Round 4 Session 16 (Nov 26) and Session 17 (Dec 17th) Part 1

I have just reviewed my last Blog entry and I now know, for sure, that I have been negligent in keeping this blog up to date.  Some significant things have happened since I last wrote in this blog and I have failed to write about those things.  They include, first and foremost, our vacation, subsequent treatment, some changes at WestJet, and then another treatment.  I have decided I will break this into two blog entries for simplicity and continuity.  So here goes.

Freddi and I went to Toronto for a family event, in November, where a group of 17 of us got together for a few days.  We participated in the weekend activities which included a hockey game with Jamie playing his heart out while his enlarged family looked on.  That was a fun event and he did very well.  We then had a wonderful dinner event at Greg and Jill’s house.  Greg and Jill prepared a wonderful dinner to compliment the shared time with family members.  We ate well, laughed heartily and enjoyed our shared time to the fullest.  It was fun to see the children getting to know each other and appreciating the value of having cousins and getting to know some of the adults they do not see often.  It was a precious couple of days.

The Family dinner - November 2019

Early Sunday morning Freddi and I caught a flight to Calgary to connect with our flight to Puerto Vallarta.  The transport went smoothly however Freddi’s suitcase did not make the same flight that we were on.  WestJet sent us on our way to find some essentials with a promise to repay that cost and that they would find the bag and get it to us in 24 hours.  That did happen and Freddi has some new essentials as a reminder.  


Our intake to the resort was routine and of course they scheduled “an update” during our visit.  The only issue of going to Vidanta is that they are very insistent on having a discussion with us over breakfast where they can update us on the resort plus encourage us (vigorously) to upgrade our business/vacation opportunities with them.  We did agree to the breakfast with a couple of stipulations and we were sent to our ocean view rooms.  Our representative was a very nice women, doing her job, and she was sensitive to our need for a restful vacation.

Without going into too much detail, we spent the next 7 days doing very little of note but getting the relaxation we felt we needed.  We ate in their restaurants and enjoyed the taste experiences very much.  We sat about at the pool often and read, slept, sipped cocktails and generally enjoyed the heat of the sun and access to the ocean.  Our accommodation was in an older building and in the future, we will ensure that we stay in the Grand Mayan instead of the Mayan Place as we enjoyed that arrangement more.  The vacation slipped away quickly, as does every day it seems, and we have good memories of the resort, the center village in Puerto Vallarta, Casa Kimberly and visits to some local spots to boot.  We managed some shopping in the village and came away with some good buys and necessary purchases. All in all, it was an uneventful vacation with lots of down time to reflect and renew ourselves.  Our trip back took us through Vancouver as there were no available seat for our stand-by travel through Calgary.

At Casa Kimberly

Upon our return, that very same day, I went to the hospital for my routine blood tests required before I receive treatment.  My treatment was scheduled the next day, Nov 26, and apparently, the results were all OK as my treatment started at 8 am on the Tuesday.  The treatment itself went without a hitch.  The team at the hospital did their magic and after a few hours I was on my way with my bottle attached and working for the next 48 hours.  That treatment period slipped away very quickly but not without the usual repercussions of listlessness, fatigue, mouth sores, diarrhea, constipation and inability to enjoy good sleep.  This session was no worse than any other, but it was different in its primary effects.  I was basically out of it for a full seven days as I battled the evolving effects of the Chemo.  After the 7 days I was fine and rebuilding myself.  My patience with this process is waning slightly as I wonder about what this process is doing to my internal organs and to what degree we are being successful with this line of treatment.  I will have a look at my CT results at the end of December and discuss this with my Dr in January.


Al in all, November was a good month for us, and I hope that subsequent months have as many rewarding moments as we plow through the future.  I will update the subsequent treatment shortly.


Be well …… and Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for great 2020.
With love ….. Paul

Round 4 Session 16 (Nov 5th cancelled)

Fall colours over Lake Bernard

Good morning, I am writing early this morning before I address my inbox as I find that I get taken into "ether world" with ads from Loblaws (searching for new and special dinner answers), some vacation company (always a fun diversion), photography offers (I’m trying to find time to pursue this hobby), News feeds (trying to understand why Helen Mirren was embarrassed while having tea with the Queen), Facebook ( a place where you can get lost in other people’s lives), Instagram posts, and of course the messages directed at me for any of the business ventures that I am involved in.  All of this seems to draw me into an electronic vortex and is a huge diversion from what I sat down to do.  So, I am trying to avoid all that this morning as I feel the need and urge to update folks on what is happening with my medical situation as well as other more trivial but interesting things in our lives.

 My last session of Chemo was on Oct 22 and my last blog entry was early in that process.  That session recovery took almost a full week as I was tired and listless for several days and then the bottle removal caused no end of confusion for my body in terms of bowel movements, stomach cramps, neuropathy and ability to sleep soundly.  Each day brought new experiences and reactions, but they petered out after the week.  That afforded me the pleasure of having almost two full weeks of normal physical standing.  

 However, since the Oct session had to be delayed by one week due to low WBC count, my next session would be scheduled for Nov 12^th.  That is next week and only a few days before we start our planned November vacation.  In my last discussion with Dr Jonker we discussed this potential situation and he agreed that we could skip that session and continue upon my return.  So, I have cancelled my session for the 12^th of Nov and have set my next appointment for Chemo on Nov 26^th at 8:00 am.  That is the day after we return to Ottawa from our vacation.  The net of all of this is I have an additional two weeks where I am feeling my strongest and most healthy.  During that two-week period I will share this good healthy feeling at work with several scheduled shifts next week and then on vacation.

 The vacation plans start on Friday eve on the 15^th with a short hop to Toronto on our WJ flight at 6:45 pm and a drive to see and stay with my sister Lucy.  My WJ shift that day ends at 7 pm so I will be asking to leave early so that we can be on the planned flight.  There is one additional flight that evening should something go wrong with timing and our plan. We are expecting Richard and Barb to show up later in the evening as they are driving into Mississauga from Chicago that day.  On Saturday the whole Toronto Rodier clan is gathering at my Nephew’s house for dinner and some fun chatter.  That will include about 16 of us as Tara-Lee, Brehn and Kaia will be there also.  It will be a fun gathering as we have not been able to coordinate schedules to have us all together since we were at Greg’s cottage a few years ago. 

