An Update on my Troublesome Hip

Today is the six week anniversary of my (cortisone) hip injection. Dr. Jessica Curran at the Carleton Sport Medicine Clinic walked me through the process and was very pleasant, even though I was pretty tense. Dr. Curran went over my X-rays with me and told me what to expect and I told her that I was probably going to exercise my fight or flight response by laughing. Whenever I’m in pain or nervous, I laugh. It’s a good thing to warn your doctor about if you experience this type of response, too, I’ve learned. The needle to numb the area (lidocaine) was a bit of a pinch, then I started to sweat and chose to ignore the ultrasound screen which the doctor used to guide the needle directly into my hip joint (which entered through my thigh). I hate veins. I get nervous with deep, probing needles even though I’ve had a lot of them.

The whole thing was over in a flash and I couldn’t believe it. I was allowed to stay in the room until my wooziness subsided (less than 10 mins.) and when it came time to walk out, I couldn’t believe how my legs felt: no pain. No pain at all and because I wasn’t in any pain, I didn’t have to limp.

The thing about limping, in my case, is that I do it innately to avoid my hip giving out and to accommodate the pain that I have been living with for the last seven or eight years.

I had previously tried to treat this pain with regular chiro/acupuncture appointments during pregnancy. My chiropractor and I were both under the impression that the source of the pain was my SI joint. This pain often flares during pregnancy. Long story short: it was my hip. My SI joint is fine.

Now, the no pain thing in this instance was thanks to the lidocaine, or as I like to call it (because I’m hilarious), “bone cocaine”.

I walked from the clinic to my motorcycle without limping. Well, I probably still walked with a limp but I really focused on my gate and tried to walk in a “normal” fashion, just to see if I could. It was incredible! Of course, an hour later when the numbing agent wore off, I regretted that. I felt pretty awful and went to bed early.

I didn’t sleep a lot that night. I was very worried that maybe the cortisone wouldn’t work. This hip injection is a precursor to my total hip replacement surgery which I am now in the cue for, for sure this time! The surgeon and I filled the paperwork out together on September 7th. Before my surgeon sent me on my way, he said he’d arrange for this hip injection and cautioned: “If the injection relieves your pain, the hip surgery will be a success. If it doesn’t, we need to find the source of the pain.”

All signs pointed to the hip… so why did I feel like garbage once the lidocaine wore off? I couldn’t fall asleep because I was scared that the cortisone wasn’t going to work. It can take a couple days to kick in, but I have been in such intense pain, constantly, without relief, for nearly 10 years (in my right hip. My RA is also terrible but it comes and goes in terms of how debilitating it can be).

More and more, I read stories about disabled people who choose assisted death because they aren’t really living. They are worn out from the pain. While I don’t see that as an option for me at this time, the prospect of not getting relief from this pain or losing my ability to walk and having hope of meaningful medical intervention and recovery slip away really spooked me. I’m only 36 and I’m more able bodied now than I’ve ever been thanks to my medical team and drug therapies. I have a full time job that I enjoy doing, own a house and a cottage with my husband and we’ve got two awesome, healthy children. I can’t give up hope, you know?

Somehow amidst all of those worrisome thoughts, I was able to fall asleep*, and when I woke up, my pain was gone.

The thing about me is that my lived medical experiences have taught me to never be anything more than “cautiously optimistic”. Surely it’s too soon for the cortisone to be working? Now, I’ve had many cortisone shots back in my CHEO days. They used to put me to sleep to do them because they would inject all of my problem joints in one go. I figured my folks might remember if cortisone was always this immediately effective (providing relief within 24 hours) and, sure enough, my mom tells me, “Amy, you were always like that.”

Be optimistic. Be scared. Be willing to go the distance and be ready to accept limitations. When the time comes to embrace relief, in its many forms: be whatever that is, too.

