“You Look Good”

Good morning to you on this fine summer morning.  Admittedly, I have not looked outside yet, and I have not seen the weather report or radar for the day but I feel that today will be a good summer day.

I have been incommunicado for a couple of weeks as we have tried to resume a less frenetic pace that we had been experiencing as time lead up to the wedding in June.  I am happy to report that Team Roichel (Tara-Lee, Brehn and Kaia) are enjoying some down time in P.E.I. meeting up with their friends and spending some quiet cottage time at the ocean.  Enjoying such a great wedding has given us a chance to reflect on this goodness and to settle down and set a pace of life that is more relaxing and with less pressure.

However, I reflect on the great social times (wedding, parties and Annual Lake Bernard Golf Tourney) I have experienced over the last month and a common thread has shown itself.  That thread is the experience of seeing someone that I have either never met or have not seen for some time and I am treated to a comment that is challenging to react to.  Many people have been kind enough to say to me “You look good” when we meet and each time I am taken aback a little and do not know how to respond other than saying “thank you”.  Perhaps that is the right response but I often wonder what makes people say this upon meeting.  Does it mean that as a young person I looked different (bad) and I have changed to look good?  Does it mean that they read this blog and hear me complaining about being sick with almost three years of treatments and I look surprisingly well?  Does it mean that my fashion sense has been preserved through all of this medical stuff?  Does it mean for an old fart I have been able to retain some essence of my youthful exuberance for life?  Or does it simply mean that they (people) are generally pleased that this experience in my life does not reflect badly on the way I present myself and my life at this time?  I do not know the answer to any of those questions but I do know that the simple expression, You Look Good, from so many diverse people gives me strength and hope.  It is accepted as a compliment and helps me to feel good about myself even when physically and mentally I am (or may be) experiencing some difficulties in various forms.  To those people I say thank you and I mean that intensely at this time.

Cottage neighbours took this to another level when they arrived for their summer visit with their usual gifts of summer.  It is a habit for them to arrive with a car full of gifts for their friends and neighbours at Lake Bernard and I have always marveled at the practical nature of their gifts.  One year (about 4 years ago) I was given a “sponge” that was designed to take the sweat off bathroom mirrors after a shower.  A simple wipe one way and then a simple wipe with the other side leaves the mirror reflecting only what is out there without the streaks and moisture build up.  I have used that simple devise every morning since I received it and marvel that it works as well as it does – even to this day.  It is those sorts of things and reminders of the goodness of life that make their gifts so unique.  This year I was elsewhere in the house when they arrived bearing their gifts and Freddi called me outside.  I was greeted by their well wishes and hugs and kisses but also I was presented with a gift that blew me away.  Lying at my front door was a swanky new foot mat with a message to all who walked through our door.  I was informed that the message was intended to remind me to keep a positive attitude every time I walked in the house.  The three simple words on the mat are “You Look Good” and it gives me a smile every time I see it.  My thanks go out to my sweet neighbours for their thoughtfulness at this period in my life.

The purpose of this blog is to update you with solid information about the trail I am following and allow me to benefit of compressing my thoughts and ideas about this trail in pros to share with you.  The small piece above has been rattling through my brain over the last two weeks as I have made my way back up the hill after my most recent treatment starting on July 4^th.  That morning was a bit confusing as I had to retake my blood tests to see if my WBC were at a level that would allow my treatment to proceed.  It was the first day after the long weekend so it was a busy place.  My nurse and I talked about my health, mental state, blood results and summarized all of this back to the oncologist on duty as my Dr was not available.  Normally they do not proceed with the WBC at a low level but we figured that since I was so close we should go ahead.  The nurse made the case, the Dr considered everything in the “whole package” and we got the go ahead to proceed.  That delayed my morning start by almost 2 hours.  But we did get going and the hospital portion of the treatment went as usual.

