The blood work is all clear. Michellie's counts are where they should be. That is great. In fact, some of the numbers were higher than when we started this voyage back in December. The rash is holding at bay with no itch, and the vibrancy of the dots is the greatest at the bottom of the leg and foot. Everywhere else is bumps and scabs - hopefully a sign of healing. Michellie has hauled out her Touch for Health books and has taken notes this afternoon so she is ready to do her own healing while I am away. I am so glad I taught her when I did.
The bags are packed and I might get out of Mabou before 6, but it will be tight. We will let everyone know as soon as we can what the verdict is. Thank you for holding us in your thoughts tonight.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 29th
She's got hair! There is a wonderful brush of soft baby like hair now coming from Michellie's head. She is very excited! Her eyebrows and eye lashes fell out last week, so she was feeling a little off with everything...but the hair is coming back! She doesn't mind if is it blond and even if it is curly. Just let it grow!
Yesterday we did a little bit of exercises to try and loosen up Michellie's body, and we walked to the neighbors for sprouts in a "snow squal". She was no longer stiff from the physio, but very tight. She even did the vacuuming to get in a little more cardio. Her legs were purple from a lack of circulation when she got up, so we were trying to do anything to get the warmth back down her legs and the color back to white with red dots. David and I moved some of our storage bins from the back attic to the front attic, and Michellie gave a hand with the light things.
With the big Royal wedding happening in a few weeks, Michellie has been very interested in the stories of the Royal Family. For part of the afternoon we got wrapped up in the movie "The Queen" about the Royal Family during Princess Diana's death. This led to a whole string of historical questions, political discussions, and of course the memories of Lady Di. I can remember the party we had in our basement to watch the Royal Wedding. We lived at Aikman Close and it was early in the morning. It was such a magical wedding. It is hard to believe Michellie will be experiencing a royal wedding now, and the magnitude of the celebration will be incredible.
Today we made a trip to school for a meeting with the teachers and some new homework assignments. We finally got to meet the math teacher and Michellie really enjoyed his energy. He made such a great impression, she promptly came home and tackled the math assignments for 4 hours until she had them all done. No fear there. Julius Cesaer is part of her English assignment, so this should be an interesting read. She handed in one art assignment, and we are now in search of all the sketches that made it to Facebook so she can get some credit for her efforts. The Foods teacher caught us up on the in-class cooking. Their next assignment is cooking for sensitivities. We could write a book with all that we have done. Michellie will be able to apply all our new techniques in her hands on assignment evaluations. With her and Dad home alone for the week, perhaps some new recipes will get developed as well.
Michellie did put a hand into some scarf dying with me this afternoon as well. I was preparing some scarves for a dance teacher in the States, and Michellie joined me for a few of the extra ones. We are not really set up for a proper space for this, but the two of us were on the floor surrounded by jars of dyes and a big garbage bag to catch the extra dye. It was a lot of fun! She is presently ironing the lot to make them look fabulous for tomorrow.
The hospital called this afternoon to say that the Tumor Board does not meet until Wednesday evening, rather than day time. So, the conclusion they draw will not be heard until Thursday. I will already be in Alberta when the info comes in, so David will be the one to receive the news. We will post word as soon as we can. They did want us to prepare to be in Halifax on Monday rather than this week if the radiation goes ahead, so David will have the honors of those appointments. In the meantime we also chatted about Michellie's lack of appetite, her fatigue and her big rash. They are not sure why she has not bounced back as she should. We will head to Inverness for some Blood work in the morning to check the red blood cell count. If I purchased the cream they suggested for the rash I would have to cake her in it, so we decided to do one step better. I called a friend of mine for some energy help. Just so you all know, Itching is a result of an energy disturbance in the liver meridian. So we did some meridian sweeps to begin with and then followed this up with some energy releasing with a technique called "Hot hands". There was a bunch of bouncing around in the muscles and at the end the color of the rash subsided, the itch was gone and she was able to stretch her hamstring and bend her pelvis more than the last few days. I sooooo love this work. So, hopefully this is an upward trend and the blood work can reflect that in the morning.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Wednesday night. We know that Divine intervention will help to bring the best result for Michellie and we are so grateful for everyones assistance with this. Hugs, light and love to you all.
Yesterday we did a little bit of exercises to try and loosen up Michellie's body, and we walked to the neighbors for sprouts in a "snow squal". She was no longer stiff from the physio, but very tight. She even did the vacuuming to get in a little more cardio. Her legs were purple from a lack of circulation when she got up, so we were trying to do anything to get the warmth back down her legs and the color back to white with red dots. David and I moved some of our storage bins from the back attic to the front attic, and Michellie gave a hand with the light things.
With the big Royal wedding happening in a few weeks, Michellie has been very interested in the stories of the Royal Family. For part of the afternoon we got wrapped up in the movie "The Queen" about the Royal Family during Princess Diana's death. This led to a whole string of historical questions, political discussions, and of course the memories of Lady Di. I can remember the party we had in our basement to watch the Royal Wedding. We lived at Aikman Close and it was early in the morning. It was such a magical wedding. It is hard to believe Michellie will be experiencing a royal wedding now, and the magnitude of the celebration will be incredible.
Today we made a trip to school for a meeting with the teachers and some new homework assignments. We finally got to meet the math teacher and Michellie really enjoyed his energy. He made such a great impression, she promptly came home and tackled the math assignments for 4 hours until she had them all done. No fear there. Julius Cesaer is part of her English assignment, so this should be an interesting read. She handed in one art assignment, and we are now in search of all the sketches that made it to Facebook so she can get some credit for her efforts. The Foods teacher caught us up on the in-class cooking. Their next assignment is cooking for sensitivities. We could write a book with all that we have done. Michellie will be able to apply all our new techniques in her hands on assignment evaluations. With her and Dad home alone for the week, perhaps some new recipes will get developed as well.
Michellie did put a hand into some scarf dying with me this afternoon as well. I was preparing some scarves for a dance teacher in the States, and Michellie joined me for a few of the extra ones. We are not really set up for a proper space for this, but the two of us were on the floor surrounded by jars of dyes and a big garbage bag to catch the extra dye. It was a lot of fun! She is presently ironing the lot to make them look fabulous for tomorrow.
The hospital called this afternoon to say that the Tumor Board does not meet until Wednesday evening, rather than day time. So, the conclusion they draw will not be heard until Thursday. I will already be in Alberta when the info comes in, so David will be the one to receive the news. We will post word as soon as we can. They did want us to prepare to be in Halifax on Monday rather than this week if the radiation goes ahead, so David will have the honors of those appointments. In the meantime we also chatted about Michellie's lack of appetite, her fatigue and her big rash. They are not sure why she has not bounced back as she should. We will head to Inverness for some Blood work in the morning to check the red blood cell count. If I purchased the cream they suggested for the rash I would have to cake her in it, so we decided to do one step better. I called a friend of mine for some energy help. Just so you all know, Itching is a result of an energy disturbance in the liver meridian. So we did some meridian sweeps to begin with and then followed this up with some energy releasing with a technique called "Hot hands". There was a bunch of bouncing around in the muscles and at the end the color of the rash subsided, the itch was gone and she was able to stretch her hamstring and bend her pelvis more than the last few days. I sooooo love this work. So, hopefully this is an upward trend and the blood work can reflect that in the morning.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Wednesday night. We know that Divine intervention will help to bring the best result for Michellie and we are so grateful for everyones assistance with this. Hugs, light and love to you all.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 27th
The weekend has been a quiet and recouperating couple of days. As per a usual trip to the IWK, we were tired and emotionally drained. Our good news was inspiring, and our wait for the final decision on the radiation definitely was heavy on our minds. Michellie was inquisitive about all kinds of things on Friday, and then she became overwhelmed with it all on Saturday. Her rash exploded to encompass much of her body and it was itchy to boot! She was tired of mention of any remedies, but finally let me put some arnica oil on most of her body. She felt like one big oil slick. Her muscles were extremely sore from the physio tests on Thursday, and the pain of this carried through to Sunday morning. It really is amazing how much she has tightened up and how little strength is in her atrophied muscles. She did her best on Saturday to do The Star and support the remylenation of the nerve cell endings, and she did put Olive Leaf Extract in her smoothies. She tried some of the stretches recommended, but she still cannot sit up straight or touch her toes - all you dancers reading this will remember how tight Michellie has always been! I keep pursuading for Tai Chi, but she is refusing!
Last night David and I finally made it to the dance at West Mabou. It was so great to be out and to be dancing! Mac and Howie were playing which was fabulous. We had a wonderful time, and our bodies were happy for some fun exercise. We hope this is the start of a more regular appearance at the dances, and in the community.
Today Michellie and I spent some time in the kitchen talking about what it means to convert recipes to Gluten and wheat free. I think she is thinking ahead to next week when I am away, and her and Dad have to figure it all out. She started taking notes. We also tried a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe today with some ground garbanzo beans and molasses. They turned out pretty good! Then, Michellie set out to learn how to make barbeque sauce, and a whole dinner was born of that. Michellie's Foods teacher will be quite impressed when she finally makes it to class.
Tomorrow we hope to get Michellie to school for the afternoon, and David and I will be in the attic finishing the last of the cleanup and board pounding, and then the storage shift can happen. That has been a long time coming. It will feel good to get this part of the renovations completed. David has quite the job to fit in the small spaces of the attic and work on his knees mostly. Missy has been joining him to see if she can catch the squirrels and eat the flies - this is a little bit of heaven for her.
I am working on getting back into some teaching and launching some new home parties with healing and dance. A few more weeks of building the last of these programs, and then they should be ready, and I know I am. I also am finally able to start an Introduction to Tai Chi class for the Mabou area. I am very excited about getting my hands back into Tai Chi regularly and to share the incredible benefits of the exercise with others.
David's work has been very slow, so we have decided that if the economy is going to stay there for a bit longer, then we will put his hands to work and go a little more at the renovations with our own manpower. MacKenzie will arrive in a few weeks, and we will be eager to put his muscle to work too. In the meantime, if anyone has some house plans, renos etc. now is the time to talk to David about them if you need some design work done.
Kenzie spent the week with Cochrane High, and Mrs. Stonewall's production of Beauty and the Beast. He helped with the choreography for the show for several months now. After a full week of shows, they had an excellent run, and MacKenzie was very proud of the work his dancers did. We were sorry to miss the show, but a thanks to Mrs. Stonewall for getting Kenzie on the stage, even if it was after graduation. Now he is rehearsing for a show with Tara Wilson and Pulse Studios. We are glad he is so busy with his own dance, especially with his day job and other teaching assignments.
Thanks again to everyone for all of your support this past week as we wait for the final decision. We feel the incredible love everyone has sent, and we know that the best will happen for Michellie, whatever the decision is. Just a few more days to wait...
Last night David and I finally made it to the dance at West Mabou. It was so great to be out and to be dancing! Mac and Howie were playing which was fabulous. We had a wonderful time, and our bodies were happy for some fun exercise. We hope this is the start of a more regular appearance at the dances, and in the community.
Today Michellie and I spent some time in the kitchen talking about what it means to convert recipes to Gluten and wheat free. I think she is thinking ahead to next week when I am away, and her and Dad have to figure it all out. She started taking notes. We also tried a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe today with some ground garbanzo beans and molasses. They turned out pretty good! Then, Michellie set out to learn how to make barbeque sauce, and a whole dinner was born of that. Michellie's Foods teacher will be quite impressed when she finally makes it to class.
