March 30, 2021

 The cancer path has it’s ups and downs and this week has had it all. Doctor Bahl called to discuss radiation with us and noted that the CT scan from last week showed cancer in most of his pelvis area, that is more than the first CT, so radiation will have to cover the whole general area. Doctor Collingridge then phoned to say that the same CT showed a decrease in prostate and lymph nod sizes. That is good. On Thursday evening, after our children had been here for a backyard meal, we noted that Tom was developing a rash on his ankles and it soon spread over most of his body. That is concerning. We contacted  the doctor and have been waiting to see what the rash does. The doctor feels it is a reaction to medication so, in an effort not to alter the cancer treatment medications, we have changed the painkiller hydromorphone which is relatively new to see if it is the culprit. We have personally talked to two London Drug pharmacists, the pharmacy that dispensed the xtandi to us and the Canadian Cancer Agency that cleared us for xtandi. All seem to feel that the opioid painkiller would more likely be the the cause and not the xtandi. Dr. Collingridge is unsure but we are testing by eliminating of the hydromorphone first. We are in the waiting stage right now. It can be very draining for both of us. We constantly are praying and really appreciate the prays and support of others.

We are so grateful for our wonderful family and their constant support. Liza’s family came down for a spring break holiday and stayed in a hotel in downtown Vancouver. We really miss having them here. Cindy’s family did another quick holiday, this time to Harrison Hot Springs. They all came to our place on Thursday evening and we had Chinese food and cake to celebrate Breya and Liza’s upcoming birthdays. It was a backyard party of course but still so good to be with them. We miss hugging everyone. Covid will come to an end. We love our family zoom meetings on Sunday. Paul and Max came to give Tom a blessing just before the family zoom and they stayed, with masks on, to watch with us as a storm had knocked their power out at home.

We carried on a regular routine with our trip out for groceries and other outings for errands. We met with Carol on Thursday and gave her the last Temple Prep lesson but we didn’t go on Sunday to do the Sacrament as they were having an open house for the sale of their home. We took flowers to Sandra Barroby to thank her for the meals and muffins she has provided us with. Wayne Lavender came to help us with some plumbing concerns. He came Saturday and back on Monday. He is such a good friend. We have so many of  those and we feel very blessed.

We try to pray for everyone we know of who is struggling with problems. People are being so kind to us and there is not much other than prayer that we can offer them at this time. We have come to realize that life is a challenge and that the Lord is loving and kind and extending Him arm to all. We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives and the understanding it provides. We love the Come Follow Me program President Nelson has given us and we truly enjoy the Come Follow Me podcasts we watch each week. We watch or listen to about five. Keeps us in the thick of good things. The Savior did not atone for us and then take a Celestial holiday. He has never stopped serving us, loving us and fighting for us and all mankind. “He is not dead nor doth he sleep” and I want to be just like Him when I grow up.

March 23, 2021

 There doesn’t seem to be a day go by that we do not have something kind done for us. We feel very blessed. We receive messages, phone calls, cards, and flowers. On Friday President Van Horne called to discuss the option of opening the Temple just for Sarah to receive her endowments and Tom to seal Ross and Sarah. He is concerned about Tom’s health deteriorating but we assured him that at the moment we are okay waiting for the Temple to open. He then added that with the picture changes that took place in the Temple just before we left on our mission, one picture, that had been in the Temple, was taken to replace the Minerva Teichert painting that had been hanging in the den of the Temple President’s house. The picture ladies had discarded the Minerva “Shouting Hosannna” painting and left it in the Van Horne’s hands to deal with appropriately. Van Hornes did not have the heart to destroy it, plus they remembered that we had expressed our fondest for the painting and they were now offering it to us. We were overwhelmed and very touched. President Van Horne brought it over over soon afterward and we quickly decided that she would have a home in our den. Other than the view of the Temple out the front windows, the painting was my favourite part of the Temple President’s house. This was a miracle of sorts because as paintings are taken down in the Temple a big X is put across them and they are thrown out. Perhaps, because this one was in the President’s house and not the Temple, the ladies removing it felt to leave the decision regarding it up to the Van Hornes. Whatever the case may be, we felt very blessed and loved by this kind gesture. Sandra Barroby phoned Sunday morning to say she had just baked some healthy muffins and wanted to bring some to us. We told her we were just leaving to give Carol the sacrament and we would pick them up instead. We had some good visits with friends on the phone this week too. Our cup is overflowing with kindness. 