After treatment I went by my favourite Thai restaurant to pick up some take out lunch for when I got home.  Some simple non spicy food goes well after such an event.  Once home I enjoyed my lunch and rested for the balance of the afternoon sleeping, reading and watching some mindless TV.  Little did I know that day was the first of 6 or 7 days of “not feeling well” as my periods of adjustment had been limited to 4 or 5 days.  This time around it seemed that I was feeling very low for the bottle period of 2 days with little energy, lots of nausea, sleeplessness, malaise and limited appetite.  Once the bottle was off, things started to feel better, but not as fast as I wanted.  I felt behind the 8-ball for quite a few days.  I made a considered change and I did very little during this period to afford my body the opportunity to get better faster and start my “good” period.  I wanted to be feeling better to attend the Lake Bernard Golf Tourney and Dinner that was scheduled for July 15^th.  It is always a good opportunity to see people from around the lake that I do not see regularly.  By that date I was feeling pretty good (75%) and I managed to get through the day and evening without any serious draw backs.  By that I mean my constant battle of the bowel.  It seems to be a fairly difficult challenge to regulate activities and I need to be very conscious of my intake when trying to organize outings and long periods of absence from the home.  I feel pretty happy that I am learning to manage this as I have heard some sad stories of folks who have not been able to manage these side effects and actually do not have social interactions when they are “in treatment”.   I can say that I feel very good today (99%) and I am enjoying a visit with my sister in Mississauga.  And it is a great day outside too.

By the way, on meeting Lucy upon arrival in Mississauga, she looked at me and said, “You look good”.

 So in conclusion, I thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I wish all of you a great summer where-ever you are.  And I hope that all of you “look good” to all your friends and family.

With love ......

Pure Joy

Today is a bright sunny day on Lake Bernard.  Over the last couple of weeks we have not been able to say that very often.  We have endured many very heavy rain storms with varying degrees of thunder followed by a short period of clouds. 

As this blog site seems to be mostly about my Cancer Voyage I will start with an update on that subject.  But rest assured that is not why I am tapping out this message to my family and friends.  That will follow this brief update.

On Friday I did my blood tests as Monday was a holiday and I am scheduled for Round 3 Session 12 tomorrow (Tuesday).  The bloodletting went as planned and sure enough later in the day I got a call from my Dr to inform me that my WBC count was below normal and I would have to take another blood test on Tuesday morning before the Chemo treatment.  I was a bit surprised as I had increased my stomach shots of Neupogen from 5 days to 7 days after my last Chemo treatment.  When I inquired, again, about what I could do to enhance my WBC count I was informed once again that there was nothing I could do but to stay away from sick people.  That is a given. However, my sister-in-law did bring me some dietary supplement Reishi mushroom extract that is known to help with WBC production.  I have started to use this daily and we shall see if the effect I am seeking comes about.  This product came from the U.S. and I will seek it out here in Canada.  Barb, my sister-in-law is well informed on such products and has been looking out for me all through this voyage.  In addition, I did attend an open session (introductory) at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre to listen to their service offerings.  I have not yet scheduled a Naturopath Dr. session but I intend to do that soon as a fairly busy time has now passed and I will turn my attention to that part of my life and voyage. 

So, in summary, I am going to take my blood test early tomorrow in hopes that I will be able to go forward with Session 12 at 8:30 am at the QCH.  Failing that I will likely be delayed until the following Tuesday.  We shall see how this goes tomorrow.
(Update on July 5th:  Yesterday went as planned with early blood test and some dialogue with the Dr. as my WBC count was close but 1 point off acceptable.  My Chemo nurse and built a story to go ahead as I was feeling so well and she then called the DR.  End play was that we went ahead and I am now on Day 2.  My condition is slow, tired, nauseous, and feeling generally listless.  Nice part is that I will feel better tomorrow after they remove the bottled Chemo.)

As I mentioned in a previous post, Tara-Lee and Brehn planned their wedding for June 24^th.  For quite some time now, I have been feeling that the wedding was well into the future and we would be busy prior to, during and after the wedding.  Well that was all true.  The run up to the wedding was busy getting prepared and dealing with little emergencies that come when a massive planning event is undertaken.  Tara-Lee and Brehn undertook most of the planning and preparation and only called upon “the folks” when needed.  Regardless, there were some very busy days prior to the wedding.  The two of them schemed and executed many little and big things to entertain and amuse their guests at the wedding.  I truly believe they got a huge kick out of keeping secrets and taking on fun and different activities, events and props for the wedding.  All that to say, that I got caught up in the planning from time to time and enjoyed helping them get ready for their big day.

The actual day came up faster than any of us expected and suddenly it was here.  The evening before the wedding Brehn arranged for a local pub to house a large number of out of town family and friends for a meet and greet with some nibblies and select drinks.  It was well attended and afforded the opportunity for families to mix and get to know each other before the wedding.  It went on well into the night before we retreated to our respective hotel accommodation in Ottawa.

