The Road Set Before Me

Written by Alyssa. Today is THE DAY! Mom had her last chemotherapy treatment this morning!  I was able to go into the appointment with her and dad, which was a pretty cool experience after hearing about it for so long. The appointment itself was uneventful. Mom was pretty excited to have one of her favourite nurses give her her last shot.  Since this was Mom’s last chemo, she was able to ring the bell! Suzanne, Angela and 11 of the grandkids had come along and met us at the bell after Mom’s appointment to celebrate. What a great moment! Mom says she finds this part awkward to ring the bell while everyone looks on, and the nurses sing at her to “hit the road Dawn (Jack).” But we know that this isn’t just for her. Yes, the bell is a symbol of completion and celebration, but it’s also a symbol of hope to those patients still in the waiting room awaiting their treatments.  And ring it she did! Didn’t even struggle to ring it. I remember when she rang it after completing her 2...

Written by Dawn. Today was my SECOND LAST chemo treatment! It went well and the clinic was so quiet again that we were on our way home by my appointment time! I had a good chat with my nurses - they were not aware of Amyloidosis, and I love to educate wherever I can! I don't think that this "rare" disease is as rare as stats show. It's just that many aren't diagnosed on time, and they pass away before that can happen. Many are going from specialist to specialist and are treated for their symptoms, but no one knows the root cause.  Amyloidosis is fatal within 6-9 months if left untreated.  It's serious. And in this, we can see God's hand of protection over me back in 2021. I initially thought I had colon cancer as bowel issues began in late 2020 and I just didn't feel well. Other issues were mainly gastro, I was out of breath and couldn't exercise as was my routine, and I felt very full all the time. I was referred to my gastroenterologist in Marc...

Written by Alyssa. The countdown begins. Today was Mom’s LAST time getting both Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy together! She will have two more treatments of just chemotherapy and then she’ll be done with chemo! WOOOHOO! 🥳👏  After this, she will continue to go for Immunotherapy treatments once a month for two years.  Treatment went well again today. They were running behind at the chemo clinic, so Mom had to wait about an hour past her appointment time before she got her treatment. The nurse today was very kind, but the immunotherapy shot was pretty painful. Mom and Dad noticed the nurse who gave her her shot was wearing a cross on her shirt and it turned out that she was a Christian! Mom had a lovely time chatting with her while she was getting her treatment.  Mom was very tired after coming home from treatment today and was ready for a nap as soon as she got home!  Prayer Requests: Praise God for all He has done in bringing Mom through her treatments. Pray for pe...

Written by Dawn and Alyssa. Hello everyone! It's Dawn here. I was sharing with Alyssa various things about this past weekend and she suggested I write about them and she'd edit my thoughts for today’s post!  I had a bit of a break last week with no treatment and it was really good. I had some anxiety earlier in the week when I was having some side effects from the previous treatment and it seemed to me like I would never feel well enough to go away for the weekend as we had planned. Thankfully, the side effects lessened in time for us to leave on Friday.  We were planning to attend my niece Olivia's wedding, and I was nervous about being away from my comfort zone (Toronto area, so not too far away), but being away turned out to be a blessing. Not just the wedding (more on that later), but just being elsewhere with no appointments or treatments or recovery and to fill my mind with what was around me instead! We went there earlier and stayed at a hotel in Bradford, 20 minutes...

Written by Dawn and Alyssa. Andrew and I arrived a bit early at the Cancer Center yesterday. I went to register while Andrew parked the van and as I had just settled in a chair, I thought I heard my name called. My hearing isn't great right now (an ongoing, separate issue that has gone on for a while called Eustachian tube collapse) and my name often sounds like a rhyming name like John, Shaun, or Tom! But this time it was a call for me, 30 minutes before my scheduled appointment! I had to quickly message Andrew because I'd just told him where I was sitting in the waiting room!  The appointment went well, and my nurse was lovely and administered the shot slowly, which greatly reduced the burning feeling as the treatment went into my skin. I appreciate that! (and Andrew found us!) We have found that if we arrive earlier, I am often called earlier, especially if other patients are late and my treatment is comparatively quick. Yesterday, we were home by my appointment time!  I fe...

Written by Alyssa. Mom’s treatment today went well. Mom was pretty thrilled when she was called in for treatment and the nurse offered her a heated blanket! Who would turn that down in this weather? Today Mom received both the chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment again, which is always a little more difficult for her.  Yesterday, Mom had an appointment with Dr. A and he was very happy with her response to the treatment so far, which we were very happy to hear! He is upping Mom’s level of chemotherapy today back to the amount she was getting in early December before she got sick. He has also lowered her steroid dose again.  At the appointment with Dr. A yesterday, Mom and Dad requested that her treatments be moved to an earlier time in the week, and Dr. A agreed. We are still waiting for her new schedule to be confirmed, but it does sound like her appointments will likely be moved to Tuesdays. Her treatment next week is still scheduled for Friday.  Thank you to everyon...