Tomorrow we hope to get Michellie to school for the afternoon, and David and I will be in the attic finishing the last of the cleanup and board pounding, and then the storage shift can happen. That has been a long time coming. It will feel good to get this part of the renovations completed. David has quite the job to fit in the small spaces of the attic and work on his knees mostly. Missy has been joining him to see if she can catch the squirrels and eat the flies - this is a little bit of heaven for her.
I am working on getting back into some teaching and launching some new home parties with healing and dance. A few more weeks of building the last of these programs, and then they should be ready, and I know I am. I also am finally able to start an Introduction to Tai Chi class for the Mabou area. I am very excited about getting my hands back into Tai Chi regularly and to share the incredible benefits of the exercise with others.
David's work has been very slow, so we have decided that if the economy is going to stay there for a bit longer, then we will put his hands to work and go a little more at the renovations with our own manpower. MacKenzie will arrive in a few weeks, and we will be eager to put his muscle to work too. In the meantime, if anyone has some house plans, renos etc. now is the time to talk to David about them if you need some design work done.
Kenzie spent the week with Cochrane High, and Mrs. Stonewall's production of Beauty and the Beast. He helped with the choreography for the show for several months now. After a full week of shows, they had an excellent run, and MacKenzie was very proud of the work his dancers did. We were sorry to miss the show, but a thanks to Mrs. Stonewall for getting Kenzie on the stage, even if it was after graduation. Now he is rehearsing for a show with Tara Wilson and Pulse Studios. We are glad he is so busy with his own dance, especially with his day job and other teaching assignments.
Thanks again to everyone for all of your support this past week as we wait for the final decision. We feel the incredible love everyone has sent, and we know that the best will happen for Michellie, whatever the decision is. Just a few more days to wait...
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 25th
Wow! One week since Carpe Diem. It was wonderful catching up on the phone with Melody the other night and hearing about all of the incredible energy that was generated by everyone at the event. It is so uplifting. Congratulations to the musicians and dancers, as well as to the MacAuley family for all the inspiration, enthusiasm and the perseverence. Thank you to everyone for all of the well wishes that were sent from the event. We truly appreciate it. And, thank you to MacKenzie for following in his mother's footsteps and embracing his emotions to share the love from our family, we know it is easier for him to speak with his feet, but we appreciate his efforts on the mike as well.
Today was a slow day for all of us. Even with no chemo regime, we were tired from our couple of days away and all the energy and worry that that generated. Michellie was extremely sore from the physio tests and her hip flexors have protested big time all day that they did not like being moved and manipulated. Michellie's aches descended from her hips to her knees and by tonight she gave up manuevering the stairs. Hopefully tomorrow she will feel a little lighter and her muscles will be able to just do normal things.
Monnie, I want to thank you for sharing your gluten free recipe books. Tonight I tried a German Chocolate cake with fluffy chocolate icing. It was amazing. I was even able to cut the sugar content in half, although it still was a lot of sugar, cause you just have to have the right icing for a chocolate cake!
David and Diane, I couldn't just pick up strawberry vinagrette at Liquid Gold - they made me try the raspberry and I fell in love with it too. I so love that store. We had a great salad tonight with our new oils and vinegars. My David loves them too. They told me about mixing the vinegars with sprite or spring water and give them a little pizzaz for a new drink. We haven't tried it yet, but we will let you know. And, the healing powers of vinegar are amazing - who would have thought!
Thursday I get to fly to Edmonton to do some work!!! I am judging in Vermillion for April 1,2,3. I have managed a few days to visit my family in Kelowna and I look forward to seeing them after so long. I only get a 4 hour stop over in Calgary on Wed night, the 6th of April. I will be at the airport from 7 to 11. If anyone would like to meet for tea or such, just let me know.
Well, off to bed. We are really going to try to get to the dance at West Mabou tomorrow night. We sure have missed the opportunity to do those all winter.
Today was a slow day for all of us. Even with no chemo regime, we were tired from our couple of days away and all the energy and worry that that generated. Michellie was extremely sore from the physio tests and her hip flexors have protested big time all day that they did not like being moved and manipulated. Michellie's aches descended from her hips to her knees and by tonight she gave up manuevering the stairs. Hopefully tomorrow she will feel a little lighter and her muscles will be able to just do normal things.
Monnie, I want to thank you for sharing your gluten free recipe books. Tonight I tried a German Chocolate cake with fluffy chocolate icing. It was amazing. I was even able to cut the sugar content in half, although it still was a lot of sugar, cause you just have to have the right icing for a chocolate cake!
David and Diane, I couldn't just pick up strawberry vinagrette at Liquid Gold - they made me try the raspberry and I fell in love with it too. I so love that store. We had a great salad tonight with our new oils and vinegars. My David loves them too. They told me about mixing the vinegars with sprite or spring water and give them a little pizzaz for a new drink. We haven't tried it yet, but we will let you know. And, the healing powers of vinegar are amazing - who would have thought!
Thursday I get to fly to Edmonton to do some work!!! I am judging in Vermillion for April 1,2,3. I have managed a few days to visit my family in Kelowna and I look forward to seeing them after so long. I only get a 4 hour stop over in Calgary on Wed night, the 6th of April. I will be at the airport from 7 to 11. If anyone would like to meet for tea or such, just let me know.
Well, off to bed. We are really going to try to get to the dance at West Mabou tomorrow night. We sure have missed the opportunity to do those all winter.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thurs. March 24th
It was a slow morning today. After all the shopping and early mornings etc. Michellie was beat. We moved slowly to get to the hospital this morning, and then we were whisked away to Physiotherapy.
Physio was a real eye opener. It was nice to have someone else looking at Michellie's mobility, and it let me look at her through new eyes. Her flexibility has not changed. For other people, they may have tightened up, but Michellie really had nowhere to go, so she is still tight. Her strength is greatly reduced, and this is a result of the vincristin. Her ankles are extremely strong and her balance is excellent - thanks goes to dancing again! Michellie does have some damage to the nerve endings, so she has loss of feeling on different areas on her hips, legs and feet. This will come back with time and repair work, so out comes the Olive Leaf Extract! There is also a disconnect between her brain and body, so the physio put together some exercises and we will add The Star for Archetype movements and remylenation of the nerve endings as well. Cardio is the biggest recommendation, and getting the heart and lungs back exchanging as much oxygen as possible. With all the muscles disconnected, a 14 muscle balance every day will be essential as well as the foot rub. Anyone seeing a trend here?! Thank goodness for all the years of learning and training. With the addition of these techniques with some stretching and strengthening, Michellie should be walking tall and strong in no time. The doctors told us to expect about 6 months for her to recover her stamina and strength again.
Next was Pulmonary. Michellie's blood platelets were returning to the normal range, so this time she was able to reach some of the output markers of a more normal range. This was good.
Finally, we had a meeting with Lesley our family coordinator. We went over all the details again and caught up on all of the summaries from yesterdays meetings. With dinners and breakfasts over the last few days, we have determined that Michellie gets stomach cramps from milk, ice cream and wheat. As well, the wheat drains her energy and puts her to sleep. So, in Antigonish, on the way home, we added some gluten free cookies and snacks to begin to build some items for Michellie to have when she is out with others. We talked about different cooking options and how to prepare food so Michellie has options when she is not at home. Lesley, conferred that we should continue with our observations and continue with the gluten free until her stomach has had another month without chemo or radiation, and then we can pursue further tests on this. While researching several topics, I did run across literature that links gluten intolerance and lymphoma. Lesley had not heard of this, so she jotted some notes and said she would have a look into it.
Our trip home was an education run. Michellie was challenging my history and current events knowledge with questions about Politics, the Middle East, the birth place of Jesus, the reasons for different wars, the injustices of women, the history of wars, and the politics of Canada. Home schooling happens anywhere and anytime! I sure am glad I have become a little more intune with this knowledge, like my own Dad's interests, so I could have at least some answers for Michellie. This led to gardening, preparing food, preserving food, recipes, and good snacks. And, how do the Krochko's make such incredible meals every time we visit them? She was still drooling over the wild rice and the salad dressing that Diane spoiled Michellie with on this trip. This led to physio, observations of the body, Touch for Health knowledge, and how someone should properly walk, run and go up and down the stairs. It was an interesting drive for sure.
Lastly, we observed the landscape, which Michellie normally doesn't care about, but the ice bergs are interesting and we have seen the same scenes for months now. We have watched entire houses get built week by week, and a pipeline head from Port Hood to Port Hawksbury. The ocean has been great to watch, and Michellie confessed that this is one of the big things she likes about living here. She can hardly wait to get back to the sand and surf again this summer. Us too I should add!
On a similar note, but slightly different, we ran into the Child Life Coordinator, Kate, while we were on the 6th floor of IWK, and she thanked me for the donation of Stacey on the Keyboard books and let me know that our reasons for donating had been passed on. What this means is, is that when Michellie spent her first visit at the IWK she was given a pair of new pajamas as a gift from a past patient. This was a token of care to help Michellie cope with her experiences. This really brightened our day. We decided to add to this special gift by having all children under 9 receive a book to read for something different for the long days. Kate had let the Mom of the pajama donator know about how we had been inspired by her gift, and she was thrilled to know that children would be able to have something new to read. I am telling you this story, because I commented to Kate that book 3 was still in my head, but I couldn't quite get the story right. On the drive home Michellie asked me what I thought the book should be about. With one simple question, we had the story all worked out in about 15 minutes. So, it looks like I will play with "Jacob on the Floor" and see how Hip Hop and music will take over Jacob to help him regain his strength and power. So, the gift of some pajamas has gone a long way to keep giving. We never know how far forward a payment will go, but the trip is always a good one. Thank you Michellie for asking the right questions and listening intently to all that is going on around you!!!
We are now home safe and sound. David had a wonderful roast beef dinner ready for us. His back was broken from all the crouching in the attic to finish the flooring, but he is almost complete on this project. The cats were quickly snatched and bugged by Michellie, and she was sure quick to flash her shiny clean teeth at Dad. She is so thrilled to have her mouth back! Next, hair is on its way.
Physio was a real eye opener. It was nice to have someone else looking at Michellie's mobility, and it let me look at her through new eyes. Her flexibility has not changed. For other people, they may have tightened up, but Michellie really had nowhere to go, so she is still tight. Her strength is greatly reduced, and this is a result of the vincristin. Her ankles are extremely strong and her balance is excellent - thanks goes to dancing again! Michellie does have some damage to the nerve endings, so she has loss of feeling on different areas on her hips, legs and feet. This will come back with time and repair work, so out comes the Olive Leaf Extract! There is also a disconnect between her brain and body, so the physio put together some exercises and we will add The Star for Archetype movements and remylenation of the nerve endings as well. Cardio is the biggest recommendation, and getting the heart and lungs back exchanging as much oxygen as possible. With all the muscles disconnected, a 14 muscle balance every day will be essential as well as the foot rub. Anyone seeing a trend here?! Thank goodness for all the years of learning and training. With the addition of these techniques with some stretching and strengthening, Michellie should be walking tall and strong in no time. The doctors told us to expect about 6 months for her to recover her stamina and strength again.
Next was Pulmonary. Michellie's blood platelets were returning to the normal range, so this time she was able to reach some of the output markers of a more normal range. This was good.