The following day was filled with varying activities depending on the role one played in this day.  A group of Tara-Lee’s friends and family gathered to fuss over the bride and to have their make-up and hair attended to by professionals.  Brehn and his Dad went for a professional shave and joined some of us in a Pub for lunch.  Then things got into high gear as we readied ourselves for the 5:30 m event to be held at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa.  I had a 2:45 pm pick-up time at the hotel in an immense limo which had been directed to take me to the location where the ladies were preparing.  It was pretty nice being driven along the 417, alone, in this huge vehicle.  It was somewhat amusing as we stopped to pick up a bottle of Champagne at College Square LCBO and the white gloved driver waited by the car while I ran inside to make a purchase.  Upon arrival at the house I was introduced to my daughter in her beautiful dress, fresh make-up and enhanced hair style that made her look absolutely stunning.  I also met my date, Freddi, who had been through a transformation of sorts to the point that I almost didn’t recognize her as Freddi is not a make-up hair style type of lady.  She too looked stunning.  So after some fussing and adding some flowers to our respective uniforms of the day we loaded into the car to get to the Aviation Museum.  Some of Tara-Lee’s neighbours had gathered to see her in her dress and climb aboard her limo for the wedding.  During the drive, with only the four of us, TL, Freddi, Kaia and me, we enjoyed a quiet few moments to reflect and laugh while enjoying a sip or two of champagne.  This was it – my daughter was getting married.  This was an event that I have been looking forward to for many years and it had arrived.  She will make Brehn a very happy man with her dedication, love and enthusiasm and the gift of sharing all that she has.

Our next step was pretty unusual and very cool as we drove to the Ottawa Flight Training area near the Ottawa International Airport.  We left the limo and were escorted to 1956 Beaver Amphibian aircraft from the collection of Michael Potter’s – Vintage Wings.  Paul Kissman is a buddy of Brehn as they flew together and became friends many years ago.  He is connected to Vintage Wings and made these arrangements to support Brehn and Tara-Lee’s special day.  We were met by Paul and Lorna, his wife, and they helped us get loaded into the aircraft.  We then flew from Ottawa heading west and then back towards the Aviation Museum along the river.  Our hostess, Lorna, made sure we had some Champagne for this part of the journey.  Paul had a broad grin on his face the whole time we were in the air as he enjoyed not only the flying but making this special for Tara-Lee and her family was a goal that he had achieved.  We toured around the east end of Ottawa as there were some delays on the ground so Paul took us on another circuit before landing and taxiing to the museum.  What an entrance, as the wedding guests were seated on the tarmac and they watched us awkwardly disembarked the airplane.  My big role was to walk Tara-Lee to Brehn and hand her over to Brehn for the wedding service.

Photo Credit:  Gray Rodier

The service went off without a hitch, other than a helicopter fly past and the take off of one of the biplanes with a pilot who was polite enough to “wing wave” as he passed, and was well officiated by Thorney another buddy of Brehn.  His best line was “By the authority vested in me, or not, I now pronounce you man and wife”.  So are they married?   From there we broke up the official service and started the party with many photos and a slow migration into the bar area of the museum.  The party, dinner, speeches and dancing roared by so quickly but a great time was had by all.  I did manage to have a dance with my daughter and then Freddi and I stayed on the dance floor well into the night.  A great day for us all with the time shared with Tara-Lee and Brehn’s friends and family together for the celebration.

A Post Wedding brunch was hosted by the bride and groom and many of the guests made their way to the house for some food and beverages.  It was a nice social event giving people a chance to chat and enjoy some quiet time.  Brehn’s family stayed at the cottage for a couple of days, as did Richard and Barb, so we had a house full for a few days.  It was most enjoyable as we enjoyed our one good day, weather-wise, with lots of food, wine and chatter.  All in all we had a nice visit after the wedding and have now settled into a quiet time here at the house. 

Canada Day was a quiet time for Freddi and me as we stayed close to home and watched the festivities on TV.  The down time was appreciated as Freddi had her eye surgery on the 28^th and needed some time to recoup.

This blog has been a good review of the last couple of weeks for me and it afforded the time to document some of the key events over that period.  I hope it was enjoyable for you and I once again thank you for dropping in.

With much love to you all ......