Part 2 - Feb - Aug 2015
This part of the blog is based on e-mails that were sent out to a group of friends and family. These e-mails log my activities and progress from February 2015 to August 2015.
February 12, 2015
Hey there,
Last word was that I would be
seeing the Surgical Oncologist on Feb 19th to continue my discovery
with her. That changed on Tuesday and she requested that I see her today
to discuss the results of all the tests that were conducted since I saw her on
Jan 15th. So I went to see her today and had our
discussion. That discussion resulted in lots of talk about results and
the development of a plan to go forward.
Unfortunately, the plan cannot be
defined yet as there is an Oncology Team “round table” that must be undertaken
on Feb 23rd. However, the landscape has changed with some of
the test results. The big change is that they discovered cancer cells in
a liver cyst when they did the biopsy on Jan 28th. That is
significant as they now feel pretty positive that those cells are similar and
have travelled from the Colorectal cancer area to this organ(Metastatic
Disease). That means I am now considered to be Stage 4 and not Stage
1. That is the bad news.
The good news is that a plan is
formulating to deal with this as much as they can and it will start on March 18th
when I start a series of Chemotherapy sessions working on a 2 week
rotation. On Feb 23rd the Oncology Team will finalize these
conclusions and agree on the plan. My Surgical Oncologist will have a
telephone appointment with me on the 26th to lay out their
recommendations. It appears that it could shape up to Chemo, then surgery
and perhaps more chemo.
Also on the up side, the Surgical
Oncologist suggested that I take our Hawaii vacation and start any program
after we get home.
I am sorry if this note is a bit
technical and not more substantive but that is the phase of this journey that I
am in. I have been inundated with new information, risks and potential
results including statistics of responses to this type of treatment and it will
take some time to digest and react to the day’s news.
In the interim, be content that I
am in good hands and I have a strong support team with friends and
family. The next year will be a tough one but we are out to beat this.
I hope you and yours are all well
and happy.
February 24, 2015
The bottom line is that I will
be served up some Chemotherapy for a period of time (2 to 3 months) and then I
will be re-assessed for surgical treatment. There is a consensus that
surgery is possible and will provide benefits (if required). There is
some “hope” that the Chemo could obliterate the Cancer thereby negating the
need for surgery as the cysts are small.
That in itself is very good news
as recovery is a potential that the Drs are discussing. I am somewhat
relieved as the surgery loomed heavily on my mind. So now I will settle
in to dealing with Chemotherapy starting as soon as we return from our visit
with Gray, Bree and Skylar (commencing tomorrow) followed by a rest in Hawaii
until Mar 16th. My current schedule for Chemo starts on the 17th
with three activities at the hospital. I will get my first round blood
tests done, have a port to my main artery inserted surgically and have my
baseline CT Scans all on that first day of treatment. The following day I
will have my first 3 hr session at the Cancer Centre which is followed by 2
days of home Chemo treatment. These treatment days (and perhaps a couple
of days after the treatment) will be days for me to watch and gauge the
reaction that my body has to the cocktail of chemotherapy. My job will be
to manage the side effects of the Chemo.
In the interim, Freddi and I
will enjoy our vacation and send best wishes to you for wellness and
happiness. I will keep you updated as we move along this path.
Love you guys.....
March 18, 2015
Hey there, yesterday went well as they transformed me to a cyborg by implanting
a direct access port to my jugular vein. The port went in well and I
snoozed through the operation. I am a bit sensitive on my right shoulder and am
being watched by Freddi to ensure I don't do much for the next 7 days while it
heals. She has already started at me when I started the fire for the
evening.
Quick update on this very busy but interesting day today. So far my Chemo has
gone with few side effects. I participated and learned the Chemo
"in-hospital" routine and then was sent home with a portable infuser
which continues the treatment for 48 hours. So I do not know the extent
of the impact on my physical and mental well being but so far I am doing very
well as I only have some small side effects.
Thank you for your continued support and I apologize for "stock"
messaging but I do want to keep you informed.
I will update again after the Chemo is complete on Friday.