Finally, we had a meeting with Lesley our family coordinator. We went over all the details again and caught up on all of the summaries from yesterdays meetings. With dinners and breakfasts over the last few days, we have determined that Michellie gets stomach cramps from milk, ice cream and wheat. As well, the wheat drains her energy and puts her to sleep. So, in Antigonish, on the way home, we added some gluten free cookies and snacks to begin to build some items for Michellie to have when she is out with others. We talked about different cooking options and how to prepare food so Michellie has options when she is not at home. Lesley, conferred that we should continue with our observations and continue with the gluten free until her stomach has had another month without chemo or radiation, and then we can pursue further tests on this. While researching several topics, I did run across literature that links gluten intolerance and lymphoma. Lesley had not heard of this, so she jotted some notes and said she would have a look into it.
Our trip home was an education run. Michellie was challenging my history and current events knowledge with questions about Politics, the Middle East, the birth place of Jesus, the reasons for different wars, the injustices of women, the history of wars, and the politics of Canada. Home schooling happens anywhere and anytime! I sure am glad I have become a little more intune with this knowledge, like my own Dad's interests, so I could have at least some answers for Michellie. This led to gardening, preparing food, preserving food, recipes, and good snacks. And, how do the Krochko's make such incredible meals every time we visit them? She was still drooling over the wild rice and the salad dressing that Diane spoiled Michellie with on this trip. This led to physio, observations of the body, Touch for Health knowledge, and how someone should properly walk, run and go up and down the stairs. It was an interesting drive for sure.
Lastly, we observed the landscape, which Michellie normally doesn't care about, but the ice bergs are interesting and we have seen the same scenes for months now. We have watched entire houses get built week by week, and a pipeline head from Port Hood to Port Hawksbury. The ocean has been great to watch, and Michellie confessed that this is one of the big things she likes about living here. She can hardly wait to get back to the sand and surf again this summer. Us too I should add!
On a similar note, but slightly different, we ran into the Child Life Coordinator, Kate, while we were on the 6th floor of IWK, and she thanked me for the donation of Stacey on the Keyboard books and let me know that our reasons for donating had been passed on. What this means is, is that when Michellie spent her first visit at the IWK she was given a pair of new pajamas as a gift from a past patient. This was a token of care to help Michellie cope with her experiences. This really brightened our day. We decided to add to this special gift by having all children under 9 receive a book to read for something different for the long days. Kate had let the Mom of the pajama donator know about how we had been inspired by her gift, and she was thrilled to know that children would be able to have something new to read. I am telling you this story, because I commented to Kate that book 3 was still in my head, but I couldn't quite get the story right. On the drive home Michellie asked me what I thought the book should be about. With one simple question, we had the story all worked out in about 15 minutes. So, it looks like I will play with "Jacob on the Floor" and see how Hip Hop and music will take over Jacob to help him regain his strength and power. So, the gift of some pajamas has gone a long way to keep giving. We never know how far forward a payment will go, but the trip is always a good one. Thank you Michellie for asking the right questions and listening intently to all that is going on around you!!!
We are now home safe and sound. David had a wonderful roast beef dinner ready for us. His back was broken from all the crouching in the attic to finish the flooring, but he is almost complete on this project. The cats were quickly snatched and bugged by Michellie, and she was sure quick to flash her shiny clean teeth at Dad. She is so thrilled to have her mouth back! Next, hair is on its way.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wed. March 23rd
This is the 70th Blog! Who would have thought we would see this day so quickly:)!
We began this morning bright and early again with a blood test, then we were off to dermatology. Michellie's rash is thought to be part of the chemo, so they are going to monitor it for another 6 weeks and then decide if they need to do anything further. Off to a nurses meeting where we went over all that has happened so far. Michellie has definitely been an exception to all the treatments with all kinds of side effects they haven't seen, so this was interesting. The nurse did recommend that it would be about 6 months before she would begin to really feel like her old self again - such as that was, and that we will just have to go slowly with each new thing. She did recommend seeing physiotherapy for some ideas of what progression to work with to gain back strength and endurance, so this is tomorrow.
We waited for the Oncology Doctor to go over the scans a few times before we saw her. Because Michellie has been such a different case, they really have been consulting each other to decide on the next courses of action. Her PET and CT scan was relatively clear. The spot on the back on the right side of her neck that was vibrant last time, was gone completely. Her chest was totally clear. There was an indication of something on the left sideof her neck in two lymph nodes, which should not be Hodgkins as she responded so quickly to the chemo. As well, it was not present before, so it shouldn't be growing now. So, it could be an little infection or something going through the system. They have to think on that. Because the Hodgkins has cleared out for the scans, they are not sure what to do about radiation. The doctors are still meeting in LA at a big conference and they are reviewing the latest research and consulting with each other on the interesting cases, like Michellie. We decided that we would wait until the whole team could meet to discuss her case next Wednesday at their weekly meeting and see what everyone felt was the best option. We will wait if it means any chance that we can eliminate the radiation. Other good news, the scans are showing no damage to her lungs and heart at this point, and they will monitor this for any long term side effects, but everything is looking as it should and her blood counts are all back to normal. She will have to be careful of infection for another 6 months, but then her body should have regained its normal resiliency.
We followed up this appointment with a visit to the dentist for a cleaning. We have before and after pictures and we will post those when we get home. Michellie's teeth stains from the mouth rinse are now gone and she has pearly whites again. You should see her smile now!
We also met with the people from Sunshine Kids and we are going to accept their offer for Michellie to join them in Washington in May. The doctors believe that she should be ok for the trip even with radiation, so we are going to go for it as this offer only comes around every 18 months or so. Michellie is a little apprehensive about being that far from us, but she is excited to have time with some peers. So, she is going to brave it and go for it. This was exciting today.
Lastly, we celebrated at Darryl's Hamburger Joint after all the appointments. We are wrapped up in the radiation, but she has definitely eradicated that Hodgkins! Yes!!! Afterwards, for the first time in 4 months, we went to the mall shopping. Michellie was so excited to find some new scarves for her head cover, and some spring outfits to think about the beach weather just around the corner. It was great to be shopping with my daughter and celebrating that spring was going to be a new beginning for her. I was proud to walk beside her and share in the whole shopping experience. *Sigh* It is great to be a parent. David agrees as he celebrated at home when we called!
We began this morning bright and early again with a blood test, then we were off to dermatology. Michellie's rash is thought to be part of the chemo, so they are going to monitor it for another 6 weeks and then decide if they need to do anything further. Off to a nurses meeting where we went over all that has happened so far. Michellie has definitely been an exception to all the treatments with all kinds of side effects they haven't seen, so this was interesting. The nurse did recommend that it would be about 6 months before she would begin to really feel like her old self again - such as that was, and that we will just have to go slowly with each new thing. She did recommend seeing physiotherapy for some ideas of what progression to work with to gain back strength and endurance, so this is tomorrow.
We waited for the Oncology Doctor to go over the scans a few times before we saw her. Because Michellie has been such a different case, they really have been consulting each other to decide on the next courses of action. Her PET and CT scan was relatively clear. The spot on the back on the right side of her neck that was vibrant last time, was gone completely. Her chest was totally clear. There was an indication of something on the left sideof her neck in two lymph nodes, which should not be Hodgkins as she responded so quickly to the chemo. As well, it was not present before, so it shouldn't be growing now. So, it could be an little infection or something going through the system. They have to think on that. Because the Hodgkins has cleared out for the scans, they are not sure what to do about radiation. The doctors are still meeting in LA at a big conference and they are reviewing the latest research and consulting with each other on the interesting cases, like Michellie. We decided that we would wait until the whole team could meet to discuss her case next Wednesday at their weekly meeting and see what everyone felt was the best option. We will wait if it means any chance that we can eliminate the radiation. Other good news, the scans are showing no damage to her lungs and heart at this point, and they will monitor this for any long term side effects, but everything is looking as it should and her blood counts are all back to normal. She will have to be careful of infection for another 6 months, but then her body should have regained its normal resiliency.
We followed up this appointment with a visit to the dentist for a cleaning. We have before and after pictures and we will post those when we get home. Michellie's teeth stains from the mouth rinse are now gone and she has pearly whites again. You should see her smile now!
We also met with the people from Sunshine Kids and we are going to accept their offer for Michellie to join them in Washington in May. The doctors believe that she should be ok for the trip even with radiation, so we are going to go for it as this offer only comes around every 18 months or so. Michellie is a little apprehensive about being that far from us, but she is excited to have time with some peers. So, she is going to brave it and go for it. This was exciting today.
Lastly, we celebrated at Darryl's Hamburger Joint after all the appointments. We are wrapped up in the radiation, but she has definitely eradicated that Hodgkins! Yes!!! Afterwards, for the first time in 4 months, we went to the mall shopping. Michellie was so excited to find some new scarves for her head cover, and some spring outfits to think about the beach weather just around the corner. It was great to be shopping with my daughter and celebrating that spring was going to be a new beginning for her. I was proud to walk beside her and share in the whole shopping experience. *Sigh* It is great to be a parent. David agrees as he celebrated at home when we called!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 22nd
We are done day one of tests. We started bright and early ready for the PET scan, and that was most of the morning. We followed that with an update with our coordinator as she did height and weight. Michellie appears to have maybe grown a centimeter and a half, and maintained her weight throughout this whole experience. We followed this with a trip to get a CT scan. When we arrived, the nurse was sick today and there was no one to utilize Michellie's Port-A-Cath, so until they could find someone we had a 45 minute wait. In that time we decided to go for an X-Ray as it was just down the hall and then it would be done. We finished this and then waited some more for the CT Scan. Finally they called down our coordinator and she prepared Michellie and then withdrew the access afterwards. By 3:00 pm we were home free. We did a little detour, to Hydrostone, and Michellie picked out a strawberry vinagrette to take home from our favorite store, Liquid Gold. She loved tasting all the oils and vinegars. We did a stop at Starbucks to use one of the gift certificates sent to her, and she had a nice smile with her Vanilla Bean Creme in hand.
Our evening has been a nice quiet one, resting up for tomorrow's crazy schedule. We will have some results tomorrow, but not the big radiation one, so we will let people know as soon as we know.
Our evening has been a nice quiet one, resting up for tomorrow's crazy schedule. We will have some results tomorrow, but not the big radiation one, so we will let people know as soon as we know.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 21st
Can you believe we are almost through March? The time is flying by to get us to SPRING!
Saturday Michellie was able to get an outing with a friend, and they went to Sydney shopping, for dinner and a movie. She was a little anxious about being so far from us after three months of being stuck together like glue, but she worked through it with help from texting home! Thank goodness for cell phones. She was excited and happy when she got home, and we were thrilled to see her gain back some independence. What did we do while we were actually childless for a few hours? David finished insulating the attic and then took a nap and I made spinach pasta and glazed salmon. Then, we watched The Bucket List. It was great!
Sunday David took off for a little road trip up the Cabot Trail, Michellie started in to her art assignments, and I continued to unpack boxes and reorganize for the movement of storage up to the attic soon! The word about Carpe Diem started to pour in. We hear it was a fantastic night! In fact, Kenzie's words were "Incredible". We feel so honored by the work that many of the performers put into special presentations for Michellie. As well, we are so thrilled by the creativity the performers have and how they embraced their ideas and made them happen! Now we can hardly wait for the video! Congratulations to all of the supporters who helped to raise money for such a great cause. Many people will be blessed by your generosity. MacKenzie was very happy to catch up with lots of people he had not seen in a while, and he was also happy to represent our presence at the party and to share his dancing feet with everyone.
