Day 262 - Wind Chimes & Wind In The Pines

Today was another nice lie-in. It wasn't a completely sunny day, but what can you do? I did a little tidying around the house & decided to make a quick trip to Cochrane to visit the Burnetts. I do love hanging out with them. And I feel so privileged that I can! Jenn married Mike in 2007 & had been in Texas ever since! Now I can scoot out the door & spend time with the whole family in only a 20 minute drive!


I was home by 2100 & tried to call my friend Kim on Skype. We had been trying to connect over the past few days. Our chats are generally several hours in length, as we always have a lot to catch up on! She lives in Ottawa & shoots A LOT of weddings, so she's a busy girl this time of year. She has invited me to be her 'date' for her assistant's wedding in Cuba this coming January. I'm very excited to go! I've never been to Cuba, it's her birthday, I'll be finished chemo & I will get to spend a week shooting with a cherished friend & amazing photographer! Yippee!!! Of course I'll miss Jaco, but I'm sure we'll go together one day!


Oh, did I mention that Valentina's false pregnancy is finally over? Great, right? Yeah, but now Oceana is in heat & it appears as though Valentina is batting for the other team. She is relentless! These dogs will be the end of me! I tell ya! How do you suppose she'd look with an anti-bark collar & a chastity belt?!


On that lovely note, I'm outta here. Tomorrow we hit up Stampede. It's been 2 years since I've been, so I'm looking forward to it. I just hope I can last the day! 


Lekker slaap!
xxxxx
Maria & Valentina

Chatting with my Babe in my new favourite shirt!

Currently the look of my neck.

The look in my neck in June - pre-chemo.

Day 235 - White Flour?!

Today was my orientation at the Tom Baker Centre for chemotherapy. Of course, Mom & I were late. Construction, parking, & bad directions from the front desk didn't help matters much. We found a seat & tuned in to what the nurse was saying. She talked about what to expect during chemo, when you get chemo & what not to do.

A lot of it was common sense - if there is any with chemo - but some of it really didn't make sense to me. I get that the goal is to poison the body as much as possible to kill all the bad (& good) cells, but is it really necessary? Surely some vitamins & minerals & healthy food wouldn't be that detrimental to my health? :o) Sounds funny! 

Even funnier was the lady across from us... The nurse was advising us to eat a good meal the morning of our chemo treatments & to bring snacks with us. The lady across the way pipes up, 'I was told not to have any GREASY foods on the treatment days. Is that true?' WHY WOULD YOU HAVE GREASY FOODS AT ANYTIME THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE CANCER CAREER??!! 

Adding to the ridiculousness of it - the nurse tells us they have volunteers who come around the treatment rooms & offer you coffee, juice & cookies. I'm thinking, 'Oooh, warm chocolate chip cookies!' (Which are just as bad as greasy food, I know!) But nope, they are the kind you get on a WestJet flight. Prepackaged & filled with rubbish. Just what I need to heal! (Can you see me rolling my eyes?!?)

Lastly, on the list of ridiculous diet suggestions, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, their recommendation for diarrhea is to eat WHITE BREAD OR WHITE PASTA!!!!! Can you believe it?!?! Does anybody even eat that garbage still??? HUH-LOW!!!!! It struck me funny that I can't indulge in vitamins & minerals, but I can plug my colon with gooey, gluey white flour! Gross. Don't believe me? Check here.

I had the nurse up in arms, as she told us to flip through our green folder & I told her I didn't have one. Then she mentioned the infamous red card. I told her I didn't have one. She said I must be new. I told her I'd been coming here for 18 months. She was really flustered then! But, not nearly as flustered as the moment the power went out! Yes, the Tom Baker Cancer Centre forgot to pay their power bill. :o) We were about 10 minutes without power, so she read from her binder. 

After the (no)Powerpoint presentation, we had a tour of the treatment room. Shudder. I can't believe this is my reality. Get me in & get me out. I want to spend as little time as possible in that area! Icky. The nurse also pointed out the little 'kitchen' where they have toast, coffee, tea, jam, peanut butter... But... Fruit? Vegetables? Don't be ridiculous! 

Perhaps the most shocking part of the day was when I discovered that I needed Medical Coverage for the pharmaceuticals I would need in addition to chemo. WHAT?! And here I've been bragging about our wonderful socialized medicine. What gives!? All the anti-emetics would NOT be covered. So they'll fill me full of poisons & if I can afford the 'feel better' meds, I'll be fine & dandy. Something is NOT right about this picture! After the orientation was completed, I went straight to the desk to book an appointment with a social worker & figure out the health care business. She would call me tomorrow. Another hurdle begins! Wish me luck! 

I also found out that my hair will be completely gone until about 1 month after chemo. Lucky me. I guess I was pretty naive, as I thought it would start to grow back around the 3 or 4 month mark, but that was just me thinking silly! So, instead of my 2 front teeth for Christmas, all I'll want is hair! (on my scalp, just to be specific, in case someone out there wants to play a cruel joke on me & give me more whiskers!!!)

The nurse was quite knowledgeable about chemo drugs, so she offered a few websites to check out. I will say, besides the front desk chick who didn't know much, the rest of the receptionists I dealt with were WONDERFUL & very patient with this patient. 

We even got free parking today! Whoo hoo! How sweet is that!!! It adds up so quickly. Mom & I lamented that the Big Pharma should at least pay for patient's parking. Anyhow, driving on, we stopped at Jugo Juice. I am officially obsessed with Copa Cabana. They use agave in their smoothies! Sweet! 

