(posted by Greg)
Last Saturday was the 60th Anniversary of the South Burnaby Metro Club ( the sports/service club that Monica and I have participated in for years). Marley and I helped with the set-up and tear-down so we had quite a long day. Monica spent a couple of hours at the event. She enjoyed the ceremonies and entertainment and had a chance to visit with a lot of old friends. It was a good day.
I often get up early for a morning walk. Last Sunday, Monica and I decided to go together and to walk on Main Street from about 37th Avenue to 12th Avenue. We have driven along Main Street a lot over the past year on the way to the Cancer Agency and have begun to notice that there were a lot on interesting shops in this old neighbourhood. We were not disappointed. We got to window shop at a lot of interesting restaurants, antique stores, clothing stores etc. It was an easy walk downhill to 12th Avenue and harder, but not too bad, coming back uphill. We came back up Ontario Street and enjoyed seeing the gardens and how this older area is being restored. The homes were quite neat. It was fairly easy to push Monica's wheelchair but I got a fairly good workout. The walk was a real treat- we both enjoyed having the time to poke around this neighbourhood and generally enjoyed the time together. I think that we will try to make these exploratory trips part of our weekly routine.
Jesse returned from his one-month stint working in a family practice in Castlegar. It sounds like he learned a lot and enjoyed the country- doing lots of hiking and mountain biking. Jesse and his girlfriend, Sydney, joined Monica and Marley and I Sunday evening. We had a nice visit with Oma and took the fixings for a spaghetti dinner to Ingo's and had supper at his house enjoying the view of Semiahmoo Bay.
Daniel came home on Monday night for a one week visit. It was really great to see him. We are enjoying having him around a bit.
On Tuesday, Daniel, Jesse and Marley went bouldering together at a local climbing wall. We celebrated Jesse's birthday a few days early Tuesday night. Ingo brought Oma in to our house for a Greek dinner (souvlaki, rice, Greek salad and pita bread). So, for the first time in a long time all 3 kids (plus Sydney) were home and our house was full of family. Monica and Marley had put together a photo book with photos of the years 1983 to 2003. We all had a lot of fun looking at the book. As parents, Monica and I both enjoyed seeing the kids interact and listening to them remember (each differently) various childhood events. We had this dinner early because Jesse left for Kathmandu, Nepal on Wednesday morning. He will be there for 5 weeks on a volunteer mission to help with their medical program there.
On Tuesday, Monica had another visit to the lab (to make sure that her body is handling the medications properly) and a visit with the Dr. Everything went well and she was given the go-ahead to carry on with the Bev treatments. Monica seems to me,thankfully, to be about the same. We are monitoring her blood pressure which seems to be ok. She is coping well and, I think, for the most part enjoying our current routines.
Daniel took Monica to her Bev treatment of Wednesday. I am happy that he has a chance to participate a bit in Monica's care.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
(posted by Greg)
"I thought I saw an eye-doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian"
I don't normally open jokes sent to me by email but I got a chuckle from this pun and a few others sent to me recently by a friend.
When I noticed that my last post was more than 10 days ago, I almost couldn't believe it. Time is really flying by. The last couple of weeks have gone by quickly. Fortunately, there is nothing much to report on the health front with Monica. Her condition continues to be stable. She had another bev treatment last week and her blood pressures seems to be pretty good. Our daily routines and the lack of complaints from Monica make it easy to forget (thankfully) that she has a tumour.
I have been working a bit more lately and expect that I may continue to do so while Marley is around and not in school. Monica and Marley keep busy most days and see Oma (who is still doing amazingly well) and Ingo quite a bit. Monica has had a number of friends and neighbours drop by as well.
"There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. Not one pun in ten did."
"I thought I saw an eye-doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian"
I don't normally open jokes sent to me by email but I got a chuckle from this pun and a few others sent to me recently by a friend.
When I noticed that my last post was more than 10 days ago, I almost couldn't believe it. Time is really flying by. The last couple of weeks have gone by quickly. Fortunately, there is nothing much to report on the health front with Monica. Her condition continues to be stable. She had another bev treatment last week and her blood pressures seems to be pretty good. Our daily routines and the lack of complaints from Monica make it easy to forget (thankfully) that she has a tumour.
I have been working a bit more lately and expect that I may continue to do so while Marley is around and not in school. Monica and Marley keep busy most days and see Oma (who is still doing amazingly well) and Ingo quite a bit. Monica has had a number of friends and neighbours drop by as well.
"There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. Not one pun in ten did."
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
(posted by Greg)
Monica, Marley and I visited the Cancer Agency today to review the results of the MRI done on June 1st.