So, it is Monday. The week is ahead of us and we are embracing the fact that the powers that be will make the right things happen for Michellie's full recovery from Hodgkins. Michellie and I will head out this afternoon, and at midnight we will begin her "starvation" for all the tests tomorrow. Thanks again everyone for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers and for helping the medical team to find the right way to complete Michellie's treatments and support her systems full recovery.
For the Waines family. We hope that Yvonne's 70th Surprise Party was a hit. We didn't get a follow up, so we assume that lots of fun was had by all. And, the potato casserole (not made by David), proved to be as delicious as it sounded. I have to stop typing now as Missy is all over the keyboard trying to gain my attention for some loving. Last time she stepped on the keyboard she turned the screen sideways and we couldn't get it back.
Happy Spring Everyone!
Saturday Michellie was able to get an outing with a friend, and they went to Sydney shopping, for dinner and a movie. She was a little anxious about being so far from us after three months of being stuck together like glue, but she worked through it with help from texting home! Thank goodness for cell phones. She was excited and happy when she got home, and we were thrilled to see her gain back some independence. What did we do while we were actually childless for a few hours? David finished insulating the attic and then took a nap and I made spinach pasta and glazed salmon. Then, we watched The Bucket List. It was great!
Sunday David took off for a little road trip up the Cabot Trail, Michellie started in to her art assignments, and I continued to unpack boxes and reorganize for the movement of storage up to the attic soon! The word about Carpe Diem started to pour in. We hear it was a fantastic night! In fact, Kenzie's words were "Incredible". We feel so honored by the work that many of the performers put into special presentations for Michellie. As well, we are so thrilled by the creativity the performers have and how they embraced their ideas and made them happen! Now we can hardly wait for the video! Congratulations to all of the supporters who helped to raise money for such a great cause. Many people will be blessed by your generosity. MacKenzie was very happy to catch up with lots of people he had not seen in a while, and he was also happy to represent our presence at the party and to share his dancing feet with everyone.
So, it is Monday. The week is ahead of us and we are embracing the fact that the powers that be will make the right things happen for Michellie's full recovery from Hodgkins. Michellie and I will head out this afternoon, and at midnight we will begin her "starvation" for all the tests tomorrow. Thanks again everyone for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers and for helping the medical team to find the right way to complete Michellie's treatments and support her systems full recovery.
For the Waines family. We hope that Yvonne's 70th Surprise Party was a hit. We didn't get a follow up, so we assume that lots of fun was had by all. And, the potato casserole (not made by David), proved to be as delicious as it sounded. I have to stop typing now as Missy is all over the keyboard trying to gain my attention for some loving. Last time she stepped on the keyboard she turned the screen sideways and we couldn't get it back.
Happy Spring Everyone!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Saturday, March 19th
Today is Carpe Diem in Alberta. We are not sure who might read this before the big event, but we are sending all of our love and inspiration for the most incredible celebration yet. Melody, Ian, Morgan and Keilan, we are so grateful for all that you are doing to assist others with their challenges in life and to help them find love, happiness and celebration through music and dance. For all the performers who have put their heart and soul into their learning and creativity for today we wish you an incredible experience as you give yourselves through your performances. For those attending Carpe Diem, it is an incredible opportunity to celebrate life and to enjoy sharing with others. Funds raised from this event help to support alternative therapies for Cancer treatment which can support mainstream treatments, and we are so blessed to have been able to use all sorts of healing modalities for Michellie and with others. Have a wonderful celebration everyone and we are with you in spirit!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday, March 18th
Reality is back. I guess we were on a bit of a honeymoon this last week. The appointments are coming in and we have a full week next week. It looks like it will be Michellie and I traveling to Halifax on Monday afternoon, and David holding down the fort and keeping the work alive. Tuesday is a PET Scan, a Cat Scan, perhaps a pulminary test and a chest X-ray. Wednesday is an ECG, then dermatology, then a nurses assessment, then the oncology doctor's exam, and then dentistry. Thursday may have two more tests and a followup with the oncology doctor. Michellie's assigned oncologist (they work on a big team), is away at a conference trying to gather information about Michellie's case to see if radiotherapy is still the protocol to follow for her type of Hodgkins. At the moment, they are telling us to plan for radiotherapy. This means two days of prepatory work the following week to get all of the measurements and therapies together. Then, they are anticipating 3 to 4 weeks, during the week, in Halifax for a 30 minute appointment each day. The wind in our sails has taken a bit of a blow, (that's why the honeymoon - we were so happy to be done chemo and on to just recovering for a change). It was so nice to have our own lives back for a little, even though we are still relatively isolated.
So, we just want to thank everyone again for all of their love and support. It means so much and we will be strong knowing we are supported by so many. We will try to relax and enjoy some fun this weekend, and then we thank everyone for their well wishes for the week. We will probably not have any information until Thursday for those that are inquiring.
Michellie will need 3 more months of Pentamadene to keep her protected from Pneumonia, and they are looking into some other ways to give it to her to lessen the reaction from it. We will cross our fingers on that.
If all the radiotherapy is a go, then Michellie will have to pass on the trip to Washington, as she will be in treatment until just after Easter. We are hoping that another opportunity with the Sunshine Kids will happen later on.
The rain is pelting at our windows this afternoon and the wind has picked up. We are thrilled it is rain and not snow, and look forward to all the green that is trying hard to break out of the grasses and the tree branches. It is so nice when Spring is so close! Missy can hardly contain herself with anticipation of finding a way outside. She got out yesterday. She is very quick now when you open the back door to the boot room. She doesn't know what to look at first when she finds herself in the great outdoors, but she can hardly wait to get going. Hunter runs the other way, so unless he learns that something is better out the door, he will be happy to stay in his comfort zone.
So, we just want to thank everyone again for all of their love and support. It means so much and we will be strong knowing we are supported by so many. We will try to relax and enjoy some fun this weekend, and then we thank everyone for their well wishes for the week. We will probably not have any information until Thursday for those that are inquiring.
Michellie will need 3 more months of Pentamadene to keep her protected from Pneumonia, and they are looking into some other ways to give it to her to lessen the reaction from it. We will cross our fingers on that.
If all the radiotherapy is a go, then Michellie will have to pass on the trip to Washington, as she will be in treatment until just after Easter. We are hoping that another opportunity with the Sunshine Kids will happen later on.
The rain is pelting at our windows this afternoon and the wind has picked up. We are thrilled it is rain and not snow, and look forward to all the green that is trying hard to break out of the grasses and the tree branches. It is so nice when Spring is so close! Missy can hardly contain herself with anticipation of finding a way outside. She got out yesterday. She is very quick now when you open the back door to the boot room. She doesn't know what to look at first when she finds herself in the great outdoors, but she can hardly wait to get going. Hunter runs the other way, so unless he learns that something is better out the door, he will be happy to stay in his comfort zone.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, March 17th
Happy St. Paddy's Day Everyone! We were pretty sedate here over other years of teaching and dancing the jig. Sam was here for the last 4 days and it was a lot of movies and video games. Michellie lost her energy on Tuesday when she had trouble sleeping, so instead of a trip to Sydney to see a movie, we settled for the Skip-Bo card games. Tuesday night Sam and Michellie made pork chops and mashed potatoes for supper, with Blue Jello for dessert. The sauce was awesome with green peppers and hoisine sauce with soy sauce. Anyway, it was nice to be treated by them. They made breakfast one morning too, and scrambled eggs and bacon were on the menu that day.
Overall Michellie has been feeling ok, but she is started to have some of the recurring side effects of some of the chemo like she did after round 3. The rash that presented then has returned with a vengeance all over, with an itch to boot! She has had a headache for several days, and her head is hurting where the hair follicles are beginning to open up again. She feels more lethargic again, and even a little blue (and that's not the jello talking). Some of this is the ramping up to all the tests on Tuesday. She is very apprehensive that they will find something, and that they will want to go forward with the radiation. So much to worry about for a 15 year old.
On the bright side today, Michellie was recommended for a special trip with a group called the Sunshine Kids (http://www.sunshinekids.org/). They choose 4 cancer patients from only 4 hospitals in Canada to join many other kids from the states for a trip of great fun. The trip Michellie is recommended for is to Washington D.C. with a tour of the White House, several war monuments, the Smithsonian, a CSI lab to learn about being a crime scene detective, and a trip to 6 Flags Amusement Park. The whole trip is covered, and there are no parents allowed on the trip. We are just sifting through details to see if it is possible for Michellie. The trip would be May 2 to 8th. We are all a little nervous having lived in isolation for so many months and away from any germs possible. However, Michellie is excited about meeting other kids her age and having people to share her experience with. If you have a chance to look at their site, there are some great photos from last years trip.
Tonight Michellie is working on changing in her knitted hats for a spring look, and she is playing with scarves. I just received some dyes to do some scarves for a dance teacher friend of mine, so perhaps we can play with some new ideas for Michellie as well. Anyone with experience in this area, please let us know what you like the best for spring and summer weather.
Overall Michellie has been feeling ok, but she is started to have some of the recurring side effects of some of the chemo like she did after round 3. The rash that presented then has returned with a vengeance all over, with an itch to boot! She has had a headache for several days, and her head is hurting where the hair follicles are beginning to open up again. She feels more lethargic again, and even a little blue (and that's not the jello talking). Some of this is the ramping up to all the tests on Tuesday. She is very apprehensive that they will find something, and that they will want to go forward with the radiation. So much to worry about for a 15 year old.
On the bright side today, Michellie was recommended for a special trip with a group called the Sunshine Kids (http://www.sunshinekids.org/). They choose 4 cancer patients from only 4 hospitals in Canada to join many other kids from the states for a trip of great fun. The trip Michellie is recommended for is to Washington D.C. with a tour of the White House, several war monuments, the Smithsonian, a CSI lab to learn about being a crime scene detective, and a trip to 6 Flags Amusement Park. The whole trip is covered, and there are no parents allowed on the trip. We are just sifting through details to see if it is possible for Michellie. The trip would be May 2 to 8th. We are all a little nervous having lived in isolation for so many months and away from any germs possible. However, Michellie is excited about meeting other kids her age and having people to share her experience with. If you have a chance to look at their site, there are some great photos from last years trip.
Tonight Michellie is working on changing in her knitted hats for a spring look, and she is playing with scarves. I just received some dyes to do some scarves for a dance teacher friend of mine, so perhaps we can play with some new ideas for Michellie as well. Anyone with experience in this area, please let us know what you like the best for spring and summer weather.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Tuesday, March 15th
Thank you everyone for your incredible emails. We are so touched with how much everyone cares and the stories that are coming out of this experience for everyone. Healing happens in so many ways!
Our weekend was a quiet one. Michellie had swollen eye lids and itchy eyes on Saturday, so having tried all other methods I could consider, we resorted to the dreaded Reactine that the doctors gave us for any reactions to the drugs. And, yes, you can guess, she reacted to it too. She was pretty much a sack of potatoes on the couch until about 10 pm. It wiped her out for the whole day. I felt so bad for making her take it, but now we know how desperate she needs to feel before we do it again.
Sunday was a better day and Michellie's energy started to regain after her couple of challenging days. The weather was so incredibly beautiful here that David and I went walking for several hours to get a break and some fabulous sea air. Michellie got a break from us and that was good for everyone too. In the afternoon we made a trek to Port Hawksbury to get Sam, and Michellie actually came into Walmart and Canadian Tire - her first big shopping outting in three months - and to such exciting places too!
