Tim & Mary's Adventure

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

November 2011 A Month to Remember

Our plan for November had been to have a quiet time at home with only a couple of trips to Sudbury for treatment but for the most part we would just try to stay in Thessalon or maybe go to the cottage. As it turns out it is better not to plan.

The month started with a trip to Sudbury for a treatment on Nov 1st. and we did get out to the cottage that week. We pulled the dock in and cleaned up a bit. I am still working on the renovations of the bathroom. Mary wanted an indoor shower so I have been working on that.
On Nov. 9th Marys brother Tim Stewart had an appointment with his doctor and she promptly sent him to the hospital and it turned out that he had a heart attack. He was shipped to Sault Ste. Marie the next day and it was discovered that he had 4 blocked vessels and they put him on a wait list for surgery in Toronto. So we made three or four trips to the Soo during his stay there. He was taken by medical aircraft to Toronto and St.Micheals Hospital on Nov 15th and Mary and I drove down to be with Judy at the Bond Place Hotel near the hospital. The surgery was done on the 16th and was very successful.

We had quite a reunion in Toronto as Katie came over from Waterloo, and Aly and Matt made the trip south from Moosonee.

Recovery for Tim was going well but the doctor did not want him to make the 7 hour trip home by car so we put him and Judy on the Porter flight from Toronto Island the 22nd of Nov and we drove to Sudbury for Marys treatment on the 23rd. We made it back home late on the 23rd just happy to be in our own bed again. Tim S and Judy made the trip home very well and he is recovering very well at home. He is to rest for 4-6 weeks but I think we will be lucky to keep him down for 2weeks. It seems amazing to me that an active healthy guy can have a heart attack, a week later have open heart surgery and the following week be home walking around. As my uncle Tom said on Sunday, How can you not believe in the Power of Prayer.

Anyway the month is over and hopefully December will be a bit slower (Did I really say that).

Friday, October 28, 2011

October Update

Update October 24^th

It has been a while since I have updated so I will give you a quick run-down of the last month and a half.

In early September we made the long trip to Red Lake to see Josh Lynne and Ivy. We decided it was a good opportunity to make the trip with Kate as she had not been to Red Lake yet. We helped Josh move his stove, change the counter top in the kitchen, install a dishwasher and new faucets. The highlight of the trip was constructing a swing set for Ivy. It was Kate's birthday but Josh took the day off work and we built the structure together while Ivy and Grama kept a watchful eye. We returned home bringing Gloria as well for a visit.

The Retirees Retreat at ABK, was the next event and we really enjoyed catching up with some old friends and making some new ones. ABK provided some good activities and excellent food. Jack Correll gave us some great Bible teaching.

We are still making the trek to Sudbury Hospital every three weeks. The Herceptin treatment seems to be going well. The treatment take about 2-3 hours and we come home the same day. Mary is tired for a couple of days but tolerates the stuff okay. She is also taking the clinical drug every day.

On Sept. 24^th we made a surprise visit to Kingsville for John's birthday. He was turning 60 so we had to make it for that milestone. We celebrated and finished off the deck we had started in August. Ruth treated us to some very good meals and we got to try out Michaela"s new car. We had a nice visit with Katie and Amy as well.

We returned home and managed to get a few jobs started and done at the cottage and on the farm. We helped Mary's older brother Harold with baling straw and butchering chickens. My job was to catch the chickens in the coop and help with plucking and cleaning. Mary was in the kitchen preparing the chicken for freezing. We prepared about 25 chickens with more to be done later.

Ruth and Gordon Hanna from Chitokoloki dropped in for a visit on their way to Sault Ste. Marie. It was wonderful to catch up on all the news from Zambia and just enjoy the time. They will be in Canada til mid November then return to Chit for some warmer weather. They have a lot of projects on the go as well as day to day running of the Mission Station. They are amazing folks!

Thanksgiving was really nice as the weather was great. Katie made the trip north with John, Ruth and Michaela. On the Saturday we put them right to work as the cattle needed to be brought home from the summer pasture. The OPP came in force to stop the traffic as the cows made their way across the highway.

Over Thanksgiving Katie found out that she had two job offers and after much deliberation she decided to take the job in Kitchener. We needed to deliver 48 boxes to the south for shipment to Africa and decided to take Katie as well. We needed to take Tim's truck as it was a big load. We dropped the boxes off at Ken Wagler's in Tavistock and had a nice visit with them. We then travelled to Hanover for a quick visit with Harold, Muriel, Johnnie and Betty. We arrived back home in Thessalon exactly 40 hours from when we left.

On October 18^th we set out for Red Lake but by a different route than normal. Josh needed windows so we decided to travel through the States and pick up windows at Menards. After crossing at Sault Ste. Marie we travelled to Marquette Michigan, bought two windows then continued on to Duluth MN. We crossed back into Ontario the next day at International Falls. We arrived in Red Lake Wednesday night and started work on Josh and Lynn's house the next day. A week later we have installed two windows, strapped the house and installed vinyl siding as well as getting to spend time with Josh, Lynne and Ivy and Gloria, Mike and family. We leave to go home Friday morning and hopefully we will stay close to home for a while. We have a trip to Sudbury on November 1^st for Herceptin treatment number seven. Thanks for reading our blog and for your prayers as well.