March 21, 2015
Dear Friends,
It is my hope that this note finds you well and happy.
Today is Saturday and I am in the denouement of this my
first round of Chemo. I find it mildly
amusing that I think about great literary turns when I am in “think process”
these days but when I sit down to jot a note I am devoid of clever
nuances. I guess that is all part of the
experience. So instead of trying to be
clever, interesting, intriguing I will just tell it to you as it is.
My last week has been a very full one with many firsts
learned and the acceptance of the fact that this cycle will return several
times. The week also included a couple
of other activities that compounded the week’s events to form a tri-fecta of
inconvenience. First I started the week with a horrendous head cold which
originated either in Kauai or on board the silver transport from there. That allowed the nuisance of a huge cough and
a runny nose. Second, I had my port-a-cath installed as a surgical procedure
which left my right shoulder both sore and weak as I was told not to lift
anything for a week. Oh and by-the-way,
stay out of the shower to avoid getting the port-a-cath wet. Monday was a blood test day which was a
simple and efficient procedure. That was
to ensure that my body was “strong” enough to take on the Chemo program which
started on Wednesday.
To explain a little about that program, there is a session
for 3 hours where they check you out, order the Chemo and then drip (in my
case) two drugs simultaneously into my blood stream. That takes about two hours to completely
drain. Once completed, the kind nurse
injects what is called a “push” dose of drug 3 which only takes a few
minutes. After the push to get that drug
started the nurse then connects me to a “bottle” that contains a 46 hour dose
of the drug that will drip in through the port-a-cath while I go about my
life. From about 12 pm Wednesday until
10:30 am yesterday I was tethered to this bottle while I carried out my usual
functions. It continued to work while I
ate, slept, watched TV, read (sort of) and drove about doing my messages. Once complete the bottle is disconnected and
the drug dissipates in my system over a further 48 hours. That is the process. It is somewhat inconvenient but an effective
way of getting Chemo into the system for 3 days allowing the drug to do its job.
During the Chemo time there are a litany of things that
could happen and the nurses and the system prepare you for any and all
circumstances to happen. The first time
reading, listening and digesting process is overwhelming. None-the-less one must be prepared to deal
with these “side-effects” and I was equipped with prescriptions for many
circumstances all with the proviso that they may be required. Admittedly, I was very worried about these
effects and am happy to report that over the period of Chemo I had only a few
of the reactions and seemingly at a low level.
Yes, I was nauseated, fatigued, could not sleep, could not focus or
maintain attention for long periods, cold sensitive, headachey, emotional and a
few other things but I am fortunate that nothing was so severe that I required
any medical attention. I remained pretty
close to home as that is where I felt most secure and safe. My appetite has been impacted slightly and my
taste centre has taken a sabbatical.
What lays ahead? Well
next week I have several tests to be completed that have been requested by my
Drs. Another CTScan, another MRI and a
visit with the Dr to chat about how things are going. Basically, life will be normal until I start
the process again on Wednesday Apr 1.
This repeats every two weeks for the next unknown period of time. In time we are hoping that the drugs will do
enough damage to the cancer cells that I will be free of these cells and we can
stop. The Dr team is still out on what
follows but the results of the Chemo play heavily into future decisions.
So that is where we are now and where we are heading. Once again, I apologize for “stock” messaging
but I find this to be the only solution to inform those who I care about and
have indicated their support of this cause.
Please be assured that I treasure your support, friendship and family
connections as I go through this. It
means more than you can imagine in terms of ability to make it through some of
the times. Please stay in touch
With love,
April 18, 2015
After a period of silence with most of you I feel compelled
to update you on my progress as you have indicated that you would like to kept
in the loop. First, may I say, I
appreciate your interest and continued support as I traipse through this path
of discovery. Your support helps me
immensely and for that I thank you.
My first round of Chemotherapy (Mar 18th) caused
some side effects that were manageable and I have outlined those to most of
you. However, only some of you had
further details that became more evident at the beginning of the second
cycle. Apparently the round one Chemo
beat the hell out of my white blood cells (WBC) and when it came time to have
my blood tests before my second go around they discovered that my counts were
below their acceptable levels to continue.
