Sunday, June 7, 2009











Well - there he is - the man with the Porsche! It took forever to get a picture of him with the car. We have had a pile of fun with the car! Last weekend we headed to Medicine Hat, lid down, letting the sunshine and hurricane breezes wash over us.  Callum is having a blast with it. He has his new baby.

Things have been going very well. Callum is still not having the oxaliplatin, so he has fewer side effects from the chemo treatments. The anti-nausea steroids keep him pretty wired for 2-3 days after treatment, and he doesn't sleep well those nights, so he tends to be tired come the weekend. He perks up pretty quickly after that and for quite a few days now he says he feels better than he has in about a year!  He had his MRI on May 28, and things seem fine. We haven't yet receive the written report, but Dr. Ahmad said it was OK - no new growths. We are quite happy with that!  The next CT of his chest/abdomen/pelvis will be in 4 - 6 weeks. His liver enzymes are still a bit high, but have come down again. All good news! 

I have just finished my crazy, busy time at work. It has been very busy for the past 2- 3 months. It is so nice to have a breather now. I have a summer student this year and she is wonderful. I plan to take some time around the arrival of our grandbaby, and when necessary, work from Medicine Hat in July when we are there. There is at least one major deadline in July so figured I may as well not break up my vacation - with a summer student, internet and phones I can work as much as I need to from the Hat. And with trips back to Saskatoon for chemo - I will be in the office fairly regularly anyway. I will officially take holidays in August. 

There is not much else new. We are getting more and more excited for the grandbaby - less than 3 weeks now (we hope no longer than that!). Vanessa is now on holidays/mat leave, so is now done work. She is getting in her last few weeks of rest, and hopefully she and Stuart get a chance to have some couple time - it could be a while before they get that again! Although, I know a Grandad and Gram who will be happy to babysit anytime!

I feel so lucky that we are able to experience this joy and anticipation. It is truly a wonderful time in our lives, and one that we thought might not be shared with Callum. Life is so close to normal that it is often difficult to remember that cancer is lurking, somewhere, out there. We have many, many good days, filled with special moments, and special people. Thank you all, for your prayers, positive thoughts and best wishes. Callum works hard every day to beat this disease, but we know that we need your support. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

"We find things where we look for them, which is why I never look for a golf ball out of bounds."  ~Robert Braultwww.robertbrault.com

TTFN