I don't know where the time goes! It has been such a busy month and here we are back in Medicine Hat already! This is my busy time at work so have been working on funding applications and our premiere event of the year - the Minister's Collection student art showcase. We had our reception and celebration in Regina yesterday. It was a great day!
I attended the District 42 Toastmaster's Convention the weekend of May 1 - 3. Since my ambition is to become a paid pubic speaker I thought it was a logical group to join after we moved to Saskatoon. We are a smaller club but very nice and encouraging! I thoroughly enjoyed the convention and met many wonderful people. I picked up quite a few tips in the field of public speaking and were we so fortunate to have the Toastmasters International President provide an education session and the keynote address.
One exciting thing to have happened in the last month is that I have started a group in Saskatoon as part of the Lance Armstrong Foundation's Global Grassroots Campaign. The LAF is expanding its efforts globally and I thought it was a perfect fit to help address cancer issues in our community and to advocate to make cancer a national priority. We had our first meeting May 6 and combined our first meeting with a Conversation on Cancer Control. The Conversation is part of a world wide effort G0 Public Campaign organized in partnership with the LAF, Campaign to Control Cancer (a Canadian organization) and the International Union on Cancer Control. We were a small but powerful group! Everyone in the group has been impacted by cancer in some way, and has a lot of passion to discover how we can best control cancer. It was a very informative and inspiring meeting! I look forward to working with this group - they are amazing and so very supportive!
As for Callum - he is doing great! He is doing so well that I often forget he is sick. He is still not taking the Oxaliplatin chemo - and won't have it again until either the side effects are gone or the disease starts progressing again. He has few side effects from the 5-FU so has had many good days lately. Of course......when you own a Porsche every day is a good day! Yes.....a few short months ago it was looking like Callum may not drive again. And now....he owns a 2000 Porsche Boxster! It is an awesome car.....I love it. It is sitting in our garage right now because in Saskatchewan it needs daytime running lights to be safetied so we can register and insure it (we bought it in Winnipeg). Callum made many phone calls to track down the lights and relay switch and find a repair shop in Saskatoon who will work on the Porsche. But the earliest appointment we could get was June 1 - so the car will sit until then. With any luck a cancellation will come in and it will be done sooner. And it should be done snowing by then!
Callum has an MRI on May 28 to check the status of the brain tumours, and other than that he has just regular chemo treatments coming up. It is now sounding like he will likely remain on blood thinners for an undetermined time, regardless of what the blood clot is doing. I suppose it is better to be safe and make sure there is no more clotting.
After months of dealing with the various medical issues it has been a bit weird dealing with some calm in the medical front, and with Callum feeling so much better. At times I forget that this can change at any moment. We have had over 2 months of regular, routine treatments and tests - no crisis or mini-crisis. Sometimes it feels like I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And then I try to enjoy the moment, be excited for the day (and the Porsche!) and believe that it doesn't have to end. Some days it is hard to not borrow worry - I have to work hard at not worrying about things that likely won't happen. No worry until there is something to worry about. Balancing a positive outlook with anxiety lurking in the background. I was telling my massage therapist about how contradicting my feelings can be, and he said that every day is like that for him! It is so helpful for someone to normalize some of these feelings. Everyone has days like that for various reasons - I am not unique in that way. It is normal - how nice that sounds. I am quite enjoying this less stressful time and talking about the future. Callum is working so hard to stay healthy and we are looking forward to time spent in Medicine Hat with our grandbaby (and our children, of course!). So many happy things ahead of us.
I have been approached in the last week by a few people who know someone who may be seeking some support as they travel through their cancer journey. I am quite willing to share what I have learned, provide support, encourage - just plain listen - to anyone. If this blog helps you in any way, and you want to make a more personal connection (by email, phone, whatever works for you!) feel free to contact me. As I have said, cancer does not strike in isolation, and neither can change. I will do my best to help as you travel on your journey. Send me an email calloscott@shaw.ca and let me know how I can help.
"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow." Orison Marden
TTFN
