Dr.Ken Has Cancer? (Yup, Appendiceal Carcinoma)

      Apologies, I'm not sure how, but I failed to publish this particular  blog post. I wrote it the week following Easter, which means it is dreadfully out of date, but, hey, here's proof that I haven't completely forgotten about blogging! 😁 Enjoying Easter desert with both sets of parents. We are so grateful for their prayers! Yes, you read that correctly, Ken is living with Stage IV cancer. I mean, technically we are all dying a little each day as we count down the moments to our last days on earth, but you can and should live with Stage IV cancer.  It's been an interesting exercise in purposeful living. When a family friend was diagnosed with brain cancer many years ago, the Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying" was a hit, and while the overall message is good, it's really not that simple. First, we would run out of money very, very quickly! 🤑 Second, it's exhausting. Seriously! The pressure of living every minute to it's fullest, of s...

  Fluffers was a bit confused as to why I was up before the sun,  as that  hasn't been a thing for almost a year. She thought it was great... me,  not so much.  8:00 am appointments should be reserved  for  people  who live within 5 minutes of The Cross! "Whiplash is a neck injury caused by a sudden, forceful back-and-forth movement of the head..." Replace the word "head" with "mind," and you will understand what we've experienced in the past 48 hours.🤕 Ken and I had mentally prepared ourselves for a renewed battle, so when our oncologist seemed less than concerned about the spots on Ken's scan, we were more than a little taken aback. Apparently, they're too small to do anything about, and there is a chance that they're not actually a recurrence, but scar tissue...or something.🤷🏼‍♀️  So for now, we're in a holding pattern, with another scan booked in May. Could the spots be cancer? Sure. Could they have grown or multiplied by the...

Stefan's workplace has an annual Gingerbread Decorating  Contest using the kits they distribute. Until this past year, the prize was simply bragging rights. However, with 2 Oilers tickets and  $100 spending money on the line, this year, Stefan enlisted his mother to help. We knocked it out of the park! (See photos at the bottom of the blog.) And in a move that  made him my favourite child until one of his siblings did something  equally amazing 😁 , he gave the tickets to his parents.  (Of course,  he kept the spending money. 🤑 ) I would apologize for the lack of communication, except that I'm not sorry. ☺️ We've simply been too busy living life to take the time to blog. This is a good thing! Ken has been feeling pretty good with no physical symptoms other than fatigue. He still requires a 2+ hour nap every morning, or he starts to slur his words by 11:00am. This is highly entertaining to everyone but him. 😆 We purchased a house in Calgary two years ago, ...

  We finally left the house and didn't go to a medical appointment! We bummeled around the Premium Outlet Mall for a few hours.  (It's less busy than most shopping malls. 🙂) Ken's CT scan results are finally back, and they are clear! 🎉 Ken is NED, which means No Evidence of Disease. (They don't use the words "cured" or "in remission" anymore.) So, as of right now, Ken does not have cancer. Confusing, right?  "Um, Heather, you told us he has Stage 4 cancer, and there's no 5, so what's up ?" Well, I think there should be a Stage 5! With all the advances in cancer treatments over the past decade, Stage 4 no longer means imminent death, as it once did; it just means that the cancer has spread to multiple places. In Ken's case, the cancer spread from his appendix to his bladder, liver, omentum, large intestine, umbilicus, peritoneum, etc, etc. Yeah, it pretty much blew up in his gut. (Think of doing glittery crafts with small child...

Life has been weird. 🙃 Not in a bad way, it's just much different than the previous 30+ years Ken and I have spent together. I'm not complaining; I'm soaking it all in. 🥰 But it's still weird. 🤷🏼‍♀️                                                 Ken and I enjoyed a few days of holiday...in Calgary. 😊 It's a far cry from our former globe-trotting ways, but in no way less precious. Here we're enjoying the amazing views at The Saskatoon Farm, south of the city.  We've always joked that Ken would probably drop dead at work in the middle of performing a neurological exam at the age of 92. No one could see him retiring before he absolutely had to; he loves being a neurologist! But apparently, God had different plans. For now. And honestly, this time has been a gift. Sitting in the sunroom listening to Lectio 365 together every morning, praying together throughout ...

  What do you mean, unexpected? You've been promising us an update for months, girl! Uh-huh, I know, I know, sorry — life got in the way, as it so often does.  However, I've given myself permission to eat chocolate while blogging, so hopefully I'll be posting with a bit more regularity.  I had no idea just how cherished a gift my prize of a $100 gift card each month from Jacek Chocolate would be. It's almost like God knew I'd need more really, really good chocolate than usual! What I mean by unexpected is that the contents of this blog may come as a surprise to most of you. I promised you authenticity, and I meant it! However, first, let's bring you up to speed. 🏎️ At the end of June, I posted about Ken's journey thus far, which has been anything but easy. I then posted a personal update on my blog (which can be found  here ) in mid-August. Unfortunately, despite switching chemo protocols from CAPOX to FOLFOX, Ken continues to struggle with debilitating sid...