Smells of Spring

I love when it gets warm, really warm, after the long days of winter. There is something so hopeful about a day with sun and the smell of wet grass, even if there is dirt and slush every where! It's been quite warm in Calgary lately, so we've been enjoying a bit of this springlike weather. Not to say that a dump of white stuff won't come any minute now, but it's now at least a short-term sight to deal with!

The past couple of weeks have been good. I think it's taken me 5 rounds of chemo to realize that the last two weeks of my 28-day cycle are better than my first two. I start "day one" again this Wednesday (I know, can you believe it?!) so I will give myself a break if I don't feel as good next week as I do today.

Physio has been really going well. The range of motion I am getting back is exciting and my strength is coming too. I have even reduced my non-chemo meds in the meantime. Less drugs and more motion....always good! Besides the physical stories, I have continued working on my lifelist, little and big, with the help of my cancer-survivor-coach Tasha. I am excited to be moving forward more now than hovering in limbo so much.

I managed to get to a few movies lately, one with my cousin Barbara, and one with my mom. It's fired up my acting passion again and I hope to get back to that soon. I also had the treat of hanging out with some cute boys - Tasha's Talyn (nearly 2 years old!) at the Zoo,

and my nephews Jack and Davis (9 months old now). My nephews always like to play with my fuzzy head!

So I am a week away from starting my "trip time"....first stop is Grand Cayman with Dave and his parents. I'm excited to see them, as well as the blue Caribbean ocean I've never seen. I'll be pulling out my snorkeling gear again, and surf wear, and hope that my physio allows me to enjoy it all. Chemo day 1 will be a distant memory I am sure!

I hope the warm spring winds find you wherever you are.

Tricia

Dancing, visiting and the 90s

This week I've seen that time and age mean nothing. On the weekend, I flew to Regina for my great Aunt Marj's 90th birthday. Saturday afternoon we visited another great Aunt, Emelda, who is also in her 90s, but still living independently and offering jam jam cookies to us guests. Saturday evening was a great party - Aunt Marj's 90th included a dinner and dance and over 90 guests. She stayed until midnight and danced several times to the band Carnival (two of my old elementary and high school teachers played bass and piano!). Truly a day of young ladies in their 90s. It even inspired me to dance a few songs (with shoes off!) which was a remarkable event given my fairly recent inability to walk!

Mom, Colleen, Bob and I stayed at Ellen's house, which allowed lots of visiting with Ellen, Amy and Amy's fiance Ryland. I lived with Ellen and Amy for a while about 10 years ago, so it was wonderful to have the "girls" back together again!

Sunday I visited yet another young lady, Grandma Antonini, who will turn 90 in January. Her hair still naturally red and curly, and dimples still smiling, she seems to me to be younger than she was 15 years ago. I was lucky enough to visit with a bunch of the Antonini's that morning and afternoon as well - Holly and her family (Jamie, Eddie, Mia, Lui and Ellie), Heather, Ed, Deanie, Tony, Carol, Sonia, Len, Kelly, Therese and Christine (A). It was fantastic to see everyone and I look forward to the reunion in August to see everyone.

After a quick dinner visit with the Boyd's and Ellen Sunday evening, we arrived home late that night to Calgary. I had definitely done as much visiting as possible in a 48-hour period and was basically exhausted. Monday and Tuesday I had really significant bone pain and nausea, which kind of wiped me out until last night. It was worth it though!

Last Wednesday I started "day 1" chemo again, and the doctor mentioned to me that the transplant team still reviews my case each week to decide if the chemo I am on currently is the best path. He said there is still talk about revisiting more toxic chemo (as I missed most of the two toxic rounds when I had the infection last summer) at some point in the future, depending on my strength and continued recovery. It seems uncertainty about the plan for the near future will continue. I feel it just confirms that making my "lists" and trying to knock things off of the lists sooner rather than later is the right move.

Yesterday I started physiotherapy to try to improve my muscle strength and overall range of motion that I lost while hospitalized. I haven't really had formal physio since I left the hospital, so it will be a slow process, but I'm excited to start. This afternoon I go to the hospital for a monthly inhalation of an anti-viral drug, which will give me "coverage" for another month.

On a non-health note, Dad and I are going to the Rascal Flatts concert tonight. I may need to nap tomorrow, but again it will be worth it. If Aunt Marj, Emelda and Grandma A can do it, I can!

Cheers