Monday was a funny, cold, snowy - like day. After endless computer games and movies, Sam and Michellie went for a walk to get Michellie's cardio in. There were bright rosie cheeks when they returned. David hit the gym for his exercise, and I worked through my new program with Tai Chi balls and ruler, as well as Archetype Movements, and then...the tap shoes. I had almost two incredible hours in my shoes with some great jazz music blasting - heaven! Kenzie called shortly after this experience to catch us up on the tap weekend he had in Edmonton with Breaking Barres. He was in his glory with Jamie, Barb, Johnny, Danny, Matt, and Travis to name a few. He was elated to be back in the folds of his tap family and to bask in the incredible knowledge they could all share with each other. It was exciting to hear his excitement. He has a few performance opportunities coming up and he is pumped.
For those of you keeping up with our gluten free adventure, we had some great successes over the week. Actually, once you have the flours all set up and the general purpose one mixed - everything is pretty easy. Our successes this week included "To Die for Waffles" (better than my regular), Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake with less sugar accomplished, Easy and Delicious Pizza crust, and finally...the Garbanzo Bean Waldorf Astoria Red Cake made with beets and reduced sugar. I even managed to have a cake that was moist enough to slice into layers, and the traditional 4 layer cake was accomplished. Unfortunately, Michellie's taste buds were shifted by the Pentamadine, so she didn't like the cake, but she licked the icing off! We are playing with making iced tea from tea and sweetened with Agave Nectar or Stevia, but so far it has not quite been right. We will keep trying.
Today started out cold at - 9, but in less than two hours the sun has warmed us up to 3 degrees. The sky is blue, blue, blue and it looks like a great day for some outdoor adventures. For those thinking they will beat us to buds on the trees out in the Okanagan, we have friends who just took photos from the Cabot Trail yesterday, and the trees are a vibrant red with all the buds bursting there! Sorry about that. And, my rosemary bush is now out from under the snow and smells fabulous. The parsley is still green, but has a little frost bite from the winter. And, until we ran out of gas for the barbecue, we managed two nights with barbecued burgers! Ah, home sweet home:)
Our weekend was a quiet one. Michellie had swollen eye lids and itchy eyes on Saturday, so having tried all other methods I could consider, we resorted to the dreaded Reactine that the doctors gave us for any reactions to the drugs. And, yes, you can guess, she reacted to it too. She was pretty much a sack of potatoes on the couch until about 10 pm. It wiped her out for the whole day. I felt so bad for making her take it, but now we know how desperate she needs to feel before we do it again.
Sunday was a better day and Michellie's energy started to regain after her couple of challenging days. The weather was so incredibly beautiful here that David and I went walking for several hours to get a break and some fabulous sea air. Michellie got a break from us and that was good for everyone too. In the afternoon we made a trek to Port Hawksbury to get Sam, and Michellie actually came into Walmart and Canadian Tire - her first big shopping outting in three months - and to such exciting places too!
Monday was a funny, cold, snowy - like day. After endless computer games and movies, Sam and Michellie went for a walk to get Michellie's cardio in. There were bright rosie cheeks when they returned. David hit the gym for his exercise, and I worked through my new program with Tai Chi balls and ruler, as well as Archetype Movements, and then...the tap shoes. I had almost two incredible hours in my shoes with some great jazz music blasting - heaven! Kenzie called shortly after this experience to catch us up on the tap weekend he had in Edmonton with Breaking Barres. He was in his glory with Jamie, Barb, Johnny, Danny, Matt, and Travis to name a few. He was elated to be back in the folds of his tap family and to bask in the incredible knowledge they could all share with each other. It was exciting to hear his excitement. He has a few performance opportunities coming up and he is pumped.
For those of you keeping up with our gluten free adventure, we had some great successes over the week. Actually, once you have the flours all set up and the general purpose one mixed - everything is pretty easy. Our successes this week included "To Die for Waffles" (better than my regular), Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake with less sugar accomplished, Easy and Delicious Pizza crust, and finally...the Garbanzo Bean Waldorf Astoria Red Cake made with beets and reduced sugar. I even managed to have a cake that was moist enough to slice into layers, and the traditional 4 layer cake was accomplished. Unfortunately, Michellie's taste buds were shifted by the Pentamadine, so she didn't like the cake, but she licked the icing off! We are playing with making iced tea from tea and sweetened with Agave Nectar or Stevia, but so far it has not quite been right. We will keep trying.
Today started out cold at - 9, but in less than two hours the sun has warmed us up to 3 degrees. The sky is blue, blue, blue and it looks like a great day for some outdoor adventures. For those thinking they will beat us to buds on the trees out in the Okanagan, we have friends who just took photos from the Cabot Trail yesterday, and the trees are a vibrant red with all the buds bursting there! Sorry about that. And, my rosemary bush is now out from under the snow and smells fabulous. The parsley is still green, but has a little frost bite from the winter. And, until we ran out of gas for the barbecue, we managed two nights with barbecued burgers! Ah, home sweet home:)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saturday, March 12th
Thank you for all of the wonderful email about Michellie's post and how she has been an inspiration to others. It is truly amazing to see what people take from a post and how they reflect on their own lives and experiences and choose to make changes. For others who wish to share their stories with us, we would love to hear from you. Michellie is in awe of how a few words can bring about such incredible change and this is really something for a teenager to see for themselves.
One comment that really grasped me was from a dear friend who has done healing work for a long time and who has worked very hard to raise her family as healthy as possible. This parent thanked Michellie for being an inspiration to her to make more changes in her life. She was going to start with how people referred to her and her beliefs. She was no longer going to accept "health nut" as her label. And for those that asked her to bring her "witch" things with her to assist them in their healing, they would have to change their ideas of her and what she was able to do with her talents. This is huge!!!
I know that many people have looked at my choices and my abilities in a similar light. They have joked about the "witches broom" that hangs at my front door, the rocks on my window sill and the "voodoo"actions that I use when I am balancing energies on a body. No one complains when their headache is gone, the swelling on their arthritic joint goes down, their back no longer aches, or their feet no longer hurt, but they feel they can joke about my abilities and my expertise.
On CBC today there was an author being interviewed about her new book on the chemicals found in makeup and how that effects the body. When she began her research for the book she was diagnosed with breast cancer - an irony since she was a vegetarian and a long distance runner who embraced a healthy lifestyle. What she so succinctly summed up was that she was most grateful for the fact that she had taken care of her body and that it was strong enough to beat the cancer. Because her immune system was not compromised to begin with, and her organ systems were running optimally, she was able to recover from surgery very quickly and also feel fewer side effects from her chemo regimen than was anticipated. This is very important to think about. She reflected on the fact that she could not help the genetic makeup in her cells that created the opportunity for the cancer to develop in her body - that came from several generations of decisions she had no control over. So, even though she was very healthy and worked hard to be that way, she still got cancer.
With one in four people anticipated to get cancer in their lifetime, the chances, at this point, that cancer will affect your life is huge! You may be the one with the dis-ease, and you may be the caregiver. Both are deeply affected by the dis-ease. What we now have to consider is how much do we want to challenge our ability to recover from a big illness? Are we prepared to say we are not worthy of recovery? Or, that we accept the long term affects the drugs given to us may have, because we don't want to be bothered preparing ourselves for the best we can be? Are we prepared for our children to face the fate that they will not be able to have children of their own because of the drugs or treatments that cause them to become infertile as the result of a childhood dis-ease? Are we prepared to fill ourselves with all kinds of chemicals and preservatives because it makes our life easier right now regardless of how our children will have to deal with the repercussions in their bodies?
Michellie was a very healthy child. She had an exceptional appetite. Her bone density was incredible. She had never had antibiotics for an ear infection or sinus infection. She hardly ever got sick until the year before her diagnosis. She loves veggies and fruit, and chocolate chip cookies were her favorite treat. She hardly drinks pop. She doesn't smoke, do drugs or drink more than a sip of alcohol at family gatherings. Why? Why not?! We don't know what predisposes someone to illness and certainly, rare illnesses. As you have all read from the blog, she has reacted to every drug. She has had to have drugs to counter the side effects of the chemo drugs, and she has not bounced back after her treatments like others might have.
The healing bracelets that many of you wear for Michellie and in support of us as we help her through her journey, is part of a collective energy. We have felt the power of this collective and its incredible source of healing energy. We believe that as you look at your bracelet you can think about your life choices and determine if you need to make a commitment to yourself to bring the best energy and intentions into all that you do. "Carpe Diem" means "Seize the Day" not "Seize the Excuses". It is between you and your fear that you are where you are in your life, your goals, and your dreams. Only you can make the difference for yourself, your family, your friends, and the world. A world of peace, understanding, and acceptance is achieved when you find the same within yourselves. For all of you that have brought healing energy to our lives, we are SO grateful. We would be equally grateful to see you give yourself the same blessing. "Carpe Diem - Seize the Day". It is Yours.
One comment that really grasped me was from a dear friend who has done healing work for a long time and who has worked very hard to raise her family as healthy as possible. This parent thanked Michellie for being an inspiration to her to make more changes in her life. She was going to start with how people referred to her and her beliefs. She was no longer going to accept "health nut" as her label. And for those that asked her to bring her "witch" things with her to assist them in their healing, they would have to change their ideas of her and what she was able to do with her talents. This is huge!!!
I know that many people have looked at my choices and my abilities in a similar light. They have joked about the "witches broom" that hangs at my front door, the rocks on my window sill and the "voodoo"actions that I use when I am balancing energies on a body. No one complains when their headache is gone, the swelling on their arthritic joint goes down, their back no longer aches, or their feet no longer hurt, but they feel they can joke about my abilities and my expertise.
On CBC today there was an author being interviewed about her new book on the chemicals found in makeup and how that effects the body. When she began her research for the book she was diagnosed with breast cancer - an irony since she was a vegetarian and a long distance runner who embraced a healthy lifestyle. What she so succinctly summed up was that she was most grateful for the fact that she had taken care of her body and that it was strong enough to beat the cancer. Because her immune system was not compromised to begin with, and her organ systems were running optimally, she was able to recover from surgery very quickly and also feel fewer side effects from her chemo regimen than was anticipated. This is very important to think about. She reflected on the fact that she could not help the genetic makeup in her cells that created the opportunity for the cancer to develop in her body - that came from several generations of decisions she had no control over. So, even though she was very healthy and worked hard to be that way, she still got cancer.
With one in four people anticipated to get cancer in their lifetime, the chances, at this point, that cancer will affect your life is huge! You may be the one with the dis-ease, and you may be the caregiver. Both are deeply affected by the dis-ease. What we now have to consider is how much do we want to challenge our ability to recover from a big illness? Are we prepared to say we are not worthy of recovery? Or, that we accept the long term affects the drugs given to us may have, because we don't want to be bothered preparing ourselves for the best we can be? Are we prepared for our children to face the fate that they will not be able to have children of their own because of the drugs or treatments that cause them to become infertile as the result of a childhood dis-ease? Are we prepared to fill ourselves with all kinds of chemicals and preservatives because it makes our life easier right now regardless of how our children will have to deal with the repercussions in their bodies?
