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.