 The next morning Freddi and I are catching a flight from Toronto through Calgary and eventually getting us to Puerto Vallarta early in the afternoon.  We will be staying at the same resort but in a different building on the large resort site.  That will provide some new routines as we will be on the other side of the resort and a bit farther from our favourite breakfast joint just off the beach.  We will get along I am sure, and we will enjoy the vacation time at the resort.  We particularly enjoy going into the old town and taking part in the food, drink, shopping, history and just strolling through the old streets.  Our return voyage to Ottawa will be on stand-by and we are hoping to leave on the 24^th and will have to spend the night in Calgary before continuing to Ottawa on the early flight at 9:00ish.  That gets us into Ottawa in the mid-afternoon.  That will necessitate a quick run to the hospital to see if I can get my pre-Chemo blood test done that day.  Failing that I can do the blood test first thing Tuesday before my Chemo appointment.

 Bruce and I finished the year with our planned number of boats in place.  Last week we pulled our tin boat and the pontoon boat is safely resting in its winter spot.  I still need to cover the tin boat with shrink wrap and to pull on the cover for the pontoon boat for the season.  I am hoping some of those things will be completed this weekend or early next week.  Otherwise they will have to be December activities.  Then there is the wood pile which is in need of some attention with the splitter.  I am planning on using it this week to get started.  We have used a bunch of wood already as the nights have been pretty cool.  I enjoy the fire each evening and it provides a great deal of heat to the house.

 My shift list came out at WestJet this week.  It includes the holiday season and all CSAs are guaranteed at least one holiday off for their shift requirements for the period.  I was lucky enough to get my first reference and basically, I am working Sat and Sun mornings with 4 days of “Gate” training in December. I managed to get both Christmas and New Year off, but I will likely take someone’s shift for one of those days.  

 The next month seems to be a busy time but I can say that about pretty much every month these days.  I am finding that time slips away and am astonished when I get to a new month each month.  I am now going to get on with my day and enjoy breakfast with Freddi.  I might eveen skip the distractions of my email account this morning as I feel the need to do some outdoor work.  I work tomorrow morning at WestJet so I will be a little late for breakfast tomorrow morning.  Weekend breakfast has been a long tradition in our family.

Thank you for your interest and as ever, if you have questions or comments, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Be well ……

Round 4 Session 14 and 15 - plugging away

Today is day 2 of my 15^th session of this round of Chemo to defend against cancer activity in my liver and my lungs.  During day 2 I am, as usual, feeling listless, tired, uncomfortable, with little appetite and a lot of frustration with the process.  It is tiring and sometimes I feel that this is a good time to not take Chemo for a while.  The last time I did that I had a full 12-month break and in the end the cancer went from a group of small nodes to a few bigger nodes and lab results took a turn from bad to worse.   That was the beginning of Round 4 in November 2018.  Since that time, I have clocked 15 sessions in the 11 months.  I am tired and a bit grumpy about all of this and I am wondering where this is going.  However, I did get a CT scan done on Sept 26^th and saw dr Jonker for the results.  The only thing he indicated to me was that the lung spots were smaller by a tiny bit – what ever that means.   I am assuming that the whole 4^th Round has been successful in reducing the size of the Cancer spots in both my liver and lungs.  That is a good thing!   I managed to have the 14^th session on Oct 01 and was delayed again because of low WBC counts on the two-week window that would have gotten me back on track for my planned three-week cycle.  The 15^th session was also delayed, and I managed to have that on Tuesday of this week (Oct 22) and that is where we are today.

During the month since my last blog note I have been busy again with Lightning Tree work, the boats and of course the WestJet shifts that start in the night-time and end in early morning timeframe.  The Lightning Tree work has been around getting organized for our new FY that started on Aug 01.  We are bit behind in that planning, but we are looking at scheduling a Partner meeting in the next two weeks to tie down a plan.  The company is doing well to date and I believe we are looking to increase our count of Consultants in the short term.  

The boats have been coming in at intervals during September and October and we have been able to keep up with the flow.  WestJet work got in the way of doing boats on some of the sunny and warm days we have been experiencing.  But we plowed ahead and last Monday we finished the last of our client boats.  Our final count was as expected and at the same level as last year.  We are also well set up for next season as we have some inventory of materials already for the work next fall.  The only boats in the lake, that I care about, are our own boats.  I believe we will pull our 2 boats out of the lake on the weekend.

WestJet shift a have been a bit of a challenge recently as my regular shifts have been cut to accommodate Chemo periods.  As a result, I have been picking up some shifts to fill in some blanks and to increase the revenue or pay cheque to the expected level.  The work is sometimes challenging as I am working at the counter more and having to deal with the full cross-section of our guests.  Some are patient and prepared and some are impatient and not prepared to travel in Canada with its irregular weather patterns.  Some parts of Canada have had snow delays already and that tends to put a bit of crimp in traveller’s plans.  It also increases the workload at the counter.  I do enjoy dealing with the guests and the clunky computer systems that are available to the airline to connect with other airlines and maintain our schedules as closely as we can.  I must thank my peers for being so generous with advice, tactics, sharing their practices etc. while I continue to learn about working with the systems for reservation, ticketing, baggage, special circumstance, schedules and of course ensuring I take a break on some of the longer shifts.  They are a good group to work with.  We are entering a season high for WestJet as the winter also moves closer.  The migration south for our snowbirds has already begun at the airport.  Our next shift schedule release will encompass the Christmas and New Year breaks and we are guaranteed to have 2 consecutive days off on one of the holidays. 

Kaia enjoying the fall ritual of gathering up the leaves

Our next tasks at hand are to ready the buildings for winter, pull the water for the lower cottage, clean up the docks and finish the gardens.  Oh, I that all?  We will be venturing to Toronto to meet up with our Toronto clan and the clan from Nevada as my brother and sister-in-law will be in TO for a week.  We will then carry on to Puerto Vallarta for a week of down time with a good book or two.  I am looking forward to the break from all of this.  Freddi is very happy to be having a break in November too.