Michellie was a very healthy child. She had an exceptional appetite. Her bone density was incredible. She had never had antibiotics for an ear infection or sinus infection. She hardly ever got sick until the year before her diagnosis. She loves veggies and fruit, and chocolate chip cookies were her favorite treat. She hardly drinks pop. She doesn't smoke, do drugs or drink more than a sip of alcohol at family gatherings. Why? Why not?! We don't know what predisposes someone to illness and certainly, rare illnesses. As you have all read from the blog, she has reacted to every drug. She has had to have drugs to counter the side effects of the chemo drugs, and she has not bounced back after her treatments like others might have.
The healing bracelets that many of you wear for Michellie and in support of us as we help her through her journey, is part of a collective energy. We have felt the power of this collective and its incredible source of healing energy. We believe that as you look at your bracelet you can think about your life choices and determine if you need to make a commitment to yourself to bring the best energy and intentions into all that you do. "Carpe Diem" means "Seize the Day" not "Seize the Excuses". It is between you and your fear that you are where you are in your life, your goals, and your dreams. Only you can make the difference for yourself, your family, your friends, and the world. A world of peace, understanding, and acceptance is achieved when you find the same within yourselves. For all of you that have brought healing energy to our lives, we are SO grateful. We would be equally grateful to see you give yourself the same blessing. "Carpe Diem - Seize the Day". It is Yours.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Today we finally have words from Michellie herself. This was her post yesterday on Facebook after she recovered from an afternoon of recuperating from the inhilation treatment. For those of you who know Michellie's difficulty with expressing an opinion - this is remarkable. I think everyone can feel the depth of her anguish at the realizations that cancer and life with it has presented. Just one day on the cancer ward or in the ICU with someone struggling to stay ALIVE would change a few peoples EXCUSES to take action, honor their bodies and give value and meaning to the life they have been so graciously given.
knowledge from a cancer patient ---Stop being stupid and smartin up a bit... before you die.
by Michellie Greenwell on Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 9:33pm
Dear Friends...
Dec 14th 2010 was the day my life changed when i was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma, I am 15 years old and in grade 10, though most of you already know that.
having cancer sucks... the chemotheropy, the surgery, the HORRIBLE side effects, the weekly blood tests, the cautous life that i now have of watching my sugar intake, NO alcohol and remembering all the drugs that i found out i am allergic to. The pain, the knowledge, the tears and smiles,the constant watch of who is sick, who is smoking. Life is soo much different now it is hard to imagine what i will and wont be able to do from now on.
**some of my dearest friends or their families smoke or do drugs. I, my self can not change that. i wish i could, but its not my decisions or my body that i am messing up by doing it. The fact that i can not protect them and that i have to watch them do this to them selves kills me on the inside. I know for a fact that i would not like to see them go through the cancer scheme far down the road from the decisions they have made today.**
what I want is for people to think about what you are doing. even if this note does nothing and you still smoke, fine, go for it. i just am doing what i feel is right and putting it out there that it is bad, it kills lives.
it is now somewhat dangerous for me to be around smoke, second hand smoke... etc, but because it seems to be everywhere here, i have no choice, i am protecting my body from what is right and wrong.
I am not acusing ANYONE of their decisions, what they do is up to them, but that doesnt mean i wont stop trying to protect them.
please help me do this,
sencerely,
Michellie J Greenwell. - 2011 Cancer surviver.
Dec 14th 2010 was the day my life changed when i was diagnosed with hodgkins lymphoma, I am 15 years old and in grade 10, though most of you already know that.
having cancer sucks... the chemotheropy, the surgery, the HORRIBLE side effects, the weekly blood tests, the cautous life that i now have of watching my sugar intake, NO alcohol and remembering all the drugs that i found out i am allergic to. The pain, the knowledge, the tears and smiles,the constant watch of who is sick, who is smoking. Life is soo much different now it is hard to imagine what i will and wont be able to do from now on.
**some of my dearest friends or their families smoke or do drugs. I, my self can not change that. i wish i could, but its not my decisions or my body that i am messing up by doing it. The fact that i can not protect them and that i have to watch them do this to them selves kills me on the inside. I know for a fact that i would not like to see them go through the cancer scheme far down the road from the decisions they have made today.**
what I want is for people to think about what you are doing. even if this note does nothing and you still smoke, fine, go for it. i just am doing what i feel is right and putting it out there that it is bad, it kills lives.
it is now somewhat dangerous for me to be around smoke, second hand smoke... etc, but because it seems to be everywhere here, i have no choice, i am protecting my body from what is right and wrong.
I am not acusing ANYONE of their decisions, what they do is up to them, but that doesnt mean i wont stop trying to protect them.
please help me do this,
sencerely,
Michellie J Greenwell. - 2011 Cancer surviver.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, March 10th
Today was our pilgrimage to Antigonish and St. Martha's hospital. We had a pentamadene inhilation for Michellie and a whopping huge amount of ventolin to go with it. This trip was a one day excursion - first time ever! The drugs did bring a few hives out for good measure, but otherwise this treatment was quick and relatively painless. The ventolin was in a huge dose, so Michellie shook and spaced out for a few hours, but she has recovered from that. For those that take Ventolin, she had the equivalent of 8 puffs in 2 hours - usually it is 4 in 4 hours. And for me, I only took it as a last resort, and 2 puffs were enough for me. Anyway, we shopped at the Health Food Store on the way home and the rest was pretty uneventful! I am so happy that I can finally write that. We are relaxing for the rest of the afternoon, and then contemplating how to get some good old vegetables into her and get past the craving for some down home junk food! Those cravings just never die!
A few more of Michellie's eye lashes have fallen out, so these are a little scarce now, but the eye brows are still pretty much there, and the little tuffs of stubble are still present on her head. The skin rash is down to a minimum and her body seems to like the arnica massage oil on the driest spots best. We are thinking of putting on the belly dance skirts and doing a little goofing around for some of her cardio today. We are glad we can remember which box these got packed in!
A few more of Michellie's eye lashes have fallen out, so these are a little scarce now, but the eye brows are still pretty much there, and the little tuffs of stubble are still present on her head. The skin rash is down to a minimum and her body seems to like the arnica massage oil on the driest spots best. We are thinking of putting on the belly dance skirts and doing a little goofing around for some of her cardio today. We are glad we can remember which box these got packed in!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wednesday, March 9
We were a little eager yesterday. Michellie headed to school in the afternoon and took the bus home. Then, we started on the beginnings of her cardiovascular workouts. She asked about doing aerobics. Who would have thought the 90's would be so important. When we moved, I threw out all of my aerobic homemade tapes thinking I would never have a use for them again. There must have been about 30 all together. Well, we began with The Star (for those of you who know my latest work), only to discover that having not moved for 3 months, the port a cath was limiting. Michellie's upper body was so used to being in a collapsed state from all of the chemo and lying around, that she could not reach her arms overhead and spread open her chest. We had to improvise on turning of the spine as well for the upper part of the back. This presented a few tears and then some improvising. Then we progressed to some aerobics to Happy Feet. She was laughing at me as I showed her some of the step aerobic choreography and stuff. We goofed around and focused on getting her heart rate up and we did accomplish this. Finally, we put the tap shoes on. Michellie thought she would have outgrown her shoes, but at 15 she seems to have hit her size. Our sounds were pretty pathetic after almost 9 months without moving our feet this way. We did warmups, pullbacks, paddle and rolls, some wings and some time steps. We did a lot of giggling and groaning as we missed sounds, but as always, Michellie was quick to pick up anything I threw at her. It was very liberating to find our sounds. Afterwards we stretched and Michellie finally felt like she had warmed up. Within minutes she was exhausted. Both of us had severely underestimated her stamina and strength. Sadly, it wasn't a heavy duty workout, but a pretty gentle one. We have a long way to go to find her strength again. The evening was pretty low key after this as she rested.
Today was a slow day. Michellie was still very tired and really had no energy to do much. Her appetite has backed off, so we have to keep going at getting her try more. Eggs are no longer a favorite, she doesn't like red or yellow peppers any more, but cheese is still a favorite! Oh, how those chemicals can wreak havoc on the body!
This afternoon we relaxed and put on White Nights. This is my all time favorite movie, and in no time David joined us too. Mikhail and Gregory together - unbelieveable history made by that movie. Incidently, it was made in 1985. I know many of the Dance Debut dancers are familiar with the piroette scene - 1 ruble, 1 piroette, 11 rubles, 11 piroettes - brilliant. Anyway, this reminded me of how Michellie was named, and I am sure there are many reading this who do not know, so I will tell.
Michellie's name was chosed from a long distance runner named Michellie Jones from New Zealand and a triathlete. She was running in a race, and her name flashed across the screen on the television. I wondered who would name their kid "Mishelley" and David quickly corrected me to say it is "Mikaylee". Being that we were into our Scottish roots with a vengeance and participating in lots of ceilidhs or "kaylees", it seemed fitting. Also, we had named MacKenzie, MacKenzie Davis Greenwell, as Davis meant son of David. With Michellie, the spelling was close to mine, but unique and original (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman was a popular television program at the time and her first name was Mikayla and that was the popular name for the decade). Michellie was 2 weeks over due and when I went to the doctor she thought we should wait a few more days before we did anything. But, I had purchased tickets to see Mikhail Baryshnikov on the Friday and this was Monday. I had bought a whole seasons worth of Alberta Ballet Tickets just to make sure I was able to get those tickets. I didn't want to miss the show. So, we insisted (I should probably say "I" here) that today was the day. The doctor sent us off to the hospital. Michellie was born 3 hours later around 4 in the afternoon. David and I made it to see Mikhail on Friday, and Grandma Yvonne drove us with Michellie and waited with her so that I could nurse her as soon as the show was over. Many people asked if Michellie was named after Mikhail - which we had not even considered. However, that is a bit of an honor, I think, to have such an inspirational and talented namesake as Mikhail, and the talents of Michellie Jones as well.
So, our Michellie has a bit of a road ahead to gain her strength and endurance and find her own voice with her body. To do some quiet healing today, we did play with a new program I built last week called the Inner Smile. I brought Michellie through a visualization that comes from Qi Gong where you smile upon the organs in the body and bring light and love to each of them. Once I finished talking her through this, I realized that I will have to put this dialogue into the program for others to experience. It is really incredible. Some of my friends have their own personal body blessings that they do, and this is similar. I thank them for the inspiration for this also. If you have any stories to share, please feel free to post. We all can learn so much from each other. Namasthe (and I am told by my close healing partner that this is the best way to spell this).
Today was a slow day. Michellie was still very tired and really had no energy to do much. Her appetite has backed off, so we have to keep going at getting her try more. Eggs are no longer a favorite, she doesn't like red or yellow peppers any more, but cheese is still a favorite! Oh, how those chemicals can wreak havoc on the body!
This afternoon we relaxed and put on White Nights. This is my all time favorite movie, and in no time David joined us too. Mikhail and Gregory together - unbelieveable history made by that movie. Incidently, it was made in 1985. I know many of the Dance Debut dancers are familiar with the piroette scene - 1 ruble, 1 piroette, 11 rubles, 11 piroettes - brilliant. Anyway, this reminded me of how Michellie was named, and I am sure there are many reading this who do not know, so I will tell.