*The pain I experience is so bad that I do not sleep very well at the best of times. Laying down hurts. I’ve been living like this for at least seven years. The pain creates its own form of fatigue due to my body constantly fighting to “keep going”. Then I have the regular fatigue of someone who can’t get any quality sleep.

Happy Halloween: Yer 2022 Ghost Stories

I’ve been coming to Saunders Farm since I was a little kid. Flash forward to now: while I trying to come up with an exciting way to combine my Halloween Radio Special with the Farm’s FrightFest, a very unique opportunity arose for me to truly go Behind the Scenes (Screams?) as a motorcycle ghoul. Click through the photo gallery below to see how their talented, professional makeup artists transformed me and Morgan (horror obsessed music director at CHEZ).

Old haunts and new are waiting for you at the Farm. Walk through the Barn of Terror, Shambles, Coven and the Cemetery Crypt. Hop aboard the Haunted Hayride, if you dare…

Follow Saunders Farm on instagram & Saunders Cider on instagram.

Make sure to visit the CiderHouse to try Saunders’ Hard & Soft Cider offerings. Their line-up includes Candy Apple, Flying Canoe, Saw Tooth, Pie Faced, Ginger Snap, Rosy Cheeks, Sixth Line and Nana’s Hug (0% alcohol) pours. Try them all by ordering a flight!

And now to share some of your Ghost Stories... Read at your own risk!

All stories included in this post were submitted to me via text while hosting my on-air show, weekdays from 9AM to 2PM on CHEZ 106 (106.1 FM in Ottawa, Canada). Listen to the live broadcast on Monday, October 31st (2022) to hear more stories shared by listeners.

I worked in a jail in Toronto. The third floor was said to be haunted. You would walk through freezing cold spots when the rest was humid and hot from the summer. It would send chills right up your spine. 
- Anonymous (text)

I was stargazing one evening in my backyard. Thought I saw a shooting star, until it stopped dead in its tracks, was going west, then pulled a 90° turn and went south. Never could explain it.
- Gabe

Our old farmhouse had, I will say, a spirit living in it. 
My kids had, unbeknownst to me, named him Wilburt. One evening, during dinner, there was a noise coming from the living room and our farmhand (the former owner of the farm) said, "What was that?" and the kids replied in stereo, "That's just Wilburt".
Well our farmhand's face went white and he told us that his uncle's name was Wilburt and that he had passed over in that very house. Well, all I can say is that Wilburt was a nice spirit. He used to open doors for me when my hands were full ... laundry basket, etc. When we built the new house and were planning to tear down the old one, I invited Wilburt to move in with us but he did not.
I never felt his presence again. 
- Sue

As a kid I could never leave my bedroom door open because every night there would be this figure at my door outlined by a bright light.  
- Pierre

Not one to believe in paranormal, occult, supernatural or anything like that, the world lost a good one this past May. She was a special kind of special. After the celebration of life, I was laying in bed trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was gone when, out of the darkness I saw and felt her hand in mine; the frilly white cuff under the sleeve of her powder blue cashmere sweater. I tried to hold on but her hand slipped from my grasp and was gone. It wasn't sad or scary. She told me everything was okay. Still missing her.
- Jimbo

My aunt was a nurse at St. Vincent's and one night she was called into a patient’s room. The lady in the bed told her to go check on one of the other patients down the hall, said she “just saw her spirit float past the end of her bed and out the window.” My aunt went to check on the lady and she had passed away. That story has always stuck with me.
- Shannon

When I was a teenager, my sister and I were driving back home at night.
We lived in the country. There were no streetlights or other houses near us. About 500 meters from our house, a white figure suddenly appeared in the road in front of us. We both screamed as I slammed on the breaks. I drove right through it like it was a patch of fog or something.
We both saw it. We both screamed. Nothing was there. 
- Coral

When I was about twenty-five years old, I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I was levitating. My face was about four or five inches away from the ceiling. I looked down at the door and I was definitely up at the ceiling. Closed my eyes because I was scared and woke up. It was morning. Weirdest dream, (I think), EVER! 
- Rob