It is blustery night out there and I am going to put on a fire to remove the chill and dampness in the house and then put on a movie to continue my restful day.

Thank you for your interest and as ever, if you have questions or comments, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Be well ……

Round 4 Session 12 and 13

Today was a Dr. visit to see how things are progressing.  It happens to be one day before my next Chemo treatment, and I expected to have had a CT Scan before the appointment.  I had noted this with the scheduling folks when I received a reminder of the Dr. Jonker appointment.  They told me that the CT was scheduled for Oct.  I found out today that it should have been done in early September so the Dr. could see the results and share them with me.  Well that did not happen.  So, I will be returning in three weeks for another Dr. visit after a CT Scan.


Before I get to the current situation, I should catch you up as it has been a while since I have addressed this blog.  This period in my life seems to be busier than any other period that I recall.  All aspects of my life seem to be racing forward with or without direction and my days are full of many diverse activities and responsibilities.  I am not complaining as I like to be busy but some days I just need to slow down and smell the roses, as they say.  There doesn’t seem to be enough time to just slow down.  

Regardless, I had two sessions of Chemo since the last post.  The 12^th session was on August 3 and the last session (13) was on September 3.  Both sessions were executed without fanfare or issues.  There was a bit of an issue on session 13 as my WBC count was just below the acceptable level.  I asked the nurse to advise the Dr. that I wanted to proceed as we were only just below the “go” level.  He agreed and the session proceeded as planned.  In terms of reactions to the sessions I was subjected to the normal listlessness, malaise, fatigue, nausea and the bowel taking control of my life for a couple of days.  The latter is the most disconcerting as it appears that the colon surgery a few years back removed some of the “early warning system” built into our bodies.  By that I mean when it is time – it is time!  As a result, I like to stay close to home or at a minimum, know where the public facilities are wherever I am going that day.  I think I can write a book about the “Toilets of Ottawa” as I have visited many over the years.


All in, the cycles are consistent with malaise for two days accompanied by constipation and lack of appetite.  On the third day I remove the bottle and that seems to signal the arrival of diarrhea sessions for the next couple of days which are followed by days of increased well being.  I take some stomach needles on day 4 through 7 to increase my WBC production.  By day 7 I am pretty good and my regular eating and drinking habits take over.  That leaves me week 2 and 3 to enjoy a more normal existence.


Other than Chemo, I have been busy with Lightning Tree Consulting activities as well as regularly scheduled WestJet shifts and anticipating the arrival and preparing for the start of the boat season.  WestJet shifts are 3 days a week right now and they start at either 4:30 am or some other godforsaken time.  That means I leave Lake Bernard sometime around 3:00 am.  Early morning shifts are to my liking as I need daylight for most other things that I do.  The boats started to be available for winterizing in early September and we are keeping pace with the demand.  We will only be taking in 25 boats this year as we now know that more than that is a little stressful.


This morning I had my regular blood tests again in preparation for the session tomorrow.  The Dr. just informed me that my WBC count was too low to proceed.  That was a red flag for me as my three-week cycle is now at risk.  If I delay one week now, then all other sessions are delayed by a week. That change would conflict with a vacation in November and Christmas and our planned vacation in January.  I asked the Dr. what the issue is of going forward with low WBCs.  He told me it could lead to an infection which is hard to control and sometimes leads to death.  Well that got my attention.  In the end we agreed to delay one week and then do my next session in 2 weeks instead of 3 weeks.  That was an agreeable compromise and he decided to increase my stomach shots from 3 days to 5 days after bottle removal.  Some patients do up to 10 shots between sessions.  Not my idea of fun I assure you.


This was meant to be a quick update to you folks as I have not been able to get to the blog for some time now.  I will update again once we get session 14 out of the way and plan for session 15.


Thank you for your interest and as ever, if you have questions or comments, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Be well ……

                                                                                                    

Round 4 Session 11 and many other things......

I am sitting at the cottage today after an early morning shift at the airport.  The house is empty and the animals are all sprawled about the floors like carpets.  They are resting as they all have been very busy over the last few days.  A great deal of time has passed since I last sat down to address this blog to report “Goings on” and I feel very badly about that.   Time seems to just slip away during times of busy schedules and family activities.  Where do I start? 

It seems that I pulled through Session 10 after some fairly normal but uncomfortable reactions to my treatment.  I recall it being a slow recovery and significant enough that I suggested to my Dr that I skip one treatment (scheduled for July 9^th) due to a full schedule of activities at work as well as the impending arrival of our guests from Great Britain.  That meeting, on June 25^th, was a routine meeting where Dr Jonker advised me that my growths of Cancer on my liver and lungs were smaller than the last test but once again he reminded me that they would not go away.  Of course he was sympathetic to my situation and we agreed that we would do our next treatment on July 23^rd.  With that in the books I set out to undertake some training at WestJet and planning activities for our guests during their stay with us.  A little more detail will be covered later in this post.

Session 11 happened on the July 23^rd as planned and the event was routine and uneventful.  I managed to do some grocery shopping on the way home but I spent the rest of that day resting and hoping I would feel better soon.  Unfortunately I woke up the next morning with a head cold to be combined or added to the nausea, listlessness, fatigue and irregular bowel operations that are typically side effects of the treatment.  The head cold has persisted through today but the effects of the treatment have run their course and are now receding into the memory book.  Having both a cold and treatment happened back in March also and I only managed to get well again based on a couple of weeks in Hawaii.  Perhaps that is what I need now to make all of this go away.  Today is day 7 and I finally feel a wee bit better and know that tomorrow will be a better day.  The only thing I really have left to deal with is a runny nose and a deep cough.

