I am a little overwhelmed by how many of you have sent emails with best wishes for the journey ahead of me. Such an outpouring was unexpected. But I thank you! It is good to know that I am in your hearts and prayers.
Neil and I will be leaving for Victoria on Monday morning. So for the next few days we will be going crazy trying to pack things up and shut down the house. We are a couple of days behind schedule as we were set back this week by a very nasty flu. Both Neil and I were incapacitated for days. All we could do was sleep, moan and groan.
I am hoping, once I get to Victoria, to have more time to update this blog and also to answer the emails. So please, don't be offended if it is some time before I get to this. It is not that I don't appreciate your thoughts and kind words.
Right now, I am off to bed for some much needed sleep. I will try to be a bit more informative in my next writing. (This one is a little boring and mundane. Sorry!)
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
A Small Success
About four winters ago our water line froze on us right around the Christmas season. As you can imagine, where we live, there is no "city water works" and thus no one to call when something goes wrong. We spent most of the winter eating cheese and crackers (no dishes to do), having bucket baths (pretty much self descriptive), and hauling water up from the lake in 50 gallon buckets, 5 gallon buckets, and any other size of buckets we could get our hands on. During that period of three waterless months, Neil and I hauled ourselves up the waterline most days to build fires to thaw the ground enough to dig down to the waterline. We would find frozen sections, dig them out thaw them with a tiger torch. A couple of times we even got the water going but couldn't keep up with it. It kept freezing ahead of where we had dug and replaced lines. It was a long, cold, and yes - a very wet - winter.
So you can just imagine my chagrin when I got out of the hospital last month, excited to be going home to recuperate, to find WHAT - you guessed it. No water!! Thank god I had Melanie (my lovely sister) with me. After spending a couple of hours trouble-shooting all the possibilities, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to have to go back "to the old ways". Getting enough snow melted (one big stock pot of snow resulted in a meager 2 inches of water in the bottom of the pot) to do dishes, flush the toilet, maintain some semblance of hygiene for ourselves, and some very basic cleaning, was a chore. And which, unfortunately for Melanie, it all fell on her. I was completely unable to help given my new and very foreign position of depending on someone else to do just about everything for me. And when Melanie went home, my good friend Mary Lou from Victoria very bravely came out to take over the chores (despite my warning that it would be very much like "winter camping"). And as the days passed, and fresh snow came down, the job of getting good clean snow became more difficult. Seems Zack (our dog) thought of the whole yard as his own private outhouse.
When Neil got home on the 22nd of January, he was determined to find where the water had frozen and get it back. And I was agreeable to the new mission. Laundry was piling up, floors were getting very dirty (no 5 second rule here!), and the bucket baths were getting old quickly! (Although we did beg showers from good friends at the lake -Thank you Sandy!!)
And then we got the bombshell of my diagnosis. For a couple of days, everything in our lives stopped while we tried to digest the news, what it meant for our lives for the next couple of years, and how to deal with it. Once the decision was made to go to Victoria, we both kind of went into denial and threw ourselves into getting our water. Like really - as if we didn't have a million other things to do before packing up and moving?? But, it gave us something to do, time to NOT think. And probably for both of us, to go into our own private world of "what ifs" (not a productive state of mind, I assure you). So we did, we threw ourselves into plowing the road up the water line, hauling truck loads of wood, burning massive fires, and then digging in the most likely spots it would be frozen. But we found it!!!
At the beginning of the week, we had water!!! Maybe not such a great accomplishment, but for us it was HUGE. It just showed how plugging away, one day at a time, good things DO happen. (Plus, we got our laundry done!!)
So you can just imagine my chagrin when I got out of the hospital last month, excited to be going home to recuperate, to find WHAT - you guessed it. No water!! Thank god I had Melanie (my lovely sister) with me. After spending a couple of hours trouble-shooting all the possibilities, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we were going to have to go back "to the old ways". Getting enough snow melted (one big stock pot of snow resulted in a meager 2 inches of water in the bottom of the pot) to do dishes, flush the toilet, maintain some semblance of hygiene for ourselves, and some very basic cleaning, was a chore. And which, unfortunately for Melanie, it all fell on her. I was completely unable to help given my new and very foreign position of depending on someone else to do just about everything for me. And when Melanie went home, my good friend Mary Lou from Victoria very bravely came out to take over the chores (despite my warning that it would be very much like "winter camping"). And as the days passed, and fresh snow came down, the job of getting good clean snow became more difficult. Seems Zack (our dog) thought of the whole yard as his own private outhouse.
