The Countdown

I can't believe it has been a week since I last blogged. I've been extremely busy with life and trying hard not to think too much about the upcoming surgery.

Last Tuesday I made a flying trip to the Valley, where Wally's family went to the Exhibition with me. It was hot and dusty, but a great day. We toured the barns, watched some of the classes and ate the best french fries in the world. The picture is of baby chicks from the livestock display at the fairgrounds.

On Wednesday my dear friends Dorothy and Jim were in the city and I met with them for a couple of hours in the afternoon. It was wonderful to visit with them. Dorothy and I talked about people we know and Jim and I discussed a couple of books we have both read. I hope I'll see my coffee buddies again, sooner rather than later.

Wednesday night we dropped the dogs off at Mom's and had a chance to visit Aunt Pat and Aunt Lori, who is home from out west with Uncle Bob for a few weeks. We left bright and early on Thursday and were in Toronto and settled in our hotel early in the afternoon. We watched Boston beat the Jays, and saw them creamed by LA on Saturday as well. The Sound of Music was wonderful and we also enjoyed just wandering around the city and exploring. We switched flights and left the city late Saturday night instead of Sunday morning because Hurricane Bill was blowing into town and we were afraid we'd be stuck if the Halifax airport was closed. We arrived home in the wee hours of the morning, dog-tired but having beaten Bill by several hours.

Once the storm died down I drove to Mom's to retrieve the dogs and chatted with Dad when he called. He would like to be here this week when I have surgery, but isn't able to get away from work. I can't say I ever expected him to make the trip from the Yukon for a routine surgery. Today I returned to the city and this evening met Kelly, Andrea and Tanya for a movie to celebrate Kelly's birthday. We saw the Time Traveller's Wife. Kelly has the book and is planning on lending it to me.

My surgery is Thursday. I have to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. for prep and I'm scheduled for surgery at 7:30 a.m. -- the first one of the day. The surgery is three to three-and-a-half hours long and then I'm in recovery for a couple of hours. The doctor will remove both my right and the affected left breast, as well as many of the lymph nodes in my left armpit. Rob's sisters, Debbie and Diane, are arriving Wednesday evening and following us into the hospital Thursday morning. Debbie emailed Rob tonight to say they will stay until I'm out of surgery and settled in my room at the hospital. They both have to work on Friday. I'm glad someone will be with Rob in the waiting room; it may help the time pass more quickly.

Dorothy and Jim brought me a card, and today's mail included a card from Sandye who included a packet of recipe cards from the Pampered Chef. The recipes are part of a fundraiser "Whip Breast Cancer" where a dollar from the sale of each package goes towards research. Pretty cool. I can't wait to try some of the recipes, Sandye.

I posted a comment tonight where I was told I was someone's hero, and that I've probably been a mentor to others throughout this journey. I hope this is true and that someone can benefit from my experience. From the beginning I have been surprised by the number of people I've touched and how many of them have reached out to me. Most recently my neighbour's father stopped me as I was trying to retrieve my dogs from their yard. His sister had a biopsy done to her breast and he wondered if he could talk to me about my experience and ask me some questions. I said of course and we chatted for awhile. He called me a day later to say the test results indicated cancer and his sister will be having surgery too. I hope and pray she'll do fine, just as people have been hoping and praying I'll do fine.

I don't know if I'll blog again before my surgery; but I'll ask Rob to make a post to let everyone know how surgery went when he gets home Thursday.