Prior to this treatment cycle I managed to have some pretty intense times as well as some very relaxing and pleasurable social experiences.  My training at work provided me with more stimulation than I needed as the 4 day course was interesting, stimulating and in some parts fun.  We had a small band of GSA’s making the transition to CSA’s and that meant that we had to be trained on the computer aspects of our business.  Our new positions require us to create travel experiences, check-in existing reservations and trouble shoot travel itineraries, deal with flight cancelations or delays, re-accommodate guests and do a number of admin functions focused on getting guests to their destinations in an effective manner.  The actual training time was intense and we managed to succeed in our testing to allow us to go ahead with “on-the-job” training the following week (July 2^nd week).  The OJT was like throwing us into the fire with support from one of our long term CSA’s.  She helped us to recall processes and procedures and made sure we did not send anyone to a location they were not expecting.  The OJT was very effective as we dealt with real problems and checked people into their flights etc. as a part of normal business.  I found the training brain draining but very effective since it has many diverse processes or procedures to get our guests on aircraft in a timely fashion.  My first full shift without a trainer on July 12^th was pretty intense as we had 3 cancellations in the early morning due to weather the evening before.  That was trial by fire and I learned a great deal that day.  A couple of weeks have passed now and I have had a few shifts under my belt and I am feeling more confident but the learning continues.  This morning, I was assigned as the GSA of the day and I enjoyed chatting up guests in wheelchairs as I did as part of my old job.  The difference is that now I could handle their ticketing issues on the computer if need be.   My job has evolved and I am getting more comfortable and I am learning new things from my co-workers every day.  All is good!

In this same period we had some guests from Great Britain come and stay with us for 10 days.  In November of 2017 Freddi and I took a cruise in the Caribbean with Holland America and during that cruise we met Sue and Paul.  During the cruise we met often and shared some dinners together and enjoyed the chats we had enough that we agreed to stay in touch.  We corresponded from time to time and our notes turned towards helping them organize a Canadian visit in the early summer of 2019.  They organized a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska, a Rocky Mountaineer train ride through the mountains, some time in Jasper, Banff and then a stay in Calgary during the Calgary Stampede.  Those activities in themselves were ambitious and promised some spectacular scenery and action in the western part of Canada.  They also decided to accept our invitation to visit Lake Bernard, Ottawa and Quebec City and stay with us for a period.  Sue and Paul arrived from Calgary on July 13^th and we drove them through Ottawa en route to Lake Bernard.  We settled in at the lake and prepared a quiet family meal in the tree house (our screened in porch).  They had many a good tale to share with us about their experiences in Canada.  The following day we went about normal business at the lake, feeding, food prep, relaxing, chatting and all of the good things in life.  We invited some friend over for cocktails to get to know Sue and Paul before any more formal activities happened.  The following Saturday was scheduled as the Lake Bernard Golf Tourney and Sue and Paul agreed to take on golf for their first time.  So meeting some of those folks in a relaxed setting was ideal.  Our late afternoon stretched into the evening and a good time was had by all.  During the early part of their stay we generally hung out at the cottage doing cottage things like boating, eating, swimming, did I mention eating, tasting the grape and relaxing.  I am sure it felt good for them as they had been on the road and active in western Canada for 3 weeks before arriving in Ottawa.  On Tuesday we set out by car to visit Quebec City and to stay in the Olde city for a couple of days.  We all enjoyed the brief but pleasant stay in the Chateau Frontenac in the heart of Olde Quebec.  We naturally ate well and tasted some fine wine while we prowled though the streets learning about early Quebec history and the antics of both the English and the French colonists of the day.  We took a walking tour for a 2.5 hour period with an ex-school teacher as our guide.  She was excellent and jovial and very well informed about the history of Quebec.  It was a very informative and fun walk about.  We had our first dinner there at La Vieux Canadian restaurant which happens to be in one of the oldest houses in Olde Quebec.  The food was excellent as expected but the service was not what we had expected based on our earlier experience at the restaurant.  Regardless, we had a nice dinner, good conversation and a nice evening to start our time in Quebec.  We used the time to be inquisitive about the city, relax as it was a vacation, and to wander about the shops and to share our own stories about places we have been and seen.  I enjoyed the visit, the company and we capped off the 3 day stay by taking a bit of a driving tour of Ile d’Orlean just east of the city.  It is a picturesque farming community situated in the middle of the St Lawrence River.  The subsequent drive back to Ottawa was an easy and entertaining drive as we chatted amongst ourselves.

That evening we left Sue and Paul at the Chateau Laurier for the night and the following day so they could have some time to themselves and walk about Ottawa by themselves to see and do whatever they wanted to do.   Freddi picked them up on Friday night to return to Lake Bernard in preparation for the golf event on Saturday morning.  Sue and Paul are real sports.  Even though they had never played golf before they wanted to join in and meet some of the Lake folk.  We had a fun game with all of us taking more strokes than necessary to get around the 18 holes.  Post game activities included swimming and relaxing in preparation for the evening dinner party that was held at the Carr Cottage.  It was a great event with lots of golf chatter as well as some serious discussions about sports, world politics and other such important subjects.  All in all a good day with lots of exercise in the warm weather and lots of good interactions with friends and family.

On Sunday we had a quiet day around the cottage topped with a farewell dinner with family in the tree house.  It was quite amazing how quickly and easily time went by with Sue and Paul as our guests.  I believe they had a nice stay and were exposed to lots of Canadian summer cottage activities.  On Monday morning I drove them to Ottawa to catch a train to Montreal for a brief stay before returning to GB.  It was sad saying good bye as there are many miles between our respective homes and that will limit the opportunities to share time together.  Freddi and I are resolved to visit with the Eaton family in the near future.

As outlined in the above passage the last month has been well scheduled with lots of good activities.  As a result I was delinquent in my blogging and fully enjoyed the extra time without Chemo treatments to hamper our enjoyment.  I will resume my normal 3 week cycle with the next scheduled date being August 13^th.  The only potential change could come if my immune system does not respond well and my WBC count is low when I take my blood tests on the 12^th of August.  My next CT Scan will be in mid September with a follow-up with Dr Jonker in late September.

This week we have Bree and Skylar along with Tara-Lee, Kaia and Brehn here.  Gray is arriving on Thursday for a few days before they return west on the 5^th of August.  So this week is family week at the Rodier’s and there will be many good hours down by the water enjoying water sports during our short summer.

Thank you for dropping in to catch up and I do hope you will reach out to me should you have any questions or thoughts on this blog.  I appreciate your interest and look forward to further discourse on any of these subjects.

Be well ......

