10 years ago today, I had surgery for stage IV thyroid cancer. Every year I reflect on the fact that I'm still here and think what you want but don't say anything bad about universal health care. My surgery happened within 3 or 4 weeks of diagnosis, so did my second surgery and my radiation treatments, I've had CT scans, Ultrasounds, Xrays, PET scans, full body scans, MRI's. I take daily doses of Thyroxin, appointments every 6 months with oncologists at Princess Margaret Hospital. The only expense to me has been the dispensing fees from the pharmacist and the parking lot tickets at PMH.
I never thought I would still be here 10 years later. But I am, and I feel especially grateful on January 8th every year.
Country Living
Living in the sticks has definite advantages over city living, no doubt. i got to test one of them today.
Note to self: "don't walk out on an icy driveway to greet the fuel oil delivery in your leather slippers". you will fall down. Second note to self: "you can"t break your fall with your hand, so don't try". Typing this with one hand because my right one is in a temporary cast. Nicely broken wrist.
What's amazing to a city dweller was the hospital routine. First of all, I parked 10' from the emerg. door. When I went in, I asked if I could park there. They looked at me like I was dumb. "Like, yeah...". The triage nurse saw me 5 minutes later. It would have been faster except the last patient tried to walk out with the BP cuff still attached and she had to fix it. The doc saw me 5 minutes later. "Does it hurt here?" Those guys are all the same! 5 minutes later, Xray, 10 minutes later I walked out the door in a cast. Total time from start to finish: under half an hour. Take that, you city types.
PS they wouldn't let me have the really neat Xray pictures to post here. Booo.
It's amazing how much you take for granted. You try opening a can of soup with one hand. Hope I can hold a camera next week at the Pond Hockey Championships!
Some Pix
Since it's hard to type, I'll keep this short. Here are some pix.
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My house after the big snowfall and before the big thaw. Now my driveway is an undulating sheet of ice! |
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Last week's DSLR class photo. Katherine & Tracy & Paul mugging for the camera. |
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Topaz Simplify is my new favourite plug-in. Get it here. (Buy the complete collection or click "View Products" for single apps) |
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I've posted this image elsewhere and it's garnering considerable acclaim. Available as a large format print. |
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