Sunday, May 28, 2023

We’re going home tomorrow and I’m more than ready!

Saturday, May 27, 2023

The good …

• We had a nice dinner in Yaletown on Thursday night, followed by a short walk around False Creek. Pat found a singer/songwriter concert at the Roundhouse so we ended up there. We took the Skytrain down and back and it was much more relaxing for Pat than driving.
• We took another Skytrain ride to Gastown on Friday and had another nice meal at the Lamplighter. We had a short visit with Trevor before he had to head back to the kitchen to cook for the other lunch guests that were arriving. We had planned to go either on Friday or Sunday but Trevor advised that they would be busy on Sunday with a Drag Queen brunch. This is the same place that Stacia, Deloise and I saw the beard contest when we were down for Quilt Canada in 2018; they do have the most interesting events.
• Another lovely meal out today and another visit with Christy, Rick, Dylan and Taylor. Taylor was fresh from a training session; I could not believe the huge meal she ate. She is still skin, bones and muscle no matter what or how often she eats. She’s headed to Edmonton later in the week for a competition.
• We were celebrating Dylan’s Grade 12 grad; we won’t be able to make it to either his barbecue or the graduation ceremony but we wanted to mark the occasion with him in some way. I said today that seeing them every weekend made the weeks tolerable; I have some follow-up appointments later in the summer so we hope to see them again before too long.

The bad …

• I’m finding I am more and more tired as the days go on and even resorted to a morning and afternoon nap one day. When we came home on Friday afternoon I had to go half a block uphill and a block on flat sidewalk; I ended up needing to stop twice on the way “home”.
• After my treatment on Friday the technician asked how I was doing. Usually I just say fine but this time I said I was more burnt, itchier and tired with each passing day. She told me that is completely normal and that I’d “feel worse every day for up to two weeks after my radiation was done”. Not exactly bad news but it kind of puts a dent in all the plans I had for when I get home.

The ugly …

• I’m not even going to go there!

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

I had a very quiet day yesterday. I may have been a bit depressed. I fought back tears all through my treatment and then spent the rest of the day laying on the bed and reading. I gave myself a stern “talking to” this morning and it seems to have worked because I’ve had a better day today.

My treatment this morning was later than usual so I did some stitching until it was time to go. Being later they were a bit behind and I was probably ten minutes late getting in. We still had lots of time to walk the couple of blocks to see my oncology doctor. The waiting room was packed and I expected we’d be waiting a long time but I think we actually got in a bit early.

We have spoken to Dr. Mitri a few times over the phone and it was nice to meet him in person. He is really a nice man and I was impressed that he knew my history without referring to a chart, notes, or his computer. I’ll see him again in about six months but he assured us we could call him anytime. He’ll continue to work with Dr. Burns in Powell River too. He answered all my questions and basically said once the radiation is done I just need to go home and recover.

We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant down the hill and then took a long drive to a Canadian Tire store to pick up a cultivator. Pat thinks it will work well for the beds; I’m not convinced but if he is going to be the one using it I don’t really care. I found a propane torch for killing weeds in the patio bricks but Pat thinks I should check it with the fire department first because there is a fire ban in effect.

We took a drive out to Pacific Spirit Park and did a walk – lots of trails through the trees and we stuck to flat ground. There was a lot of cotton in the air (it bothers me) but once we were in the trees we didn’t see it.

Supper is over and I think the rest of my day will be spent laying on the bed reading – but not because I’m depressed, I’m just tired.

Monday, May 22, 2023

We spent another good day with Christy and family on Saturday. For supper we ordered pizza from “Show Me the Pizza”, the place where Dylan works. I rode along with Rick and Taylor to pick it up so had a chance to see Dylan hard at work.

On Sunday we went out for breakfast at the Sylvia Hotel. I’m sure I was there at least once before; I’m not sure but maybe it was a celebration around the time of Brian and Diane’s wedding. From there we headed back to Stanley Park and a lovely walk around Lost Lagoon. We did 3500 steps which is more than my average but there were lots of benches to sit on while we enjoyed the view.

Today we went to a movie – the first time we’ve been to a theatre since Covid started. Pat bought the tickets online at a theatre in North Vancouver because they had reclining seats – what a nice way to see a movie. This morning I admitted to Pat that I was looking forward to the popcorn as much as the movie – The Book Club – the Next Chapter. Although I love the ladies I have to say it was a terrible movie. What was nice though were all the scenes from Italy, many of which we saw on our trip – Rome, Venice, Tuscany and Florence. 

I’ve managed to finish another book from the library shelf so I think I can get the other one read before we leave – just one more week. I also finished a stitching project this week but I still have lots of others to do.

If I had enough energy I’d go see if there is a machine open in the laundry room but for now I’m having trouble getting off the bed!