I've marked my calendar with hope to keeping my workload as light as I can.
Depending on how you are at any time while here in YYC,
sharing some time during a visit will be a true pleasure and all yours to choose if/when you are good for it.
PM sent ...
 
I am only coming to realize how sleep deprived I was becoming over the past few weeks. After my walk and getting my son ip and to school I think this is the first time I've been awake for more than 10 minutes all day. This is showing me both the capacity of the body to carry on under duress but also how when it reaches the breaking point like the availability of meds for the pain and to sleep it willingly surrenders to sleep.

Currently chair dancing to the song "Misery". I love the humor in Kevin Smith movies and would have to admit that I just find Jay and Silent Bob so funny!

+3 currently, so where are my shorts??
 
Yeah.... Gonna be good weekend weather Garry.... Snow for Monday but now what mother nature brings, she can also damn well take away herself.... I can't see my lessee getting seed on the 1/4 until near mid May now, and I probably won't let the cows come to the pasture until mid June.... since I can't even see the pasture yet...lol.... Little late this year but not the first or the worst... By the time you come to Calgary, the roads should be great.... :thumbs:
 
Yeah.... Gonna be good weekend weather Garry.... Snow for Monday but now what mother nature brings, she can also damn well take away herself.... I can't see my lessee getting seed on the 1/4 until near mid May now, and I probably won't let the cows come to the pasture until mid June.... since I can't even see the pasture yet...lol.... Little late this year but not the first or the worst... By the time you come to Calgary, the roads should be great.... :thumbs:

Roads cleared again yesterday and highs of +6 today. Then 10 cm of snow on Monday here too! Glad you rented your land??!! Go cash your rent cheque and enjoy coffee on the deck.

I've already had calls for sales guys with short season canola but I'm sticking with my game plan at the moment.

The big difference between this year and when it happened last year - no unharvested crop!

8 days to roll, 10 days to the operation............nothing can stop me now!
 
Snow all day. Can't say I care. Just thinking to myself one week from now it starts!

My poor gf now tells me that my arm is starting to smell. I mean there is a lot of delaying skin for sure but i shower daily and wash the arm as well as gently cleaning away the dead skin. Sigh.

Final, I hope, IL2 treatment in Edmonton on Wednesday. I wonder, if we are stopping the original two treatments if my thyroid gland will start to do its job again?

Unsure yet if the Z06 comes to Calgary or not. Steve said they've had a real influx of jobs so that even if the car comes down it may not be until the May long weekend before they can start the work. Still the drive down would be enjoyable and the car would at least be there...............I have to think about that more.

But so glad I swallowed my pride and asked for med upgrades. Sleeping 4 to 5 hours a night now and also during the day - catching up on so much lost sleep now!

Cheers,

Garry
 
We are getting the snow after you get it Garry. Your comment of snow made me just straight to the weather network to see what was going on! Not as much here forecasted, then looking down the list of days......13 Friday....then 17 on Saturday!!!!.........Sunday 12.... and so forth. All double digit highs from then on!!! Wooooooo! So glad to see Spring coming.

Tough choice taking the Z early to Davenport. Like you say, at least it will be there, but if the weather is nice and you want to drive it.....well, you have the convertible....

Glad the surgery won't be affecting the Spring seeding! Must be a relief.
 
Hey Riley,

Got the confirmation call this afternoon. Surgery on the 24th. Be there at 5:30, fasting, get prepped for surgery at 8 am and then rest hopefully with no complications for a bunch of days. Get final IL2 treatment in Edmonton on Wednesday but stop imiquimod lotion immediately.

Oddest sensation, while I haven't had the surgery/chemo yet but I feel like a winner just for having been considered as eligible for the treatment. If it works or not is out of my hands but at least I get to have it. Much better than having been turned down. I don't take rejection well let me tell ya!

I'd like to take the car with me. I need to hope for some decent weather to just do a few short drives beforehand too. I won't probably have much time to use it during seeding anyway and out of sight, out of mind, right? Plus I may not be mobile enough to undergo any high gee maneuvers anyway. If I can' I think take the car, leave with with Steve and then fly back to get it and drive it home................

Funny but as much as I'd rather be seeding or someone was seeding (gf, cousin), I'm also glad that I won't be devoting any brain time to thinking about it - I couldn't be seeding at the time I'm having surgery even if I wanted to be seeding. Makes it easy.

Wow, a week from now I may be on the road to regaining control of my life.

I like it most for what it gives me. That very simple and so desired feeling that I have hope in my life for a positive treatment outcome........................

Onward-ho!

Cheers,

Garry
 
That's weird Garry. I know if you're going to have surgery that they don't want you to eat anything, but they are isolating your arm, aren't they? So I would think if you eat anything, you can use your right arm but don't use your left and you should be fine. :D

You have some good logic about leaving your car with Steve. As you'll be seeding, the car would be sitting anyway if it was at home. :D

Continued thoughts and prayer will be with you over the week to come!
 
