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 4th. 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 15th. 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 ......
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