As a result I was asked to wait a week and re-do the test and then start
the Chemo. The subsequent blood test
also failed as my count was down even lower.
That happened a third time and finally on Monday of this week I managed
to have a test that was above the acceptable level of WBC. In effect what that meant is that I have
skipped a full two week cycle between treatments.
On Wednesday this week I sat through my treatment period at
the hospital and went home with my portable bottle of Chemo which continued for
46 hours. Yesterday I had the bottle
removed and I am in the period where the Chemo dissipates until my next
treatment which is currently scheduled for Apr 29. This round had a reduced concentration of
Chemo (due to the brutalization of WBC last time around) and as a result, so
far, this round has resulted in fewer side effects. Although I am feeling punk and eat out of
necessity but fairly regularly I am fortunate that I have not been exposed to
side effects that I have seen (far too often) in movies these days. Note:
recently watched The Judge and although I feel it is a great movie, I had no
idea how Cancer played a role in this film.
My side effects have been mostly nausea, lack of sleep, and some other
small but easy things to deal with. I
still have a few days where new signs may appear but I feel that I am
comfortable enough to share my new experiences with you.
All that being shared, my longer term prognosis is not very
clear at this time. We will continue to
do bi-weekly treatments until sometime in late May and then we will do some
follow-up tests to see how this is working out.
The CT Scan and the MRI will then compared to the baseline tests that
were undertaken at the outset of Chemo and decide what is next. I will commit to keeping you informed of any
changes that come up and in the interim, should you have any questions please
do not hesitate to reach out.
In the interim, I once again thank you for your interest and
I certainly hope that your lives are filled with health and happiness.
Love Paul
May 13, 2015
I am writing to you today for a number of reasons:
- It has been a great day
2 - A dear friend of mine reminded me that “No news
is ..... no news” contrary to the more
familiar expression that we all have used and loved., and
3 - You have expressed an interest for which I am
very grateful.
Today I was finally given the “go ahead” for Chemo treatment
number 3 which is unfortunately a couple of weeks late due to the pesky WBC
count that continues to be low for three full weeks after my last
treatment. Now, I have been informed,
that low WBC count is not common but it is also not uncommon. That reflects the rigour that this precise
process exercises as each case is reviewed and treated individually to ensure
safe and progressive improvement during the treatment periods. So to be common and uncommon in the same time
is an outcome we learn to live with. To
address this problem my Dr. has prescribed a super drug that will encourage
those WBC to get their proverbial “shit” together and improve my counts more
rapidly. That happens on Saturday
morning after my Chemo treatment is complete for >24 hours.
To be clear, I am happy that I am able to take the treatment
and even happier that this drug will allow me to get back onto a 2 week
cycle. It is my recent understanding
that the regular treatments are important to gauge its progress more accurately. I will be having another MRI and CT Scan soon
to measure the bad guys in comparison to the baseline test done a few months
ago. The Oncology team will use that
information to determine what the next steps are and hopefully they will share
that information at my next appointments with the Medical and the Surgical
Oncologists.
In summary, we are back at it and I am well and happy with
this treatment. The side effects vary
each time and I am unsure of what will happen in the next couple of days but I am
ready for anything as I am still focused on the end game. Please feel free to drop me a line if you
have specific questions that I can answer.
If you have hard questions that I may not be able answer, please address
them to your priest or some other guide that you may rely on.
Thank you for your interest and support. We, our family, very much appreciate you.
With love Paul
May 27, 2015
It
has been a couple of weeks since I have had any news to share but today I was
able to have my next treatment in the appropriate 2 week cycle. That is
largely due to the work of a supplemental injection of liquid gold that
stimulated my WBC to do their thing. The result was a fighting
tough WBC count when I did my blood tests with the “bloodletter” on Monday.