After my grandma died, I was looking for the necklace that I had picked out from her jewelry to have as a keepsake. I couldn't find it in my jewelry box. My mom called me to dinner, so I closed the jewelry box and went to eat. When I came back to my room, the jewelry box was open and the necklace was draped over the open lid. I asked my family if someone had gone in the room and found it for me, because I had told them I could not find it. But everyone said, “no”, they had not been in my room. I'm guessing it was Grandma.
- Judy

I moved in with my boyfriend (now my husband) and, almost immediately, started having night terrors. 
One evening we went to sleep I woke up and saw something standing beside my bed. I immediately fell back asleep. When I awoke the next morning, both my elbows were burnt! Its like someone took a cigarette and burnt a complete circle on both elbows.
My husband was freaked out, as was I. He went and bought me a rosary to keep beside the bed.
We have since moved. 
- Janet

My fiance and I were planning our wedding, and her grandmother had given her a wedding dress. My wife didn’t know what to do with it or if there were any special instructions. As luck would have it, her grandma had recorded a message before passing away (cancer). Before the wedding, my best friend, fiance and her best friend decided to watch the video. As soon as we put the VHS tape into the VCR we heard the light switch click on. The lights then turned off about fifteen seconds later. We all just looked at eachother and turned off the TV. No one else was there. The lights were not on a timer switch. We still talk about it to this day.
- Mike

Shortly after my Dad passed away in '81, my aunt was at home sitting on her couch. She called down to my uncle to bring her cigarettes up to her as she'd left them downstairs. Well they came flying up the stairs as if my uncle had just thrown them. She said, "Geez, thanks!" and got up to grab them from the floor. Just then, a really big and heavy oak framed painting above the couch fell off the wall and would have definitely did her in. She said to my uncle who had rushed upstairs, "Holy !@#% hon, you throwin’ my smokes just saved my life, I think!” My Uncle said, " What are you talking about? I didn't throw them. I didn't even hear you ask me for them.”
- Ron B.

This ghoulish night would not have happened without the help of many, many fun loving people. A great many thanks to:

Jeff O’Reilly (Director of Experience and Engagement at Saunders Farm, Director of Business Dev. & GM of Saunders Cider Co.)

Bianca Carmen (Photography, Saunders PR)

Amy’s Make-Up done by Dalene Gallo

Caleigh Murison (Marketing at Saunders Farm)

and my friends, Kaitlyn (content creation) and Morgan (Music Director at CHEZ 106) for convincing me to get bloodsoaked.

More goulish content from me:

CityNews ‘Local Legends’ interview with Mark Saunders

A Midsummer Night’s Scream: interview with Ayden Harvey, Production Director at Saunders

Here is a collection of previously shared ghost stories. Some audio, video or social media content may have expired because, like us mortals, it won’t last forever. Enjoy these spooky stories while you still can!

Ghost Stories 2021

Ghost Stories 2020 (YouTube video)

Ghost Stories 2019

Ghost Stories 2018

Ghost Stories for 2022

Spooky season is upon us and while, I’m 99% ready to start decorating the house, I’m 100% in the mood to start collecting your ghost stories for special Halloween programming on the radio.

If you have a story about something that happened to you that you could not explain, something with a ‘paranormal’ vibe to it, I want to hear it!

There are a few ways for you to share your stories:

Your voice tells your story best: I can call you through my laptop & record our conversation (there are a few ways to do this including Skype, Teams, Zoom, etc.) OR you can record yourself telling the story, and don’t worry about messing up, I will be editing all stories (audio only) for air.

Your story in your words: If you would prefer to tell the story in text, that works too. Send me an e-mail and we’ll go from there.

Summer's End

Fresh off of updating my Moto Camping blog post, I thought I’d write a little something else. A general update for those who follow me.

