November comes to an end...almost

This has been a most mixed up month with sadness and joy and just the need to go on with life. I have been very busy at work and our preparations for going to Holland and Scotland are taking over the other hours in the day. I have now made a comprehensive todo list because i am afraid that I may forget something important in the next week or so - like buy the presents for my Sinterklaas draw, buy chocolate letters (done!), write a poem, secret Santa, have car serviced (done today), phone my children, phone the dentist, buy Christmas presents- those to be left behind, those to take...etc. etc. I could fill up this blog with my evergrowing, overwhelming, boring lists. I need to do emails too- in fact if you read this blog and you think I owe you an email, you are probably correct. Relax. Your name is on my list.

The death of my Mom has been central to my life in the last few weeks. I was fortunate to be able to be with her in the days before she went into a deep coma and I am very grateful that I made the decision to go then and not wait. She still recognised me and gave me this beautiful smile when she saw me. From then on we were just there with her, around her bed, talking to her and to each other, touching her and creating an atmosphere of family with her. When I said goodbye I felt sad but again grateful that I had been able to spend this time with her. The fact that Judith was having her last chemo was a good reason to be back home.


That went very well. The staff in the ward presented her with a certificate and of course a special surprise was planned at home. While we were still at the hospital one of the nurses brought a gentleman around to speak to Judith and ask her some questions about her experience. It seemed that he had a daughter around Judith's age and that he was starting chemo soon. She told him not to make drastic changes to his life, do as much as he was able especially keep up the exercise - this was the wisdom she was sprouting forth while lounging around on her bed where she had slept most of the day, looking washed out but chirpy...after all this was the last chemo! What a girl!
Now we are waiting for test and scan results and some information from Dr. Zibdawi as to where we go from here.

At work my job of Housing Support Worker is coming to and end and when we arrive back from Scotland I will go full time into my Supervisor position. I am particularly looking forward to that as I will no longer be working in the evenings on a regular basis.

Time to go to bed! Nearly the end of the day. Nearly the end of the year!
All my love.
Ingrid

Some Calm Returns

Over the last two weeks events seemed to follow one another at a frenetic pace without much regard to sensibilities, and the relative calm of the last four days is something I have welcomed. I will not follow the chronological sequence of events but the path that "feels" more appropriate.

Family Memorial Service

Last Wednesday night we had our own little McCann family memorial service for Mom. Stephen could not make it, being 300 km away in Kingston, ON, but all the rest of us gathered in our living room at home.

We sang 3 songs: I am the Bread of Life, the Prayer of St Francis and Here I Am Lord. The last two are hymns that Ingrid remembers were songs that were especially liked by her mom. (Half way through the first song, which we opened with, somebody knocked on our front door to sell us fixed-rate electricity)-:

We read two passages from Scripture - Romans 5:5-11 and John 6:37-40. The first one was especially significant for me. Around the time that Ingrid and I got married we spent a weekend, as we often did, with Ingrid's family in Silverton, Pretoria, Ingrid and I living in Johannesburg. On the Sunday evening I took Mom to church at "Die Kasteel", the gathering place for the student Catholic Society (CathSoc) of the University of Pretoria where Father Jan Haen (the very same) was student chaplain. It must have been an amazing sermon because I can still remember that that he preached on that passage from Romans 5. It just so happens that this was also the Scripture reading for the day that Mom died - November 2nd.

We also spent some time thanking God for memories and events from Mom's life, as well as a good period of time just sharing informally with each other about some of our memories of Oma. A recurring theme was her smile and laugh.

This little family gathering to remember Mom and pray for her and the family in Holland and Scotland was an important "closing" event for all of us.

Queen's University Science Formal - 2006

How bizarre and surreal to have this event situated the day after Judith's final chemo and just two days after Mom's death, and on the weekend before her cremation.

Over a year ago, Stephen successfully applied for the position of construction manager for the 2006 (actually, class of 2007) Sci Formal at Queen's. The Sci Formal is the major dinner-dance event of the year for science and engineering students at Queen's University. There is more than a year of preparation and planning that goes into it with a crescendo of activity in the last weeks and days. Mark had the honour of doing exactly the same thing four years ago when the theme was "Fairy Tales". For a totally comprehensive explanation follow the link to Kingston Literacy. (On page 7 is a photograph of the Tower Bridge structure from Mark's year.)


So, Saturday of last weekend, the 4th November, saw all of us except Sean taking the three-hour drive down to Kingston to go and admire the work done by Stephen and his engineering and science buddies.



Ingrid and I joined Stephen and his girlfriend, Heather, for the formal dinner attended by members of The Committee and their parents, followed by a reception hosted by the Dean of Engineering. It was a grand affair and, along with all the other parents, Ingrid and I felt proud - doubly so, because we now have two sons closely associated with this event.

Ah well, now Stephen can get back to his books and labs. Here is a link to the photo album I put together.

Judith - Quo vadis?

Judith had her final chemo last week on Friday, as said previously. Where to from here?

The week of the 20th November she has another Gallium scan (Read what that is using the link on the left.) Then we have to wait till the middle of December for a CT Scan and an appointment with the oncologist who will give us the results of these tests. Please God the tests will all be negative (clear.) If so, he will tell us at what frequency she will need follow-up tests. Please continue to pray for her.

The week before Christmas Ingrid, Judith and I are booked to fly off to spend Christmas with family in Holland and Hogmanay with Ingrid's brother and his family in Scotland.

Oma's cremation service

You can read Jeroen's account of the cremation service on Jeroen's blog.

Last Chemo - Finally

What a roller-coaster week! Mourning my mother-in-law's passing and celebrating completion of my daughter's chemo-therapy - all in the space of two days. I can really enter into the joy and happiness of this moment with Judith because I believe that, if Mom could have foreseen the course of events, she would be the first to celebrate with her grand-daughter. So, "Well Done, Judith!" We are extremely proud of the way you conducted yourself through this very difficult time.


This is the picture that greeted Judith when we got home from her chemo. Mark and Miriam had been busy decorating the lounge with streamers and balloons while Judith, Ingrid and I were at the hospital.

Oma An

An Schats-Schats, died this morning at about 06:00 Netherlands local time.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.

Update on Oma from Jeroen

Jeroen, my brother-in-law in Holland, has posted another update on his blog.

Ingrid flies in to Toronto 17:25 today.