Two Weeks Home

Teresa’s been living at her own home for two weeks now. Marian visited from Ottawa for the first week to help with the transition, and had a great time. “Visiting with Mom is like a vacation!” Part of the relaxation involved watching DVDs: Saving Private Ryan and The Pursuit of Happyness, a nice balance of weighty and light fare.

Sophia's blanket is coming along nicely

Since Teresa went solo during the second week, it was somewhat different from the first week. It takes about 10 days for the effects of a chemo treatment to wear off, so Teresa was still a bit fatigued. Plus the house is distinctly quiet – when you’re alone anywhere, the silence can be deafening sometimes. Teresa is still not well enough to leave the house unassisted, so there’s an element of cabin fever as well. You can get a closed-in feeling unless you escape those four walls once in a while.

From the archives: Christine (left), Teresa, and Theodore

Still, Teresa likes being at home. Cooking her own food in her own environment is a simple pleasure. Sometimes a bit of loneliness creeps into the mix. The pastor of Mom’s church dropped by this week for a visit, and Teresa appreciated that he took his time. Pastor Dan suggested that maybe Teresa was feeling a little blue because she had been looking forward to returning home for so long, and the reality didn’t match expectations. That old Peggy Lee song comes to mind –
“Is That All There Is?”

Summer '07: Teresa's sister Corrie (left), Teresa, sister Mary, niece Miriam (front), sister Nelly (rear), daughter Susan (shades), sister-in-law Shirley

Teresa plans to stay at home for as long as possible. Once the radiation starts she may return to John and Susan’s for a week or two as necessary, but that would likely be short-term only. Next week Teresa expects to get firm dates for her course of radiation treatment, which will probably start up in late March. The radiation will involve four weeks of treatment (Monday to Friday each week) at Credit Valley Hospital.