Day 371 - CT Scan, KC & Smith's

Today was the big CT scan. I was dreading it. I would far rather have a PET scan than a CT. With a CT scan they inject a contrast dye that makes you feel like you just pee'd your pants & you have to hold your breath for an uncomfortable length of time. And unfortunately I was having my abdomen scanned too, which means I would have to drink a terrible liquid called Telebrix. It's about a litre & a half & you have 2 hours to drink this horrible stuff. Ick. I really wasn't keen to have my entire body zapped with radiation equivalent to 500 chest x-rays. Adding the fact that I felt the entire scan was kind of useless. Why?

Well, I can still feel lumps in my neck, which I believe to be only scar tissue. A CT scan is only going to show masses, not active growth. A PET scan will show active growth. I know I have 'masses' in my neck. I want to know if they are actively growing cancer or not. (Let's opt for NOT!) Thus, why I feel the CT scan is unnecessary. (VERY) Adding to the fact that I don't believe the cancer has spread elsewhere & I really don't see the need to nuke the organs below my diaphragm. Capisce?

To make matters even more ridiculous, they wanted to give me a few chest x-rays prior to my CT scan. Huh? I changed & went into the x-ray room. I thought perhaps they were checking my Picc line again. After the first x-ray, she turned me to the side. I asked why I was having these x-rays. She said the Radiologist always has the patient to chest x-rays prior to a CT scan. I told her that I had just had one 2 days ago with my Picc line & I was about to have 500 with the CT scan. If the CT scan wasn't going to give them a good enough look at my innards, then we were in big trouble, as a few chest x-rays certainly weren't going to either! Luckily the Technician was kind enough to let me refuse the remaining chest x-rays.

At this point I returned to the waiting area to drink my Telebrix. Or not. There were two empty-ish glasses on a small table next to my chair. I was alone in the waiting area. I filled both glasses with my very full glass of Telebrix & found the nearest waste bin. Yes, I'm a bad, horrible person with a few good taste buds left. I poured another big glass & walked to the Picc line girls. My line had a little blood & I wanted to make sure all was well. The boss lady was there & she was horribly rude. They were just returning from lunch. They looked at me & walked right past. As they passed, I said, 'Excuse me, could someone take a look at my Picc line for me?' To which the boss lady replied, 'We're closed. We're not taking patients today. What is it?' I asked about the blood & she didn't even look at it. She just said it would bleed for about 2 weeks & that it was fine. Wow. Thanks for coming out!

I headed back to the waiting room & chatted with a few ladies that were waiting as well. One of the gals was also having a CT scan & was trying hard to drink the last of her Telebrix. A Nurse came out with a fair bit of attitude & topped up the gal's glass. Oh boy. This was going to be a fight. And it was. I told her I wasn't going to drink anymore Telebrix. She told me I would have a suboptimal scan. I told her I was fine with that, as I didn't think the cancer was there anyhow. She says, 'So you're refusing the scan?'
'No, I want to do the scan. I'm just not drinking the rest of the Telebrix. I can't. It's awful.'
This carried on for a bit & I could tell I wasn't going to make any progress with her. I told her to come back in 1/2 an hour & I would drink some more. I dumped one more glass in the trash & then chugged one glass. Done. Let's do this thing.

I found the Dictator Nurse & told her I was ready. She injected the contrast dye twice. It was awful. I'm going to check the dosage, as I've NEVER had the dye twice. I could feel my breath running away & I was gasping for air, the burning in my lungs was awful & I felt light headed. Usually they check up on you, but not this chick. She told me where to change & which way was out. Thanks for coming out.

I find out the results next round. Wish me luck. Ick.

After the scan we went to visit Al & Wilma. I had taken some photos of KC last time we were there & I dropped off a cd & some prints today. They were very pleased with the photos. We had a great visit & they told us of their next travel plans. I hope when I am their age I still have the zest for travel & adventure. They are an incredible couple.

Our next & final stop for the day was at Jacqueline's parents place. We were having a long overdue dinner with her Mom. My Mom was coming & Jacqueline's Dad was there as well. In fact, her Dad made the meal! What an amazing cook! We thanked them for the Flames tickets - actually, Jaco ran into Jacqueline & her friend, Adele, at the Flames game. Adele had invited Jacqueline to go. Jacqueline played hockey when she was younger.

