Hello everyone! I wanted to tell you that I am doing very well, I had to keep the Imodium handy for awhile but most of that problem has past.
I am all finished my treatments and have about 1/2" of hair on my head!
Life has been very busy as we attended brother Brian's induction as District Governor for Rotary in Halliburton and spent three days in Greeley with Sean and his family to attend his youngest son Stephen's grade 8 graduation and his oldest son Charlie's grade 12 graduation.
We have been to Rama to see Stompin Tom and are going again tomorrow to see Julio Iglaces. Saturday is the Al Hudson Memorial Ball Tournament (proceeds go to Honduran children and Camp Northern Lights) and then we will have our twin grandsons Alexandre and Patrick age 11 for a few days and will deliver them back to their Mom on Thursday in Kingston where we will camp for a few days. In between I go to bed early and have a nap when I can! I am just thankful I can do it all.
I have a follow up appointment on August 2 and will update my Blog again after that.
A lot of my time has been taken up reading as well, and one of my friends is a new grandmother and I will be knitting something for her new granddaughter.
The heat also slows us down but we are lucky enough to have friends near by with a lovely inground pool who are generous enough to let us use it when ever we like.

two weeks to go

The week went slowly this time even with Meghan coming on Wednesday to take me put to lunch. The other girls were saying the same thing. I guess we got spoiled with the short week. Physically my magnesium is creeping up very slowly so they didn't do any intervenes, my skin looks OK but feels a bit tender and I am having a bit of a diarrhea problem but the Imodium works! All in all I don't have much to complain about. I have one more week and a day of external radiation to go. The second week I only have to go Monday(last external), Wednesday and Friday (internal) with the last internal on June 20 and I am done. I am not sure yet if I will commute the last week or stay at the Lodge. I have a possible ride for the Wednesday the 15 so if that works out I will commute if not it is too much for John to drive 3 times so I will stay. We have been very lucky to have friends or my daughter Sharon pick me up on the Fridays and take me home which means John has only done the Mondays. Sharon and her son Paul picked me up last Friday and of course we went to the discount clothing outlet and then they stayed the weekend and helped me do some outdoor clean up and gardening.

Finished my second week

Well it has been awhile! I left home for Kingston two weeks ago and just got back home this weekend as we spent the last one in Cornwall.
Staying at the "Lodge" isn't bad. When I first got there May 10 there were 5 other women there all there to get radiation. 4 for breast cancer and 1 for her brain as a side effect from lung cancer. This week a couple of new ladies came but I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet as they arrived on Wednesday. Monday night is Bingo night and Tuesdays a couple of young men come and play the piano and flute. Wednesday night a couple of more young volunteers made microwave cookies also Wednesday morning someone makes us pancakes. There was a "Look Good Feel Better" session on the first Wednesday and they gave us a box of wonderful name brand cosmetics and showed us how to apply them as well as a talk on wigs. It was a lot of fun. On the Friday a couple of us got into the boxes of free wigs and hats and I got a new wig which I like and I can also wear a hat with as well as several turban like head coverings.
Medically speaking the first week my energy level was not good and my Monday blood test showed my magnesium level was .63 It should be around 1.5. I had a 2 gm 2 hour IV on Thursday to try and give it a boost and I am still taking 1600+ ml daily. I get my blood tested every Monday so they can keep track of things but there was a mix up with paper work on May 17 and when I saw the Dr.'s nurse on Thursday morning they didn't have the results so she scheduled more blood tests and I waited 11/2 hours for the results and it came back at .68 so I had another 2 gm shot of magnesium this week. I wonder where it all goes?? Hope fully it will improve next week. My energy level this week has been much better and I was able to go up the stairs and not take the elevator.
The actual radiation treatments take about 10 minutes and can be scheduled anytime between 8 am and 6 pm. So far I have not had any reactions but week 3 is the usual start for that so we will see what next week brings. They have warned me to expect possible skin problems very similar to a bad sunburn and also diarrhea which is also a side effect of taking magnesium. I have been taking Metimusel every day and if things get worse I have the Imodium ready! I also am watching my diet and avoiding high fibre foods. We will hope for the best.
Last weekend we went to Cornwall and camped in our sons driveway. The weather was terrible rain and cold. We attended the Sea Cadet Annual Inspection on the Saturday and I wore my wig and my hat so all went well. Lori had a lovely supper ready for us when it was over.
This weekend John and I went to garage sales all morning and he is now working at the Lion's Spaghetti Supper it has been a worm beautiful sunny day. I hope there will be more days like that next week so I can go for walks along the St. Lawrence which is only a block from the Lodge.
Last Thursday John picked me up after waiting for the IV to end and we went to Casino Rama (near Orillia) to meet some friends who had kindly got us tickets to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. What a wonderful experience! Beethoven with pyrotechnics. I really enjoyed it. Before it started we had a lovely buffet supper and I won $15.00 on the penny machine. We got home at 12:30am. John's sister and her friend Diana took me back to Kingston on Friday for my treatment and then we had a lovely lunch before heading back home.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for all the good wishes and prayers coming my way They are working!

