Light the Night in Halifax

Michellie's friend Francesca who is a few months behind Michellie in recovering from the same cancer as Michellie raised over $55,000 with her team for the first Light the Night walk for Cancer in Halifax.  Here are some pictures and her mom's email this morning.  This is one special family, and Francesca's energy is an inspiration.  We were touched to be included in their tent, and for Michellie's postcard to be posted as well.

"Light the Night was so incredible. I hope you will be able to walk one year. I have attached a picture of how beautiful it looked. Francesca was amazing. She gave a beautiful speech to the 1000 (!!!) walkers... I don't think there was a dry eye. We were so proud of her. Lots of nurses from the IWK were there. They loved seeing Michellie's picture in our tent too. You were all in our hearts. The Halifax event raised over $250,000, had over 1000 walkers and broke the record for the biggest most successful first walk ever. The turnout was so inspiring. The event filled me with hope." Cynthia

Thank You's!

Now that we have rounded the corner in healing, we are preparing to share our thanks to the incredible doctors, nurses, aids, technicians, friends, family, and spirit guides that have made Michellie's Journey successful.  Above is a picture that was taken at Chimney Corner this summer with some of the healing bracelets that were returned to us.  We have prepared posters that will be framed and given to each hospital:  IWK 6th Floor and Outpatients, Antigonish Cancer ward, Children's ward and Dr. Ortiz's office, and the Inverness Hospital.  As well, we have made postcards to send in place of Christmas cards this year.  We would love the message and story printed on each card to be shared with others who could benefit from the information.  If you would like us to send a card to someone special who needs assistance, please let us know.  In the meantime, our deepest gratitude goes out to everyone who kept Michellie and her family in their thoughts and prayers throughout this journey, and for those who continue to do so even now.  We are so blessed to have the love and support of so many great people, and we hope that our experience and learning will be able to help others who might need support from us.  We will continue to update the blog through Christmas this year, and then we will print it for Michellie to have in a book form.  If there are messages you would like to have saved for her, please send your comments and we will add them.  The blog will continue to be posted for years to come, and we hope that you will refer others to the pages that might be helpful.  We are always available to assist where we can, and if you need a prayer said, we are happy to add your request.

May your body be blessed with health and youthfulness, and may you remember its gift to you as you nourish and exercise it each day.  Thank you.

A trip to the Naturopath

With all the doctor's appointments out of the way, and the 6 month scans successfully completed, we now are ready to look at what a Naturopath can do for Michellie.  Her stomach issues are the same and there is no resolution to these.  They didn't find anything on her scans and the Gastrointestinal specialist did not find any conclusive evidence about wheat or dairy.  The best advice was just avoid the things that bother her.  The gynecologist did not see any difficulties with Michellie's body for all the pain that she experiences with PMS and she recommends trying a stronger pain killer and hormone therapy if we desire.  This wasn't really the approach we wanted to take.

The first idea that the Naturopath had was that Michellie's digestive tract needs a good boost of strong probiotics.  These ones will help to work with the antibiotics Michellie received during treatment.  This will help to get the good bacteria strong in her body.  Second, she recommended a product to coat Michellie's stomach that contains licorice root.  It is very strong and will get the stomach protected so that healing and inflammation can be reduced.  She determined through questioning about stool details that Michellie was not digesting her food and not processing the nutrients she needed.  These are all things we were kind of aware of, but with time and everything that Michellie had gone through we thought we had exhausted these possibilities. 

To reduce cramping during PMS and in Michellie's legs and hips, she recommended Calm with Magnesium to relax the muscles - perhaps this will help with getting Michellie to sleep at a decent time?! The powder form is a good one that Michellie will be able to easily absorb.  The Calcium Magnesium chewable tablet that we had been using was causing nausea and this was because it was too hard for her to absorb.  Who would have thought?!

Michellie will be charting her temperatures each morning.  The Naturopath believes that Michellie suffers from the same thing as many teenagers do - high estrogen levels and little or no progesterone.  In Michellie's case, there is no change in hormones at all, and so she is checking her blood tests to determine if she is in need of progesterone.  As well, she will look at her iron levels. 

I know that the details of this blog could be considered invasive for Michellie and we have always tried to honor her privacy, but, this information may be helpful to others and we feel it should be shared.  The naturopath sees many teenagers and women with hormone challenges that have gone undetected.  The woman's monthly cycle should be symptom free.  There should be no imbalance in hormones.  Our society and the toxins in it have led us down a completely different road.  For many women they are told to deal with the pain - it is a part of life.  For Michellie, this reality is at least 2 days off of school each month and last month the pain had her completely curled up and screaming.  That is not right. 