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Well, the countdown begins.

I left for Edmonton on Tuesday and the roads were pretty bad. 60-70 km/hr up until Mayerthorpe pretty well but then totally fine after that.

Did my usual shopping stops. Wednesday morning I get a call and both dr's from Edmonton want to have a look see first before giving me the what had been scheduled IL2 injection. No biggie. So I headed in after lunch and we gave the arm coverings a good soaking (thanks Heidi!) before removing them. If I don't do this there tends to be a lot more scab pulling and bleeding.

I met one of the dr's while I was in the waiting area (before soaking) as he was coming back from lunch and he stopped and we talked for a few minutes.

After the soaking the doctors came in looked and we talked. They were, generally, both very pleased with how things looked. Yep, dead tumors, dying tumors but a few new ones too. The new ones have not been getting IL2 or imiquimod (the wart lotion) so no surprise they are looking nice and healthy. Oddly the conversation took an unexpected twist on two fronts. They were unsure if there was any point pre surgery in giving me another IL2. But they also discussed if the surgery should even go ahead given how things are looking with the results of the current treatment.

I had not been expecting this. They are wondering if it is worth it given the 35% chance of complete cure, the potential side effects of the surgery (blood clots, "compartment syndrome" etc.) and that I'll be out of the loop for 10 days ish.

While I agree with this and yes there are risks I also want to go through it with the hope that it will attack those non-surface tumors as well as the surface ones.

Plus if I don't do it now and the cancer spreads I can't do it later. So the window of opportunity is open now and I think that it would be a mistake not to go for it.

So surgery proceeds.

I'm going to move the Z06 at this time too. They're booked for a while but they will at least have it there if some few hours do open up here and there they might be able to pick away at it. Steve has been really supportive and patient and with luck the car will be in his hands Monday. I might not be there in time but he's given me instructions on how to drop the car off - a nice system for customers really. I'm excited to see what they might be able to pull from the LS7 yet for me.

Sadly my gf is going to stay here and mind the homefires. I don't want her to miss work for this, so to speak, as opposed to using her time off to help during seeding (more important) as much as I'd like her company her seeding is a lot more concrete a contribution to my mental health than having her at the hospital. Mom is going with me instead, her first road trip in her Cadillac CTS. Sadly the V6 and not the LS7 version but I'm sure it will do.

And that is pretty much bringing you all up to date now.

Cheers,

Garry
 
Garry, I hope Davenport in YYC can take care of your current plans & needs.
Should you need "eyes" to go visit your Corvette or anything else similar,
do not hesitate to ask as a few of us YYC'ers can hopefully help you out in any small or large way.
"We" are planning to visit with you while you are here next week ...
following your word that you are good for seeing us :)
 
Same thoughts as you with the surgery Garry. What about the tumors that aren't visible? If not for the surgery, would they do wart lotion injections? So, it seems like the surgery is something that should be done. Pulling for you Garry! And also looking forward to what Davenport can do with your LS7!
 
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Safe Driving toward YYC tomorrow Garry ...
looking forward to meeting you in Airdrie
(@ Yankee Valley Blvd CO-OP Gas Bar)
... for a "GM Cruise" to Davenport ... :thumbs:

I'll wear my clean shirt in case we photo-op ;)
 
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Well, road trip day!

Checked the tire pressure (All low at 23, not 30) but low profile tires seem to be more sensitive to losing pressure I've found. Methanol tank filled (God I hope I can use it a few times on the trip!) and new fuel pump wiring harness on hand.

Mentally I'm in as good a place as I could be.

Having all your support has helped me like you can't believe. PM's, texts, phone calls (especially when I don't reply - SORRY!) have done me so much good. I am often reminded of Matthew 25:40 "'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me". The kindness that you have all extended to a stranger facing a tough moment in life can only bring you great rewards. To have got to know so many great individuals though the shared love of a car proves than in life sometimes we really do get lucky. This group has made me feel part of family, something I am so grateful for.

Today, meeting Jeff and Rob in Tomahawk who will convoy with me to Airdrie, then meeting Spence in Airdrie and on to Davenport, possibly while they are still open. I'd be nice to take a look inside rather than just dropping the car off and not seeing again for a few weeks. Hopefully Spence and Mike on Thursday once I'm more mobile too!

Nervous? Maybe. This will be the second longest road trip for the car since I bought it. I haven't taken it to Edmonton even since it came back from Ontario, all the other trips were regional. Not that I don't trust the car but having had a blown rear tire and failed fuel pump just 20 miles from home was one thing, around Red Deer would be a different situation.

Just charging camera batteries, I'd better get some good memories of the drive at least!

I'm going to take my laptop with me so it might be a few days before I post anything after surgery, depending on how I feel etc. but I'll try to get work out anyway..................

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

Cheers,

Garry
 
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