Before we saw the oncologist, a neurologist resident gave Monica a good going over- checking her vision, all of her reflexes etc. He even had a special tool for tickling her feet (both of which are still ticklish!). We are used to seeing Monica move around in her current condition. But, when you are watching her being tested, it is pretty clear how badly her right side has been affected. The good news however is that she was able to answer "no" to most of his questions (such as: do you have headaches?, have you fallen?, is your vision blurred?, any seizures?) and she seems to be neurologically stable.
The oncologist confirmed that the MRI results were good (the tumour has not grown since the last MRI in April). So, he plans on continuing the Bev treatments. Monica's bloodpressure was tested by him again (because the Bev treatments can have a bad effecton bloodpressure) and it was higher than the oncologist wants. So, he is going to increase the blood pressure medicine which Monica is taking. We have been taking Monica's blood pressure at home (until now it had not been bad at all) and will start being a bit more proactive about taking it at different times and recording the results.
Our oncologist had just returned from a conference in Chicago where they were discussing latest treaments etc. Apparently, lots of things continue to be developed. At this time there is nothing new for Monica.
The oncologist did mention in passing that there were some interesting results with chemotherapy treatment for "elderly" patients with tumours like Monica's. Monica asked if they would apply to her and he told her "no" as she was not "elderly". (Apparently you only become elderly when you turn 65. Needless to say, I was happy to learn that I was "elderly").
Monica, Marley and I visited the Cancer Agency today to review the results of the MRI done on June 1st.
Before we saw the oncologist, a neurologist resident gave Monica a good going over- checking her vision, all of her reflexes etc. He even had a special tool for tickling her feet (both of which are still ticklish!). We are used to seeing Monica move around in her current condition. But, when you are watching her being tested, it is pretty clear how badly her right side has been affected. The good news however is that she was able to answer "no" to most of his questions (such as: do you have headaches?, have you fallen?, is your vision blurred?, any seizures?) and she seems to be neurologically stable.
The oncologist confirmed that the MRI results were good (the tumour has not grown since the last MRI in April). So, he plans on continuing the Bev treatments. Monica's bloodpressure was tested by him again (because the Bev treatments can have a bad effecton bloodpressure) and it was higher than the oncologist wants. So, he is going to increase the blood pressure medicine which Monica is taking. We have been taking Monica's blood pressure at home (until now it had not been bad at all) and will start being a bit more proactive about taking it at different times and recording the results.
Our oncologist had just returned from a conference in Chicago where they were discussing latest treaments etc. Apparently, lots of things continue to be developed. At this time there is nothing new for Monica.
The oncologist did mention in passing that there were some interesting results with chemotherapy treatment for "elderly" patients with tumours like Monica's. Monica asked if they would apply to her and he told her "no" as she was not "elderly". (Apparently you only become elderly when you turn 65. Needless to say, I was happy to learn that I was "elderly").
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
(posted by Greg)
We had quite a busy week last week. Lab work and Doctor on Tuesday, Bev Treatment on Thursday and MRI on Friday. All went went well. The Dr.'s appointment should have been scheduled after the MRI so that he could interpret the results. So, we have another appointment with the Dr. for Tuesday when he will let us know what the MRI showed.
Monica and I went to the airport late Wednesday night to pick up Marley. Oma had told Monica to stay home and rest rather than going to the airport to pick up Marley. Fat chance of that!!
I have mentioned Monica's smile before.Well, when she saw Marley on Wednesday night all her old smiles were put to shame. Monica looked really, really happy! I am not sure whether I have ever seen anyone happier.
This weekend was fairly quiet. Marley, Monica and I had a nice visit with Oma (who continues to do well) on Saturday. Marley was off to Victoria on Sunday with the team she is helping to coach. Monica and I did a lot of chores around the house. [I never realized the ironing was so relaxing!)
We had quite a busy week last week. Lab work and Doctor on Tuesday, Bev Treatment on Thursday and MRI on Friday. All went went well. The Dr.'s appointment should have been scheduled after the MRI so that he could interpret the results. So, we have another appointment with the Dr. for Tuesday when he will let us know what the MRI showed.
Monica and I went to the airport late Wednesday night to pick up Marley. Oma had told Monica to stay home and rest rather than going to the airport to pick up Marley. Fat chance of that!!
I have mentioned Monica's smile before.Well, when she saw Marley on Wednesday night all her old smiles were put to shame. Monica looked really, really happy! I am not sure whether I have ever seen anyone happier.
This weekend was fairly quiet. Marley, Monica and I had a nice visit with Oma (who continues to do well) on Saturday. Marley was off to Victoria on Sunday with the team she is helping to coach. Monica and I did a lot of chores around the house. [I never realized the ironing was so relaxing!)
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