Had a positive appointment with my quasi-new (to me) rheumatologist. She is wonderful. My disease is still under control thanks to the drugs (almost 22 years on them, totaling approx. 2.2k injections and counting) and my x-rays indicate that my total hip replacement should take away my pain. She encouraged me to call both of my surgeons (foot one at Civic campus, hip one at General) to ask where I am in the surgical cue and to also ask about getting steroid injections to help keep the pain manageable until corrective surgery happens.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get through to the foot surgeon. That’s okay, my hip is the bigger issue. I was able to reach his office. That’s when I was informed that I am not in the surgical cue after-all. Some paperwork was needed and never issued due to the hospital’s on-again-off-again lockdown orders. The surgeon had issued me a standing order which exists in my online chart. They have ordered updated x-rays in prep for the surgery back in January. I strongly believed that I was in the cue and was hoping for a replacement this winter… Alas, Module O at the Ottawa Hospital did not push the papers needed to actually book me the procedure. I will be speaking with my surgeon in early September. I’m very hopeful that we can get this sorted. The time has come and though I am scared, I know that my quality life will drastically improve post-op.

These last two weeks have been particularly hard. I generally keep a positive attitude as I have been disabled my whole life. I am very used to pain, fatigue and the sometimes isolating thoughts that come with being chronically ill. To combat the mental lows, I’ve been forcing myself to do fun stuff with friends. That has been keeping me in a positive headspace, for sure. I’ve been super social and having a great time there, no problem. A side effect of that, however, is that it’s left me pretty drained physically so I am laying low this week.

Work is going well. I do find the stairs difficult to use but as long as I take my time, they remain manageable. I love my job and appreciate the ability to work from home when I need to. Haven’t faced too much negative feedback or ‘trolling’ lately but maybe I’m just getting better at ignoring it? There are difficult days where I like to just keep it basic: play music & talk briefly about light stuff in between said music. I am noticing a lot of nasty stuff on social media directed at other public figures/those working in media (radio, tv, digital) and I struggle with trying to find a purpose for that hate filled vitriol.

Is it to be edgy? Is it for likes? Is it for online clout? Does shaming someone for doing their job make others feel better about their life? Do they know they don’t have to listen/read/consume what the object of their hate is saying/writing/producing?

I just don’t get it. I guess the point is to maybe create division so we have a big ‘us against them’ moment but what’s the goal there? It’s tiresome going down that rabbit hole and those are just some of the thoughts I’ve had based on the more coherent things I’ve seen. Then there are the messages that make zero sense which act more as a flare, drawing attention to a severe mental health situation. Overall in my world, I’d say the vibe has been fairly positive.

My cottage rental season is winding down as we inch toward winter. Typically, we shut the cabin down mid-to-late October but with the new water system we had installed this year we may get more time in before the freeze. At the mercy of Mother Nature with that one, but some of my favourite moments there happen during the ‘off season’. Another great year hosting friends and family. Looking forward to doing it again in 2023. Due to some pretty big expenses (exterminator, well/pump replacement, new chimney, new BBQ, may need a new fridge) I am hoping to get more pop-up guests later into this season/early in the next if the weather permits. Cottage ownership is as expensive as it is wonderful.

I never find enough time to write. I mean, I should be exercising right now but after only 13 minutes I had to stop. This week it’s about listening to my body. Who knows what next week will bring?

Happy Haunting: Midsummer Night's Scream at Saunders Farm

The spirits are waiting for you at Saunders Farm. Some are friendly while others are - well, ... see for yourself during their Midsummer Night's Scream event: tonight and tomorrow ONLY.

Your 35$+tax ticket includes admission to the Opening of Fright Fest, Sept. 24th!

I visited the 200 year old barn last night. This was one of many visions I had while making my way through the parlour, into the laboratory, cellar, library and - wait! what was that? did you hear something? If you did, it could have been Saunders Farm’s architect of fright Ayden Harvey.