July 27, 2021

  Sam attended boys’ camp this past week and came home a little sunburned, achy and stuffy. Cindy thought perhaps it was caused by sunstroke and drinking too much lake water while tubing. He did home church on Sunday and by Monday she took him for covid testing. The results came back today - negative! That is a great relief for had he tested positive all the boys and leaders at camp would have had to be notified and his friends and all of us would have had to be on guard. Things are getting better with covid but the world is certainly not out of  the woods yet as numbers are still significant with the rise of the new “delta variant”. The vaccinations are definitely helping and in North American the mains ones being hospitalized with the virus are the unvaccinated. It may be years before we can definitively claim victory.

Tom pain has continued with a few ups and downs. He went for a second steroid shot at the pain clinic in Burnaby on Saturday morning and they seemed surprised that he had, had no improvement and assured him that it would come. He felt a little better on Sunday but not so good Monday and has had no painkillers today so far. It is very difficult and the pain is significant. He sleeps well and is usually fine sitting but cannot go very far outside and cannot stand long anywhere. We went right from the pain clinic on Saturday to the Temple to serve on our new Saturday afternoon shift but when I saw that he had completed his live sealing and that the last session was very small and could manage without our assistance, I asked if I could take him home. He was a little upset but was tired and relieved to get home for some lunch and a rest. It had been a big day for him already.

Two electricians arrived early last Wednesday morning and installed our Tesla charger in the garage and ran a new, more powerful line to the stove so we can now get an induction stove or dual fuel to eliminate the gas oven which causes me some grief with gas fumes leading to the fire alarms going off. It only happens when we have a turkey, ham or such in the oven over a number of  hours.The charger shortens the recharge time for the car tremendously and is more like just plugging your phone in. Trevor announced that he has ordered a Tesla too after test driving one. They are beautiful cars and very powerful. I think he liked that aspect of them.

We got takeout food a couple of times last week and Tom managed to make dinner last night giving me a little much appreciated break. We usually go out more to eat under normal circumstances and he is usually able to help me with cooking. It is difficult for him to be unable to jump in and do all the work he normally does. It will come but he needs to be more cautious and gain strength and energy slowly.

We still hear regularly from friends checking on us and we really appreciate their love and concern and the love extended to us by our Temples friends. A lifetime in the gospel blesses you with the privilege of getting to know and love many people. How blessed we are! We spend a lot of time discussing how grateful we are for each other, our precious family, wonderful friends, the opportunities of our lives, the gospel and the Savior. We are very blessed and we know it!

July 20, 2021

 The Temple opened to stage 3 today with proxy endowment sessions. Of course Tom had us there on the 10:10 session. They are only allowing 12 patrons per session and they are continuing covid protocol. This is above and beyond government regulations. They are moving forward with caution. All the workers were learning the new procedures today and we loved being there with them while they struggled to learn. It is so nice to be among those we know and love. We miss being in the London Temple but Vancouver really is home.

Tom has struggled thru another week of pain. He tries reducing painkillers some days to give his body a break. The pain drugs only dull the pain and never take it away. He generally is fine sitting or lying down but walking and standing are very difficult for him. Doctor Collingridge referred him to a pain clinic in Burnaby and we went there for the first time on Saturday. They are injecting his back with a cortisone type of drug and he may need up to three shots, each administered a week apart. Nothing has improved so far but we are praying for some positive results soon. It is wearing on him but he tries to keep up and he does a few gentle physio stretches several times a day. They seem to provide him with some relief. Justin suggested most of the stretches and Liza suggested he sleep with his legs on a large wedge and it provides some comfort too - most of the time. I pray and I pray for him.

Komms and Rolfsons both called yesterday and it means a lot to know that others are still concerned for, praying for and supporting us. We appreciated the love extended to us at the Temple today. It lifts our spirits. We appreciate our family too and their love. Cindy, Paul and the youngest two boys visited the Sunshine Coast this week plus Vancouver and other islands and we missed having them here but we did have Max for dinner on Sunday and we enjoyed that.

This was our “hair” week as we drove to the North Shore for Karl to cut my hair and then I cut Tom’s hair at home. One side of his hair has started to go curly and we are attributing that to lyrica which is one of the painkillers he is taking and curly hair is one of the side affects the drug can have. He was gaining some weight which is also a side affect of some of his drugs but he seems to have lost a bit of that weight lately.

Our dear neighbor Jean is insisting on mowing our lawn each week and our neighbor Marie next door is insisting that we keep the BMW on her driveway to allow us room to get the Tesla in and out with ease. She also says it looks like someone is home when she goes away to her cabin. 

Max was blessed to obtain his Australian visa very quickly which is a miracle as they had told him it could take up to a couple of years. He will now be able to get into Australia as soon as the borders between the two countries open up but he will be required to marry Jacqui, and only Jacqui, as soon as he gets there. They are excited.

We are grateful for each other and for the gospel in our lives. We are very blessed❤️.

