Surgeon, coins, elections, helicopters... just a typical October

In early October, Eric and Wendy went to the specialist surgeon (a graduate of the program in which Eric teaches!). He explained what he saw in the image and later showed us the CT so we could take a look at the enemy.  

Essentially, he needed several biopsies (an absolutely horrible procedure!!!!) and an ultrasound of the thyroid. It appears that the mass (nodule/goiter/tumour.... so many names) fills one half of the thyroid, but the main functions of the thyroid seem normal. The only choices really were to take out half the thyroid (several advantages over the long term with this option), the whole thing (not a great option, but might be needed), or the whole thing plus all lymph nodes in the neck (the worst case scenario).  The surgery is now booked for October 28th and Eric is eagerly awaiting that day. 

The fall has been moving quickly and the temperatures are getting lower. Our crabapple tree has been very productive, and Maddy has been vocal about all the friends who come to stand on her lawn to eat the crabapples. 

Seeing several deer at a time is normal in the evening - they are not afraid of much

Adam finally got his commission in the Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC) from the Canadian Armed Forces. He is now an officer cadet. He was happy to get it at the same ceremony as his favourite Prof at the college (Mike). He also received a CADPAT badge and was coined (received a special coin from the CIC). Unfortunately, we could not drive up to attend the event (Eric will likely be many months before getting his licence back). A few photos were sent our way after the event. 

Adam received his commission Oct 7 to become an Officer Cadet

CADPAT  badge for the squadron he works with

CIC coin

CIC coin

Adam recently threw his hat into the ring up at Canadore to be one of the candidates for the position of student representative for the Aviation campus.  Wendy helped to design some infographic posters and suggested that he give away candy at a drop in session that he planned. The election happened this week, and he won!!! By two whole votes! The candy may have done the trick! Now he has additional responsibilities at the college, and he seems to be fully up to the task. He needed to send his bio and a photo to the main campus (as the new rep), so here is one of the pictures from the photoshoot that he and a friend did a few days ago. 

Adam at Canadore Aviation campus

Will try to post again soon, likely after the surgery.

The blur they called September

We thought August was busy, and it seemed that even more stuff piled on in September.  Both Adam and Parker went back to school (Adam to finish the Aviation Maintenance program at Canadore College, and Parker to begin the Paralegal program at Mohawk College).

We had planned to have our back yard ripped up and a new patio get installed, and that is what happened for most of the month of September.  Essentially, we had our 1964 original pink and green 2x2 patio stones removed and a new patio designed that would allow us access to the the new shed (which Adam finished last August) and be able to get to the front yard. We decided on 'exposed aggregate' rather than plain concrete, and added a permanent patio roof similar to what we had originally but needed to remove for our major upstairs renovation.

Here is what it looked like before the contractors started:

Faded pink and green... so lovely! We will miss the weeds.

Initially put in place to handle a stroller (Adam), but it never worked well. 

Used to have an awning above the patio door - we missed it more than we thought.

It has looked unfinished like this for over 20 years!

A few during photos:

Stones were the first to go!

A curving edge was our choice

Sono tubes for the awning/patio roof

The final finished back yard:

Awning will give shade and shelter all year round

Looks much more finished

Full width step for Maddy (and Eric)

Wie walkway to the driveway, through the gate

Translucent awning makes the back room very bright

A great place to sit/stand when it is raining and the dog is out on the grass

The final product!

In all of this construction mess, Ying and Fanfan got everything packed up and prepared to move back home to China after a whole year in our family.  We also had someone new move in!  Sally, a Ph.D. student at McMaster, moved in to our small guest room and planned to move to the larger guest room when Ying and Fanfan returned home.

We had some visits with the "Canadian cousins" (our great nieces and great nephew) so everyone could say their goodbye's.

Fanfan, Brynn, Elyse, and Laura

On the evening that they left for China, Wendy read a new book to Fanfan (which she brought home to read to her sister) and took a few pictures.

The last 'book time' in Canada for Fanfan

There were hugs and tears all around

We will miss our Chinese family.

We have had a few video calls between us and Ying and Fanfan, and it seems like things are settling back into a routine for them. Maddy was a bit sad after they left, and Wendy noticed how quiet it was - so much so, that we had to replace our loudly ticking wall clocks that we had not previously noticed were so loud.

Eric continued to wait for medical appointments and also still had his sore neck that appeared at the end of July. He also started noticing lumps on his neck that should not be there.  Our family doctor made many referrals, and the internal medicine clinic at McMaster was the winner of that race. The specialist decided they needed to get an urgent CT image of Eric's neck and arranged it within an hour (that is very unusual!). Even before the radiologist had read the image and reported the results, the specialist called Eric at home as urged him to go to the ER at the Hamilton General Hospital. Not knowing what it was we were dealing with, off we went. 

Here we go again!

Essentially, they found a very large tumour/mass (roughly 8cm x 6cm x 5cm) in his left thyroid that was pushing his trachea (windpipe) off to the opposite side of the neck. They were worried about his airway being blocked, but eventually settled on it not being quite so urgent. They made some calls and got connected to a surgeon who would see him a few days later at St. Joseph's hospital.  Eric continued to deal with the significant and relentless pain from the mass as best he could, and monitored for any drastic changes.

Somehow, this puts the August 'losing the licence nightmare' into a different light.... priorities completely changed once faced with this new problem.

August ended up being more eventful than planned!

Sorry for the blog going quiet for such a long time. Things kind of got out of control as August moved along. We had just finished our fantastic trip out to Banff and were embarking on the final planned trip of the summer - a week at Sauble Beach in a rented cottage.

First time mini-golfer!

We didn't always eat what we should eat on this trip...

Wendy set up a puzzle station in the cottage

Wendy, Carolyn, and Bill finishing a challenging puzzle

Around the camp fire... where it all went down hill

The moment the relaxation started to set in (i.e. the day after Ying, Fanfan, Wendy, and I had arrived), our plans changed.  Big time. Eric had a sudden unexpected medical event (neuroelectrical) that had him head to the hospital in an ambulance, get an urgent CT scan, and lose his driver's licence. We were very lucky that our friends Carolyn and Bill were there, as the chaos associated with essentially losing our only driver was a bit overwhelming.

Eric, at it again...

We stuck it out at the cottage for the whole week and had Adam come down from North Bay to be one of the drivers. Carolyn thankfully was able to stay and be our other driver (the car was too full to fit anyone other than the original 4 of us!).

One of our side trips was to pick up some fresh corn, and wouldn't you know it - we saw 3 bear running across the road. We had just had our bear experiences in Alberta and said that bears were not likely going to be around the cottage area.

The weather turned out to be cool and windy for most of the week, but we did run the 2 blocks down to the beach the odd time.

Ying and Fanfan had a lot of fun playing with the sand once they figured out how to make it into different shapes.

Adam was a big help around the cottage (Eric wasn't up to much), and he also drove us to visit some friends one day and Wendy's Aunt and Uncle another day.

Adam, Wendy, Eric, Bruce, Mary

On our last night, with a nice sunset.

We got home OK from the cottage and started the inevitable arrangements for medical appointments and continued to work with Ying getting ready for their departure in early September.

Parker also turned 19 at the end of the month. What do you do on your 19th birthday? You buy a lottery ticket, you go to the liquor store and buy something to drink (cherry vodka and rum), you pick up pizza and an ice cream cake (Baskin and Robbins), then you take your parents to the Casino!

First time buying at the liquor store!

Pizza and presents

Ice cream pizza

First time at a casino!