Monday, November 22, 2010

Sorry for being away

Two weeks is too long for me to leave my blog in limbo - I am beginning to get worried messages from friends all over the globe, so am shaking myself into action to put your minds at rest and let you know what I have been up to lately.

We had a wonderful week of family get-together that came about by accident, with my older brother from England and his wife, two of his children and his daughter's boyfriend, my younger brother from Alabama, Miriam and her partner and partner's mother, and Eric. Normally three house guests at a time were all that we felt we could handle, but this was the little week that grew and grew, and it turned out to be one of the most satisfying weeks of the year - the first time in so many years that my two brothers and I were together at the same time. At our most crowded we were 12, but everyone pitched in with cooking and cleaning, and we celebrated American Thanksgiving two weeks early with turkey, dressing and all the fixings! I don't know if it was the good fellowship, but I felt very comfortable all week, and it was with some sadness that we said goodbye to all our visitors. Now the house is back to normal, and I am back to my normal up and down days.

My medication has been changed to a long-lasting narcotic painkiller that I only have to take twice daily, so am able to live now without one eye on the clock. I have completed two rounds of my new chemo Caelyx, and we are hoping that it will prove successful in fighting some of my symptoms, such as ascites. Time will tell, but in the meantime I am having weekly taps to belly and thorax that typically take out from 2-3 liters of liquid, and make me feel much easier. I've had my nephrostomy tubes replaced once, and today had a doppler ultra sound test on my left leg to check for possible deep blood clots.

Friends continue to shower me with cards, flowers, good wishes and sweet surprises, so I am feeling very blessed. Autumn is here for sure, and most leaves have fallen from the trees. Winter is around the corner, and it is looking more and more as if we will be spending Christmas here in Toronto - I just don't feel secure enough to absent myself from Toronto for long periods, and a long drive or airline flight is not realistic for me at this time.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have been very busy with vistors. I hope you had a good day today. Helen xx

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update, Anne! Your 57,348 Facebook friends and I are thinking of you! Take care xoxo Alec Ross

Susan Wales said...

How wonderful your brothers came to visit! We arrived in Roanoke for Thanksgiving tonight, and I thought of you! It's so good to be at home. Mother is doing great and has been cooking all week to prepare for the feast. Hope you will feel well enough to visit our hometown one day soon. Sending you lots of healing thoughts and prayers. I hope that your chemo will do all it's supposed to do and that you are feeling better. XOX Susan Huey Wales

Anonymous said...

Great to hear that you had a nice time with all of the visitors!

Hong

Anonymous said...

Un grand plaisir de retrouver le blog. Courage. Les Monnet

Unknown said...

coucou,Anne! c'est super d'avoir de tes nouvelles à nouveau!
Nous avons bien pensé à toi et au plaisir que ça a été de recevoir ta famille pour Thanksgiving.
Prends soin de toi, fais-toi chouchouter et reprends des forces!
LOVE XOXO
Tatane et djay-el

Isa P.B. said...

Hi Ann ! Great to hear from you :). Looking forward for more updates soon. Hope you are feeling well now. A big hug for you,
Isa
P.S. Isis and I had a little co-tuttees reunion here in Brazil, it was great!

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