Grey Cup Sunday

I just watched the Allouettes win the Grey Cup with a last second field goal. Saskatchewan was definitely the better team on the day but the better team doesn't always win. It reminded me of the 1994 Grey Cup that I went to in Vancouver where BC was playing Baltimore. The game was tied with no time left and Vancouver had possession. Lou Passaglia, the kicker for BC, managed to knock in a 55 yard field goal to win the game. It is probably the best and most exciting live sports play I've ever seen.

This past round of chemo went well. It seemed to be better than any of the other rounds so far. I was actually able to function somewhat normally most of the time, although there was the usual amount of nausea, fatigue and terrible mouth taste. I'm not sure what the difference was. Maybe the Juice Plus? Tomorrow will see me up at the crack of dawn to go for my CT scan. Some people get nervous about this sort of thing but it doesn't bother me really. It's so out of my control that I just have to acknowledge that I'm along for the ride. The interesting meeting will come Wednesday when I meet with my thoracic guy (Gelfand) to discuss the results. Can't wait for that. Only one more round of chemo before Christmas! Yahoo!

Wednesday Action

I got my latest treatment yesterday without incident. My blood counts were the best ever (perhaps thanks to the juiceplus I've been taking? - more info on juice plus coming soon) and I was feeling great yesterday before we went in to the hospital.

Yesterday morning we went to see Santa at the mall. Carly was ecstatic to see him. Andrew was a little less enthusiastic. He cried for the first minute or two but he became much more manageable after he realized he might get a candy cane out of the deal.

On the cancer front, I have a CT scan booked for Monday the 30th and an appointment with my thoracic surgeon on Wednesday the 2nd (I just made that appointment yesterday - getting an appointment that fast is unheard of; I'm not sure how I got so lucky). The CT scan is to make sure there has been no more spread in my lungs. If things look good I think I'll be having surgery in the new year to remove the spots in my lungs. As I said before, due to the small size of the spots (they range form 2-7mm), he may have to do a procedure in the interim to mark their exact position in my lungs using CT guidance. I'm sure I'll find out all about that when I see my thoracic guy in a week.

This past weekend Penny took the kids to Radium hot springs with our friend Vicky. They had a great time swimming and watching movies and just generally enjoying a change of scenery. Their trip coincided perfectly with the arrival of three of my friends from University (Dave, Dave and Kris) who came out to spend a weekend with me. We had a fantastic time. There were a few trips to the bar, a night out to see Dane Cook (a comedian), some poker and a mysterious charge on my credit card from the "FM cafe". I'm not sure what that's all about. It was a super weekend and my thanks goes out to those guys for spending their hard earned cash to come and see a friend.

Thanks to Janelle Miller for sending me a copy of her recording of Smile. It's very uplifting.

Congratulations to Geoff and Pam on the birth of their son Jude.

Our thoughts continue to be with my Uncle Tim and his family.

There's a little profanity in the following Dane Cook clip but it's funny.

Round 5

Just leaving for the Tom Baker to start my fifth round of FolFox. I am not looking forward to this week but its gotta be done. We all had a great weekend. I will update you on that when I have more time.

A night out

Penny and I got out to see Matt Good on Wednesday. He's one of my favourite artists and he has a great blog. His blog mostly focuses on American foreign policy with occasional person entries and stuff about his music. It's very well written and updated nearly daily (unlike this blog!). Bailey came to babysit while we were out and did an amazing job with the kids. It was a good night out together and I hope to do it again soon.

In other news it was my brother Matt's birthday on Sunday. He turned a whopping 31. It seems like just yesterday we were playing together in the back yard. How time flies. Also, my grandparents in New Zealand (Granny and Papa) just had their 70th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to them!

Penny and the kids are spending the weekend in Radium hot springs with our friend Vicky. The timing of them leaving works out well as I have three friends coming out to visit for the weekend from BC. Dave and Dave and Kris and I all went to UVic together. We are heading to Dane Cook on Saturday night (a comedian - he's playing the dome) but besides that I'm not sure what we'll get up to. No good I imagine.

Happy Friday everyone.

Fighting Back

Hello everyone. I'm feeling much better today. Yesterday was the TSN turning point. I got up feeling good and managed to get a few chores done around the house. Penny can always tell when I'm feeling better because I start to help with the dishes, kids baths, reading stories etc. Today I'm going to tackle a small project here (we're putting a door on our master bath - who builds a bathroom without a door?). I've got Penny's brother James coming to help. He's a pro so hopefully he can teach me how its done.

For now our thoughts now are with my uncle Tim and his family in Victoria. He's recovering from brain surgery and is getting going on some serious physical therapy. Keep at 'er Tim.

Also, thanks to those of you who have left comments or sent emails. We are moved daily by the support and kind words. Thank you all.

My Hero

Well, we all have our bad days. It's been particularly blue in our house the last few days. Not sure why exactly, just is. Dan has always been one of the most strong minded people I've ever known. Nothing ever really got to him. I can get so agitated and steaming mad at so many things, and it's like water off a ducks back for him. I think that's why this is so hard for him. Chemo has so many side effects, and every day we learn about more. I don't know how to coach someone off the bottom that would just never be there if it weren't for cancer. I've been on the bottom in my life, and I have developed many tools to pull myself up again. My 'tools' don't work for someone like Dan. Days like today I long to be normal. I wish for this all to go away.

Okay, we're good, lesson learned... can we have our life back?

Most days Dan and I just plug away at what we need to do to save his life. Surgeries, Chemo, Dr visits, phone calls, drugs, all of it. We just do it. But every now and then, it's like we both stop and see the massive hill we're climbing that seems to grow with every turn. It just gets you down sometimes. These are the hard times. It's not often that we're both struck at the same time. Usually one can pull the other.

I know that at the top of this hill will be the most amazing view, well worth the climb. I'm just tired of climbing today.

It's funny what a metaphor nature can be. In searching the Internet for a picture to add to this post, I was lifted. Many beautiful sunrises captured out there.

Wishing away the days

Today I feel like hammered shite. I find on these days of feeling like crap I wish the time away. I wish for normal, I wish for comfortable, I wish for fun. I can't wait for next week when I know I will be feeling somewhat better. I wish away the hours of nausea and fatigue and the feeling of acid ass swamp water metal giraffe feces in my mouth. It's all understandable, the need to wish it all away, but I sure feel guilty. This cancer could kill me sooner rather than later and I spend my time wishing away the few days I could have left. How crappy is that? I try to make the best of these days (walking, reading, watching Bourne movies) but it never lasts. The feelings of wanting to get high and wake up next week feeling good, return over and over again. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Fuck Cancer.

The power of the wind

The power of the wind, originally uploaded by DPC Tutt.

We woke up this morning to a funny sight out out kitchen window. This trampoline had blown out of someone's backyard and across the baseball field only to become entangled in the backstop. At first I thought it was a prank but then I realized it must have been the fierce chinook winds that blew through last night. It's quite a funny sight.

Things are good here. I'm feeling back to normal after my latest round and looking forward to a busy birthday weekend for Carly. My parents are coming for the party and it's looking to be a good time (we have a few surprises up our sleeve).

Happy 60th Uncle David!

Around Alone

Looking for something interesting to follow that doesn't deal with celebrity adoption, H1N1, the ability of our Prime Minister to play the piano or David Letterman's infidelities? Try this: Jessica Watson is a 16 year old Australian girl trying to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world non-stop unassisted. She left Queensland October 18th in an attempt to fulfill her dream. You can follow her through her blog or her website. Check it out.