March 9, 2021

 We have our ups and downs on this path we are walking. Tom’s blood work was positive as far as PSA and testosterone were concerned but the potassium was up a bit. Cancer patients now qualify for covid vaccinations so Tom will be able to get that done tomorrow after his someta bone infusion but Dr. Vrabec’s first request for Tom to receive the xtandi hormone was denied. We are hoping that the xtandi hormone will finally be authorized and that it helps with the pain he is experiencing in his one leg and that it also improves his cancer situation. This cancer is not curable but treatable and we want Tom to receive the best treatment options. If xtandi doesn’t come soon we can request radiation for the pain.

We enjoy keeping in touch with our friends and family. Craig and Shelley Marley invited us to have a zoom evening with them and with Brent and Susan Sugden. It was fun to spend time together and brought back memories of our Stake Presidency days. Shelley thinks it is fun to entertain when you don’t have to clean your house or make food. We talked for two and a half hours. Joana Lai invited us to join with them via zoom for the re-baptism of  Marco Turcos Sr. on Sunday and we were thrilled to do so. This was a joyous day for us and for their family and we are praying that this joy continues into their future. We love our family zooms on Sunday and we still zoom with Carol each week for a gospel discussion. We message, email and FaceTime throughout the week and receive phone calls from concerned friends and children. We are really being carried by the love prayers of many.

We walk each day but some days Tom’s leg is hurting too much and he just does a quick walk. One day he didn’t go out at all. We have both tried to work on family history this week and Tom met with George Hara on one occasion. Shopping has changed during these times and I have spent time shopping today - ONLINE. We finished cleaning our closet and getting a baby gift for Royden and Sheryl Stanford. We go together to get our groceries every week.

The anniversary of our evacuation-like departure from London is coming up and we and our London friends are remembering that wrenching time. We will forever be bound together by that life changing experience and it is only fitting that, after an extended pause, the London Temple is reopening to a level two phase at the exact time we were leaving the Temple a year ago. The Temples are beginning to awaken. The Lord and His work will move on and nothing and no one will stop it.

As I have been writing Tom received a phone call to let him know he will be receiving the much prayed for xtandi hormone. What a blessing! The Lord’s work will go on and we will go on with it. That is our prayer.

Tom’s puzzle this week - brutal!

 

March 2, 2021

 We had Tom’s blood work done on Monday at the clinic and we were pleased with the improvement in his PSA levels and testosterone levels. Both were down significantly which shows that the hormones are doing their work. However, his potassium level was up a little and that is frustrating. Potassium is in all the the good foods like vegetables, fruits, grains and such - all the things that are important to be included in a cancer fighting diet but not to be included in a potassium lowering diet. Difficult to know what to do and how to find a balance. He had a phone appointment with the oncologist on Thursday which is the new option for doctor appointments. He is eating well but his weight is still low and his main complaint is pain/weakness in his right upper leg. His goes for short walks each day and does work around home such as helping with the cleaning, cooking and laundry. We do the shopping together.

It was our week for hair. I went to Karl on Wednesday, colored my hair on Thursday and cut Tom’s hair on Friday. We are looking good but we are really the only ones that see us. 

Charmaine left for school in Austria on Saturday and they came over for her to say goodbye. I guess they feel the virus is settled enough for the university to open again. I had done some of our lawn aeration in the front and Jean didn’t want me doing more so when she and Cheyenne got back from taking Charmaine to the airport they arrived on our doorstep prepared to complete the aeration in the front and do the backyard. They are so good to us.

Sandra Barroby insisted on bringing us dinner again on Wednesday. It was lovely and lasted us for three days. We continue to receive phone calls, messages and mail offering us love and support and it means so much. I think we are standing on everyone’s foundation of love right now and as a result we feel like we are getting our feet under us.

We met with Carol on Thursday by zoom but she wasn’t feeling well with a bad shoulder on Sunday and didn’t think we should come over to do the Sacrament. We did, however, take her over some painkillers as she didn’t have anything that could successfully lower her pain level. She struggles with her marriage and Martin is returning from his winter stay at their place in Saskatoon so we are hopeful that things will improve. He is not a positive influence in her life and not happy with her decision to join the church. He does feel okay about their daughter Cathy joining the church though and even feels that it has helped her. We bought more painkillers for her and took them over a day or so later as we had only given her a few to try out.