Michellie's name was chosed from a long distance runner named Michellie Jones from New Zealand and a triathlete. She was running in a race, and her name flashed across the screen on the television. I wondered who would name their kid "Mishelley" and David quickly corrected me to say it is "Mikaylee". Being that we were into our Scottish roots with a vengeance and participating in lots of ceilidhs or "kaylees", it seemed fitting. Also, we had named MacKenzie, MacKenzie Davis Greenwell, as Davis meant son of David. With Michellie, the spelling was close to mine, but unique and original (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman was a popular television program at the time and her first name was Mikayla and that was the popular name for the decade). Michellie was 2 weeks over due and when I went to the doctor she thought we should wait a few more days before we did anything. But, I had purchased tickets to see Mikhail Baryshnikov on the Friday and this was Monday. I had bought a whole seasons worth of Alberta Ballet Tickets just to make sure I was able to get those tickets. I didn't want to miss the show. So, we insisted (I should probably say "I" here) that today was the day. The doctor sent us off to the hospital. Michellie was born 3 hours later around 4 in the afternoon. David and I made it to see Mikhail on Friday, and Grandma Yvonne drove us with Michellie and waited with her so that I could nurse her as soon as the show was over. Many people asked if Michellie was named after Mikhail - which we had not even considered. However, that is a bit of an honor, I think, to have such an inspirational and talented namesake as Mikhail, and the talents of Michellie Jones as well.
So, our Michellie has a bit of a road ahead to gain her strength and endurance and find her own voice with her body. To do some quiet healing today, we did play with a new program I built last week called the Inner Smile. I brought Michellie through a visualization that comes from Qi Gong where you smile upon the organs in the body and bring light and love to each of them. Once I finished talking her through this, I realized that I will have to put this dialogue into the program for others to experience. It is really incredible. Some of my friends have their own personal body blessings that they do, and this is similar. I thank them for the inspiration for this also. If you have any stories to share, please feel free to post. We all can learn so much from each other. Namasthe (and I am told by my close healing partner that this is the best way to spell this).
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 8th
Sorry for the delay in writing, for those that diligently check each day! Sunday was a day of relaxing as the snow melted. Sam was still here and Michellie and Sam watched TV and relaxed. I actually had a meeting to go to where I could mix with others and create ideas - that was very novel! David did some work and made the trek back to Port Hawksbury with Sam. Michellie felt much stronger Sunday and there were no complaints about acidic stomache, headache or hives. There were some aches in her legs in the evening, so of course the massages started up again.
Monday was a trip to Inverness for blood work. Michellie's counts had risen and we were told that she no longer required the GCSF shots!!!! Those painful, tearful experiences are done!
Today was the beginning of recovery for us. We started to make some changes to shift from medicine to herbs and Michellie's face lit up with this idea. So, we have added in Liquid Silver to keep the bacteria clear in her mouth, an immuno powder that contains Glutathione as well as some other wonderful herbs to begin the repair work on her stomache lining. We added Zeolite drops to begin cleaning the cells of all the toxins, and she is continuing with Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin D. We didn't add extra Vitamin C yet, but this is next. We don't have access to IV Vitamin C, so we are just determining what her body will want. We talked about what exercises to use that will get her lymphatic system pumping and clearing out the toxins. She likes the idea of a trampoline, but of course, I sold the mini we had with the studio. We are also determining what cardiovascular exercise she will like to do to get her heart pumping and raising her body temperature to a good healing sweat - this was not resolved. We have lots of choices - I think that is the problem. We will let you know what she decides. We will be adding some Qi Gong and Tai Chi as well, we just have to determine which exercises her body wants at this time.
Thank you everyone for all of the ideas and information you have sent. I pretty much spent the last four days devouring books, websites and emails to find what will best suit our needs and what we can do in our remote little spot in the world. In some ways it is a challenge to be living in a remote spot, but it also really gets us digging for energy ways to do the healing rather than relying on other tools that we do not have at our disposal or our new level of income won't allow. I believe this is a great gift to us, as there is nothing better than letting the body do its own healing and understanding what that healing needs to be. So, this is our quest for today.
Michellie had another good day of feeling better than before, and she was surprised how much more energy she had. She thought she would accomplish less rather than more. She did have aches and pains down her arms over Monday evening, so hopefully these will subside today. She is going to focus on getting back to school now, and we will give a half day a try today as her counts continue to recover, and then she will be ready for full days for the rest of the week - hopefully. Next week is March break, so she will be home to relax again. When the kids go back the following week, we are off to Halifax for tests and meetings with the oncologists. So, it will be a few weeks before her body will need to be ready for a full week of school. David and I have forgotten what that is like - early mornings and a child gone for the day - wow!
Today is pancake day, so I am off to make some of our new gluten free variety, but we are out of eggs - I hope that cornstarch will work as a substitute with the gluten free flour. Ah, more learning!
Monday was a trip to Inverness for blood work. Michellie's counts had risen and we were told that she no longer required the GCSF shots!!!! Those painful, tearful experiences are done!
Today was the beginning of recovery for us. We started to make some changes to shift from medicine to herbs and Michellie's face lit up with this idea. So, we have added in Liquid Silver to keep the bacteria clear in her mouth, an immuno powder that contains Glutathione as well as some other wonderful herbs to begin the repair work on her stomache lining. We added Zeolite drops to begin cleaning the cells of all the toxins, and she is continuing with Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin D. We didn't add extra Vitamin C yet, but this is next. We don't have access to IV Vitamin C, so we are just determining what her body will want. We talked about what exercises to use that will get her lymphatic system pumping and clearing out the toxins. She likes the idea of a trampoline, but of course, I sold the mini we had with the studio. We are also determining what cardiovascular exercise she will like to do to get her heart pumping and raising her body temperature to a good healing sweat - this was not resolved. We have lots of choices - I think that is the problem. We will let you know what she decides. We will be adding some Qi Gong and Tai Chi as well, we just have to determine which exercises her body wants at this time.
Thank you everyone for all of the ideas and information you have sent. I pretty much spent the last four days devouring books, websites and emails to find what will best suit our needs and what we can do in our remote little spot in the world. In some ways it is a challenge to be living in a remote spot, but it also really gets us digging for energy ways to do the healing rather than relying on other tools that we do not have at our disposal or our new level of income won't allow. I believe this is a great gift to us, as there is nothing better than letting the body do its own healing and understanding what that healing needs to be. So, this is our quest for today.
Michellie had another good day of feeling better than before, and she was surprised how much more energy she had. She thought she would accomplish less rather than more. She did have aches and pains down her arms over Monday evening, so hopefully these will subside today. She is going to focus on getting back to school now, and we will give a half day a try today as her counts continue to recover, and then she will be ready for full days for the rest of the week - hopefully. Next week is March break, so she will be home to relax again. When the kids go back the following week, we are off to Halifax for tests and meetings with the oncologists. So, it will be a few weeks before her body will need to be ready for a full week of school. David and I have forgotten what that is like - early mornings and a child gone for the day - wow!
Today is pancake day, so I am off to make some of our new gluten free variety, but we are out of eggs - I hope that cornstarch will work as a substitute with the gluten free flour. Ah, more learning!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday, March 5th
Absolutely gorgeous! That is the weather today. It is plus 3 and sunny. The snow is fabulous and walking down by the bridges is incredible! Coasting on the driveway is pretty fast too!
Michellie's aches and pains were everywhere last night, so the two of us were in bed reading our books earlier in the evening. This morning, the complaints were gone, and Michellie was ready to get on with her day. Of course, we were able to get Sam today, and Michellie hadn't seen him in three weeks, so she was ready to head to Port Hawksbury. David was so thrilled to be going somewhere exciting, he was ready to leave early too. He went shopping and even got his Chinese dinner fix. All is good!
The afternoon we enjoyed the sun and beautiful weather, and now Michellie is finishing with rolling and cutting the homemade noodles for the turkey soup. Nagymama ( her great great grandmother) would be so proud! I always love when the noodle machine comes out and I can enjoy making the noodles and remember the wonderful times we spent with Nagymama sharing her cooking knowledge, or just eating her incredible donuts, fried chicken, paprika soups, cookies and homemade streudel. We always spent the whole day with her, so I thought noodle making was an incredible ordeal. It was not until I started making little batches for soup that I realized that it was an ordeal for a whole day because we would make many bags of noodles for taking home for the winter. A single batch is only about 30 minutes, and then into the soup they go.
Research today has been down the road for recovery. If anyone has insights into detoxing the body from the chemo, I would love to hear what you have. Experience is welcome.
We hope you have been able to enjoy a little sunshine with your day too! Monnie thank you for the recipe for the scones - they were delicious!
Michellie's aches and pains were everywhere last night, so the two of us were in bed reading our books earlier in the evening. This morning, the complaints were gone, and Michellie was ready to get on with her day. Of course, we were able to get Sam today, and Michellie hadn't seen him in three weeks, so she was ready to head to Port Hawksbury. David was so thrilled to be going somewhere exciting, he was ready to leave early too. He went shopping and even got his Chinese dinner fix. All is good!
The afternoon we enjoyed the sun and beautiful weather, and now Michellie is finishing with rolling and cutting the homemade noodles for the turkey soup. Nagymama ( her great great grandmother) would be so proud! I always love when the noodle machine comes out and I can enjoy making the noodles and remember the wonderful times we spent with Nagymama sharing her cooking knowledge, or just eating her incredible donuts, fried chicken, paprika soups, cookies and homemade streudel. We always spent the whole day with her, so I thought noodle making was an incredible ordeal. It was not until I started making little batches for soup that I realized that it was an ordeal for a whole day because we would make many bags of noodles for taking home for the winter. A single batch is only about 30 minutes, and then into the soup they go.
Research today has been down the road for recovery. If anyone has insights into detoxing the body from the chemo, I would love to hear what you have. Experience is welcome.
We hope you have been able to enjoy a little sunshine with your day too! Monnie thank you for the recipe for the scones - they were delicious!
Gluten Free Scones
2 cups all purpose Gluten Free flour
¼ cup Quinoa (optional)
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Zanthan gum
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1-1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1 apple shredded or 3T apple sauce
Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Combine liquids separately. Pour liquids into flour mixture a third at a time and mix with a fork until all the liquid is gone. Add applesauce with last addition. Scoop the dough out onto a greased cookie sheet and spread about ½ inch thick. There should be 12 or 14 scones wedges when cut. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top if desired, and any herbs desired.
Bake at 350, for about 18 – 20 minutes, until golden brown. Best eaten fresh from the oven.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, March 4th
What started as a swirl of snow again today, has finished with the most incredible sunshine beaming on the glistening snow. It is breathtaking to look across the fields of untouched snow and see the sun as it falls behind the mountains into the ocean. Definitely one has to stop and take a deep breathe and enjoy the beauty.
While I enjoy the beauty there are echoing snores coming from each bedroom. Michellie was up early and ready to attack the day, but then nausea set in and this afternoon she crawled into bed with two cats to sleep on her, and she was gone. David went driving to see if he could perk himself up, and he found some wonderful winter scenes up at Glencoe, but he also crawled into bed and disappeared. I napped for a few minutes on the couch, but I am in charge of the turkey dinner for tonight. Michellie has been talking non stop about turkey with salt and pepper. So, with my own passion for turkey soup, we are having a fabulous dinner tonight.
Kenzie called and he is off to a party called ABC and I am glad that he is young enough to enjoy what that means and I am old enough to let it pass over me now. He is doing well. He is enjoying his job at the Town and the arena, and he is busy getting himself aligned for some incredible dance fun this summer. He has been updating his website at www.canadataps.com. He is now twittering and something called tumblr? I will have to play a little to catch up. He is planning some great tap fun for the summer, some hip hop classes, and he is connecting with his tapping buds in Edmonton next weekend. He has been choreographing some of his own works and last night he made it to the Beat Nik for some great jazz music and to connect with the musicians. Tappers and jazz musicians - that is always a great mix for some incredible fun! We are so happy that his passion for tap continues and that despite not having a floor to practice on regularly, he is hitting the wood and creating at every opportunity he gets. We look forward to finishing the back end of our house and having him home to do some tapping with us.