Radiation

Sharon took the day off work and we left early in the morning. Our first stop was in Brockville at a used book store where I found several books I had been looking for. Sharon then took me to a wonderful bakery called Tait's where we had deli sandwiches, then on to Kingston. We HAD to stop at the ladies discount store where I bought 5 pairs of slacks, (white, purple, gray, gray mix and blue jeans) a striped long sleeve shirt and a black and white T all for $100.00! They carry name brands like Alia and Tan Jay and Nygard.
Then we went to the hospital for my appointment at 2:45. Heather came and got me at 3 and took me to a waiting room and gave me 2 glasses of water to drink because if the bladder is full they can see things better in the catscan. Dr. Shenfield then came and explained the side effects (fatigue is no 1 then diarrhea, nausea and vomiting etc. as they aim at the abdomen which includes the stomach and intestine)he suggested I take Metamuscil before each session. and I signed the consent form. Then another Heather came and explained more about the catscan and treatment and having the bladder full before treatment lessons the side effects. I had the cat scan at 4 and they put tape on you and then do measurements then scan again and more measureing and give you 4 tiny pinprick tattoos. These show the technician where to aim the radiation. My first treatment is May 9 and I will check into Quinte Lodge then and will stay there each week Monday to Friday. I am to have 25 external and 3 internal so it will be 5-7 weeks as they don't do anything on holidays.

Happy Easter Everyone

Just a quick update to say I have an appointment on April 27 for the set up of the Radiology and I will get my treatment schedule then. I am going to visit my children and grandchildren next week and hope to spend a couple of days with each of them. I am not getting my strength back as quickly as I did before but each day is a bit better than the last one.

My granddaughter Meghan and I are doing the "Bead Bop" probably May 2-3 (6 Ottawa area stores will have sales, demonstrations, workshops, trunk shows, or "make-and-takes". "Bead Boppers" can purchase a "Bead Bop Passport" at any participating Bead Store. The Passport entitles you to a 15% discount on most purchases made during the Bead Bop, a beader's loot bag which will include, a beading caliper, a copy of Canadian Beading Magazine and some surprises. Each "bopper" will also have a chance on a draw for a $50 gift certificate at each store visited) Then I will come home or maybe go to Kingston for the start of the treatments who knows!!

Clipart from "Easter" by Bel Vidotti Scraps

I got to ring the bell

My biggest problem is that my Magnesium levels are low and I am now taking two magnesium pills twice a day at least for a month. My weight was back to what it was the first time and I had a new intern a male Dr, Desmond and he gave me an external exam, heart rate and reflects etc. and Dr. Biagi did another internal exam to pass on to the radiologist and he said everything looks good. I got to ring the Bell near the exit of the Chemo Lab yesterday to signal that it was my last Chemotherapy session! They have a (large 10” high by 8” wide and very loud) ship type bell and when you ring it everyone clap’s and cheers. I was in the smaller room this time and it was a bit dull but the nurse Charity was great and my blood pressure only went up (180/81) when the lunch relief nurse took it. I even got as low as 131/70! Highest with Charity the first one was 162/88 Just one more bad weekend to go through. The next challenge will be the radiation sessions. I am to have 25 external and 3 internal treatments. Externals are done Monday to Friday and not on Holidays, and you are in the hospital for less than half an hour. The internal ones are done on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and they are at the end. There are many side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue etc. but these are only possible and again everyone is different and I won’t know how I will be effected till I have the treatment. I will be staying at the Quinte Lodge, which is a very short walk away from the hospital. It was once the nursing residence. I had a tour yesterday and it is very nice. The rooms are large and have a single bed, a dresser, a desk a phone, and a sink. There is a women only bathroom with a couple of tubs and showers as well as toilets all with doors that can be locked. The worst thing is you cannot use any electronics in your room as wiring is old and they are worried about fire hazards. That means no laptop. I am seriously thinking of a Blackberry Smart phone (It will connect to the new Play Book which I hope to get in a year or so) and a Kindell or Kobo e-book reader. I also have lots of paperback books to take. I do not have to empty my room when I go home so that is good. They have a wonderful dining kitchen area and provide juice, fruit, cereal etc. And suggest you bring frozen dinners and they provide a big freezer and a fridge (with a bin for each room) they have toasters and microwaves and dishes and cutlery and you must use the dishwasher. There are a 3-4 of lounges some with TV and they have activities like Bingo and arts and crafts in the evenings. When I know more I will post the phone number and room number. After the tour we did a bit of shopping and guess what I bought a hat on the assumption it would match the shoes I had at home. What do you think? Pretty good eh! It looks pink in the photo but they are actually more of a peach. My new Easter Bonnet.

Maple Syrup Time