We look forward to the start of this path, and the possibilities that have been presented to us.  As well, we also found out that Nova Scotia has low iodine in the soil.  This can lead to some PMS-like symptoms as well as fatigue if the diet does not have sufficient iodine in it.  That would have been very helpful to know when we moved here.  Michelle is suffering from the symptoms associated with this, and she looks forward to a renewed energy with some tweaking on this. 

Getting a Driver's License in Nova Scotia

To be true to this story, we really need to start at the beginning.  Michellie turned 16 and all h*ll broke loose on this story.

In Alberta a learner's license can be obtained at 14.  Michellie accomplished this and completed her driver's ed courses as quick as she could.  The instructor loved her driving and she quickly passed through all the skills to drive in Calgary and the Rockies.  Fast forward to moving to Cape Breton.  In Nova Scotia the learner's license can be obtained when you turn 16.  Michellie was able to drive with her Alberta license until we became permanent residents of Nova Scotia and then they would revoke her license.  Then we travelled to Montreal to see MacKenzie.  While shopping we were pic pocketed and Michellie's wallet was stolen along with her learner's license.  We reported the stealing and applied for a new license.  The replacement was only good until Michellie's 16th birthday and when we returned to Alberta she could have this changed.  Of course we wouldn't be returning, but at least she had her license back.

Michellie drove a bit through the fall and winter until her cancer, and until the late spring she did not have enough strength to hold the steering wheel, let alone drive.  Her first time out with Dad was a disaster, and the two of them determined that they needed to take a break from each other and the car.  Through the summer David had Michellie up all the dirt roads practicing as she anticipated her birthday.  The week before her birthday Mom made a trip to Port Hawksbury to make sure Michellie would be able to transfer over her license and take her driver's.  Not wanting any more stress in our lives we wanted to make sure we were doing everything correctly.  No problem.  They would even give her credit for 2 years of driving with a learners and once she had the Nova Scotia license transferred from the Alberta one on her birthday, she could take the driver's test.

September 18th was on a Sunday, so on Monday the 19th Michellie and David headed to Port Hawksbury to have the Alberta learners transferred to a Nova Scotia learners.  This was done and the driver's test was paid for.  The day of the test arrived and Michellie and Mom took the morning off school and had Chelsie-Anne in tow.  At arriving at the licensing office, Michellie passes the documentation to the tester.  She looks at the license and states that it is an expired license and Michellie will have to start the whole process from scratch.  You can imagine the look on Michellie's face and then the look on Mom's.  The office had given Michellie a learner's with the same expiry as her Alberta license - her 16th birthday.  That was 4 days back.  There was no budging the tester.  Michellie was a mess and this was the ultimate meltdown of 6 months of stress for Mom - she sobbed in the parking lot for 20 minutes before she could get in the car to go home again. 

After paying for another learner's test, Michellie took another morning off of school to go to Inverness to write the learners test again.  She passes the sign test, but she did not pass the written test.  She made silly mistakes on the page and was stressed right out.  Deep breath, deep breath - there is not enough Tai Chi in the world for this experience!  Michellie decides she would do better to take the learner's test in Sydney with a different tester.  So, when driving Chelsie-Anne back to the airport, they stop and do the test again.  Success.  She gets a new learner's and they will give her acknowledgement of the two years driving experience she already has.  So, she just needs to pass the road test.

We wait another week, and then Dad and Michellie take another morning off of work and school to drive to Port Hawksbury to take the test.  Michellie is stressed out.  Her stomach is cramping before she even gets to PH.  Michellie does not pass.  She has many errors on her paper and is recommended to have more practice time.  Again, there are no words.

Grandpa is here.  He has his truck driver's license. He has spent two years upgrading new skills for the road.  Grandpa takes Michellie out and challenges her with everything possible.  He uses his skills at parallel parking and backing into a stall to assist Michellie's expertise development.  She comes home from each practice run with a big smile on her face and a lilt in her step.

So, we are waiting for the right opportunity to take another morning off of school to travel to Inverness or Port Hawksbury to try again.  Stay tuned...

For those in Alberta reading this.  Be thankful that all driver's lessons and tests can happen after school hours.  In Nova Scotia everything must happen between 8 and 3 pm.  You have to miss school to take driver training and to do the tests.  And, you have to travel to Port Hawksbury or Baddeck to get the license issued, although you can do the test in Inverness and then travel later.  Crazy!