This morning was a successful attempt at Gluten Free Scones with Cheddar Cheese, after a few tweaks, I hope to post the recipe. As well, I will also have an update on the Chickpea Chocolate Cake with reduced sugar, for anyone that is interested.
The last to update today is some info from my parents and their Tai Chi/Qi Gong class with Harold last night. Harold is an amazing healer and instructor. I had the privilege of meeting him in the fall and sharing in one of his classes, and obtaining several of his DVD's. Several pieces of my new work include elements that I learned from him. His talk last night for his class was around how illness can come down the generations, and that through aligning your Yin and Yang energy you can change this bit of history. I find this work fascinating myself, and many of the balances that I have given Michellie and others with cancer have centered around this bit of history that is brought forward. If anyone is interested in more of these insights, please let me know and I will be happy to share some of this work with you. For those that have access to Tai Chi and/or Qi Gong, it is some of the most amazing work you can do, and its health benefits are incredible. We have many family stories of success with the techniques, as well as many of our friends.
Oh, the turkey is calling...on with the gravy and cranberry sauce!.
While I enjoy the beauty there are echoing snores coming from each bedroom. Michellie was up early and ready to attack the day, but then nausea set in and this afternoon she crawled into bed with two cats to sleep on her, and she was gone. David went driving to see if he could perk himself up, and he found some wonderful winter scenes up at Glencoe, but he also crawled into bed and disappeared. I napped for a few minutes on the couch, but I am in charge of the turkey dinner for tonight. Michellie has been talking non stop about turkey with salt and pepper. So, with my own passion for turkey soup, we are having a fabulous dinner tonight.
Kenzie called and he is off to a party called ABC and I am glad that he is young enough to enjoy what that means and I am old enough to let it pass over me now. He is doing well. He is enjoying his job at the Town and the arena, and he is busy getting himself aligned for some incredible dance fun this summer. He has been updating his website at www.canadataps.com. He is now twittering and something called tumblr? I will have to play a little to catch up. He is planning some great tap fun for the summer, some hip hop classes, and he is connecting with his tapping buds in Edmonton next weekend. He has been choreographing some of his own works and last night he made it to the Beat Nik for some great jazz music and to connect with the musicians. Tappers and jazz musicians - that is always a great mix for some incredible fun! We are so happy that his passion for tap continues and that despite not having a floor to practice on regularly, he is hitting the wood and creating at every opportunity he gets. We look forward to finishing the back end of our house and having him home to do some tapping with us.
This morning was a successful attempt at Gluten Free Scones with Cheddar Cheese, after a few tweaks, I hope to post the recipe. As well, I will also have an update on the Chickpea Chocolate Cake with reduced sugar, for anyone that is interested.
The last to update today is some info from my parents and their Tai Chi/Qi Gong class with Harold last night. Harold is an amazing healer and instructor. I had the privilege of meeting him in the fall and sharing in one of his classes, and obtaining several of his DVD's. Several pieces of my new work include elements that I learned from him. His talk last night for his class was around how illness can come down the generations, and that through aligning your Yin and Yang energy you can change this bit of history. I find this work fascinating myself, and many of the balances that I have given Michellie and others with cancer have centered around this bit of history that is brought forward. If anyone is interested in more of these insights, please let me know and I will be happy to share some of this work with you. For those that have access to Tai Chi and/or Qi Gong, it is some of the most amazing work you can do, and its health benefits are incredible. We have many family stories of success with the techniques, as well as many of our friends.
Oh, the turkey is calling...on with the gravy and cranberry sauce!.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thursday, March 3rd
We are home and we are done! And, it has been bitter-sweet. Michellie and I arrived to St. Martha's to start for 10 am. Before we left the house Michellie broke out in hives which lasted to the hospital. Once there, they decided to give her some antacid medication for the incredible acid stomach she had been enduring for the last 4 days. She was put on IV for fluids for two hours, and then also asked to swallow the antacid medication, and given Benedryl (which Michellie really stresses about). For all of you who know Michellie and her inability to swallow pills - they might as well have been golf balls to swallow. She tried her best with applesauce, and it wasn't ten minutes and she began spitting up, then the hives started again. So, after consultations back and forth with the IWK it was decided that they would pull one of her chemo drugs that causes her such incredible hives and welts too, the Bleomycin. We were relieved and so was the chemo nurse. Michellie had a short 15 minute infusion of Vincristin, and then a follow up of more fluids. We were wheeled from the oncology ward which is outpatient only, and down to the children's ward for the evening for observation and fluids. Michellie was trying to be excited about the fact she was really done chemo, but she was groggy from the Benadryl, anxious about hives and nausea and cancer coming back and back aches etc. It wasn't until we had watched a little Oprah and relaxed that she started to feel better and get really hungry. For the first time, of all the stays in the hospital, Michellie didn't want to sit in bed. She wanted to go for a walk. She wanted to eat. She started to giggle. And, then, we found the celebration treat - Ice Cream Drumsticks. Like a kid in a candy store, Michellie lit up with the idea of such a decadent treat after all this time. We bought a second supper, snacks and a Drumstick. Guess what she ate first! And here is a photo of celebration with the dinner that followed the treats!
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| Ah, a celebration dinner and yes, Auntie Char that is the white board you sent. There was a lot of incredible art being produced throughout the evening. We even had some fun with handwriting analysis and the changes that Michellie has experienced with her handwriting from the fall until now. You never know what discussion will come up next with Michellie and her deep thoughts! |
So, after a fairly good nights rest, two nose bleeds and some aching in her spine, Michellie was ready to escape the hospital. We tried to eat breakfast (toast) but it immediately gave her an acidic feeling, followed by nausea, so we skipped eating the rest. We came home with a diet plan to limit the amount of acid production, some more meds, and of course a full blizzard to even things off.
We did make it up the driveway, but there is over a foot of fresh snow and more is swirling around the house as I write. It is a snow day at the school, so Michellie has one less day to miss. It is warm, so if the blizzard stops, perhaps we will be able to take advantage of the fresh white stuff for some more coasting! David has shovelled our path to the door 3 times so far this morning, as well as a small path at the neighbors so she could get out. Who needs the gym when nature calls?!
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. We believe that it was Michellie's body that let us know not to add that last chemo, and it was your prayers protecting her and guiding that helped us through. Thank you also for the wonderful emails that have been pouring in with ideas and words of encouragement. Each one lifts us up a little higher and supports us to the next place. You all make such an incredible difference for others with your thoughts, kindness and love. We are tired again today - a nap is definitely in order, and in a few days we should be able to really embrace the idea that we are truly finished with the chemo. Wow!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Wednesday, March 2nd
Whomever gave us a hand in boosting our energy and mental capabilities today - Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. We started out slow this morning, but Michellie went to school for the whole afternoon, and then had a friend over and a sleep over. What a turn of events. David finished his project ahead of schedule, and Michelle managed to spend the whole afternoon and evening preparing a paper for publication that is due on Friday. This was the first work Michelle has done in almost two months, and there was a lot of humming and key slapping going onto the computer. So, thank you to the angel(s) that made this all possible.
We are still up in the wee hours of this day, and we will be heading to Antigonish at 8 am. The plan is to hydrate Michellie for 2 hours on IV before the chemo this time, and then to keep her overnight in case anything should happen. David will keep the cats company, and will wait to see the girls arrive home on Thursday morning.
Thank you everyone for your wishes as we complete Round 4. If today was any indication, we will let Round 4 go down with energy to spare. Hugs and light to everyone.
For anyone else battling with cancer or illness or dis-ease, Michelle discovered some interesting visualization techniques through Qi Gong this afternoon. If you know where the cancer or ailment is, imagine each of the cells in a series of colors. Think about taking a deep breath and filling the cells with white, then red, yellow, green, and then blue light. As you approach the exhale, visualize black being dispelled from the body and released to the universe for cleansing. Take as many breaths as you feel you need to build up the positive energy in your body, and make sure the last breath you release with this visualization leaves you full of a rainbow of light. This is great for relaxing and re-energizing as well. Enjoy!
We are still up in the wee hours of this day, and we will be heading to Antigonish at 8 am. The plan is to hydrate Michellie for 2 hours on IV before the chemo this time, and then to keep her overnight in case anything should happen. David will keep the cats company, and will wait to see the girls arrive home on Thursday morning.
Thank you everyone for your wishes as we complete Round 4. If today was any indication, we will let Round 4 go down with energy to spare. Hugs and light to everyone.
For anyone else battling with cancer or illness or dis-ease, Michelle discovered some interesting visualization techniques through Qi Gong this afternoon. If you know where the cancer or ailment is, imagine each of the cells in a series of colors. Think about taking a deep breath and filling the cells with white, then red, yellow, green, and then blue light. As you approach the exhale, visualize black being dispelled from the body and released to the universe for cleansing. Take as many breaths as you feel you need to build up the positive energy in your body, and make sure the last breath you release with this visualization leaves you full of a rainbow of light. This is great for relaxing and re-energizing as well. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 1st
Someone posted on facebook that Hell is Freezing Over in Edmonton with a whopping -45! That makes our little wind gusts of about 70 km/hr seem like a dream with -6 temperatures. We do have a skating rink for our parking lot, driveway and entrance to the highway, but when the wind dies down, perhaps this will make for faster coasting?!:)
I experimented last night with a gluten free flour package and made biscuits - not so good. But, this morning I made some good pancakes from scratch with a flour recipe that I got at the health food store in Cole Harbour. There was a bit of grit, but they tasted good. And, for anyone who has not tried Agave Nectar - it is a gift from the gods!
Michellie has been challenged with intense acid buildup in her stomache with some of the drugs she has to take, so her evening and this morning has been spent trying to keep control of this. Her rash has backed off significantly, and her skin is much smoother and softer than last week. She is relieved about that. She found some beautiful whisps of hair on the side of her head this morning, so she is encouraged to keep up with the Qi Gong exercises for hair growth. Her blood counts were fairly good from yesterday, so we are awaiting the time when they will bottom out, and then the recovery - this will be the last of the painful and tearful GCSF shots we have to give her for about a week each round. Still Michellie has not lost any weight through this whole ordeal, so she is also thrilled about this. Maybe she will be able to go to school for a bit this afternoon.
I experimented last night with a gluten free flour package and made biscuits - not so good. But, this morning I made some good pancakes from scratch with a flour recipe that I got at the health food store in Cole Harbour. There was a bit of grit, but they tasted good. And, for anyone who has not tried Agave Nectar - it is a gift from the gods!
Michellie has been challenged with intense acid buildup in her stomache with some of the drugs she has to take, so her evening and this morning has been spent trying to keep control of this. Her rash has backed off significantly, and her skin is much smoother and softer than last week. She is relieved about that. She found some beautiful whisps of hair on the side of her head this morning, so she is encouraged to keep up with the Qi Gong exercises for hair growth. Her blood counts were fairly good from yesterday, so we are awaiting the time when they will bottom out, and then the recovery - this will be the last of the painful and tearful GCSF shots we have to give her for about a week each round. Still Michellie has not lost any weight through this whole ordeal, so she is also thrilled about this. Maybe she will be able to go to school for a bit this afternoon.
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