Beginning of April

This has been an eventful week and overall a good one.  We are official resdients of Thessalon now with the papers signed and keys in hand.  April 2nd was packing day for Chitokoloki.  The folks here at Thessalon had been collecting clothing, food items, shoes etc for Africa and some got together on Saturday to pack the boxes.  We sorted everything in the gym at the Bible Chapel and then sealed up the boxes.  Turns out we will need quite a few more boxes to complete the job.  I hope to deliver them to Toronto on the 21st of April.It is great to see the believers here get behind the Malnutrition Program at the Chitokoloki Hospital.
It was a bit of a tearful week for Mary as on Tuesday and Wednesday she noticed her hair coming out in large clumps. On Thursday I did a bit of a barber job to even things out.  She said that the hair loss was more traumatic than the mastectomy.  I guess your hair is a visible thing and so much a part of your visage.  For me hair loss is a slow gradual process.  Mary says she thinks it is a pride thing.  She was alway kind of proud of her full head of hair.  She says the Lord must be teaching her something in this.  Anyway our shampoo use will decline and I am glad the warm weather is coming.
We head to Sudbury tomorrow for treatment #2 and are praying things go well.  They want us to stay at the Hospital at Daffodil Lodge overnight Monday.  I am really glad about that as perhaps they can help with the vomiting.  I am not looking forward to next week very much and I am sure Mary hopes things go better than last time.  Thanks again for your prayers and kind notes.

Changing Residents

Mid March we changed our address from Constance Lake to 153 Ontario St. Apt1.  I thought I would show you some pictures of the transition.  Cottage - quiet, wood heat, creation, beauty of nature    Apartment - warmth  bills (water, electric, phone, internet), town.
Life is a continual change.

First Chemo Treatment

Here it is March 23^rd and this past week has been a bit daunting.  We travelled to Sudbury a week ago Monday for the first chemo treatment.  It was a long day as we left early in the morning and we got to the hospital at about 930 and waited.  The chemo started about 11am and took about 2hrs until all of the chemicals were pushed into the port in Mary’s chest  Before the chemo started they gave Mary some anti- nausea drugs that were to last 24 hours.   At about 1:30 we stopped for some lunch and then headed home, but we were less than half way home when the nausea hit.  That night was a bit overwhelming for me as Mary was feeling rotten  and there was nothing I could do.  Tuesday to Friday was a bit of a blur but Mary did get progressively better.  By the weekend Mary thought she might survive!  Here is a note she sent in an email on Sunday.

“We are surviving the first of the chemos- barely! i think this is as hard on Tim as me as he has to watch/listen to barfing!  This week has been pretty rough but hopefully the next two weeks will be better before they do the next treatment. This afternoon we went out for a ride and i lost a handful of hair- not a dry drive by any means!  We had Aly and Matt (  Clark) here for the weekend so it was really nice to see them even though I couldn't do much. It was so encouraging  to hear them talk of their wedding plans and hopes  and dreams for the future!  And Matt made me some creamy mashed potatoes  which went down well!”
“Our new address is 153 Ontario St. Apt #1  P.O. Box 493 Thessalon, Ontario  P0R 1H0
we are settling into "Normal" life- phones, internet, electricity, running water and bills!!
I feel claustrophic at times but hopefully will make the transition gracefully. This is our path at present and we want to be found faithful.”

Today was a good day and we had a nice visit from Burnley and Zoe.  Mary ate well and did not have nausea  at all.  This is the 10^th day of the treatment when her blood count is supposed to be the lowest.  We will have to careful with people who are sick and guard Mary from infection.  I take her temp twice a day.  If it is 38 degrees C,  I am to take her to the emergency dept. immediately.    We have a video conference with the oncologist on Monday and hopefully we can deal with the nausea and vomiting for next time. 

Thanks so much for all the notes, emails and phone calls.  We really appreciate all the support and the prayer. 

Off to Sudbury Again Tomorrow

This has been a busy week again.  We travelled to Blind River Monday to see our family doctor and have an ultra-sound.  Mary had been fasting since Sunday evening for the ultra-sound which was to be Monday at 1245h.  We had our doctors appointment at 10am and then went to Tim Hortons.  I went in to get a coffee and when I returned Mary was eating an orange and some crackers left in the car.  It.didn't twig with me until we got to the hospital for the ultra-sound.  Then I asked Mary, "Aren't you fasting?", then it hit her as well and she said she must have just forgot and ate the orange.  Needless to say the tech would not do the ultra-sound so we had to book again for Wednesday.  Tuesday we went to Sault Ste. Marie and then back to Blind River on Wednesday.  Thursday we travelled to Sudbury for the surgery to implant a port in her chest.  I will let Mary tell you about that day.
This is Mary now! I have  been very unsettled about whether to do the chemo or not as I have been feeling so well and have lots of energy again! Why would I want to do something that would make me sick?? We had a frank discussion with our wonderful family doctor on Monday morning who listened to our fears and doubts  and encouraged us to make our own decision.  By Wednesday we were still unsure what to do, so I started praying specifically for an answer.  The weather report on Wed evening was not good- snow storm followed by freezing rain overnight. So I decided that if the roads were closed on Thursday morning, I would take that as a sign that we would not do the chemo! Roads were not closed on Thursday morning so off we went.  But the roads were slushy and slippery- so I decided that if we slid off the road and missed the appt., I would take that as a no to chemo. We arrived in Sudbury without incident.  Then the nurse told me that I was no longer on a surgery list. I was now on a wait and see list as some emergencies took precedence.  I decided that if I didn't get the port in, I would take that as a no to chemo.  Tim and I went sound asleep in the waiting room and then the fire alarm went off!! The doctor came in and got me and said as soon as the fire alarm went off she had 45 mins before her next surgery and she would do my port!  So I climbed up on the operating table and she did the surgery as soon as the alarm quit!! You would really think that I would quit putting out fleece but no!! Friday morning , I woke to the question again- should I do the chemo or not? Lord please give me peace about this. Probably a couple of hours later, a friend of ours who had been through breast cancer 4 years ago phoned and we talked for quite a while. She was such an encouragement and gave me lots of ideas about what to do during the treatments.  Best of all, she had the same type of cancer- HER2+ and had the follow-up treatment for the year.  She assured me that the year long treatment was not as bad as the first chemo treatments and that I would be okay!  It was an answer to prayer and I now feel ready to go ahead with this tomorrow.  I am not looking forward to it but I am ready to get on with it.