I am happy to have my body ravaged by Chemo, as it all contributes to the
end game, on a regular basis. This WBC
stimulant (Neulasta) is actually a shot deal per treatment. I was mistaken when I noted that it was a one
shot deal period. So I have learned to
inject this to myself after my treatment is complete plus 24 hours. That will happen on Saturday this week. I hope then to have my next Chemo treatment
on June 10th. My next
physician follow-up is with the Surgical Oncologist on June 11th. I am hoping to get some clarity of the future
(I will even settle for a little bit of a picture at that time).
In
the interim I am dealing with the side effects as best I can and usually only
have about 5 days of discomfort. That
leaves 9 good days before we have it again.
In those good days I am doing my assignments from the “Gardner” in the
family as well as putting in boats for our Boat Storage Clients.
It
is my hope that this note finds all of you well and happy. I appreciate your support and interest in
this challenge that we are facing. I
will update when things change of when there is something interesting to
report. Feel free to ask questions, in
the interim, if this is not clear or you have time to tickle the keyboard to
satisfy your curious mind.
With
Love Paul
Wednesday
June 10, 2015
Good afternoon all, once again
it has been a two week period since I have had anything new to report to
you. In my last note I had just completed my 4th Chemo session
in the appropriate two week cycle. Well that happened again today as the
Neulasta (liquid gold) has motivated the lazy WBC to an acceptable level for a
regular Chemo session. I am happy, as much as one can be happy about such
as treatment, that my cycle has been regularized. That improves the chances
of a successful conclusion of this treatment. The 3 hour treatment in the
hospital went without a hitch and I am now equipped with a chemo bottle that
will pump into my blood system over the next 48 hours. After that, on
Friday, I have that bottle removed and I start the climb back to feeling better
for the next 9 days. My 6th planned treatment is currently
scheduled for June 24th.
Over the last two weeks my side
effects were limited to nausea, sleeplessness, fatigue and a few other less
important side effects. I am happy that my appetite and taste buds have
not been affected and I am maintaining my weight and enjoying my meals.
One might think that I am storing up for potentially less interest in food in
the future. The down side is if I do not lose my appetite I may have to
resort to sizing up my Sporting Life wear for the summer. Not an outcome
that I am striving for.
We did take advantage of feeling somewhat better
last weekend as we travelled to BC to help Skylar celebrate her 4th
birthday. She was very funny as she reacted to our visit, her birthday
party, her first overnight with us while Mum and Dad had a sleep-over in
Whistler and generally hanging with us during our short visit. Gray and
Bree made sure we felt welcomed and we certainly enjoyed the busy but relaxing
visit. We returned on Monday and managed to cross paths with Tara-Lee in
the Toronto airport. She was heading west and we were heading home.
Tomorrow I am meeting with the
Surgical Oncologist, my lead of the Oncology Team, to get an update from her
point of view. I am looking forward to that conversation as it may shed
some light on what the next few months will look like. I am not expecting
much more than that as I have learned that the “future plan” is very much
influenced by results of the current treatment. In other words it is
little steps toward a successful conclusion of this overall treatment
plan. Please feel confident that if I find out anything “interesting” I
will further update you with an addendum to this biweekly update.
That is about it. My life
routine is not very exciting these days but we are soldiering on to a
successful conclusion a little bit at a time. Overall my energy level is
down but I am buoyed by some repetitive comments from friends that I “... look
really good.” I know that it is meant positively but I always feel that I
must have looked like hell before all this started. To those lovely
people who have made that comment, I thank you.
Please be well and I look
forward to hearing from you should you have any questions, concerns or stories
to share with me.
With much love ...... Paul
June 12th 2015
Addendum:
Yesterday I did meet with the
Oncology Lead at The Ottawa Hospital.
Tara-Lee joined me so she could meet my new lady friend. Dr Auer is a Surgical Oncologist and has
acted as my guide through this journey and gained my trust by being open,
honest, empathetic and clinical. Our
discussion yesterday was one of “next steps” as she had some good news that all
of this Chemo has been working by shrinking the small tumors in my liver. That is one good bit of news. The other was that there still is no further
metastases to other organs at this time.
That is fantastic news as the presence of additionally affected areas
provides different options that are less palatable. So that was my good news yesterday.
