Update time!

Cal BBQ-ing in Ixtapa .....fond memories of +30 degrees.....to take away the pain of -48 windchill!

Hi folks,

It has been a while since I have posted. Time seems to fly so fast these days. Callum has been doing OK - is starting to get some relief from the sciatica that started in February. Thank goodness for good massage therapists and chiropractors! He had another cycle of chemo this past week, with reduced 5 FU - one of the chemo drugs.  His platelets were up slightly so that is good. They had been a bit low the last cycle. We had some great news - the MRI of the lumbar spine region came back clear. It looks like the leg pain is caused by a regular, but painful, case of sciatica. He has his next CT scan on the abdomen/chest/pelvis on April 3.  Hopefully there are no changes again. He feels no different so we are feeling pretty positive!

I have gone back to work full time - we'll see how it goes. This is the busy time for us so I hope to be able to get us through the next 2 - 3 months. It helps so much now that Callum is able to drive again. We are having fun practicing the schedule and planning of who needs to be where and when and who will keep the car. Never a dull moment here! And with the reduced chemo he has fewer side effects so he is up to cooking and laundry a lot more often - it makes such a huge difference when he can do those things.  

We have a busy visiting week coming up. My friend and her daughter from Ohio are here for a few days.  They are here to see family so it will be busy for them. Cal's brother and wife (and hopefully nephew!) will be here this coming weekend, and our dear friends from Winnipeg will be here next Sunday (Carvers...here we come!). We have had a pretty quiet time the last couple of weeks so it will be nice to have visitors again. 

One thing that I have wondered about lately is what people think when we say Callum is doing well. I don't usually worry about what people think - mostly am wondering about the "science' of perception and communication. Sometimes I wonder if people think that he is feeling like he did a year ago - full of energy and able to take on anything. I wish that was the case. I have to remind myself sometimes that even though he looks like the same old guy (well, with a little less hair) he doesn't have that same energy level. It's just that he looks like he should be able to put on his suit and head to the office! And he does have a number of days he feels like that - just not enough of them. And he likely couldn't put in a full day. Just hard to see it that way, sometimes. And then....when I say he is doing OK....do people expect to see the gaunt looking cancer patient? And then wonder how sick he could be when they see him? Maybe I am just trying to reconcile it for myself so try to see it though the eyes of others.  It is just so hard to realize that even this time may be limited. Things have been pretty stable the last few weeks - it seems like we could live like this for years now! Hopefully that is the case. The other option just seems to be far away right now.

And we have so much to look forward to. Just over 3 months to being grandparents. You should see Callum's face light up every time we talk about the grandbaby. Such a wonderful time in the lives of Vanessa and Stuart...and ours! 

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude."     Denis Waitley