Easter Celebrations

The Easter celebrations went well last weekend – an enjoyable time of feasting and getting together with family. On Saturday we travelled to North York to celebrate Nellie DeJong’s birthday (Teresa’s younger sister). Such a great time! After a lovely lunch featuring food from Mandarin, there was no need to consider supper later on.

Easter Sunday – a break in the action

Easter Sunday was the dinner at John and Susan’s place. With Teresa’s help, Susan created a marvellous ham and scalloped potato feast, followed by chocolate mousse and an entertaining DVD. Miss Potter is the story of children’s author Beatrix Potter; a beautiful and engaging film. Spoiler alert – there are horses and carriages, plus no stuff blows up, so it may be unsuitable for younger male audiences.

Miss Potter and her publisher examine a proof

The festivities continued on Monday at Teresa’s place, when son Robert came by with his wife Leslie, daughter Charlene, and toddler son Nicholas. This was a full turkey dinner, another very successful joint effort. For those of you who may not know, Teresa makes an absolutely fabulous Dutch apple cake. A warm slice of that topped with vanilla ice cream, and you’re experiencing dessert-y perfection.

Not exactly as illustrated, but pretty close - mmm!

This was the first full week of radiation treatments, and they came off without a hitch. Well, the transportation to the hospital was a bit of a hitch, but Susan helped to cover on Thursday. These are stressful times – radiation plus selling the house and moving is a potent combination. While the layout of the new apartment is quite attractive, the actual décor isn’t. Once Holland Christian Homes brings the place back up to regular move-in condition, Teresa’s son Theodore plans to visit from Vancouver Island and update the colour scheme. That should take place on the Victoria Day weekend in May.

The logistics of packing and moving are still under discussion. The major appliances stay with the house, but whatever goes into HCH needs to be packed and moved. Hire a moving company? Put a crew of family members together? We’re just not sure yet which way to handle it. In the meantime, Teresa really needs your prayers for strength to get through these difficult days. The enemy loves to kick us when we’re down, so let’s support her enthusiastically!

Selling the House

Discussion has become reality – this week the “For Sale” sign went up on Teresa’s front lawn. As of Friday, at least one offer has already come in. Not too surprising, really, since the house is clean, bright, and attractively laid out.

Teresa’s place – 28 Acadian Heights

Of course with the sign comes a significant amount of anxiety. “For Sale” means a major interruption of familiarity, security, and even happiness. After all, this was the last home that Teresa shared with her beloved husband. Moving away from here means leaving behind many cherished memories. Geert put in this shelf, trimmed that bush, built the backyard shed, and stored his tools under that stairwell. Everywhere Teresa looks she sees her late husband’s fingerprints. It’s not easy to think of leaving all those touchpoints behind.

And yet that’s life on earth. We arrive with nothing, we leave with nothing, and all the stuff we accumulate in between is temporary. The only thing of any real permanence and lasting value is our relationship with God and our loved ones. By that definition, Teresa is most definitely blessed. She has often experienced and greatly appreciated the support of her family, her friends, and her God. Once the house sells, she’ll need an extra measure of strength and support for the big move into Holland Christian Homes.

Radation machine

On the medical front, Teresa’s radiation treatment started this week Thursday. The treatments are short, not longer than half an hour. They continue for three weeks, once a day from Monday to Friday. Radiation treatments directly assault the targeted area of the affected breast.

Teresa also attended the Look Good Feel Better seminar at Credit Valley Hospital with Hennie Bultjes this past Tuesday. She reports that it was much like a regular makeup seminar, except that they paid special attention to methods of enhancing the eyes to reduce signs of fatigue.

This weekend offers a welcome dose of familiarity, enjoyment, and good food. Teresa plans to attend her sister Nelly’s birthday lunch in North York on Saturday, and then two Easter dinners: at John and Susan’s place on Sunday (ham), and at her own place on Monday (turkey). Attendees for Monday’s dinner are son Robert with his wife Leslie and their son Nicholas, plus John and Susan.

Forget all this stress for a while – let’s eat!

Onward, Ever Onward

On Wednesday, Teresa went to Credit Valley Hospital for her first Herceptin treatment. Like chemotherapy, Herceptin is administered intravenously. Unlike chemotherapy, the Herceptin session lasts only half an hour, and comes with zero side effects. The next Herceptin treatment takes place on April 2.

CT scanner

After mentioning that she was sometimes dizzy and lightheaded, technicians performed a CT scan on Teresa’s head. This only took a few minutes, and found nothing to be concerned about. CT stands for “computed tomography”, and is sometimes called a “CAT scan”. For more information about CT scans, click here .

Other than the hospital visit, Teresa had a quiet week with no outings and no visitors, although there were several phone calls. She even opened the patio doors one afternoon and caught some welcome sunshine! That’s how you tell that winter is on the wane in Southern Ontario – you can start working on your tan while there’s still two feet of snow on the ground.

25 cm fell in Brampton last weekend

At this point, Teresa has finished with chemo, has started Herceptin, and is going to start radiation next week. She sometimes feels impatient, and wonders “will this EVER be over?” Besides the cancer treatment, Teresa has to deal with the upcoming sale of her house and the move to Holland Christian Homes. Hunting up old legal papers, signing new ones, and planning a move are all very unsettling, especially since her husband is no longer there to help out. All this anxiety does result in the odd stomach ache.

Next week will be a full one: on Monday, Teresa’s son Robert is coming to get the paperwork in order for the house sale. Then on Tuesday Teresa is off to Credit Valley Hospital with Hennie Bultjes for a “Look Good, Feel Better” seminar on how cancer patients can use makeup to their advantage. The first radiation treatment is Thursday, and then it’s Easter weekend.

Teresa’s house should be on the market either shortly before or shortly after Easter, so if you know anybody who’s looking for a well-kept and attractive townhouse in south Brampton, spread the word.

A Good Week

Teresa had a good week, and marked a full three weeks living at her own home. Even though the chemo is finished, the fatigue remains a constant fact of life. Thank goodness for Teresa’s neighbor who does such a good job of shovelling out the driveway for her. That’s a much-appreciated service in this record snowfall winter!

Radiation treatment is scheduled to start on Thursday Mar. 20, and continue for three weeks following, Monday to Friday every week. Teresa went to Credit Valley Hospital for an orientation on Wednesday, and was very impressed.

Certainly looks like a nice facility

Two outings this week involved visits to Tim Horton’s. On Tuesday, Gayle Pilling picked Teresa up for a bible study at church and then lunch at Tim’s. Then on Wednesday, Susan and Mom took a stroll around Shopper’s World mall, and popped into Tim’s for coffee.

A sure sign that Spring's coming soon

It’s RRRoll up the Rim to Win time again, but Teresa finished out of the prize money this week. However, both of her coffees had encouraging messages to “please play again.”

So life continues. Teresa planned to visit Ottawa this weekend with Susan and John, but the trip was scrubbed because of the TWO big winter storms expected to blow through the Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal corridor. Certainly there are better ways to spend time than sitting on the highway in a heavy snowstorm waiting for a collision to clear up. By comparison, a cozy evening at home looks very attractive.

Ice Scene - Otterlo, by Hendrick Avercamp