When Neil got home on the 22nd of January, he was determined to find where the water had frozen and get it back. And I was agreeable to the new mission. Laundry was piling up, floors were getting very dirty (no 5 second rule here!), and the bucket baths were getting old quickly! (Although we did beg showers from good friends at the lake -Thank you Sandy!!)
And then we got the bombshell of my diagnosis. For a couple of days, everything in our lives stopped while we tried to digest the news, what it meant for our lives for the next couple of years, and how to deal with it. Once the decision was made to go to Victoria, we both kind of went into denial and threw ourselves into getting our water. Like really - as if we didn't have a million other things to do before packing up and moving?? But, it gave us something to do, time to NOT think. And probably for both of us, to go into our own private world of "what ifs" (not a productive state of mind, I assure you). So we did, we threw ourselves into plowing the road up the water line, hauling truck loads of wood, burning massive fires, and then digging in the most likely spots it would be frozen. But we found it!!!
At the beginning of the week, we had water!!! Maybe not such a great accomplishment, but for us it was HUGE. It just showed how plugging away, one day at a time, good things DO happen. (Plus, we got our laundry done!!)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
No, I did not win the lottery!!
I wish the news I have to pass on was that I had won the lottery and that Neil and I were off to warmer climes to bask in the sun and surf, drink coco locos, laugh and giggle, and revel in each others company. But, unfortunately, that is not my news.
I have cancer. And to my understanding (at this point anyways) it is not a nice cancer, if cancer can ever be considered "nice"!
There is not much in the way of details that I can tell you at the moment. As some of you know, I have recently had a surgery to remove a large "lump" (well actually it was as big as a bloody basketball - just kidding!!) removed. I was hoping that I would lose 10 pounds when it was removed but, alas, that was not the case.
The original pre-op prognosis was that it was benign but the following biopsy showed otherwise. The cancer was in my ovary. Or too be more exact, the lump/cancer took over my ovary. There was no ovarian material left in the lump. To compound matters, the doctors say that the ovary was only the secondary site of cancer. It had travelled from somewhere else in my body to manifest itself in the ovary. The primary site of cancer is still unknown. With this type of cancer, there are three usual primary sites: the appendix (which I had removed 15 years ago), the stomach (not so likely) or the colon (much more likely). One other aspect of this cancer, that I am gathering from my doctors, is that it is a fairly aggressive cancer (so getting on to treatment ASAP is vital). One doctor also told me that it is fairly uncommon, that he has only seen it once about 10 years ago. (But then you have to remember the demographics of Christina Lake. We are a pretty small community.)
So, as the doctors told me, I have a long road ahead of me. Most important right now is a colonoscopy (not liking the sounds of THAT!!!) to see if the primary site of cancer can be located. I am scheduled for this on February 15. Once that is done, then they will have some idea of what type of oncologist I need to see. And then I am looking at a year to two years for treatment and followup. Neil and I have decided to move to Victoria for the time it takes to get treatment and followup. This will likely happen shortly after the colonoscopy. We decided Victoria was the best place for treatment as I have lots of family there and we have a place to live.
I am writing this email for a number of different reasons. One, to inform you of what the REAL scoop is. I want my family and friends, near and far, to be informed. I am trying to prevent any mis-information being circulated about my condition. Christina Lake, being the small community that it is (and to clarify - the community I love) is already abuzz and I would rather have the correct info being discussed rather than having people speculate and guess and pass on untruths.
The second reason is to invite you to follow my blog if you are so inclined. This email is actually my first blog post (and can also be found on my blog) but I decided to email it so that you all had the blog address to find me. (Talk about a challenge just figuring out HOW to set up a blog! Computer savy I am not) And please, don't feel that you have to follow it. Do it only if you want to keep up to date with my progress. For many of you it may be the only way to get updates. And if I have set up the blog correctly, there should be an area where you can send comments. So my blog address (I think!!) is:
http://dana-daybyday.blogspot.com
and my blog name is: One Day At A Time
so good luck finding it!!