Her Mom just returned from Arizona & is off to India soon! She is an avid photographer & loves to attend workshops in all sorts of amazing places. We had a wonderful meal & a wonderful visit. Talking travel & photography - this is my kind of visit! Before I knew it, it was 2300! Whoops! Time to go!

What a great day! It started out a little sketchy, but thankfully it ended with great friends & great times!

xxxxMJV&O

The African Trio reunites once again!

Day 370 - Flames Game Anyone?

After a lovely lie-in I woke up to a few phone calls. I had to have the Picc line flushed & the dressing changed today. The gals at PLC had told me I would work with a Cochrane Homecare Nurse. Although they told me I would most likely have to drive to Cochrane to have the dressing changed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but how is it Homecare if I have to leave my home & drive to them? Anyhow, it ended up I had to work the the Homecare nurses from Black Diamond, which suits me fine, as I like the Black Diamond Doctors, so why not the nurses too?!

Joan drove out late that afternoon to see me & was very nice. She is the perfect image of a Nurse. She is kind, soft spoken, caring, thoughtful & of course, good at what she does! They visit Jim every Monday, so we set up the schedule so they can hit two birds with one stone, so to speak.

We had been trying to arrange for Flames tickets for Jaco, Greg & Ken, without much luck. That's when Jacqueline called. She asked if we would like to go to the Flames game! Her parents have season tickets & they weren't going tonight. I told her that we were looking to send the guys & she said we could go if we wanted. So, Jaco & Greg were going, but Ken couldn't make it. We called Roxy's husband, Kevin, & he drove down from Sylvan Lake to go to the game.

The seats were in the 2nd row right next to the ice. Jaco LOVED the game. He told me later that he could have gotten into hockey if he only knew how to skate & use the stick. Is that all, eh? The boys looked like little kids on Christmas day when they came home! It was fabulous to see those grins! Thanks for thinking of us Jacqueline!

Roxy & I stopped at Planet Organic on our way in. She had never been there before, so we strolled from aisle to aisle checking out all the interesting things. Roxy is on a mainly raw diet, which I admire her for, as I don't currently have the discipline to stick to a diet like that. We enjoyed some coconut water/passion fruit drinks & I picked up some lemon sorbet to enjoy later on.

Roxy & I then went in to Mom2's place & fitted Oceana's Halloween costume. She's a burger. Valentina is a hot dog. I'm the mustard. Now to find the ketchup for Papa. We'll be one fast food family!

The 3 hockey widows sipped tea & gabbed about life & all it's wonderful paths.

I'm sacked. Lekker slaap!
xxxxMJV&O

 Finnegan tries on the burger

Does he look impressed? 

 Oceana teasing Valentina

Hamburger & hot dog. 

 Hot diggety dog(s)!

Tweet Pea as a Burger 

The Happy Fans! 

Three thumbs up!

Day 340 - KOOZA!

I have officially decided. Every hospital needs an in-house Cirque du Soleil show to distract its patients. Kooza was amazing. (To say the least)


I spent the entire day in bed. I felt horrible from yesterday's poisoning. I was 1700 before I hobbled out of bed, hunched over like a very old woman. We were supposed to leave at 1745 for town to meet our friends for the show. I had no clue how I was going to make it through the night, but I was NOT going to miss the show. I was fully prepared to 'yak' in my neighbours box of popcorn if need be. I have seen Cortéo & Varekai live thus far. Only 20 more to go. I signed up for their Cirque Club a few years back & was able to score a discount on the tickets, so they were plenty cheap! Yay!


Donning a wig & a bit of makeup, I was able to get out the door & into the car. Jaco drove us to Vistek, where we met Jacqueline & her friend, Kirk, whom Jaco & I both agreed looks like Clark Kent. We piled into Jacqueline's car & away we went. Just our luck, there was a Flames game that night, so parking was atrocious. 


We managed to get seated just before showtime. It was worth every single penny. Not only did it take my mind off of my body's nausea, it was completely astounding, amazing & jaw-dropping! The clowns were HILARIOUS, and yes, Jimmy was there, the entire show! I was so tempted to shout out, 'Yay Jimmy!' during a quiet moment, but decided against it! The contortionists, the unicyclist, the trapeze & tightrope artists... Wow! If you haven't been to Cirque du Soleil yet - TREAT YOURSELF! It's amazing & there isn't a bad seat in the house! 