Thanksgiving and Celtic Colours

Baddeck and a trip on the Amoeba was a highlight for the week.  The weather was fantastic with almost no wind.  We had a tour around the lands owned by Alexander Graham Bell and his wife on the water.  The sailing was very fun.

 The camera is never ending.  Poor Michellie!  After 4 concerts through the week, we all closed up the Red Shoe for the Season as we cheered for our Christmas Dinner!  Yes, it is only October, but heh, it is just a calendar.  No turkey for this Christmas dinner, and we were all thrilled about that.




With Grandma and Grandpa

It was a busy week for Michellie with concerts, school, early mornings and homework.  She did enjoy time with her grandparents.  Apple pie from Grandma, and several coaching lessons for driving from Grandpa.

October 5th and PET Scans

Michellie's scans and appointments from September were clear.  There was no sign of cancer, not that we were expecting anything either.  Her stomach troubles ramped up a bit more into October, and PMS was a nightmare for several days.  Just ramp up the pain killers they tell us and use a heating pad.  Missing a few days of school is considered something of a norm for girls. 

The doctors decided to run a PET scan after the initial tests to determine that Michellie's thymus was returning to its normal size after chemo and that everything was as it should be.  So, another trip to Halifax.  This time David and Michellie headed out and they enjoyed an evening with The Krochko's.  Diane was excellent at filling Michellie up so she wouldn't be hungry for the wait time before the scan.  Everything was excellent and the scan was clean.  We can all let the 6th month marker pass with success!

For the trip home, there was a stop at the airport to pick up Grandma and Grandpa.  There was a hurricane passing through the area, but their plane landed without incident and only 30 minutes late.  The ride home was in a downpour, and just as they got to Judique to say they were getting close, the power went out at the house.  Michelle ran around to get candles lit in all the rooms, and warned everyone to take one more bathroom break before arrival - incase the power was out for a while.  This was almost a deja vu to the Wiltink visit in July!  Same temperature too - warm tropics!  Life is always eventful around here.  After a snack and the inital chatting, the power returned in time for bed, and everyone's trip to the lu.  Saved!

Birthday Celebrations and Visiting!

September came and went as a blur. 

Visiting with Grammy and Grampy was very nice, and Michellie was able to spend some fun times with them throughout their week at "the Old Manse."


Apple Picking so Dad can mow the lawn! 



Chelsie-Anne and Michellie had some great quality time together doing what friends do best - talking on facebook while sitting side by side.

And, then there was the birthday present!  Tickets to Reba in Halifax.

On September 26th, Chelsie-Anne, Michellie, Emma and Mom headed to Halifax for the evening for dinner and a show.  A special highlight was the warmup for Reba -

Victoria Banks was fabulous!  She has been writing for all the top singers out of Nashville, and now she is touring on her own.  The whole night was incredible.  Although Michellie was troubled by making a trip to Halifax and bringing up memories of chemo and such, she relaxed at the show and enjoyed the time singing to her favorite Reba tunes.  We definitely need to make more trips that are for enjoyment and not appointments!

Sweet 16 - Saturday, September 17th

Waltzing at West Mabou

Convinced that Chelsie-Anne needed to experience a Cape Breton Square Dance, we headed over to West Mabou Hall for the evening.  In the trunk and hidden was 8 dozen chocolate cupcakes prepared by Suzie.  When we walked in, there were many people there to celebrate with Michellie.  She knew something was up and became the gracious host as she accepted hugs and such from well wishers.  Kinnon and Betty Lou were at the helm for the music, and everyone got down to business dancing and having fun.  At 11:30 Kinnon took a quick break from full playing and broke into a waltz.  David and Michellie got to share the spotlight for a wonderful dance. 



Stepdancing Together - great partners always



Then, Kinnon began to play for Stepdancing.  It was over half an hour of incredible sharing as David, Michellie, Chelsie-Anne, Emma, Michelle, David R started the ball rolling.  Then, others joined is as well.  It was incredible.  We finished with cupcakes for everyone, and the singing of Happy Birthday.  Visitors could not believe that we would share such an important event with strangers, and the locals who frequent the dance enjoyed sharing the evening with us as well.  Overall, everyone had a great time.

Michellie and Dan



The zipper with Siobhon and Emma



Grammy and Grampy enjoyed the evening, and just after midnight they became pumpkins and headed for home.  Late nights are tough for Powell River visitors!



Grammy, Grampy and Jill watching the festivities