Overdue Family Update

When you wait too long to provide an update it gets difficult to choose what to share. Here goes, in the order that things come to my disorganised mind:

Judith. Don't even ask.

Judith 

Completed her second year at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College.   She has one more academic year to do and then begin what is effectively her residency. Judith is still dating Mark "Dank" - they were going out already in high school. Her health is good and she is enjoying her role as aunty to Claire, Caitlyn and Jonty.

Judith, Mark Dank, Heather

Mark Dank

Supplementing his engineering skills with personal trainer qualifications Mark is more than the picture of health right now.

Caitlyn

Caitlyn Grace

Already two months old she is smiling and very engaging - a real cutie pie. She's been camping but still too small for a life jacket so no boating. Caitlyn looks so much like Geoff's sister.

Claire Abigail
Couldn't wait for Caitlyn to be born, Claire is proving to be a wonderful big sister. Also a big cutie pie, Claire's big news is that she has just turned two years old. A serious talker and singer who commands a captive audience in Oma and Grampa Mac with her already quite large repertoire of songs. She has just started at a new daycare centre within walking distance of home.

Claire and Jonty

Jonathan Tiago

Five months younger than Claire, Jonty is always a very busy little man with a whole world to explore every day. A happy, active boy, his ball skills would make his cricketing namesake proud. There is some room for improvement with catching but his throwing is truly awesome.

Ingrid

a.k.a Moed or Oma, she is totally besotted with Caitlyn, Jonty and Claire. Ingrid has also been a great source of strength to me through my recent surgery and recuperation. She joined Weight Watchers at the beginning of the year and has averaged a loss of a pound a week for the last twenty-five weeks. Ingrid is now looking for new clothes.

Miriam

On a year's maternity leave and enjoying motherhood, Miriam is taking delight in helping Claire and Caitlyn grow into little people with their own personalities.

Geoff and Claire

Geoff

Like Miriam, Geoff is taking huge delight in spending time with his two little girls, singing and playing with them, talking to them and making them laugh.

Caitlyn engaging Uncle Sean

Sean
Still working hard in the restaurant industry and in the throes of relocating where he stays, Sean totally enjoys his role as Uncle Sean. He took a rare weekend off to go camping with everyone a couple of weeks ago.

Luisa
Just recently returned to work after a year of maternity leave with Jonty, Luisa is as fit as a fiddle playing ultimate Frisbee every week. She is also putting in her share of effort with "the renovations".

Luisa, Mark, Jonty

Mark

"The renovations" are the main thing consuming Mark's energy at the moment. He and Luisa pulled down a shed and a small annex and are building an extension to their home. He still hopes that one day the Lions will make a Super 15 comeback.

Claire, Uncle Stephen, Jonty

Stephen

When his fiancée was assigned the residency of her first choice in Peterborough Stephen decided to resign from his job in Mississauga and move to Peterborough as well. He was fortunate to find an engineering job there without too much difficulty. Right now his emotional energy is focused on his coming marriage to...

Heather

Heather

Doctor McLaughlin is juggling the demands of her new residency program with the itsy bitsy details of her and Stephen's wedding in about four weeks time. I look forward to having Heather as my daughter in law.

The Thing is gone

This is just a quick update to let you know that the crisis is not only past, but that I am actually feeling better and more positive than I was a week ago before the crisis. Thanks to those of you who expressed your concern and support. It was and is greatly appreciated.

The Thing is back

I am not at all pleased to tell you that the Thing is back. The "Thing". The other c-word. Not the cancer - relax and thank Goodness. The Thing; the CATHETER !! AARGH!

I had been doing extremely well with the incontinence story. Too well as it happens. Over the last few days I had been experiencing increasing difficulty voiding - that means peeing for you non-medical types. This came to a head, you could say, yesterday and I went off to the emergency room. I will spare you the details, but the short of it was that the hospital called in the surgeon and I have come back home condemned to wearing the Thing for thirty-six hours. After that we'll just have to see how it goes.

Jonty, Bok Supporter

Mark sent me this photo of Jonty today by email. I think it was taken Saturday. We all got together to (1) watch SA beat England after they gave us a big scare in the first 20 minutes of the second half and (2) to log and bale a tree that toppled over in our back yard the previous week.

Manitoba Maple

Jonty, Claire, Ingrid

Jonty and Claire had a great time entertaining each other as usual. (Geoff in the background)

Caitlyn

Caitlyn spent a lot of time getting to know Aunty Judith.

Post-surgery: Sobering but good news

On Thursday I had a follow-up appointment with the urologist who did
the surgery on my prostate to hear the pathologist's report. The
excellent news was that there was no evidence of cancer beyond the
prostate which had been removed; the margins and lymph nodes were all
clear. This means that I do not need any further treatment as a result
of the prostate cancer. In particular, I do not need any follow-up
radiation or chemo. I am so grateful.

The sobering news was that the nature of the cancer found in both
lobes of the prostate was of the more aggressive type that we thought,
from the biopsy, was only in one lobe, and that it had spread to the
outer "peel" of the prostate, getting ready, as it were, to leap into
metastasis. You could say that I had the surgery in the nick of time.

With 20/20 hindsight we now know that we made the right decision to
have a prostatectomy and to have it sooner rather than later. After
Ingrid and I left the doctor's rooms we went to celebrate together at a local
Indian restaurant that we love. He makes the most delicious Lamb
Korma.

Thank you to all my family and friends, and colleagues, for your
wonderful support. I have never felt alone throughout this experience.
I also have a lot of respect and appreciation for my urologist, Dr
Morrie Liquornik. I am aware of the privilege that is mine for living
in a First World country like Canada with such a good health-care
system.