Round 4 Session 10

Good morning, today is Day 1 (June 18th) of my Chemo treatment and I have just re-read the last blog and noticed two things.  (Aside from a couple of typos)  The first is that I seem to find time the day after Chemo to address this blog.  The reason for that is that I do not schedule any activities on day 2 due to inconsistency of reactions and how I feel medically.  The second is that my appointment yesterday was a mirror image of the one I had for session 9.  I left a morning shift at WestJet a little early so I was able to start my Chemo appointment at 8:00 am.  I was first there and no one else was scheduled until 9:00 am due to a training session for the Epic treatment records implementation.   My nurses started my process off before the session so they could attend.  The implementation is getting some bad press as it is slowing down patient care due to getting familiar with new processes and capturing data directly to the on-line patient record.  I believe these are short lived problems as they deal with migrations of older data and becoming familiar with new workstations, screens and processes.  Some frustration has crept out to the press and naturally they are feeding on these tidbits.  But my session was relatively unaffected.  It still took 3.5 hours and there was much counseling and cross chat about how to do things during the session. 

The balance of the day was resting and reading.  During the evening I had a light dinner with Freddi and stayed up for late night TV thanks to the steroids.

Day 2 (yesterday) I spent the morning doing some computer work at home.  I was having some side effects that were not pleasant so I laid low for the morning.  In the afternoon I spent some time working with my business partner in the field and delivering boats.  We did not push it too hard but got two boats to their docks.  I found the afternoon work a bit stressful but I managed.  Had dinner with Freddi and crashed early as I needed some sleep.

Day 3 (today) I went to town early as I had an appointment to have my bottle removed at 9:30 am.  I left the house late, due to some email messages I had received that needed immediate attention, and managed to eat my cut up fruit while driving into town.  Not an ideal way to have breakfast.  The bottle removal was simple and routine but this time the Nurse noted some spots on my tongue which is caused by Chemo.  I am now rinsing my mouth more often with a mixture of salt, baking soda and water.  I usually do this and have been doing it this time but I guess not often enough.  These sores can blister and that makes eating very uncomfortable.  In the past I have had to use a prescription liquid medicine to relieve this effect.  Generally I am not feeling well or perky and my mood is quite low right now.  I am feeling some pressure in life that is disconcerting at best.  The reality of my situation and the long term prospects are not very palatable right now.  I have early reactions to Chemo even feeling nauseated beforehand.  I spoke to a nurse about this and she confirmed that it is not unusual for people to have pre-Chemo symptoms such as nausea.   However, it is what it is and I just have to suck it up and do what has to be done.

On a better note, I recently attended a Memorial for great man who had a short round with Cancer.  I say short as a relative measure but he battled Cancer for 10 brave months and had a particularly bad last four months.  He was a military man who was very much in control of his life, his work, his charges in different positions in the military as well as control of battle with Cancer.  He tried very hard to keep his family and friends aware but not brooding about his condition.  He managed, with the help of his wife and sons to ensure that his passing was well organized and they were all prepared for that eventual circumstance.  His Memorial was well attended and the stories that were shared showed him to be a man of determined and steadfast character who always looked out for others while keeping his house in order.  He was well loved for his character and position of helping others achieve their goals while meeting the objectives of the forces.  He also had a strong sense of humour and enjoyed the fun that life provides and he was a raconteur when it came to sharing some of the high points in his life with family, friends and workforce.  He was a great man, of great character and he will be missed by many.  I am happy I was able to attend his Memorial.

I am hoping by tomorrow that I will have enough energy to start the demolition of the dock that was crushed by ice this year.  We have purchased a new dock that needs to be installed and connected to our floaters.  It is not a big job but it is labourious and not very interesting.   Once the wreck is gone the new dock must be affixed to the shore deck so that it can be removed each winter.  It is a aluminum stretch with wooden boards on the top surface that can be removed.  I have been convinced by others that light aluminum frames are easy to work with and will last far longer than building another wooden structure in the water.  We shall see.....

I am going to sign off for today as I need to get some rest or at least read for a bit until I fall asleep.  Thank you for dropping in and feel free to message me if you would like any further details or have any questions about what is going on.

Be well .....

Round 4 Session 8 and 9

Another month has slipped by and today I decided to address my blog as some good things have happened in the last month.  In my last blog I spoke to the three week cycle which proved to be great after session 7.  My period of illness, discomfort and dealing with my irregular bowel lasted for a little over a week.  Things settled down to the judicious use of Imodium (for the bowel) and some nausea meds to bring peace to my system.  That left me almost 2 full weeks between sessions when I was feeling pretty normal and able to conduct myself in a normal fashion.

I had the opportunity to “fix” things at WestJet as I handed in a Dr letter to give me relief on the schedule for my treatments.  Oddly enough the folks in Calgary set up an agreement that was just until June 3 which is a day after my new schedule comes into effect.  Interesting timing but we will see if this makes any difference when I get my schedule.  I am to be scheduled for some training t WestJet as I have agreed to take a step up to Customer Service Agent (CSA) which entails being able to help guests with their ticketing as well as all of the other things I currently do.  That training should fall into the next scheduling period.  The training is to teach me the computer processes so the 4 days will likely be sitting on my butt trying to remember a gazillion commands and situations.  It will be a trial for an old guy like me.

April 30

Session 9 started yesterday and I thought I might share that day with you.  On Monday I did my blood work and picked up my meds for this session.  I arrived at the QCH on time and settled in for my 3.5 session yesterday.  Being there at 8:00 am I am a start-up patient and we have time to talk and get going slowly.  It is a pleasant and informative time.  Yesterday we talked about the impact of the unit implementing EPIC (an integrated patient record system for Dr departments and patients alike) and the effect it will have on working procedures for all who work with it.  In my discussion with Dr Jonker a few weeks ago he indicated that a moratorium on vacations was being implemented for the first month of EPIC implementation.  The nurse I spoke with yesterday has been trained as a super user so no vacation for the summer for her.  I enjoyed probing to understand the Change Management aspects that were being implemented to support the users through the transition.  We shall see how all of that goes.  We then back to business at hand and she prepared me with the poke in my port to deliver the chemo.  I take two pills for nausea right off the bat as well a shot of steroid (the cause of sleeplessness for 24 hours) as well as the three bags of chemo.  All of that gives the system a good shake and makes one feel a bit off kilter as well feeling a bit ill.  My bottle did not arrive in the morning shipment (for some reason) so I had to leave without it and return at 2:00 pm to have it installed.  The bottle provides a measured amount of chemo to be pumped into my system for 48 hours.  It is an inconvenience as one has to deal with it sleeping, bathing and generally work around its presence during normal daily functions.  This morning I was quite nauseous until after my meds took effect.  I sometimes wonder how the body deals with and sorts through the myriad of drugs that one takes for such a procedure.  Once my bottle was attached I was on my way.  So far all seems to be well and my bowel is operating normally (you really wanted to know that didn’t you?) however I am pretty confident that will change in the next few hours.

