Chemo #4 December 28th

Chemo went without a hitch today even though we didn't know if I was able to have it.  Let me back up a bit.  Last Thursday on December 23 I had the usual  pre chemo blood work  and then an appointment with the doctor.  They were running way behind due to Christmas but I don't mind so much usually but I was feeling pretty rough due to surgery and just wanted to go home to my couch and blankie. 

Doctor informed me that my liver functions were not up to par and I may not be able to get the chemo treatment on December 28.  We discussed the situation and decided the best route was to come in anyway and get more blood work done to determine if the liver functioning had improved enough for me to accept at least 75 % of the normal dose.  If not, I would be sent home and retry next week. 

Then there was the question of my staples.  I was hoping they could remove them but with their delays that was out of the question.  They suggested I try my family doctor.  This worked out and she saw me the very next day on Christmas Eve after the office was closed at noon.  Her receptionist had already left.  I was quite surprised she would see me but she is very kind hearted.  In about 1/2 hour she removed about 30 staples.  I bet you are feeling some shivers in your belly.... :)

Well today my blood work showed almost normal liver functioning so I was cleared to get 100% dosage.  Long day though.... we weren't home until 4:30 pm.

The Holidays

Hope everyone had some great holidays!  We spent time at my Mom and Dad's on Christmas Eve as is the yearly tradition.  Calamari and seafood soup are our traditional dishes.  Ham, Pat's potato casserole and David's vegee melange rounded out the meal.  For dessert we had an assortment of Christmas cookies and fruit. 

We had a different crowd this year.  David's Mom and Dad were there as well as Suzanne's Mom - Phyllis.  My Uncle Marty and Aunt Ginger were not able to make it due to sickness.  Aunt Ginger was not feeling well and thought it best not to attend on my account.  I am appreciative of this and missed them too!


One of our newer traditions consists of having a secret Santa draw.  The gifts must be purchased from the dollar store.  We do not exchange gifts anymore between the adults.  We think it is more important to get together and spend some time.  Back to the draw..... this is an enjoyable game and it is amazing what people can find at the dollar store. 

Here are some pictures but I warn you they are kind of lame.  We are not great picture takers. 



Suzanne, David and Pat



Dad, David and half of Mom's head



By this time it was nearly time to go home.  I was pretty exhausted.  It was only one week since surgery.....but I had a lovely time.  Next year I will be hosting Christmas Eve, God willing!

The next day we headed back to my Mom's place to have our traditional ravioli lunch.  Homemade that is.....  they very enjoyable.  After a couple of hours we headed home to rest, at least I did as were expected at George and Helen's for 4:00 ish.  All the gang was there - Elaine and her girls, Amanda and Katrina, Andrew and his daughter Mackenzie and Andrew's girlfriend Becky and her daughter Logan.  Of course David's parents -George and Helen.  This year they were gracious enough to host Christmas dinner which is much appreciated by us.  Next year it will be at our house!

Dinner was a traditional Christmas dinner with turkey and the fixin's complete with Christmas cracker.  Afterward we were treated with a huge amount of desserts.  Couldn't try them all but they were great!  The evening was lovely! 



Corina and Dylan



Hamish and Helen









Post Surgery

I have been home from hospital for 2 days now.  I spent 4 days there and am very glad to be home.  All went well.  Surgery was a little more than 3 hours and I spent another 3 or 4 in recovery.  I guess I didn't want to wake up too quickly!  Poor David was waiting all this time and he could not see me.  The next morning the surgical residents made their rounds.  They look like high school students!  Anyway.... both ovaries were enlarged and had evidence of cancer.  The uterus had some cancer as well on the underside.  Other than that there was little other cancer on the peritoneum or omentum.  That was all removed as well.

So now it's recovery time and it's almost Christmas!  I am not much help in this department but David has it under control. 

Have a great holiday!

Bye Bye cancer... don't let the door hit you on the way out....

Finally.. the day of surgery.  Can't sleep any longer.  I have been worried about the weather for a week since the postponement.  Hasn't this been a crazy time!  London has received 122 cm of snow in December so far.  They usually get about 50.  The last time they had this much snow was 1977.  And what about highway 402 with the stranded motorists.  Unbelieveable!