On the flip side, she did
confirm that both she and my Medical Oncologist are in agreement that there
will be surgery in my future. That route
is no longer a possibility as the planning has already started at their
end. That includes a new appointment
with the liver specialist next week, another visit with Dr Auer, setting a date
and then winding down the Chemo prior to that date. Since all of these steps are lineal I will
not know the exact time of surgery for a few days/weeks. But for gross planning purposes she thought
it might happen around mid August or thereabouts. Although this causes some trepidation in me
(thus it is flip side to “good news” in my mind) I recognize that this is a
required step to “eliminate” the presence of this cancer in my body (or at a
minimum give me my best chance at getting to be an old bugger).
I am very happy with this
knowledge but still a bit apprehensive about the surgery. I have watched too many medical shows and
have never been comfortable with the idea of a bunch of hands pushing and
pulling parts that belong inside one’s body.
I expect I will come to grips with this in time.
That’s it for now and once
again, thank you for your support and notes of encouragement. They help tons....
Enjoy the upcoming weekend and
make the best of every day.
With love ... Paul
June 24, 2015
It has been a couple of weeks since I have sent out any
update on the path through the bush that I am wandering along. In that period, I completed my 5th
Chemo treatment, shot myself up with “super WBC agent”, felt generally crappy
for a couple of days and experienced some of those inconveniences that are
assembled in the treatment package.
Those and other side effects tapered off after a few days and I been
fortunate enough to enjoy some family outings, great dinners, cold beer and
some wine and generally carrying on as a normal retired dude. What that means is that the “honey do” list
(some of which is self inflicted to be fair) is changing daily and it seems to
be growing and not shrinking. That being
said I have tons of help in getting those early summer chores done and am
grateful for Freddi and Tara-Lee’s participation. Gray is winging his way east later this week
to give us a hand on a construction plan that was developed Tara-Lee who
recruited him. We are happy that we will
have some time as a complete family unit for a few days. But I digress .... as easy as that is away
from the original intent of this note.
My current status is that my 6th Chemo is now in
progress after a visit to the hospital for the morning. It all went well and I am equipped with the
right meds to fight the side effects for the next two days. (I see some Netflix in my future). On Saturday I do another dose of the miracle
WBC agent to ensure that I am ready for the next round in 2 weeks. I did see the Medical Oncologist this week
and Dr Robillard agreed with the approach that Dr Auer suggested and we all are
waiting for the call from the Liver Oncology specialist ( Dr Mimeau – like
“finding mimeau”). I am in the “hurry
and wait” mode as I expected the call almost immediately after my conversation
with Dr Auer a couple of weeks ago. That
appointment will be pivotal in establishing the timing of the future actions.
(number of Chemo treatments left before surgery, surgery date, extent of
surgery etc.) These are all interesting things to know but I have learned to be
patient (as a patient) and all these things will become clear with time. I feel like a Carlos Castaneda student and
recall his quote “All paths are the same, leading nowhere.
Therefore, pick a path with heart!” So
I continue to put my faith in the hands of those who are on my Oncology Team
and I seek the path with heart as I pick my way along this path.
I mentioned that I am trying to continue as a normal person
and to that end I was challenged by my long time friend Dr. Jim to a game of
golf ( he is not a member of my Oncology team but a strong supporter on my life
support team). To be fair neither one of
us has played a real game in the last two years due to various medical
intrusions in our lives. The game was
set at Mont St Marie on a picturesque setting and beautiful day. Fortunately, we pulled out all of recent
Tiger Woods shots that we could muster and laughed heartily as we worked our
way around the course. We have decided
to use that score card as a base line and feel no need to share the numbers
with you. Enough said on that topic
other than I enjoyed the round immensely.
That is the brief update and I would like to thank all of
you for your continuing support and please be aware that I am a lot better off
knowing that you care. Thank you and I
hope to see you on the lake during the summer.
With Love ....... Paul
July 01, 2015
Hello to all in my family and friend group. Happy Canada Day to all of you and I hope you
had a great day.
