Vacation Time

For those who have been waiting for an update, sorry. I was on holidays last week with no internet access. More on that later.

As you know, the last round of chemo is in, finally! Not only that, I am now done with all the nauseousness and sick feeling so it is only going to get better from here. At the beginning of my treatment, the hospital pharmacist gave me a calendar to keep track of my medications. I have been diligently crossing off each day and I have now crossed them all off (pictured below)! I am still tired and, at times, I still find I have points where I lack energy and struggle to get enough air in me. The heat and humidity is not helping either. I notice it a lot when playing baseball when I need to sprint around the bases. I certainly do not make it easy on myself when I hit an in the park homerun and need to run around all the bases quickly with no rest. It nice to get the hit but struggle afterwards as I try to catch my breath on the bench before going back on the field as the other team bats.

Even though I have been off for the last 4 months, I still found some time to take a vacation. It helped that the kids were gone last week to a girl guide camp. MA and I spent the week at my friend Richard’s cottage. Though I still had some lingering effects of the last treatment, I still was able to enjoy my time there and make the most (or should I say the least) of it. I did little while I was there and just spent most of my time relaxing and hanging out. I finished a book, read my paper everyday, practiced some songs for the band, and made a few meals during the week. It was nice to just hang out with MA and Richard for most of the week. It was even better when Richard’s girlfriend Liane came for the long weekend. It was too bad she could not be there all week but, given that she was working that week, it was great to see her as much as we did.  The best part is that MA did not need to bring anyone anywhere all week so we really spent a lot of time together. I think she enjoyed that a lot more as she could just sit and relax all day long in between cooking and washing dishes.  The big news for the week was, after being sober for 4 months, I got back on the wagon. I did not go crazy but later in the week, once the nausea had subsided, I did enjoy a few shots of tequila and a few glasses of wine and even Rita, the margueritta maker helped us relax in the beautiful outdoors. We got back home Sunday night, in time to do some laundry and get ready to welcome the kids back home on Monday.

The big event for this week was a CAT scan on Tuesday.  I was too tired to get up that morning to go to hockey so I skipped it and yet still struggled to get out of bed in time to get ready for this appointment. I was expecting that this would be a long appointment where I would need to spend 1.5h slowly drinking some contrast prior to the CT scan but not this time. I was taken right away to be prepped for the scan and was done in about 45 min. I think it took longer to find parking than it did for the scan. Now the waiting game begins. I am excited and anxious for the results. I have already called my family doctor to see if she would get the results sooner and share them with me before I see my Besty on the 24th. They said to wait until Thursday before calling again as they would want to have the results in house before making the appt. I want to wait but I do not think I can as I think they will be positive results. You will hear about them as soon as I do so stay tuned.

The kids had a blast at their camp. It was a special one as they travelled by train to New Brunswick. They were treated like rock starts. They slept in tents in one of the Girl Guides’s grand parents’ large yard.  They were the talk of the town and everyone wanted to spend time with them. Though they had excursions planned out for the week, they still found time to go four-wheeling with their bus driver, meet the representative to the mayor of the town who presented them with a gifts, and be interviewed by the local paper for an article (see below for the link).  Bonus points to those who can pick out our daughters in the photo!  In just a short week, they touched the lives of many who are now sad that they are gone but hopeful that they will come back soon. The kids too were sad to leave but thankful of the experience and the memories they got to share together (except maybe for the raw oysters.)

L’Acadien Nouvelle article

This week’s plan is a light agenda. The usual kids’ activities are back in the mix so a lot of chauffeuring to be done and hockey on Thursday (still scoreless but should change soon as I am due). Nothing yet planned for the weekend but plans are being arranged. The big thing though will be rest for Geneviève as next week she competes in the Ontario Summer Games in fencing in Mississauga, On. It will be a tough battle for her but will give her some great experience that will help her in the future (like the 2020 Olympics, fingers crossed). If you are in the neighbourhood of the Hershey Centre the weekend of Aug 12-14, feel free to come by to cheer her on. The schedule for her competition is in the link below (she is in the U15 foil category and competes 9am Friday, Saturday and Sunday)

OSG Fencing Schedule

And that was two weeks of updates. I will do my best to get an update in next week but with all that is going on, it may be a challenge. Until next time.