Upon arriving at the cottage I took Bailey for a walk and started to put away some things I brought home and thought about the ice and the dock.  I went down to the water to see that I was just a bit too late.  The first thing I noticed was that east side dock was on top of my shore dock and the 

Free floating dock April 30

bridge to connect the two was upside down and under the floater and it was floating away.  The ice has incredible strength when it moves and that demonstrated to me that the ice had indeed been on the move in my absence.  The next task to lasso and pull the shore dock into shore as it was floating well away from the shore.  Finally, after many attempts and some good cussing, I managed to get the dock secured to a tree.  I went after some more rope to better secure the second floated and secured it from the west side.  I then re-attached the bubbler and broke u some of the ice that was encroaching on the west floater.  It did not take long for the bubbler to clear that area of ice.  All of that exercise took about 2 hours and I was exhausted once it was done.  That type of activity is supposed to be during my better weeks and not right after starting the chemo process.

Later in the day I turned my attention to the weather and was delighted to hear that we were in a weather warning for Wednesday afternoon and evening with 30 to 50km winds from the east and snow rain and freezing rain, in no particular order.  That means I need to secure the second floater to support it for an east wind.  I will seek out some more rope and secure it early in the afternoon.  So far we do not have any wind but it is seriously overcast.

So having a quiet dinner with Freddi in front of the TV last night was well received.  I stayed up late as the steroid does that and I caught up on some late night TV.  I did manage to get some sleep though and I am feeling less queasy and tired today.

Thank you for dropping in and I hope that things are well in your world.  I am always happy to respond to your individual inquiries so feel free to drop a line or respond herein.

Namaste

Round 4 Session 7

Today is a great day.  It is Thursday of the third week after my session 7 of Chemo in this round.  The significance of that statement is that I am now having Chemo every three weeks instead of every two weeks.  The third week gives me an additional 7 days to strengthen my body and enjoy some of the more normal things in our days.

Dr Jonker and I discussed this transition as I was finding the quality of my life was way down when we were on a two week cycle.  As I have explained before, the three day chemo session makes me quite nauseous and feeling very lethargic without the ability to sleep well for about the six or seven day mark.  After that there is the usual struggle with regularity and frequency of bowel activity that becomes a factor in daily decision making.  This struggle is literally “a pain in the ass” and guides my activities or lack thereof.  So what happens is that week two is generally a re-build week with lots of uncertainty.  Up until this session I only had 14 days between sessions and that gave me very little time to enjoy my life.  In discussion with Dr Jonker we came to an agreement that the three week cycle would not impact his approach to treatment but would certainly impact my ability to cope with the side effects.  This treatment will be my first 3 week cycle in this Round. 

I am sitting here at Lake Bernard listening to blowing wind on a cool but very sunny day.  The overnight temperature was below freezing (-10) but speculation has it that during the latter part of the day the temperature rocketing up to 0.  This is April and the temperature is still at 0.  We have had some warmer days and there has been some thawing/melting but it is still 0 in April!  I fear our “ice out” day on the lake will be well after our normal April 17^th date.  I do not recall such a bad winter in terms of cold, snow and general bitterness.  Perhaps I am just getting old and cold but I certainly do not recall such a winter.

I am trying to look forward to spring where the brown fields start to turn brilliant and varying shades of green against the clear blue sun filled sky and the temperatures are in the positive double digits as the days grow longer.  I am also looking forward to the time when the boats are in the lake and we are able to cruise the lake while enjoying evening appies and beverages.  All of those thoughts keep me going as we struggle with shifting country roads during the thaw, dirty patches where the snow has left wet areas for the dog to wallow in, uncertainty of the winter damages due to heavy snow and ice, the never ending sightings of dog poop that appear after the snow has melted, potential of flooding or wet lands as a result of the abundance of snow this year and the question of when will the ice leave the lake.  All of these factors make for interesting discussions but I will be happy when they are all past us.  I am a summer sort of guy and summer on Lake Bernard is the focus right now.

But I digress .....

On Monday next week I will go for my pre-Chemo blood tests, Dr appointment and a trip to the Pharmacy to pick up my ancillary drugs for my Tuesday Chemo session.  My early morning session is at the Queensway Carleton Hospital and I expect to be out of there by noon.  My week ahead has been cleared of WestJet scheduled shifts as I find it hard to work right after my treatment.  I am going to chat with the Dr to see about a letter to my employer to see if I can have some schedule relief around Chemo days.  Apparently WestJet is open to such a suggestion as I met with my HR person last week and we discussed this whole issue.  I am still trying to maintain a bubble at WestJet but felt I had to talk to someone about the trials and tribulations of my treatments and my HR person has been quite helpful in maintaining confidentiality on this subject.

In closing today I would like to thank you for dropping in and feel free to send any inquiries you might have to me directly. I appreciate your interest.

Be well ......

Round 4 Session 7 pending

Today I am sitting in the airport in Vancouver as I await my next flight to Toronto and then another flight to Ottawa.  Our booked travel had us catching a 9:00 am flight in Vancouver after an overnight flight from Lihue.  The first part went off without a hitch.  The balance of the day is in limbo right now.