July 13, 2121

 This was an exciting day for us 25 years ago when our first grandchild Justin was born. We also had an exciting week this week when Justin and JayLynn had a gender reveal on Saturday which announced to themselves and the rest of us that they are expecting a baby BOY in January - our first great grandchild. JayLynn’s sister received the gender information and organized the reveal. We all watched on zoom and the great grandparents provided the comedy as we all endeavoured to tune in with our limited technology skills. We love our family.

We were very blessed this week to assist with three live sealings in the Temple. On Thursday we helped seal Verna Olson to her deceased parents. Verna is Bela’s good friend and Bela and James were there to help out. On Saturday Tom sealed the Zands’ daughter Shawna who had also been married during the covid shutdown and had now been able to receive her own endowments and they were anxious to be sealed. We consider these our covid sealings - Ross and Sarah, Ethan and Amanda and Shawna Zand and the Hernandez boy. These are all couples who were married during covid but were unable to be sealed because all the brides could not receive their endowments due a the minimal functioning of our Temple. Our second sealing on Saturday was a convert family from the North Shore. The parents had been sealed previously and they were now ready for their two teenage children to be sealed to them. They were a lovely family and it was an added treat to have North Shore Ward members in attendance. We love being back in the Temple and feeling the beautiful spirit of the Temple. Tom gives his all to perform these sealings. It is something he loves to do even though he is in a great deal of pain. Sitting for the sealings helps him out.

Kindness continues to abound in our lives as we still receive words of encourage from friends and family and our dear neighbor Jean mowed our lawn and trimmed our edges this week. We are trying to be as independent as we possibly can but these two chores are difficult for me and we are lacking Tom’s skills at the moment. I have always thought he was wonderful but my eyes have been opened to the recognition of all he has done to keep our home and lives running. He helps with dishes and laundry right now and takes care of our finances and bills. He even managed to do the ironing today.

We took Tom to a local physiotherapist this week and he gave him a few new exercises and offered his opinion that his pains were more sciatica than disc related. Travis Wolsey had suggested this clinic to us. Tom is trying to do very short walks each day as everyone is suggesting walking. He uses his walking sticks to assist him. I sometimes go on longer walks by myself. Tom tries to do the exercises that Justin and this physiotherapist have suggested he do and he sleeps with the wedge Liza had him buy. It is painful for him to walk and very painful for him to stand. Dr. Collingridge was concerned about his low iron and suggested he eat a steak. Tom had no problem following that advice. We have been avoiding red meat meat to keep his cholesterol down. He went for his zometa infusion this past week too. It was a busy week.

Sayde had her yearly evaluation at children’s hospital yesterday so she and Liza drove down Sunday evening and back home after we had dinner last night. It is a treat just having them even for a short time. We have been experiencing a drought as far as in person family contact is concerned and Tom keeps saying how he is missing his children. We will take anything we can get. 

This was a busy week and, other than Tom’s pain, it was a good one.

July 6, 2021

 It is my sister Joanne’s 75th birthday today.  Hard to believe and the older we get the more we marvel and wonder where all the years have gone. 

We have been blessed to have the Burgess family with us this past week and it has been busy, exciting and fun. They are our first in house guests in a year and it is just nice to have our family back in our home including Cindy’s family. Sayde had her CP camp with Anna everyday and the rest of the family kept busy. They went shopping, raspberry picking at Krause Farms, to the drive-in movie, to Whiterock beach and to the Chiliwack water slides. The girls bought Chinese food for Canada Day and everyone came here to eat including Ross and Sarah. Bryson did quite a bit with Jack and the Hardy Family accompanied them on several adventures. Brendon came down after work on Wednesday and he did a great deal of work around our place. He trimmed our cedar hedge and other trees and painted the trim on our back deck roof. He and Liza mowed and trimmed our grass and Liza trimmed our bushes. The place looks lovely and we really, really appreciate their help as Tom is not allowed to do such things right now and we feel a little hindered in our capacities. We have been independent all our lives and it is difficult and humbling to require the help of others.

Tom had his blood test on Friday and his PSA and testosterone levels were good but potassium and creatine levels were up. His is still suffering with sciatic pain due to his herniated disc and we would like it to improve so he could get off all the painkillers he is now on. We do a very short walk with him each day and he does exercises Justin has given him. Liza had him buy a large wedge to use under his legs for at least for part of each night. He moves around the house but has to sit down if his pain becomes bad. He is so patient and so sweet with all that is going on. He has a physiotherapy appointment and an appointment with a pain specialist.

I drove the Tesla to Costco today by myself as Tom was waiting for a delivery of extandi to arrive. Tom was determined that we were also going to visit Roger today “in person” no matter how he was feeling and we did. He had committed to be there today and nothing was going to stop him.

We suddenly received the go ahead to have church as normal this week and it was a little shocking for many of us. Zoom is continuing simultaneously, for the time being anyway. We stayed home and probably will next week too, easing ourselves into the transition. We had the music organized and the organist and chorister ready to go. There are still concerns with covid variants so we are uncertain if we have an end to the virus in sight yet. Many countries are still in the midst of the pandemic. This has been an uncertain and ever changing year. Nothing we had planned for but hopefully our life experiences had prepared us for.