The Last Stretch

So, this week is all about rest as it will be a busy weekend leading into my last treatment. It has been a long journey and this last round has been more draining than the past ones.

Since my last update, here is what has happened. Spent some time with boys on Thursday for some hockey and wings. Still did not record a goal but did have a few good chances. It is getting harder to keep up with all of them as I do not have the same stamina or lungs as I used to but still managed to play the whole game and stay for wings afterwards. Cassy had a soccer tournament on the weekend in Quebec City that MA and Isa went to. It was not a nice weekend for them as it was very cold and wet the whole time they were there and Cassy’s team did not win but did make it to the semis. Gene and I spent some quality time together. It was fun spending time with her. We did some cooking and had a small Harry Potter movie marathon on Saturday where we watched two movies (she is a big fan but her sisters are not so it made it a lot easier to watch without them around). We also made some watermelon mint ice cream over the weekend which we did not have until Tuesday when everyone was home. It was not great and I will not make it again (btw. the best one has been the first one I made which was lemon mint, in case you were asking). MA and the kids were back late Sunday, cold and tired.

Both Cassy and I have been sleeping in late this week while MA drives the other two around and gives a few massages.  Again this week, G had a fencing camp that she is volunteering at. As such, I do not see her much on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday as she does not come home between the camp and her training in the evening. Isa has a lifeguard course the next two weeks. All three girls are great swimmers and took their Bronze Star 1.5 years ago.  But only Isabelle was interested and had time to take the next course, Bronze Medalion.  Maybe one day we’ll have a lifeguard in the family and MA will finally let us get a pool.  Tuesday was a busy day for me. I had hockey in the morning, no goals but did have a few good chances, made some assists for goals and had some nice passes. Being up really early meant that I was going to need a nap so that I could be in shape for a late baseball game. This would be the only night where the whole family would be home so we decide to have the watermelon ice cream. At the same time Isa baked some delicious chocolate chip cookies. They were really good but unfortunately did not mesh well with the watermelon ice cream (not sure if anything really goes with this ice cream) and the burps afterwards were not too tasty either. My game was at 9:30 so I headed there after dessert. Little did I know that one of my teammates, Tiffany, also baked chocolate chip cookies for the team. There was a lot there and very few people had any so I ended up bringing some home to share with the family. I got to the game more energied than I have been for other games to date. As such, I had a good game. We played a tough team and lost but it was a close one. I was slotted in the lead batting position and I took advantage of it. I made it home every time I batted except the last one. Each hit was minimum two bases and my last at bat I hit a deep ball that bounced off the warning track and went over the fence for a double. Unfortunately I was stranded on second base to end the inning and the game. With each hit, I had to run a lot which took the wind out of me. It was one of those games where I wish I had an oxygen tank at the bench to help get my breath back.

The only thing scheduled for Wendesday was an appointment with my Besty. Knowing that we would be there for a while, we planned for it this time by bringing the laptop and the Sons of Anarchy DVDs.  We arrived at the hospital on time and checked in. The scheduled delay posted was only 25 min, one of the lowest we have seen but we take this info with a grain of salt as it is never close to being right. I set myself up with a book for the potential long wait while MA went to get a parking pass. While she was away, I witnessed some scary action in the waiting room area. I was taken away from my book with the sounds of some commotion going on. There was a lot of hospital staff buzzing around and asking people to move out of the way and I could see them moving a lot of the chairs to clear a path to the walkway. When I looked closer to where the heart of the activities were happening, I noticed that someone had collapsed and the staff were performing CPR on him. The chaos that ensued was quick but exciting. They quickly moved everyone out of the waiting room area as more staff and tools arrived to care for the patient. At this point, I had left the area so I did not see how it ended up but I did see the patient on a gurney and he seemed to be in better shape and everyone around seemed to be more relaxed so I had the impression that all was well, considering. The whole process took only about 10 min but, for many there, will have a lasting impact for a long time. It did remind me how lucky I am to be in good health (besides the cancer, of course!)  MA was back after all this happened and had I not told her what just went on she would not have been able to tell that there was just a major emergency.

With MA back, we decided to setup to watch the DVD. Of course, before we could get fully setup we got called into the room. Once we got to the room, we decided to continue to watch knowing that we could be here for another hour. But not this time! The doctor was right there to see us. He was still energized from what had happened earlier. He was the one who had performed CPR and resuscitated the guy in the waiting room!  He’s a good guy to have around.  It was a good but quick appointment. He told me that I had taken the Nabilone for too long hence the reason why I was so tired last time (as he put it, it is basically marijuana in pill form). But I think the best part is that I will not see him for another six weeks. And, at that time, he will have results. He has scheduled a CT scan where he will see how the tumor and cancerous lymph nodes have been affected by the chemo. It is likely that the CT will happen in about four weeks and then I will be done! We were out from our appointment only 1 h after its scheduled start time, our fastest one yet!

With that, it will be a busy week ahead. Thursday is hockey and wings night. Friday, I will be heading to my friend, Denis’,cottage for his annual bass fishing tournament. Though most going will be fishing I, on the other hand, will simply be throwing a line in the water to catch weeds. Like with my hockey lately, I am usually shutout at this tournament. I had a great first year but, since then, I rarely catch anything. I have had to resort to buying frozen fish sticks to ensure that I pull my weight for fish dinner afterwards. Luckily we usually have a Texas Holdem poker game the night before where I frequently make it to the money rounds. It is still a lot of fun to hang out with the boys even though not catching anything really sucks.

Next week, I have a late ball game on Monday and hockey Tuesday morning with my last chemo treatment to follow. I will try to ensure that I remember to draw blood on Monday BEFORE the treatment this time! The good news though is that my treatments are almost done so more reason to stay positive this week. Here’s to hoping I will not need to do this again, ever!