not the response one expects after you have been caught cheating in an election, admitted it in a formal statement of fact agreed to as part of the plea, and fined the maximum amount for the offence. Being caught and fined is a huge victory? And, bluntly, how the hell is something that you are willing to plead guilty for either legal or ethical? Last, but not least, no one was “cleared.” The charges were dropped to save a trial for all of the offences with the plea of guilty on the biggest offence.

Is it any wonder people can’t get excited over politics? If this is the standard for what we’re electing, why bother? We should expect better, and we should be getting it…

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Honey! I’m home!

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”

W. Shakespeare – Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3, 75-77

I’m usually not cynical about helping someone out, and particularly helping out a musician. But, to some extent, Polonius’ advice to Laertes rings true. This is particularly true in the case of a loan I made which did not work out so well for me.

A musician came into to town and needed to borrow a 5-string banjo. I’d actually loaned it to him before with no issues. However, this time he borrowed it and that’s where the story looked like it was going to end. For those curious, I loaned it to him in either 2002 or 2003 and it’s so long I don’t remember exactly.

I was particularly angry because I bought this banjo myself when I was 16 years old. I realise it’s not the most high end instrument, and it only cost me $48 and change, but I’m attached to it. I bought it out of my baby bonus money, which, by family tradition, we were given the $10 per month you received after your 16 birthday to spend as you saw fit. I bought it on layaway from Zellers. Actually, I was one payment away from getting it and my grandmother threw in the last $8 and change to pay it off a month early.

When I was in hospital, the guy who borrowed it called and left a message on the answering machine that he wanted to get my banjo back to me. He left a local number to call. Shortly after I got home and I was feeling a bit better, I called with hopes high. The number he left was out of service. Hopes dashed.

Last week, I thought to myself that, since his last name isn’t that common, I’d try to find someone in town who had the same last name. Since he came up from Vancouver Island occasionally to visit, I assumed it might be to visit family. I actually know someone, a former student who works in town for YTG, with the same last name. So, on a flyer, I sent him an e-mail asking him if he knew where my banjo was… with the additional qualifier that this might be a stupid question if he wasn’t even half aware of what was going on. Turns out, the banjo was sitting at his house. We made arrangements and I picked it up after work. It needs restringing and the 5th string peg needs some repair. However, I have it back.

banjo image

So, here it is, sitting in my recliner. Picking and grinning to follow restringing and repair. And, I’ll certainly think hard about the next time someone asks if I will loan one of my instruments.

Too bad Shakespeare didn’t write any good banjo tunes…

 

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Another playwriting competition ends

You’ll notice that the playwriting festival ended at 11 am and I’m only posting this now. Needless to say, a certain degree of napping was required before I slaved over a hot wok to make supper. OK, I slaved over driving to the restaurant to pick up my order but you get the point.

I entered last year and had a great time. This is an excellent way to spend a whole day. You have the marvellous benefit of a deadline to force you to work. And, given the short time frame involved, your expectations don’t have to be incredibly high. No one is expecting a finished product after such a short period of time. And, you get a chance to bounce ideas off people who are also bouncing ideas off you, as well as a dramaturg on site to provide advice on how to get unstuck on this or how to fix that. And, at the end, there’s a breakfast provided.

I had quite high, read “unreasonable,” expectations on the amount of work I’d get in. I did get to the list of main points I wanted to deal with and need some more tweaking to get it finished. (I think my ability to see typos and bizzare grammar also degrades with lack of sleep. At 3 in the morning, for some reason, “3hdir” is a perfectly acceptable word.) As I mentioned, I’m at the point where I need to hear it read to move on. This will come in the near future.

I now get to wait to hear the results. I also get to present 5 minutes of the play at the cabaret they hold for the competition and this is when the winners are announced. Patience must rule until November 25th…

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The writing progresses

That’s probably a misnomer in the title. I’ve found that editing and revision involve way more thinking that actual writing. I’m working on a laptop and brought a USB keyboard with me to make extensive typing easier. I could probably have left it home since the major writing is usually adding to dialog, changing a word or two, or moving dialog from one place to another. I’d rather type lots, as thinking can be taxing and I don’t have the stamina I used to.

The joys of moving text? There’s one section of dialog that I wanted to move to a location where it may have more impact and be more memorable. It’s had three new homes so far. I’ve looked at it again and concluded that, with a sentence or two added, it was probably best in the place it was. Oh, well. That’s just part of what makes it fun.

I have been making progress, though, faster than I thought I would. Many of the major issues have been dealt with to some extent or another. Some need a bit more consideration and haven’t been ticked off my list yet. What I really need though, it to have several people read it out loud and run through it. It’s a lot easier to have the dialog in the open, rather than having it imagined through the little voices in my head (you’ll notice that it’s only when I’m writing that the little voices get mentioned). That, however, won’t happen until after the playwriting competition is long over and is the second next step.