We stopped at the post office & the General Store on our way to see if the wigs were in yet. No luck. I checked the tracking number & they are out of Canadian Customs, but I have no clue where they are now! Oh hurry here! I want my wigs! Any suggestions for names? I've decided every wig needs a personality... 

When I arrived home, I was checking my messages when Kim Ing rang me on Skype. 3 hours later, Joanne called. 3 hours later, I was up to speed on her trip to Mexico & Adam Dreamhealer. I sure do miss her & our laughing fits! I am so happy to hear that she is feeling footloose & fancy free! She is kicking cancer's buttocks & that is WONDERFUL!!! 

I collapsed into bed quite late. It would be a short night... Tomorrow is bloods & ultrasound at the Fertility Clinic. Cross your fingers all is well! 

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Valentina fell asleep waiting to use the phone

A headset is a beautiful thing.

Day 145 - On The Phone Again...

Okay, so this will be a short post...


Today was a complete write off. I spent the entire day on the phone or on the computer. If I wasn't researching alternative treatments & supplements, I was on the phone with someone who needed catching up with.


Of course, there was my escapade with Sears. I wanted to track down a particular Oster blender that I had found on the Sears website. I phoned Chinook Sears. Five times. They disconnected me, hung up on me, didn't answer, put me through to the newest Sears employee who didn't know a thing & then finally told me they didn't have any & had no clue how to find one. Thanks for showing up for WORK today. 


I called Southcentre Sears. They were a lot more useful! They didn't have any in stock, but were able to tell me that Marlborough Sears did & also provided the stock # for next time. I phoned Marlborough & they were slightly more helpful than Chinook Sears, but at least they put a blender on hold for me. 


I skyped with a friend from Ottawa - Kim Ing Photography - and ran the boudoir idea past her. We chatted about life after ships & our travel plans/dreams. 


I talked to Jaco while I walked my 1/2 hour on the treadmill. Yes, I can multi-task from time to time! :o)


All in all, I didn't do a whole lot, but managed to get a lot done! Does that make sense? Anyhow, here's to a better day tomorrow!


Love & hugs,
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Bedtime Buddy #1 - Adios

Bedtime Buddy #2 - Valentina

Day 111 - Calm Before the Storm...

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow I find out exactly what kind of critter has been attempting to invade this *svelte* little body of mine. ha ha...

I'm excited to meet with Al & Wilma for lunch. They are the wonderful couple I flew home from the ship with in January, however, I am NOT excited about the Oncologist's appointment, excited about the acupuncture appointment & of course, looking forward to Thursday Night Prayers.


Today was, again, low key. I spoke with a dear friend who is recovering from cancer & has been hitting the same 'roadblocks' as I have. It appears as though some people are quite resistant to anything outside of their 'box'. The sad part is, the people who are opposed to the alternative treatments have actually expressed a wish for my friend to be 'forced' to do conventional treatments, regardless of her health - good or bad. These people attend the same church as my friend. Where does it say, in any religion, to wish illness on ANYONE??? I think the people who are actually sick are the ones making these ridiculous statements! I can certainly say I know what my friend is going through, but I haven't experienced it on this level! Acceptance - what a concept!


I also attempted to sort through 3+ years of addresses & numbers jotted down on scrap pieces of paper. I can't even recognize some of the addresses! I think I had about 7 entries when the phone rang. Saved by the bell! The kitchen table is now covered in bits of paper! There's always tomorrow!


Adding to the list of things to do, I juiced for breakfast & also for lunch. I did eat a bit of veggies for dinner, but I must say, it was interesting to observe my cravings as the day wore on! Salt! Sugar! SUGAR!!!! No, really, SUGAR!!!! We'll see how tomorrow comes along! 


My neck has become quite raw in the last week or so. It is still ridiculously itchy & regardless of what I put on it, it doesn't seem to help. I think I'll need a straight jacket soon to keep me from scratching the lumps right out! 


Beyond this, the day was fairly uneventful... I helped Mom partition a hard drive & set up her 'Time Machine' on the laptop. We looked at Doggie Strollers (Costco - while we were searching for hard drives!) Don't laugh! They are actually quite handy when traveling on foot! I'm quite proud of Mom, she picked up a book on organizing your life & she's doing very well! I can only imagine how much further ahead she'd be without me here messing the house up!


I enjoyed a 3.5 hr Skype chat with a dear friend I don't get to speak to that often. She is an exceptionally talented photographer & keeps herself incredibly busy! We worked on ships together & she took the plunge & left for land a year before I did. I never really took the plunge, they plunged me because of my health! Anyhow, she decided to pursue a full time photography career & it's paid off! Last year alone, she found herself in Italy, Paris, Cuba & Mexico! I couldn't be prouder of her! You go girl! Check out her work & her blog! I love the Paris shots! Kim Ing Photography :o)


Well, wish me luck for tomorrow & pray for good news & good options. I know they're out there! I've got to go... I have a snuggle date. With my dog! :o)


Sleep tight & give your loved ones a little extra hug tonight. They deserve it & so do you! Only 8 days 'til Tacos, Tequila & Treatments! Ha! Well, maybe not the tequila! :o)
Maria & Valentina
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Just a little face wash!

Mama, don't you know I'm camera shy?

Cuddles for Mama

Okay, I'll pose for one!

Who's the one I miss the most?? Thanks Augustine for a great photo!

Know anyone getting married? I've finally put the decorations up on Kijiji