We enjoyed two full weeks in Lihue Kauai at the Marriott Vacation Resort where we have been members since 1997.  We enjoy the property, facilities, restaurants, accommodations and the folks who work there.  Over the years we have gotten to know some of the staff and we seek them out each year we visit.  Our accommodation this time was on ground floor which was something we said we would try but will likely not do again.  I much prefer having a Lanai and being one floor above the ground.  During our stay we spent a good deal of time trying to feel better and recover from the nasty cold and generally crappy feeling I experienced through Feb.  To that end we spent a good deal of time on the beach reading sleeping and watching the world go by.  We managed a few outings for shopping, touring, and dining out while we were there but we did not do much that would be considered exciting.  Freddi worked at getting me healthy and fattening me up as I lost a lot of weight while I was sick.  It took until we were in our second week before I stopped hacking and coughing and blowing my nose every few minutes.  And today I am feeling way better with only marginal coughing and sinus work.

This whole holiday has been a challenge as I had to search out and coax people to take some shifts for me at WestJet so I could stay away for the entire period.  I spent hours working with people to make that happen and finally it worked out about a day before we left.  It was quite stressful trying to pull all the loose ends together to actually get there.  While we were on vacation I spent more time trying to negotiate some extra time away as flights home were booked solid and we could only find a flight leaving on the 17^th to get back to Ottawa late on the 18^th.  I had a shift to trade away so Michael and I did some trading and I now have to be at work at 4:30 am on Tuesday.

So as I sit here in Vancouver, I am wondering how I will manage the next few days as some re-aligning has happened due to travel arrangements.  Tonight we will get home about 12:15 am and I must be at work at 4:30 am until 9:30 am.  Following that I must go and have my blood tests for my Chemo session and pick up my drugs for the session before I meet with Dr Jonker at 12:45 pm.  After that meeting I will pick up the dog and cat from Tara-Lee and return to Lake Bernard.  The following morning, Wed Mar 20, I have my next Chemo session at 8:30 am.  I must say that I am not looking forward to it as I remember the effects of my last session.

I am seeing a more normalized life after that session as I have my regular work schedule with few conflicts with my regular life.

Thank you for dropping in and feel free to contact me should you have any questions or thoughts about this blog.

Be well ........

Round 4 Sessions 5 and 6 - some vacation too

I have not taken the opportunity to sit down to write to this blog since late January.  It is not that I did not want to or even had a few interesting tid-bits but I just did not have the energy, acuity or desire to sit and write up until the last few days. In summary I have spent a horrendously bad month of February being sick and having no energy at all.  It all started innocently with a mild cold when we were in Cancun and things just got progressively worse.   That is why it has taken me some time to get back to you.  In this update I will outline some of the more important things that have happened and will try to leave some of the more gory details out.

I wrote the last blog just before we departed for a restful week in Cancun area.  We travelled to Cancun to stay in a chic hotel for our first night.  It was in the centre of the hotel Region which means it is in the busiest area of Cancun.  The Loft Hotel was super chic and modern and provided a good haven from the maddening crowds on the streets.  Upon arrival I realized that my strategic packing lacked any semblance of shorts for our 8 day stay in the warmth.  We strolled through the shops and found a couple of new options to fill the bill.  We only stayed at the Loft for one night as we had a reservation down the highway at Azul Sensitory all-inclusive in Mayan Riviera area.  We transported there around noon on Feb 1 which happened to be our anniversary.  The hotel/resort was not very large but a good selection of restaurants and food stations made it worthwhile.  Our suite was situated over the pool area and the accommodation was more than adequate.  On our first evening we had arranged to dinner at the Le Chique which was on property and was reported to be one of the best restaurants in Mexico.  We enjoyed a 14 bite dinner with all the selections provided by the chef.  The courses were small but intriguing as the kitchen team developed not only tasty but beautifully presented dishes.  We opted for the wine pairing and had a long lingering dinner.  It was very special for sure.

For the next 6 days we settled into a routine of pool time, meals, rest and sleep that was very much appreciated by both of us.  We tried all of the restaurants and returned to one several times and tried to avoid the buffet as much as possible.  We had some very nice sunny days and we managed to tan well in a short time.  During the stay I started with a little cold but gave it little thought.  Overall the stay was very pleasant even though we had to attend a sales presentation of their product.  We managed to get out of the presentation unscathed in only 90 minutes.  Some people were disappointed but they are not part of my family.

Upon return to Ottawa on Feb 8^th, we hibernated at Lake Bernard and enjoyed a quiet time at home.  On the Monday I did my blood tests as usual in preparation for a chemo session on Feb 12^th.  The session went as planned even though I had a cold and cough.  My session was uneventful and I returned home after the session to rest for the next two days before the bottle was to be removed.  At this point I was now dealing with side effects of the chemo and a mounting attack on my body by a more severe cold.  This all came with intense coughing, sore throat, runny nose, nausea, diarrhea, cramps, head ache and insomnia.  All of those things defeated any appetite I could muster and left me feeling pretty punk overall and quite incapacitated.  On Thursday I convinced myself that I was feeling better and after having my bottle removed I went to my 6 hour shift at the airport.  I was full of different drugs and sucking on candies and cough drops to suppress any coughing.  Apparently, I did not fool anyone at work  as many stayed well away from me and I chose to stay away from them.  This was a mistake as it did not make me feel any better any sooner.   Needless to say the cold took control and I spent many sleepless days and nights coughing and hacking up stuff.  I was really sick and stayed at home with my dog. I did manage to get to my GP to see about the cold part.  She listened to my chest and took some blood tests.  Apparently my chest was OK and my blood proved OK as well.  One day rolled into a week and then finally on Feb 25^th I contacted Dr Jonker’s office to beg off Chemo for the 26^th.  I truly felt that if I had chemo that day I would die with the effort.  My body was revolting in many ways and I had lost interest in food and water.  Dr Jonker’s team arranged with CCAC to have a portable pump IV installed on my body for 3 days to ensure that I was properly hydrated.  That was a nuisance but it made me feel better and encouraged me to drink and even eat some small morsels.  I had booked off my shifts at work and managed to do very little throughout this period.  My focus was to try and get better so I could get away on our vacation in early March as planned.