My day was enhanced in many ways. First our children completed their “gift
task” of refurbishing the screened in hallway and bathroom on the old
cottage. Gray and Tara-Lee with the help
of Brehn and Freddi completed this gift today and all I have to do is the
finishing. I have the easy job here.
In addition we managed to re-arrange and set the waterfront
for the summer. The boat lift was
relocated as well as establishing a better environment for swimming and
boating. We are set for the summer. I would like to send a big thank you to Adam
and Anne for their help in that task.
But, while we were doing these great outdoor task, my Dr (
Jonker) called. He is the Medical
Oncologist responsible for my Chemo treatments.
He advised me that they talked about my case on Tuesday during the round
table and they made a decision that my next step was to organize surgery as
soon as possible. As a result he has
cancelled any further Chemo to set me up for surgery in early to mid
August. He has pre-empted my Liver
Specialist appointment next Tuesday but I was happy to hear his news on Canada
Day. I respect the fact that he was
working and reaching out to me on a holiday.
What that means is that I will no longer have to experience the Chemo
program with its inconvenient side effects and I can now look forward to
feeling better every day. They want me
off any of that stuff for a minimum of 6 weeks.
The idea is to be a strong as possible for the surgery.
So in a nutshell, that is my update and I wanted to share my
good news as quickly as possible due to the nature of the news. As my sister-in-law says “ Bam bam bam “ and
the Chemo has done its part killing off those Cancer cells. Enter the next path route and we walk tall
feeling good about our progress. My
thanks go out to my Dr Team and especially for my Family/Friend Team. Your support makes me feel great about
getting there. Off to the next stage and
a good 6 week break before we face the next challenge,
I love you guys and once again thank you for your
encouragement and support. It means a
lot!
Now to get out there and make the best of the summer. I hope you do the same.
Love ..... Paul
July 23, 2015
I feel compelled to update you nice folks who have taken the
time and energy to reach out to me over the last while about my progress
through this path in the woods. My
current status and well being is at a high point as I have been out of Chemo
for a month now. During that time the
effects of Chemo have diminished and I am able to operate like a normal human
being. By that I mean I can address some
of the ToDo items in my life that need to be done. Granted I am addressing the easier ones as I
do find that my overall stamina is down a tad.
Over the last month, the period of time since my last
update, we have travelled to the Calgary Stampede (a Freddi bucket list item),
played golf with Dr Jim and a good group of Lake Bernard annual tourney golfers, enjoyed some social evenings with
friends, visits from Lucy, Gray, TaraLee and Brehn. The house has been filled with lots of
excited chatter about construction projects, travel plans, garden challenges
and successes as well as long meals in the “tree house” (aka screened in porch)
complete with philosophical discussions about life, love and happiness
complimented with much lighter topics filled with humour. It has been a very busy month filled with many
good memories.
On the medical front, as noted in my last update, I have
been Chemo-free as “they” want most of that stuff out of my system before they
undertake surgery to remove parts that are or may be affected by cancer
cells. They know that my liver does
contain a number of such groupings of cells that have to be removed. Last week I spent some time with the liver
specialists and they talked about their involvement in the surgery to remove
cancer cells. They expect this to be
about a four hours surgery and they are keen to do this as soon as
possible. Dr Auer, my surgical
oncologist is also involved as a specialist in colorectal surgery and
scheduling this surgery will require coordination of schedules of two Dr teams. I think I threw a monkey wrench into the
scheduling as I asked Dr Auer specifically if she could be the surgeon instead
of one of her cohorts. She replied that
she would try but had some vacation planned in August. I hope I am fortunate enough to have her
involved as I have a lot of faith and confidence in her as a person, surgeon
and specialist in this area.
This week I met up with Dr Jonker, medical oncologist (Chemo
guy) and he concurred that surgery seemed to be the best plan but he would
reserve judgement of post-surgical Chemo until one month after the surgery. He did inquire and advised me that liver
specialists are still in control of the surgical date but one has not yet been
established. So I wait and bide my time
by enjoying the summer weather and doing some regular type work.