Best get ready now.  Don't want to be late. Must not forget...no food, no drink..... Talk soon!

Delay in Surgery

Well..... many of you live in southwestern Ontario and know that the London area is experiencing atrocious weather.  We were worried about getting there for 6:30 am Wednesday morning and thought about leaving this evening and getting a hotel room.   As it is the hospital called this afternoon while I was at my mother's making Italian style biscotti.  Surgery has been postponed to next Thursday, December 16th.  What a relief not to think about driving in this storm! 

Busy Weekend

Yoga as usual on Saturday morning.  This is the last session until after surgery probably until January before I will be able to go back.

Uncle Marty and Aunt Ginger dropped in on Saturday afternoon to drop off a truckload of soup and massive amounts of Christmas baking!  They could only stay for 10 minutes as they were on their way to a Christmas gathering with Aunt Ginger's family.  We really appreciate this!

Right after this we headed down to George and Helen's place in Cambridge to visit with David's family.  Elaine and the girls were visiting from Toronto and Andrew and Mackenzie were there as well.  We passed a few enjoyable hours before heading back home.  I guess the next time we see them will be at Christmas time.  I can't believe it is only a few weeks away!

On Sunday my parents had a household full of visitors.  My Aunt Natalina and my cousins Dario and his wife Laurel, Ernie and his wife Franca, Gina, and John.  I haven't seen my aunt and cousins in over a year so it was great to spend some time visiting.  Dario and Laurel live in New Liskeard which is about 6 hours north so needless to say he doesn't get down to southern Ontario very often.  Gina is in Minden, which is also quite a drive, 3 - 4 hours I believe.  John lives downtown Toronto and as I expect doesn't own a car.  I think it was a great effort to coordinate everyone to get to Waterloo for lunch!  We had a fabulous time!

Company Christmas Party

On Friday night David and I attended the Cowan Christmas Party (that's where I work).  Katherine and Cam graciously came and picked us up.   We had the usual turkey and roast beef dinner but it was great to great to get dressed up and see everyone!

Book Club

We met on Thursday night instead of Friday this month to discuss our latest read - 'What They Wanted' by Donna Morrissey.  Great book which details the harshness of life in Newfoundland and Alberta in the late 70's and early 80's. (if you check the tab 'Books I've Read' you will find a link to this book.)

It is very enjoyable getting together with women occasionally to talk and have a few laughs.  The food and drink doesn't hurt either. 

On my way out Jill presented me with some of her great Christmas baking.  She attended a cookie baking class and made some beautiful cookies. So we get to share her treats and I hope to save some to share with family.  Thanks Jill!

Pre-Admission Appointment - December 1st

 An indicator on the dashboard of our car had started flashing the day before our trip to London and so David checked the pressure in the tires.  Lo and behold the pressure was low in all tires.  No matter.... before hitting the highway we would stop and put some air in the tires.  On Wednesday morning we started out for London around 8:00 a.m. for a 9:30 a.m. appointment. We stopped at the closest gas station just down the road from our house.  NO AIR....  Can you believe this?  Well .... expletives were pouring out of David!  I am sitting quietly agreeing with him.  On we went and stopped at another station just before hitting the 401.  The air machine needed 50 cents to operate.  Guess what!  Neither of us had any change or money!  More expletives....  On to the 401 and we stopped at the first exit at a truck stop.  Surely they have free air.  Their air machine needed $1.00 to operate!  Let me tell you the air in our car was quite blue.  I wasn't saying anything.  David was expressing it all for the both of us.....  He finally went searching for a cash machine and came back with the appropriate amount and got that machine running.  Adding insult to injury he had to also reposition the car to get at one of the back tires.  He was very frustrated by this point but we were finally on our way and flying down the 401 toward London.  We laughed about it later on but at the time......  Can you imagine one of your kids doing this? I can just imagine how we would reprimand them for not being more proactive in attending to the tire pressure before the trip!  We arrived with 5 minutes to spare.... no biggy.... :)

The appointment was with a nurse who reviewed my medical history and my understanding of the procedure.  She explained all the particulars concerning preparation for surgery, pain management (read drugs) and after the operation.  All the usual stuff.   All set for next week.