Also, you can always email me. I just can't promise that I will be timely with a response. I never have been very good with the email thing. Best email to get me at is danamacb@gmail.com (yes, that is a "b" in there. The "b" is for "Brown")
The last reason for this email/blog (and I will make this brief but no less heartfelt!). Thank You to those of you that helped me through this past few months with your thoughts, words, and actions (and your "Dana's Recovery Dance" Nathan!!). Also, I need to apologise to so many for not keeping you informed until now and even worse, for not emailing you in - oh so long!! (Noni! I do hope to talk soon!)
And I promise! Not all blogs will be doom and gloom. In the near future, I hope to make it more appealing with pictures and other related and/or totally irrelevant material.
Dana
PS Please, don't hesitate to pass on my blog address to anyone that might be interested
I have cancer. And to my understanding (at this point anyways) it is not a nice cancer, if cancer can ever be considered "nice"!
There is not much in the way of details that I can tell you at the moment. As some of you know, I have recently had a surgery to remove a large "lump" (well actually it was as big as a bloody basketball - just kidding!!) removed. I was hoping that I would lose 10 pounds when it was removed but, alas, that was not the case.
The original pre-op prognosis was that it was benign but the following biopsy showed otherwise. The cancer was in my ovary. Or too be more exact, the lump/cancer took over my ovary. There was no ovarian material left in the lump. To compound matters, the doctors say that the ovary was only the secondary site of cancer. It had travelled from somewhere else in my body to manifest itself in the ovary. The primary site of cancer is still unknown. With this type of cancer, there are three usual primary sites: the appendix (which I had removed 15 years ago), the stomach (not so likely) or the colon (much more likely). One other aspect of this cancer, that I am gathering from my doctors, is that it is a fairly aggressive cancer (so getting on to treatment ASAP is vital). One doctor also told me that it is fairly uncommon, that he has only seen it once about 10 years ago. (But then you have to remember the demographics of Christina Lake. We are a pretty small community.)
So, as the doctors told me, I have a long road ahead of me. Most important right now is a colonoscopy (not liking the sounds of THAT!!!) to see if the primary site of cancer can be located. I am scheduled for this on February 15. Once that is done, then they will have some idea of what type of oncologist I need to see. And then I am looking at a year to two years for treatment and followup. Neil and I have decided to move to Victoria for the time it takes to get treatment and followup. This will likely happen shortly after the colonoscopy. We decided Victoria was the best place for treatment as I have lots of family there and we have a place to live.
I am writing this email for a number of different reasons. One, to inform you of what the REAL scoop is. I want my family and friends, near and far, to be informed. I am trying to prevent any mis-information being circulated about my condition. Christina Lake, being the small community that it is (and to clarify - the community I love) is already abuzz and I would rather have the correct info being discussed rather than having people speculate and guess and pass on untruths.
The second reason is to invite you to follow my blog if you are so inclined. This email is actually my first blog post (and can also be found on my blog) but I decided to email it so that you all had the blog address to find me. (Talk about a challenge just figuring out HOW to set up a blog! Computer savy I am not) And please, don't feel that you have to follow it. Do it only if you want to keep up to date with my progress. For many of you it may be the only way to get updates. And if I have set up the blog correctly, there should be an area where you can send comments. So my blog address (I think!!) is:
http://dana-daybyday.blogspot.com
and my blog name is: One Day At A Time
so good luck finding it!!
Also, you can always email me. I just can't promise that I will be timely with a response. I never have been very good with the email thing. Best email to get me at is danamacb@gmail.com (yes, that is a "b" in there. The "b" is for "Brown")
The last reason for this email/blog (and I will make this brief but no less heartfelt!). Thank You to those of you that helped me through this past few months with your thoughts, words, and actions (and your "Dana's Recovery Dance" Nathan!!). Also, I need to apologise to so many for not keeping you informed until now and even worse, for not emailing you in - oh so long!! (Noni! I do hope to talk soon!)
And I promise! Not all blogs will be doom and gloom. In the near future, I hope to make it more appealing with pictures and other related and/or totally irrelevant material.
Dana
PS Please, don't hesitate to pass on my blog address to anyone that might be interested
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