Good morning everyone. I know its been a while since I updated the blog. There are a few reasons for that… First: I’ve been doing well and medically stable…secondly: I enjoy living my life day by day and not always thinking of the “C” word lol.
There’s been a lot going on since last year, Christmas with the family was AWESOME! In late January, Kerry, Aidan and I went to CUBA for the first time ever (a surprise trip from Kerry to the family). Also was the first All Inclusive trip and flight for Aidan. Trip was awesome and I loved every minute of it even though the temps were cold most days and I was huddled under towels by the pool lol. It was an amazing and fun thing to do with Aidan and being there for his first flight was so much fun!
We had another Cancer scare in the family when my sister found a lump in her breast. Thankfully it turned out to be non cancerous and she is doing well.
A friend of ours who was integral in throwing a huge benefit for Kerry and I last year was just recently diagnosed with Cancer and they are sadly going through a very rough patch but are doing their best to stay positive and are two of the nicest people I have ever met and just goes to show how horrible of a disease Cancer is and that it can and will hit anyone anywhere. V & A We are thinking about you daily.
As for me, I have had some pretty amazing experiences and received some pretty great gifts and opportunities lately.
#1. Another great set of friends of ours P & A spoke with Kerry and a cpl weeks ago we were all at a party together, they presented me with a gift. It was a Quilt from Victorias Quilts Canada. They have volunteers who stitch together hand-made quilts and DONATE them to people living with Cancer. It is BY FAR my fav blanket/quilt ever and is probably the one piece of fabric that means the most to me in the house.
Please visit tem at: http://www.victoriasquiltscanada.com
Victoria’s Quilts Canada’s mission is to provide handmade quilts to people with cancer in Canada.By providing these quilts, we hope to bring physical comfort to those dealing with cancer as well a spiritual comfort in knowing that they are not alone in their struggle.
#2. As most of you know I hold 2 jobs to help keep up with the costs associated with Chemo etc and one of the jobs I have the opportunity to work with some pretty unique people and have pretty awesome experiences. Last month I met Mr. Melnyk (owner of the Ottawa Sens). As a result of that meeting he has invited me to see a NHL game in Ottawa. So Kerry, Aidan and I will be going on April 20, 2013 to see Ottawa vs Toronto – GO LEAFS GO!! As April 25 is the one year anniv since being diagnosed with GIST, we are going to use this experience as CANCERVERSARY and spend the weekend as family together in Ottawa, staying at a hotel, taking Aidan to see the Parliament buildings, see the game and then visit some cool places out there!
#3 Kerry was told about an organization called SMILING EYES where professional photographers who are part of this network get together to donate their time and services to families living with Cancer. They offer a free photo shoot for the family or individual and all related services. Kerry was amazing at setting this all up for what I’m sure will be an AWESOME family photo session down in Toronto this Friday with our photographer ALICIA THURSTON. If you know someone who could benefit from this amazing organization, please check out www.smilingeyes.ca
Our Mission
The Smiling Eyes Project is a non-profit group of Professional Photographers offering complimentary photo shoots to people/families facing Cancers fight or victory.
Each Photographer is commited to donating up to two photoshoots a month for the Smiling Eyes project.
Our goal is to provide you with an hour out of your journey, to offer you fun and laughter with your loved ones, while creating memories that can be cherished.
We want to help make your journey a little less difficult, and make memories of life and love more vivid.
The Smiling Eyes Team
Now many of you have been asking about my health…. Well I have been doing well and not slowing down one bit. This can be good or bad lol. The fact that I work 2 jobs means that for the months of Feb, Mar and April I will have had only a total of 9 days off in the 3 months. This is what’s needed to stay on top of the costs associated with being me, but also is an obv strain on family life. I’m really looking fwd to May when I will have more time to spend with the family. As a result of working a bit too much, I do find I get sick a bit more often (colds, stuffy nose etc). I have been keeping up with my CT scans and follow ups with Dr. Ko at Sunnybrook. I went for blood work and a CT scan 2 weeks ago and today at 2pm I have my follow up with Dr. Ko. the amazing thing about Sunnybrook is that they have a system called MYCHART.CA where you can see your chart, your lab results and everything else that has anything to do with you. So within an hour or so of having blood work drawn, I can log on and see my lab report. This allows me to track my progress or decline and really understand what’s going on inside me.
I AM HAPPY TO REPORT that for the FIRST TIME since before I was diagnosed…. my Hemoglobin (HGB) levels are finally back up within range (130-180) and I am at 131. Down side is that my White Blood Cell (WBC) count and my PLATELET count is dropping and is now at its lowest levels ever. This is likely why I am becoming sick more frequently. So last Thursday I woke up and my uvula was 3x bigger than it should be and I was choking on it along with very swollen glands in my throat. 5 days later and lots of meds and I’m felling better. Now just a cough and disruptive sleep.
Today I see Dr. Ko and will be looking into how the new ONTARIO GLEEVIC COVERAGE works and once I get the deets , I will blog about them too.
Sorry for the delay and I hope you all finally get some sunshine and SPRING finally shows up!
Jay