 Tim again.  On Saturday we moved into a little appartment here in Thessalon and got settled in.  It felt good to have a place of our own again and try to get ready for the chemo treatments.  It is a quiet basement apartment with two bedrooms.  Mary got a red sofa in the Soo on tuesday and it is the only furniture in the living room.  I am sure it will get a lot of use.

Please keep us in your prayers as we head to Sudbury tomorrow.  Thanks to all.  Tim

March 1st Update on Mary

This has taken us a few days to process and to think through, and now we will try to let you know where we are at.  On Friday Feb. 25th we met with the oncologist and were blown away by his report.  On our last post we mentioned that the results of one test had not come back yet but now those results are in. That test  HER2 returned postive which is not a good thing.   We quickly learned that what you don't know can hurt you! 
Basically the HER2 test is fairly new and not done routinely but tells the doctors a lot about the type of cancer and how aggressive it is.  HER2+ is a gene that has more receptor sites than normal and is producing too many cells too rapidly.  The doctor then explained that she would need chemo to kill the cells that had already spread throughout Mary's body. This chemo would start in 2 weeks and involve one treatment every 3 weeks for 18 weeks.  We were kind of prepared for that as it had been mentioned previously as a possibility.  But with the news of the HER2 gene it means an extra year of treatment after the initial chemo. The idea of another year of treatment is daunting!  The plan is to surgically implant a port in Mary's upper chest so that the chemo can be injected as this would be over an extended time.  Needless to say we were still overwhelmed by it all.  There are so many unanswered questions and some fears.  We have been on the internet researching recommended  drugs, side effects, alternatives, coping with chemo etc.  We are also in the process of finding an apartment in Thessalon to live in.  The treatments will be in Sudbury but we plan to stay in Thessalon between treatments.
We are just waiting to talk to the surgeon about  the intervenous port and a consult with our family doctor in Blind River.  We are praying that the Lord will direct us on the right course of action and wisdom and courage. I hope we  can maybe get away for a few days (maybe Ottawa or Toronto) before the chemo starts. We again would like to thank you all for prayers, notes, and concerns.  We are negligent about replying to emails but hopefully will get a chance to talk with you. Thanks so much.

Appointment with the Surgeon Feb 16

Today we travelled to Sudbury for an update from  Dr. Brule, the surgeon.  We started off at 7 am for a 10:30 am appointment.  Mary was looking forward to the meeting and finding out some particulars regarding the surgery and thanking the Doctor for her efforts.  She seems to be a bit tired lately and slept on the way to Sudbury this morning.  She has been healing well and is thankful for  people praying for her.

The doctor had most of the results back from pathology, but was still waiting on one test.  The first thing the doctor did was check for fluid build up and found some.  She removed some fluid on both sides of Mary's chest.  Then she got out the results of the surgery and some good news.  She has a stage 1 cancer, her right breast had no sign of cancer and the lymph nodes were negative for cancer as well.  It seems that the only concern is whether the cancer might have travelling in the blood. When the results of the other tests are back, we will meet with the oncologist to decide whether chemo is needed.  Radiation will not be needed.  Praise the Lord for these results.

The next step will be meeting with the oncologist.  We have been referred to the cancer center and will likely have an appointment date soon.  At that time we will meet with the oncologist and discuss the options and recommended treatment.  Dr. Brule was very encouraging and happy with the results.  We will see her again in the fall.  The appointment lasted about 30 minutes and we were out.   To celebrate the news I took Mary out for lunch at Pizza Hut.  They had a buffet special.  It was a nice mild day (+2) and so we had a nap in the car, went to Walmart and then home.

The surgeon gave Mary her reports and suggested that she look up the tests and what the results mean, so that we can be more knowledgable about predications and treatment when we see the oncologist. So she is sitting in the chair with her book but she keeps nodding off!  It's been a long day but a good one. We are thankful for the good news and thankful for each of you who are concerned and interceding on our behalf.

Mary is Doing Well

The surgery is almost a week old and Mary is healing very well. I am trying to get Mary to do her arm exercises and that seems to be working. The problem is trying to get her to slow down and rest a bit. I came in from the barn this morning and found her hanging up wash. Needless to say she was feeling a little pain this afternoon (I wonder why?), but then she wanted to clean. I think I am going to have to get some different medication for her or a stick to keep her from over doing it.
In any case things are healing well. She has two drains on each side of her chest and we have to empty them a couple of times a day. When the drainage is less than 25cc in a 24 hour period she will be able to get them removed. We are hoping that will be on friday.
We have been overwhelmed by the notes, letters, emails, flowers and prayers from so many people. Thank you so much for your encouragement and thoughts. Please continue to pray as we meet with the surgeon on Feb. 16th in Sudbury. Know that your prayers are effective and we are able to feel God's arms around us during these times.