The next step is to find someone to read the second part in the Playwriting Cabaret in two weeks. You do a five or so minute excerpt from your piece from the competition and is a lot of fun. I don’t think I’ll have trouble. After all, how many actors in town will turn down the following question: how would you like to be a female, promiscuous Baptist minister? I mean, there’s no way anyone could misinterpret a request like that one…

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Prep for the playwriting competition

One more sleep!

I have most of what I need done before I go and lock myself in a hotel room for the annual Nakai Theatre 24 hour playwriting competition. I still haven’t packed clothes yet but that’s a quick job when you’re only gone for a day.

The competition has two components. One is for writing a new play from scratch and this was the one I entered last year. I had this thing on the back burner and would have entered earlier except I was in rehearsal or performance of plays for several years at the time when it’s held. Last year, I auditioned for a part and didn’t get it so I was free to do the competition. Actually, when I started, I really only had a concept and a setting but this seemed to develop without a lot of thought. I have another idea for a new piece in mind and did considering working on that for the competition.

The second component is for revising existing pieces that have never been produced. I decided, after some thought, to enter this one and see if I can finish the play I have on the go at the moment. Largely, the decision was made out of guilt. “Finish what you’re doing before you start a new project” spoke the little voice in my head. OK. Maybe, I shouldn’t bring the little voices into the conversation…

Moving on, I have spent copious hours making notes on what I have left to do. I’ve had two playwrights go over earlier drafts and both offered excellent suggestions. I also do have some tightening up to do and should be able to coalesce all this between 11 am tomorrow and 11 am Sunday. How far along am I? I actually started looking at another aspect of its creation: a production budget.

The competition is a really neat thing and I heartily endorse anyone interested in getting ideas out of your head and onto a piece of paper try it. There’s simply being locked away from distractions and spending your time working on your project. This alone makes this a worthwhile venture. There’s also lots of support, a dramaturg available to help you with your sticky bits, and, of course, the famous midnight whiskey tasting. The emphasis has been heavily oriented to Scotch so I’m bringing a wee bottle of Irish to raise the level class for the event.

Of course, the hotel does have internet access so I won’t be completely cut off from the world and the odd “brain break” does come in handy…

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Should candidates be required to declare past convictions?

Here we go again. CBC North is reporting today that a newly minted MLA was convicted of falsifying documents to obtain a wilderness tourism license. Yesterday, Kluane Yukon Party MLA Wade Istchenko called a press conference to confirm that he had been convicted for misreporting his credentials to obtain the license in 2008 and was fined for the offence. He stated that it was a “lapse in judgement.” Premier-elect Darrell Pasloski is quoted as saying he did not have prior knowledge about the conviction but that it would not affect his place in government. Pasloski reportedly stated that, “by coming forward, Istchenko is demonstrating a commitment to openness and honesty.”

Openness and honesty? Time out, here. I have questions regarding the timing involved. If Mr. Istchenko felt that he should disclose this for transparency’s sake, why did he not do this as part of his campaign rather than after being elected? Failure to present this during the election is a bit misleading. Or, did he release this disclosure now before another source, such as the press, threatened to do so? If this is the case, I’d be curious to know whether or not he intended at all to bring this up or to just let it stay hidden. Neither of these possibilities imply “openness” and the failure to disclose this to the party as part of the candidacy procedure does nothing to improve the appearance of this. After all, it would be difficult to say that failing to disclose a three-year-old conviction to your own party was an oversight.

I agree that this situation rarely arises. There has been some similar history of this when Dennis Fentie’s criminal record for drug trafficking was put forward as a hint of a minor brush with the law for selling marijuana, when it turned out later that he had been convicted and imprisoned for selling heroin. This fact did not impede Mr. Fentie’s being re-elected in another majority government in the next election. However, this certainly casts a somewhat distasteful appearance to his political career.

Maybe, it’s time to amend the Yukon Elections Act to require a disclosure of convictions as part of the candidacy selection process. How this is done is probably up for some discussion. For example, should there be a time limit on convictions before disclosure is required? Should this only apply to Criminal Code convictions or should territorial offences also be included? And, the big question is: should the disclosure be a public document or one only made to the party involved or the riding association?

To be honest, I think that, someone who has been convicted of an offence and has not re-offended has paid for their indiscretion. People make mistakes, people change, and none of us are perfect. However, we do expect a high standard of conduct for those in public office. And, to be honest, hiding such a conviction during an election campaign probably speaks more to a candidate’s character than the actual offence committed itself…