NYC Blur NYC

October began the way it should...in NYC. Mom and I travelled again to Manhattan and enjoyed a number of days visiting friends, eating well and enjoying 2 incredible plays on Broadway. We even were able to meet up with one of Mom's best friends since childhood as her and her husband were there celebrating her birthday. Mom was excited to take Peggy to Elaine's and be able to show her the place we always talk about.

The night before we left, we attended the Sloan Kettering Celebration for transplant survivors - quite an event - a live band, hors d'ourves, drinks - and hundreds of people that were either survivors or families of survivors...it was difficult to tell who was who as all looked healthy. We were able to catch up with Dr. Young, my doctor while I lived in NYC, and he introduced me to a couple of the other doctors involved at MSKCC - one was a Nobel prize winner for his research and he was interested in my story...apparently I am still the only 3rd transplant survivor they're aware of. A lot of interesting information, people and energy - celebrating survival - the survivors as well as those that helped them survive. I think I'll make it an annual event.

The rest of October has been a blur of activity - a quick visit from Ryland & Amy, Thanksgiving, ladies Poker night, dinner with friends and a Halloween party (did you ever think you'd see a pink wig on me?) Jack and Davis discovered "jelly" that goes with turkey, a much better idea than "cranberries" and think that for sleepovers "Papa's room is SO awesome" (it's also Nana's room but Dad seems to get the official title). Last week I was involved in a couple of successful charity auctions - Tasha's Rethink Romp event for Rethink Breast Cancer was a huge success and the next day my brother stepped in as auctioneer for PwC's United Way auction, also raising a lot of funds for good organizations. This week I spoke to a group of people who are considering joining the Team In Training program with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society about the benefits of cancer research. Work has continued to ramp up lately too....I'm back managing clients - all Not-for-profit organizations, which is a great fit for me. This has added a nice twist to my other roles that I still have in the office. Life is busy. Life is good.

Healthwise I've been fighting a cold since I returned from NYC...I hate to admit that travelling often does that to me...and generally I have been a bit more tired these days. Likely due to the previous paragraph, I know, but I suppose I have to be realistic that my fatigue catches up to me and is more significant than the average person my age. I am doing so incredibly well given all my body has endured, that I often forget some of the lasting effects this roller coaster has had on my body. I went to a yoga class at my new gym a couple weeks ago and was reminded of that - I knew I wouldn't be the star of the class, but very quickly realized I hardly could participate. The recently increased numbness in my feet wouldn't allow me to do any balance pose or move to Downward Dog and then when everyone "hopped" out of it I couldn't do that either. Stretching backward was impossible with the absence of any neck muscles from the surgery I had, and my tendons seem to have gone back to the tightness level of when I had rejection of them post transplant #1, so I couldn't even get into the supposed-to-be relaxing "child's pose". It was a bit of an emotional hit. And to make things worse, I had accidentally placed my mat at the front of the class thinking it was the back!

This week I slipped into yoga class again (in the back of the room!), and did whatever I could, and accepted that I would just have to keep coming and eventually I'd be able to do more. I started getting more regular acupuncture on my feet to hopefully improve that issue, as well as doing some exercises to release the tendon tension. But in the end, if the only place you can tell I've had some health issues is in the yoga classroom, I guess I'm doing pretty well...And later today I'll be further reminded of how well I am doing and how much life I am living, with tendon tightness and feet neuropathy being tiny flaws in an otherwise perfect scenario...I'm flying to Vancouver to see my grandma Gunn this weekend. Her challenges are like Mt Everest to me. I'm back in the Foothills. I'll likely also get to use my Halloween costume again and go trick-or-treating with my cousins tomorrow. Don't worry, I don't have my own candy bag!

So October has been another full and delicious month and I'll be starting November off in the same way October did - in NYC. I know, I know, it's only been a few weeks since I returned, but Tasha and I cancelled our NYC trip April 2008 because I had to have another transplant. And since then her world has been so busy with her own treatments and Ryan's remarkable but epic brain tumour journey that you may have been keeping up on. She told me in September that early November would be the best time to go, and with all the uncertainties in all of our lives, how could we not do it?

Crave Cupcakes and Compassion

September has been an unexpected extension of summer with warm weather and lots of activity. I successfully completed my 8-minute sprint for Diabetes and definitely surpassed my expectations for distance cycled! Thanks to all of my supporters. I had a great team of 4 guys from PwC among a larger PwC team of 25 and we all had a wonderful time over the lunch hour. Two of the partners have children with diabetes and while they sprinted with passion they were so appreciative of the team effort towards supporting research for the disease.


That weekend Mom, Dad and I took the boys for the day and ventured into a CornMaze just east of Calgary - Davis loved following Papa and deciding which way to go and Jack loved crumbling the dry corn leaves all the way. It was a windy day and this picture demonstrates how my hair took on the look of the corn! The CornMaze also had some other entertainment and Jack and Davis discovered how perfect they are for the teeter-totter - with an equal weighted-partner it is way more fun and it was hard to convince them to eventually leave.


My life is filled with so many normal joys right now, it is almost hard to comprehend the roller coaster life of the past 12 years. I was reminded of that in detail as I prepared to speak to a group of nursing students at Mount Royal University last week. Having spoken a number of times to various groups, I even have a Powerpoint presentation that helps cover my story, as well as what I have learned and in this case, my observations on the range of nursing care I have received. Going through the slides, I was forced to realize what is in fact a very long, quite remarkable story and I am so unbelievable grateful to be well enough to present it to potential nurses. In the question period, it seemed a bit surreal to answer some of the less technical questions - how did you survive? how did your family cope? I could only smile and say "that's a very good question" and consider that there is no logical or scientific explanation really, but I suppose it is the combination of my faith, my family, my friends, my doctors, my nurses and the healing energy of hundreds of people sending me love. It's really a mystery called life.


Of course, one of the reasons I am here is my brother, my first and third bone marrow donor and my neverending protector. We celebrated his  birthday early (Oct 4th) this year, and since we hadn't been able to be all together for Dad's birthday in late August, we celebrated his too. The boys LOVE birthdays and needed a candle to blow out as well. Crave cupcakes are a delight for Jack and Davis, as they generally like to lick off the icing first, and with the amount of icing on a Crave cupcake, that can take a while!


The day before our birthday celebration, Mom, Dad, Tasha, Talyn and my aunt Mary Ellen joined me to walk at Light the Night, a walk at dusk along the river celebrating blood cancer survivors and honouring those who lost the fight. It was a last minute decision to walk and we cut it short when a crazy storm blew in as the walk started, but did get in a few KM of celebration. When I was on the board of LLS, the first LTN was just over a hundred people raising just over $100K, and this year it raised over $500K. It is satisfying to see its continued growth.

Yesterday Tasha, Ryan, Tasha's brother Chad and I paid a visit to his holiness the Dalai Lama while he visited Calgary. A simple monk, he calls himself, and really it did feel like he was having a little chat with you despite the over 15,000 people there to visit him. His message of peace, through living compassionately every day, was simple and calming, and he confirmed for me that simply engaging the world, one person at a time, can impact the world on a greater level. It is from this level that the greater problems can be solved.

And if that isn't enough good energy, I am heading to the airport shortly with Mom to see my old friend NYC. While we're there, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is hosting a "Celebration" for their stem-cell survivors, and I'm invited. I'm excited to be able to attend, in full health, to showcase the efforts of all the doctors who made the trial happen. I think I'll be the only 3rd transplant survivor, and I plan to walk in looking nothing like a cancer patient. Cheers.