Nick had his six-month follow-up appointment last week. After his diagnosis, we realized, in hindsight, that there’d been signs and symptoms that we didn’t recognize as being serious or connected. Now, it’s the opposite. Every symptom feels like it could be significant and all signs are added together until you have an anxiety-producing situation. Over the holidays, I’d noticed Nick’s face looked puffier than usual and he mentioned his stomach was unsettled a lot of the time. Once he got back to school, he woke up one morning with swollen glands and a sore throat. That was enough to concern us and we asked his hematologist if he could get a blood test done in Kingston, which he did. We got the call a few days later that the blood test looked good. Cautious relief. At his appointment, the doctor checked his lymph nodes and said everything felt normal…then the pause and the, “but…”. The blood test results showed that his bilirubin was slightly elevated which can be a sign of problems with the liver so they wanted to re-do the blood test and, depending on the results, schedule an ultrasound. More anxiety. We got the call today that his bilirubin was fine on the second blood test so no ultrasound required. I’ve never been an anxious person (I have 50% of the “don’t worry, be happy” mantra covered) and I generally don’t worry about things I have no control over, so that’s definitely been a huge asset in the past year and a half. Still, wouldn’t mind a little less roller coaster and a little more merry-go-round.
My last role at work was in strategic planning. It was the perfect job because I’m a strategic thinker and I like planning. The question then, is how did I end up spending the entire winter in Ottawa during my first year of retirement? Epic fail.
It’s been a tough month weather wise with seemingly continuous weather warnings about heavy snowfall and dangerously cold temperatures. As you can see from the pic above, it’s very pretty to look at…but not much fun to drive in or to clear off of driveways and cars. Or so I hear.
Today Ray convinced me, despite the minus 20-something temperatures, to leave the safety of my wood stove and kettle to brave the outdoors and go snowshoeing. It was good to finally get outside and we treated ourselves to a hot chocolate afterwards.
Otherwise, we’ve broken up this very looong January with a weekend at a friend’s cottage, a friend’s 60th birthday party, a date night at the movies (Bohemian Rhapsody), and lunches and coffees with friends. And, still doing my school reading sessions since snow and cold don’t close schools (though the kids get to stay indoors for recess if the temps drop below -25).
Oh, and happy birthday baby brother! Based on the hair, I believe this one was late 80s or early 90s. Do people even get perms any more?
Whew…a sigh of relief and gratitude re; Nick 😉 ….plus, good to be able to breathe normally again after a January with pneumonia….I agree, it stinks 😒
As usual an excellent read. Feeling very relieved for you all xxx
Thank goodness it’s been good news. Burrrrhhh that looks SO cold xx
That is a roller coaster ride that doesn’t sound like much fun. Good to hear you are having fun elsewhere, though! Ken and I also had a date night to see Bohemian Rhapsody. Both of us loved it. I rated it a three Kleenex tear-jerker. Happy belated birthday, David. Love the doo and the cat balancing act! Arliss