Word of Caution:
I wouldn't recommend sitting in the front row - they like to play a few pranks now & then! Mind you, there were quite a few people who had pranks played on them & they were no where near the the front! One lady had her seat skyrocket 3' into the air! Then another 3'! She was pretty scared! We were all laughing, but I'm sure she was shocked! 


I snuck a few photos, but they didn't turn out so well. You're not supposed to take any photos & they are VERY strict - not even happy snaps with an empty stage in the background! The people sitting around us were pretty snooty, so I didn't want to push my luck. They grumbled about Jaco's oranges & the scent of citrus. (Can you see me rolling my eyes?) Don't make me take of my wig! This could get rowdy! Just kidding! I behaved myself!


Anyhow, we had a wonderful time with Jacqueline & Kirk. I think she's hooked on Cirque too! Perhaps we'll make it an annual date each time Cirque comes to town! Thanks for a wonderful evening that took my mind off of all the icky stuff! Seriously - they NEED to install Cirque shows in every hospital. Everyone would feel so much better! 


xxxxMJV&O

Kirk & Jacqueline

The Fabulous Four

 Ooh! The Fabulous Four again!

Dr & Mrs

Posing outside the Big Top Tent

Live music! Farewell! 

The Cast 

Crazy stuff! (those are chairs stacked on a ladder/stand) (I think there were 8 chairs)

Tightrope - Yes, they are cycling with a chunk of wood between them, upon which the other guy's chair is balancing on!) 

Because I ALWAYS skip rope on a tightrope! (Don't you?)

It's JIMMY!!! (the one with hair!)

Clowns. (No, they're the Contortionists, Silly!)

Jimmy the clown! (In the hat, kneeling down)

Day 333 - Jacqueline!!!!

Well, today wasn't off with a very rosy start. I woke up with even MORE pain than the previous days. I was in dire need of a good toe stubbing to take my mind off the pain in my arm. It has escalated from a dull ache to a stabbing, throbbing pain. This sucks. 


After much resistance, I finally cracked & took a Tylenol 3. Just so you know & if you ever (Heaven forbid) have to take chemo drugs, the anti-emetics are constipating. Tylenol 3 is too. So, to combat the odds against me, I took 4g of Vitamin C in the morning & 4g of Vitamin C in the evening, along with a banana, orange & several large slugs of apple juice. Here's hoping! 


As for the rest of the day, Jacqueline came to visit! Yay! I met Jacqueline in March of 2009. She was about to leave Canada for South Africa with one of her girlfriends. Her Mother was petrified of her 'baby girl' going to a far away & scary land such as SA, so when my Mom & her Mom found out about the SA Connection, we all met for coffee so I could tell her Mom about SA & that is wasn't really that scary after all! Jacqueline & her friend, Adele, were volunteering at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town & then traveling up the coast. 


Jaco & I were getting married in SA in April, so I invited the two of them to the wedding in Arniston. They came! Then, when we had the wedding in Waterton, Jacqueline made it to that one too! We've been wanting to meet up for quite some time now to talk about SA & share photos & stories... Today was finally the day! 


We had a wonderful visit over rooibos tea & some ginger cookies. FYI - Rooibos tea is from South Africa. If you haven't tried it, do yourself the favour. It's AWESOME! WAY yummier than green tea & definitely black tea! It's pronounced roy-boss (red bush) & South Africa is the only place in the world where you'll find it. Well, the actual bush - you can find the tea in the tea aisle at your supermarket - if they're a good shop! :o) I found a particularly wonderful green rooibos at Teaopia in Market Mall. The green rooibos has even more antioxidants because it hasn't been roasted yet. 


Jacqueline is studying at Mount Royal right now, but next summer will find her back in Africa. On top of Mount Kilimanjaro! What a gal! I'm so envious! And to top off the trip, she'll be chillin' on the beach in Zanzibar after her incredible expedition! We'll definitely meet for rooibos after that! :o) 


We made plans to get together for supper once her Mom comes back from her latest trip... I love meeting likeminded people who share a love of the same things you do. It makes live that much sweeter. Thanks for the visit Jacqueline - you made my week!


xxxxMJV&O

If Jaco & Jill doesn't sound funny enough... Try Jaco & Jacqueline! :o)

Jacqueline is driving away as Jaco closes the gate & the dogs chase a cow around the corner of the house. Talk about an action shot!