Well, we were really hoping that by today Callum would start feeling some relief from the pain in his leg. It is not to be. Today, anyway. Hopefully today is the worst and tomorrow it starts to feel better. He has been on pain meds most of the day and has spent a good part of the day with his legs up and doing crossword puzzles. I went out and bought a variety of crossword puzzle books - although some are likely too easy for him...but might be suited for me! I managed to find part of my flower garden, get my haircut, go to the bank, and wash my car. All in all a pretty good day!
We'll see what tomorrow brings...
"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."
Robert Brault.
If you like that quote....find more at:
http://www.findingjoymovie.com/
TTFN
Lorna
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
And on we go...radiation #3!
We are at the start of the next chapter in our journey. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever catch a break! It has been a most busy year so far.
With the metastases now in the bone, treatment is radiation to the femur. Callum will have 5 treatments and started today. It is high dose radiation but is supposed to be quite effective. He will have a bit more pain for a couple of days, and then it is supposed to get better fairly quickly after that. We are really looking forward to that! In the meantime....thanks for morphine derivatives!
As the last few weeks have gone past, his mobility has slowly decreased and last week he was told to not weight bear, as he is at risk of breaking his leg where the tumour is. He is feeling quite well, other than the pain, so we hope that in the next week or so things are back to being pretty good for him.
It has meant a busy time for me, and a frustrating time for him. We have had offers to come and help, but it is such a short time we know we can handle it. I have nearly all the groceries stocked up and garbage and recycling days are finished for the week! I think I have nearly caught up on emails, and even finished an old "to-do" thing from nearly 10 years ago!
July was very busy for us. We were thrilled to have Callum's cousin and family in Saskatoon while they competed in the ScotDance Canada national highland dance championships. The girls did quite well, and we introduced them to the Berry Barn, deep fried turkey and perogies! Callum's parents and brothers came up to visit and we had a great time. I spied a tear or two on the morning they left...we can hardly wait for then to return in 2 years! Edmonton -look out! In the middle of the visit we made a quick trip to Medicine Hat for Cade's 1st birthday. What an exciting day, and certainly leads to much reflection. There was a time that we were not sure Callum would live to see his first grandchild, and here he was celebrating Cade's first birthday! It is such a joy to see Callum with Cade - I didn't know there could be so much love and joy in one room! After the visit of the Fraser clan, we headed back to the Hat and then to Calgary to help out with Cade while Vanessa finished her final courses in preparation for her big 3 day exam for accounting. We are so proud of her diligence and perseverance - it would have been easy to put all on hold for a year or two, but she will soon be done and we will have a Chartered Accountant in the family! Another goal for Callum to see it all happen!
We are now home and finished vacation. I am back to work and going to the appointments at the cancer centre. It has been a very frustrating month trying to get up to date information with so many people on holidays. Much of the information won't matter to the treatment plan, but it does matter to us. And electronic health records! I think I will join - perhaps lead - the crusade for electronic health records! Without them, his chart physically travels all over the Cancer Centre...from Dr. to chemo to radiation oncologist to radiation treatment to records for typing to release of information and back and forth and round about! What a crazy system!
So...I hope to track down some test results this week. We meet with the neurosurgeon on Aug 5 to discuss MRI results.....we have no idea what will be the outcome of this meeting.
Right now our main focus is the radiation treatments and looking forward to some pain free days for Callum. The rest we will take when it comes.
"The future is literally in our hands to mold as we like. But we cannot wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is now." Eleanor Roosevelt
TTFN
Lorna
With the metastases now in the bone, treatment is radiation to the femur. Callum will have 5 treatments and started today. It is high dose radiation but is supposed to be quite effective. He will have a bit more pain for a couple of days, and then it is supposed to get better fairly quickly after that. We are really looking forward to that! In the meantime....thanks for morphine derivatives!
As the last few weeks have gone past, his mobility has slowly decreased and last week he was told to not weight bear, as he is at risk of breaking his leg where the tumour is. He is feeling quite well, other than the pain, so we hope that in the next week or so things are back to being pretty good for him.
It has meant a busy time for me, and a frustrating time for him. We have had offers to come and help, but it is such a short time we know we can handle it. I have nearly all the groceries stocked up and garbage and recycling days are finished for the week! I think I have nearly caught up on emails, and even finished an old "to-do" thing from nearly 10 years ago!
July was very busy for us. We were thrilled to have Callum's cousin and family in Saskatoon while they competed in the ScotDance Canada national highland dance championships. The girls did quite well, and we introduced them to the Berry Barn, deep fried turkey and perogies! Callum's parents and brothers came up to visit and we had a great time. I spied a tear or two on the morning they left...we can hardly wait for then to return in 2 years! Edmonton -look out! In the middle of the visit we made a quick trip to Medicine Hat for Cade's 1st birthday. What an exciting day, and certainly leads to much reflection. There was a time that we were not sure Callum would live to see his first grandchild, and here he was celebrating Cade's first birthday! It is such a joy to see Callum with Cade - I didn't know there could be so much love and joy in one room! After the visit of the Fraser clan, we headed back to the Hat and then to Calgary to help out with Cade while Vanessa finished her final courses in preparation for her big 3 day exam for accounting. We are so proud of her diligence and perseverance - it would have been easy to put all on hold for a year or two, but she will soon be done and we will have a Chartered Accountant in the family! Another goal for Callum to see it all happen!
We are now home and finished vacation. I am back to work and going to the appointments at the cancer centre. It has been a very frustrating month trying to get up to date information with so many people on holidays. Much of the information won't matter to the treatment plan, but it does matter to us. And electronic health records! I think I will join - perhaps lead - the crusade for electronic health records! Without them, his chart physically travels all over the Cancer Centre...from Dr. to chemo to radiation oncologist to radiation treatment to records for typing to release of information and back and forth and round about! What a crazy system!
So...I hope to track down some test results this week. We meet with the neurosurgeon on Aug 5 to discuss MRI results.....we have no idea what will be the outcome of this meeting.
Right now our main focus is the radiation treatments and looking forward to some pain free days for Callum. The rest we will take when it comes.
"The future is literally in our hands to mold as we like. But we cannot wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is now." Eleanor Roosevelt
TTFN
Lorna
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Test
I am testing to see if I can upload a blog entry from my blackberry.
Lorna
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry
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