We met with the Elders this week via zoom and accepted their challenge to find someone they could teach. It is a difficult challenge because we don’t see many other people these days. We also watched some of RootTech family history conference which was all virtual this year and we zoomed with our children on Sunday.

So our week has gone. Somehow each day fills up with appointments and things to do despite the fact that we are still covid isolated. Vaccinations are now being given and we hope to have received at least the first shot by sometime in April. Hopefully the Temple will be opening to the next stage as things improve with covid. 

Cindy at our door.

February 23, 2021

 It was my turn to have a medical appointment this week and on Thursday, February 18th we drove downtown to St. Paul’s hospital for me to receive a bone density scan. The parking was a nightmare. It becomes worse every time I have to go and so this time Tom just dropped me off and kept moving around until I was finished and met him outside again. So glad he was with me or I would have been late because of the parking dilemma. They want you to be tested on the same machine each time but Tom says never again and we will now be moving my testing to Langley.

We had our zoom meeting with the Bellingham YSA on Wednesday evening and answered questions about the Temple. I hope it was helpful. It is difficult to talk or teach by zoom and know how you are being received. It is nice, however, to feel useful and to be keeping busy. 

The Sanderson’s called this week and asked if we could come over to the Temple to be set apart as ordinance workers. We went over Thursday evening and were able to meet with them. It was very nice. They also gave Tom his letter from President Nelson stating that his sealing authority had been returned to the Vancouver Temple from London. He is now able to function in our Temple as a sealer again and hopefully perform Ross and Sarah’s sealing when the Temple is open enough for Sarah to receive her endowments. Such a blessing to be called back into the Temple. It touches our hearts.

Tom’s leg bothers him quite a bit and he has been doing shorter outdoor walks. We are hopeful that the addition hormone treatments will improve that situation. He listens to presentations and conferences on metastatic prostate cancer. We have an appointment with Doctor Vrabec today and hopefully he gives us some direction. Tom still continues to help me around the house, do his exercises and keep himself busy reading and such. We watch our programs and movies in the evenings. We really, really love to be together.

We had our family zoom on Sunday, our meeting with Carol on Friday this week, and our regular meetings and sacrament to Carol on Sunday. 

President Irwin, from the London Temple, deposited the money we had left in our Lodge apartment #16 into our UK bank account and had our three coats, one men’s suit and two skirts mailed to us. We wanted them to give the clothing away or to allow us to pay for the mailing but he refused, saying others had much more to mailed back than we did. The box arrived yesterday. We were so sorry to cause a fuss but we truly had been hoping to return and praying that we could return. Our sacrifice with this mission has been not being able to complete it.

We received a lovely basket of flowers from Joanne and Dave on Saturday and that brightened our day. The Deyells asked if they could drop by on Sunday and when they arrived they had the Sugdens with them. We were thrilled to see all of them and curious to know what was in the big box they presented to us. The cardboard box contained a large plexiglass box containing many, many beautiful origami cranes. They had asked various people to fold and then send cranes to them, for us. In Japanese culture, when someone is seriously ill, friends or family seek to obtain 1000 paper origami cranes from others as an offering of love, support and good wishes for the recovery of their loved one. There were about 1500 cranes in our box and they said they had stopped counting. The box and the cranes were spectacular and we were overwhelmed. Donna Deyell, herself Japanese, had organized this project, written a letter explaining the meaning of the cranes and listed the people who had participated. We were overwhelmed and when we finally bid them farewell and came inside and looked at our beautiful box, we had a little cry. So many have been so kind. We receive messages, gifts, phone calls and prayers and we feel very blessed. We are truly being carried on the shoulders of others and strengthened by the Lord.

February 16, 2021

 President Van Horne, the Vancouver Temple President,  asked to have a zoom meeting with us yesterday morning. He informed us that they had received a letter from President Nelson informing them that Tom’s sealing authority had been returned to the Vancouver Temple from London and then he called both of us to be Temple workers again. We were thrilled. We miss the Temple. Tom misses the Temple and longs to be there. The Vancouver Temple is only at phase one right now and so, 

unless Tom is asked to perform a sealing of two endowed individuals,  it may be awhile before we are able to serve. We are ready and waiting to seal Ross and Sarah but we need to get Sarah endowed first. 