Cindy’s family (Paul, Cindy, Jack and Sam) did a little spring break vacation to downtown Vancouver and enjoyed themselves riding bikes around the park, eating and visiting favorite sites. Trevor’s family (Trevor, Tammie and Treyvn)  flew to Utah to visit Justin and JayLynn and ski. Jadyn took the bus up from Idaho to be with them. Liza’s family arrived yesterday and dropped by on their way to downtown Vancouver for their vacation and Cindy’s family is now off to Harrison Hot Springs for a couple of days. Rissa’s family will stay put at their mountain cabin and ski. Covid holidays are not so bad. We miss them all and appreciate our little moments with them. Zach and Max are both working and Ross and Sarah are busy with work and school but the rest are pretty lucky kids.

We are waiting for the xtandi to begin to help with Tom’s leg pain. Dr. Collingridge gave him a stronger painkiller last week which seems to help with the pain but he does seem to be somewhat better even when we don’t factor in the painkillers. He is going to talk to Dr. Bahl about the option of radiation but hopefully the xtandi will kick in more before that is necessary. He completed his very, very difficult puzzle which was a great accomplishment. 

Cancer is a daunting opponent but we are doing our very best to put it in it’s place and I feel optimistic. We are grateful for treatments that are available and we pray for new ones and cures to be developed.

March 16, 2021

 I am writing this on the seventeenth but dating it the sixteenth as that would be my usual posting day but circumstances precluded me from being able to post on the right day.

We were able to get our covid vaccinations last Wednesday due to Tom’s health concerns and after arriving and, after our asking if I too could receive it as his caregiver, I was given permission. Tom had also received his someta infusion that day when Doctor Vrabec gave the okay for both to be done on the same day. However, two or three hours after his vaccination he got the chills and shakes which lasted about a half hour. 

From that Wednesday on the pain in his upper right leg moved to his left leg accompanied by swelling in the groin area. This pain was even worse than the right leg had been and the painkillers were not seeming to be as helpful. Finally on the Monday the fifteenth Tom put a call into Doctor Collingridge and he he got back to us on the morning of the sixteenth and told us to go to emergency to get a blood test and ultrasound to rule out a blood clot. The sixteenth is my birthday just to make things more interesting. We went to the Abbotsford emergency checking in at about 11:00am. I was not permitted to stay after that and retired to the car. Tom had the only cell phone we have right now and so could not communicate with me. When I attempted to get in to see how he was doing knowing he would need painkillers and that he also had no food, I was abruptly stopped at the entrance by a vigilant guard telling  me I needed to phone. I had no phone. Finally a kind nurse noticed me and asked if I needed help and she agreed to go in search of Tom. She came back with the phone and news of regarding Tom. I was now able to phone Cindy who had been in communication with her father. At one point I looked up and there was Cindy at the car door holding a teen burger for me that Tom had instructed her to bring me. She was a ray of sunshine on a difficult day. She stayed and visited with me for a good while. I was now able to phone into the hospital and get updates on Tom. Finally at about five o’clock he was released from the emergency.  No blood clot but an appointment for CT scan tomorrow. What an exhausting and worrisome experience for both of us. We do not like being separated.

We returned home to find flowers from our children and Mary Harvey and birthday messages on phone and on online. We were both exhausted but Tom went out to pick up his new pain medications and some dinner from our Italian restaurant while I got things organized and contacted people to thank them. Our other children all FaceTimed or called plus messaging and Cindy and family came over with cakes and good wishes that we shared out in the backyard. They still cannot come into our home due to covid restrictions. They all blessed our difficult day.

On the bright side Tom had the xtandi hormone we have been waiting for delivered on Monday and we are hopeful that it will be a benefit to him and maybe even help with this pain. It is extremely expensive and he has to take 4 pills each night before bed. We are grateful for the government assistance with one because he will be taking $1,500 worth a day. Our friend David Walton is on the same treatment in Utah.

We did not take Carol the sacrament on Sunday because of Tom’s pain but we did meet with her via zoom on Thursday. I have worked on the flower beds this week and we had our Sunday zoom meetings and our family zoom meeting. We stay in touch with our other ministering people by phone and email. We continue to receive cards and messages of concern and love and others call on the phone. We are very blessed.

Each week is interesting but we are grateful for each other, the gospel and our friends and family.

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.