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 ......