We had our regular family zoom meeting with the children on Sunday. We love that. Zach was getting ready to play a hockey game so unable to be there. Cindy’s family did the thought and Paul told a family history story about true love. It was Valentines Day. Once we concluded that zoom meeting we got onto our London Temple Missionaries zoom. Brother Grames from Idaho set that meeting up. It was wonderful to see everyone and just listen to everyone talk. Such a special consecrated group of individuals who are sharing this mandatory covid stop experience to their missions and service. We had our weekly zoom meeting with Carol and took her the sacrament on Sunday.

We were finally able to meet Tom’s oncologist Doctor Bahl on Friday. He seemed like a nice young man. He assured us that the hormones are the first line of defence and treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. You do one treatment until it fails and then move on to the next. He said that the theranostic treatment Tom had been looking at in Germany and Australia was coming here to Abbotsford Cancer Clinic and should be left as a later treatment option because if it were used now, we would not be able to go back to the treatments we might use successfully before it. He told us to eat normally and just not binge or be crazy. Tom starts the next hormone next week and it may be the strongest and have the most effect. We hope it shrinks the cancer sites and reduces the pain he has in his upper leg. Some hormones work on the pituitary gland and others work on glands above the kidneys. So our journey goes. Tom watched a webinar on prostate cancer that Don Anderson suggested. We still receive calls and messages from friends sending their love and concerned with how we are doing. We are grateful for everyone’s prayers and their love. Even our financial planner and accountant have told us they are praying for us.

Our granddaughter Jadyn has recovered from covid along with all her roommates. JayLynn, our granddaughter in law, went to Enterprise this past week to recuperate from her gallbladder surgery at her parents’ home. We have been working on our workshop for the Bellingham YSA conference to be held February 17th. We received snow on Saturday and woke up to Cindy and Paul shovelling for us and our neighbors next door. The snow is pretty well melted now but not before numerous snowmen were built. We continue to walk when there is no ice. We took the BMW to have it’s noisy radio system repaired today. We ordered food on Saturday to celebrate Valentines and picked up Jerusalem Grill food today while we were out. We are not suffering from the isolation completely.

Our days seem to be full and we are tired every night. Now if we could just sleep better. We are grateful to have each other and never tire of that blessing.

February 9, 2021

 Last Christmas the children gave us “Storyworth” as a gift. It is a site that sent both of us questions each week and allowed us to tell stories about our own lives while answering the questions. It was a gift from all four but Trevor monitored it. It was a great incentive for us to document our lives. We searched for and added pictures too after returning from our mission. It was especially good for Tom who is not the best at telling about his life, let alone writing about it. The “Storyworth” year came to an end with 2020 and was published in a nice book for each of us. My editing was not perfect, as I was the editor for both, but the finished work is lovely and we hope it will bless our family. It has been a lovely gift.

 Our dear friend Roger entered hospital this past week and his brother John called late one evening unsure if Roger was going to live. We love Roger and prayed for him as we always do and when we checked on him the next day, his condition had improved. Tom is a great ministering brother and we have been ministering to Roger since we moved out to Langley. Our history though goes back many years to the North Shore and Roger even served for a time as Tom’s executive secretary when Tom was Bishop in the late seventies.

We have been blessed by so many friends thru the years and we are grateful for their prayers and support right now. We still get calls, messages and emails as people are wanting updates and concerned about how we are doing. We are doing fine and waiting for Tom to receive an infusion tomorrow for his bone density and then meet with the oncologist, Dr. Bahl, on Friday for the first time. We are anxious to hear what his suggestions and directions are and to talk to him about the possibility of theranostic treatments in Germany or Australia. Travel is very difficult right now because of covid but if we need to go we will.

We have a wonderful family who send us their support and love daily. We enjoy our Sunday family zoom meetings when we can all be together for a short time. Jadyn (granddaughter) and all her roommates at BYUI have been dealing with covid this week and are in isolation. JayLynn (granddaughter-in-law) had her gallbladder out this week and has gone home to Enterprise with her family to recuperate leaving Justin (grandson) on his own with school work. Zach (grandson) is determining if hockey and the team he is with right now is where he wants to be. We are so grateful he is back at church and has the gospel to help him make his decisions. Ross (grandson) and Sarah posted the pictures of their winter wedding. They are awaiting their sealing in the Temple.