The upshot of all of this is a lingering cold, loss of a number of pounds off my body and reduced appetite and no interest in wine or beer.  Now that is sick in my eyes.  By March 2 I was starting to feel strong enough to resume my work at the airport.  That day was a short shift and I was pretty happy when it was over.  The following morning (Maar 3) was departure time for our annual two week respite in Hawaii. 

After a long and torturous day of air travel and layovers in Toronto and Vancouver we managed to get to Lihue HI as scheduled at 10:30 in the evening.   Big thanks to the WestJet in-flight staff on our last leg as they moved us up front to enjoy the Plus service for our 6 hour flight.  They were fine folks and took very good care of us.  Upon landing they even sent us packing instead of staying to help groom the aircraft for its return flight.  Knowing the HI routine we were able to get out of the airport with a vehicle in less than 30 minutes from landing.  We drove to the Marriott, checked-in, unpacked and were in bed in record time.  Both of us were exhausted.

I am currently writing this sitting on one of our terraces (we are on ground floor this time) and enjoying the warmer climate of HI.  We have been here for three days now and we both are still a little shell shocked and not really too energetic to get anything done.  We managed to connect with good friends before they left to return to Minnesota, eat some small meals and get a lot of sleep.  I am feeling better today and hope to be even better tomorrow.   The weather here is cooler than we have ever seen it before but we are lucky as I heard that California is getting flooded, Florida has wind chill reports out and some parts of the U.S. are getting record snowfall.  I am content to be here and believing this is as good a place to rebuild as any in the world.  Today I am going out in search of a long sleeved shirt as it is cool in the evenings.  I managed to pack shorts for this visit so I am set.

When we return to Ottawa I have blood test on Mar 18^th and chemo on March 19^th.  It is my goal to be healthier, heavier and happier by that time.

Thank you for dropping in and I do hope that my next entry is more upbeat and enjoyable to read.  I felt I had to fill in the blank for February but hope never to re-live the period.

Love to all .....

Round 4 Session 4 and Dr. update

Today is a beautiful sunny cold day at Lake Bernard.  We have endured yet another downfall of snow and are getting ready to exit January with a snowfall number that sets a new record.  I believe that we exceeded 100 cm for the month.  That means that there has been some snow shoveling and snow blowing and today was no exception.  It was nice to get outside and throw some snow about in the sunshine.  However, it has been cold and it continues to be just that. 

I did not sit down to give a report on the weather but it is such a Canadian thing to do.  I wanted to share with you the results of my last Chemo session and events that have happened in the last couple of weeks.  The session was scheduled for Jan 16^th so I went to do my blood tests on Jan 15^th.  Nothing extraordinary about the blood-letting session but the good news was that my WBC count made it over the bar of minimum acceptable to proceed.  I guess the stomach shots after Chemo are working as usually my WBC count is low after a couple of weeks.  I was pleased that we could proceed even if I am not really on side with Chemo every two weeks.  My head and heart are in agreement with the Dr’s recommendation but I still ask myself if the effects of Chemo are worth the effort as it seems that we cannot really do anything with the Cancer and I do not have any symptoms to speak of.  That is a daily conundrum that goes away the farther I get away from Chemo day.  After this session I was feeling pretty punk for the first couple of days.  I stayed low and at home until it was time to remove the bottle on the Thursday after Chemo.  I was not working that day so I was able to relax and rest until work on Sunday morning.  Each day got better but the effects seemed to linger longer than before.  For example, I still had a taste of Chemo on day 6 which normally was gone after day 4.  I also had some discharge through my nasal passages that had colour and texture.  My feeling was that such a discharge was not a good thing.  I have since learned it might just be a temporary result of having Chemo.  Man, you learn new things every day – even after being involved in Chemo for three plus years.  So things progressed and got better every day.

The only interesting thing that I did, besides my work at the airport, was to take a trip to Mississauga to visit my sister and any family members who were available during my short stay.  Lucy and I just hung out at home and chatted, discussed politics (a fav for my sister), discussed her grand children, watched some CNN and discussed events of the world and enjoyed some good food and a trip to a restaurant.  It was a perfect relaxing couple of days and I enjoyed the low key time as I rebuilt from the last session.  On Friday I returned to Ottawa to get ready for my next work shifts at the airport.  Freddi has been very supportive of all of my activities during this period and dealt well with my shifting moods as I progressed out of the hole I feel around me during this time.  I am pretty cranky when I am not feeling well.

On Monday I did my blood tests again as I had an appointment the following day with Dr Jonker.  This was an important meeting as I wanted to get an answer to the question:  Is all this worth it?  Four sessions had been completed since my last CT Scan and discussion with Dr Jonker.  There were only three possible outcomes to this new test.

1.       The Cancer continued to grow.

2.       The Cancer growth was abated and remained the same size as before

3.       The Cancer had receded some.

I guess there was another possible outcome in that it could have disappeared but I was pretty confident that would not be the case.  Dr Jonker has already told me that elimination is unlikely.  Yesterday I met with Dr Jonker and we had a discussion about the bigger picture, the test results and the future treatment plans.

I am really happy to report that the best case showed up in that the Cancer had reduced in size in both my liver and my lung.  I really was not expecting this to be the case.  I asked to see my CT result as I had no visual context to deal with and he obliged me, grudgingly, and showed me a side by side comparison from just before I started back on Chemo.  Clearly the Chemo is doing its job and the horrible and annoying side effects suddenly became more palatable as there were positive results.  That makes yesterday a turning point in my attitude and my expectations but I am not quite sure what will come next.  We did agree that I should take my vacations in Feb and Mar and we set a schedule to work around my travel dates.  I will do Chemo on Feb 12 and 26 and then take a break until Mar 19 when I return from Hawaii.  At that time we would move from 2 weeks to a 3 week cycle.  My next CT would be in early April followed by another discussion with Dr Jonker at that time.

I am feeling a lot stronger today and I am much more optimistic about the future with this news.  We discussed a long term prognosis but he was very resistant to guessing on this subject.  I expected little else but at least had to try.  So things are good, I am positive and acceptant of the short term plan – as if I have a choice – and I am leaving for a short vacation tomorrow.  I am a happy boy......

Thank you for dropping in and I am more than happy to respond to any questions, thoughts or comments you might have on this blog update.

Be well .....