It is my sincere hope that you are making the best of the
summer and enjoying your summer activities and getting out doing things that
are different and fun during the period of the year that allows us to enjoy the
great outdoors. Once again, I thank you
for your interest and support during this life trial that we are
experiencing. My whole family
appreciates your support as it buoys my overall well being and gives me
strength. The end result of this support
is that I am less grumpy and less demanding as I know that you care. I do appreciate all of the support I have
received. Thank you.
I will send out another brief update when I secure a date
for the surgery and then I will start planning my recuperation period. Until then onward and upward as we address
ToDo items and enjoy some golf with friends.
With much love I wish all of you great days during the summer and good
health and happiness.
With Love ........ Paul
August 9, 2015
Today being a holiday, I am certain that I will not hear
from any scheduling or Drs on a Sunday.
As you are aware from the last update, I am on a holding pattern for
surgery. The issue seems to be the
scheduling of two surgical teams on the same day. The Liver team are willing to do this on Aug
14th but Dr Auer is on vacation at that time. She took the time to call me this week and we
chatted about options of dates and process.
My choices were two separate surgeries approximately two months apart
which has the benefit of doing the liver surgery ASAP. The second surgery, rectal resection, would then
be done in late October after recovering from the first surgery. The second option was to wait two additional
weeks and try to combine thee surgeries into the same day. Dr Auer said she would be available and would
try to get that timeframe with the liver team.
I chose the two-for-one as I would appreciate only doing
that once as I think the recovery will be trying. So now I am, once again, on hold waiting to
hear that our plan can be accomplished.
I will be getting confirmation, one of these days, that the liver team
agreed to the plan.
In the interim, I have been feeling fairly strong as I have
not been beaten up by Chemo since the end of June. The effects of the Chemo have lingered a bit
but basically all things are getting back to normal. I have been playing a little golf and doing
some tasks around the cottage as well as some effort on work at Lightning Tree
Consulting. The summer has been somewhat
rainy and overcast but this weekend is a perfect weather weekend. We managed a couple of evening cruises with
hot appies and cold beverages in the pontoon boat with friends. It is a nice way to spend time as the sun
sets in the west.
I do hope this update finds all of you well and fills the
information gap, as much as I can, at this time. As before, if you have any questions feel
free to contact me by return and I will try to respond as quickly as I
can. Thank you for your continued
support and best wishes for a happy balance of summer.
With love Paul
August 14, 2015
On Wednesday of this week I
decided to be the less patient patient and placed a call to the Liver and
Pancreas Unit at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH). I have been patient just long
enough and felt it would help me and others in my world if we knew what date
the surgical teams were planning to schedule my surgery. My inquiry was
responded to quite quickly considering their vmail message said they “....would
get back to me within 2 business days due to the volume of calls”. Oopps
got to stop here as I feel a rant coming on .....
The nice “booking coordinator”
decided to call back right away as she had planned to contact me
...... In the end we confirmed that her team and Dr Auer’s team had
agreed that August 28th was a good day to undertake this
surgery. That being said there would be several touch points before the
surgery to check blood, other indicators, MRI and instructions of what to do
and not do in the days leading up to the surgery. I suspect I will get more
details of the post-surgery activities. or lack thereof from my point of view,
in the weeks or days ahead. What I do know is that they will keep me in
the hospital for a week and then send me home with some support of new and
wonderful drugs. So I am happy as the wheels of motion are turning and my
next adventure starts shortly.
In the interim, I am currently
enjoying a comfortable visit with my Brother, sister and sister-in-law in the
warm sunny morning rays in Henderson NV (just outside of Las Vegas) as this
news opened a window of opportunity to visit Richard and Barb who have been
very supportive from afar. Distance is not always our friend and I felt
it would be great to take a trip and visit them. So Lucy and I travelled
down here yesterday and will be returning to Ottawa on Sunday. We enjoyed
a peaceful day yesterday which was punctuated by great claps of thunder from
the desert thunderstorm. Today however, the weather returns to the normal
heat and sun.
My best wishes to all of you for
health and happiness and I will send an update once the Drs are finished
messing inside my temple.
Love to all ......... Paul