We continue to meet with Carol and take her the sacrament on Sunday and we have been working on our Temple workshop for the Bellingham YSA. We walk each day and do our errands and work at home. We love each other and love being together.

February 2, 2021

 We hear from friends regularly with phone calls, messages, cards and gifts. People constantly tell us that they and others are praying for us. How blessed are we and could we possibly ask for or imagine more love coming our way? Truly life experiences and the gospel have brought many wonderful people into our lives and we pray for all of them in return.

I spoke in sacrament meeting on Sunday via zoom so I did spend time this week past preparing my talk on “Living a Consecrated Life”. I entitled it “Here Am I” after the Savior’s wonderful words in Heaven before we came to earth and the young boy Samuel’s words as the Lord called him repeatedly in the Temple one night. I have truly been blessed to associate with individuals living lives of consecration throughout my life. We are now looking to prepare for a Bellingham YSA conference we have been asked to participate in this month. We will be discussing the Temple and the Power it brings into our lives.

We have had a phone appointment with Dr. Collingridge this week and bloods tests for Tom. He has felt quite good and though the hormones have alleviated much of the back pain, he does experience pain in his groin area and limps some of the time. He keeps working on the option of treatments in Australia. We walk everyday, take care of our home and go out to do errands and generally try to remain busy. Tom did another puzzle this week which he seems to enjoy doing. We have been to the bank for a meeting too. We continue to meet with Carol thru the week and take her the sacrament on Sunday. Tom insists on kneeling to pray and to do the sacrament. I don’t even kneel because of my bad knee. Tom has been working with President Irwin regarding our USA money left in England and our belongings left there in hopes of our return. Tom has been working on repairing the doorbell and getting a new SIM card set up on our mobile. All these things seem to take some time to do and also require someone directing you on the phone.

We had our family zoom on Sunday and that fills our hearts. We are very blessed and we both know if we were stranded on an island we would want to be with each other. We are in fact on somewhat of an isolation island right now and we are with who we would chose to be with. Our situation may look a little daunting but we are prayerful, hopeful and we are very grateful. 

January 26, 2020

 We were able to get to the North Shore this week and have Karl cut my hair. He is so sweet and concerned about Tom. He had written a poem for Tom and posted it to us. We stopped at the Vancouver Stake Center on the way home from North Van and met briefly with Elder Swan, Natalie’s son, to give him his belated Christmas gift. He is serving his mission here after being reassigned from South America. We shopped Costco on Thursday and continued the Temple Prep lessons with Carol. Tom did blood tests on Friday for Dr. Collingridge and the kidney levels were better. We have been trying so hard to find things to eat that agree with kidney levels, high cholesterol and cancer. We are both losing weight. We took the sacrament to Carol on Sunday. Did some banking this week and went to see Dr. Vrabec on Monday for Tom to receive the first hormone injection. He will receive an injection every four months and will continue taking the hormone pills for one month total and then stop taking  them. 

The highlight of our week was our family zoom meeting on Sunday. Max’s Jacqui joined from Australia and that was lovely. Rissa gave the spiritual thought on being kind and then Zach then told everyone that he was going to play with a hockey team in Pensacola Florida and was leaving the next day to drive down. He had played a game with them while they were in Tennessee. He also told us that he had received the Melchizedek Priesthood that day and we were surprised and thrilled. This is a miracle and a result of his time at home with his family during covid. Having both he and Max back at church and holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood is a blessing we treasure greatly and our hearts are full.

After our visit to Dr. Vrabec and his second message to Dr. Bahl, we received a call that Tom had his appointment moved up to February 12th with Dr. Bahl. That too is blessing. We are still working toward the theranostic treatment options in Australia or Germany, calling the dietitian, various doctors and others for help.

We so appreciate our family, our friends and the prayers of so many. We are praying hard and working hard here at home too. We are busy each day going for our walk and trying to stay healthy, along with appointments, calls and messaging. Seeking to find our path to health and healing.