November started off with a flurry of activity and a very long “to do” list. However, the first day of November is my sister Terry’s birthday, and after getting a bit of work done in the morning, I decided we should go for a nice lunch at Caldwell’s to celebrate. It was an incredibly sunny and warm day for the first of November and after lunch we went for a long walk into town.
I did have a few other things that needed to get done on my list that sunny Monday so I found myself back at my computer in the late afternoon. It was important to keep myself busy because at 6:30 pm, the nurse was to arrive to administer the new drug Zometa. I was actually looking forward to her visit because I was truly very excited to have the opportunity to receive this new drug that may help strengthen my bones.
It was a bit unusual to have the drug administered while sitting at my dining room table in Amherstburg as all of my former treatments took place when I was living in Toronto. However, the nurse was very friendly and the time went by quickly. And truth be told, I was very lucky with the drug, because I did not have any of the serious side effects that may happen. I soon found myself at my sister’s for a piece of her birthday cheesecake.
Tuesday morning brought an opportunity to speak at an introductory political science class about my former role as a parliamentarian. I was joined there by another former MP, the Hon Geoff Scott, and we had a lot of fun answering questions from the students. It is amazing how you forget about certain aspects of your previous work life until someone asks a question. It was great to reach back in my memory and pull out all of the details without too much effort. I say this, because I was warned that chemotherapy might have a long term effect on my memory. The good new is that I don’t believe that it actually has, although my family and friends may disagree with this at times!
Thinking about life in politics does cause me to truly reflect on my health situation today. I can’t help but wonder sometimes if all of those late nights working, flying, attending functions, or the lack of sleep and exercise some days contributed to my diagnosis of breast cancer. I know that it doesn’t make sense to go back in time but some days I just can’t help it. And no matter how many people tell me not to blame myself for getting cancer, there are some days when I just can’t help myself.
Unfortunately the fun and excitement of Tuesday morning was quickly replaced by a trip for work and a conference in Toronto about Administrative Justice and Tribunals. The conference was very interesting and informative, but definitely not as much fun as speaking to the political science class!
I had planned to take it easy when I returned from Toronto but as they say there is no rest for the wicked, and I found myself out with friends at an annual appreciation dinner on Friday before heading over to Sylvia’s for green tea! Somehow I got involved in a late night political discussion with her husband Peter and it was almost midnight before I returned home. So I decided that Saturday morning I wasn’t going to set my alarm, and I didn’t. However, I did get up and went to the gym to start off my day, but I think it was close to 11:00 by the time I was showered and ready for the rest of the day!
Have you ever had an assignment or project to do and you just can’t get started? That was what happened to me on Saturday. I had planned to spend the entire day working on my paper for my health law course and I just could not focus. In hindsight (which is truly wonderful) it was probably because the topic I had chosen was too close to home to write about. I am not exactly sure why I chose “Independent Health Facilities” but I did, and I found myself constantly drifting back to my own misread, now missing, mammogram. No matter how many times I tell myself that I can’t change the past, sometimes I do find myself back there.
Eventually I did settle in and spent the entire evening, yes, Saturday evening, working on the research for my paper. I also allowed myself to go to bed at a relatively early hour even though I knew I would get an additional hour of sleep with the time change. I did so because my body needs to be well rested for my upcoming reconstruction surgery which is now scheduled for the middle of November.
On Sunday morning I had no problem making it to church on time thanks to the extra hour of sleep, and after putting away my patio furniture and a few outside things from summer, I found myself back at the computer doing more research for my paper. I took a couple long breaks since it was Sunday and I went with Sylvia to watch her son’s hockey game in the afternoon> Later I went out for Terry’s birthday dinner with family.
I don’t think that I have mentioned that Katie, my niece, was home for a long weekend, some kind of study break for the University of Toronto, so on Monday we headed out to do some shopping. Part of it was Christmas shopping because I won’t be able to do much after my surgery for a few weeks, and part of it was to get a few items that I needed for my surgery. I not only got to spend the day with my niece, but I also got invited for a turkey pie dinner back at Terry and Joe’s. I tried to rationalize that walking through the mall was exercise, but I am not really sure that it counts.
Tuesday did involve a trip to the gym before dedicating the day to working on my research paper. In the evening I found some time to attend the community information meeting for Honeywell which is a company just down the road from my house. I have been participating in the community group they formed and thought the meeting was a great way to inform the citizens of Amherstburg about their business and answer questions. It also was a good way to keep me distracted from my upcoming surgery.
One thing is for certain, if I don’t finish this research paper it will be hanging over my head as I go into surgery and that will not be pleasant. So Wednesday was fully dedicated to writing the draft, and by the time my head hit the pillow the rough draft was complete.
On Thursday I went with my father to the Remembrance Day Ceremony in Amherstburg and then back to the legion for lunch. I truly wish that all Canadians would attend the ceremonies in their communities on November 11th. We wouldn’t have the freedom and democracy that we enjoy in this country if it wasn’t for the sacrifices of so many men and women on behalf of our country.
Somehow my paper was finished on Friday in time to send it by express post, and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief because I could now focus on packing and preparing for my upcoming surgery. Terry and Margo stopped by to watch this fiasco, and couldn’t believe that I was making cinnamon rolls at 10:30 at night, but I was quite anxious and had to burn off some nervous energy.
Next step, reconstruction!
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