Hi Kip:

Here's another yo-yo....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAkoYcfDmrk

Much love and see you soon!

Abbie

To the Tune of "Surrey with the Fringe on Top"

Jeeps and trucks and police better scurry
this kid's comin' home in a hurry
no more pokin', proddin or worry
'cause my chemo's stopped.

Watch me now and see what I'm doin'
Lots of things that I've been a savin'
Looking forward with anticipation
to escape this incarceration.

The weather is cold and the snow is nigh
I want the time to enjoy it all
Looking forward to things I have missed
Even doing the shopping mall.

So look world I'm comin' back
Just watch me bloom and grow
With thanks to my friends who love me
I'll be dropping in to say...hello.


Thanks to Mamma Clarke for putting pen to paper and coming up with these new lyrics.

I'm feeling good today, tired right now, but good. My biggest challenge these days is sleep. A quick onset of chemically-induced menopause really throws the body for a total loop. At night, it's like having restless leg syndrome but for the whole body...while you sweat. And then get chilled. Then sweat again. No combination of drugs seems to make any difference. I'll be in to see the doctor this week to see if there's something we can do.
Still, I'd take this over chemo, anyday.

Here's my latest fave flash mob (thanks again Momma Clarke), guaranteed to make you smile or cry, or both.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3NPNM4xgo&feature=player_embedded

Much love,
Kip

The Waiting Game

Hi Friends,
It's day seven, so I'm just starting my low three days, but I'm doing alright. I still have quite a bit of joint and muscle pain which seems to worsen at night, but I'm slowly getting myself back. Now it's a waiting game...I sooo want to go out into the world, but I'm not yet up to it and still too vulnerable. Hence, the yoyo, which Shannon Lord sent to me early in the chemo process. I'm relearning how to "walk the dog." I suck at it.
I'd like to give you all an update on other folks and their treatment: Shannon (Susan Lord's sister for those of you at Queen's) had her second mastectomy last week and it went well (she went through breast cancer last year and had a single mastectomy at that time). Dorit's brother Michael, who lives in Tel Aviv, had his first chemo treatment for lymphoma and it went very well. He has three months of treatment to go. My cousin Ellen had her first round of chemo since her surgery for ovarian cancer and she's having a rough go. We will learn tomorrow more about how many more rounds she will have. Karen Frederickson's next chemo is on Friday. I'm letting you all know so you can keep them and their support networks in your thoughts.
On a very happy note, Catherine's cousin, Elaine Kellogg, a United Church minister in Yarker, recently finished 8 rounds of chemo for stage 4 lymphoma and is now cancer free. She will be stopping by to see us tomorrow afternoon and we will celebrate her good health.
I am overwhelmed by the resilience and strength of these people fighting cancer.
I am in amazing company.
Love,
Kip

Left Chemo, Now "In Treatment"

Hi All,
Well, Catherine rented the entire first season of "In Treatment" last week and the three of us have been enjoying a marathon of episodes. We finished the first season tonight, so, between my "In Treatment" withdrawal and the feeling that I finished chemo and should be entitled to *anything* I want, I just ordered the second season from Amazon. That should arrive by the weekend and help get me though the last few weeks of recuperation.
I had my weekend of pain as predicted; yesterday was my hardest day of pain but the oxycodone kept me intact. As of today, for the first time since I started chemo, my body should get progressively stronger and healthier. Catherine and I sat for for a bit on the coach this afternoon, breathed, and watched the snow fly past the window. I had been waiting for that scene since August when we sat here in a heat wave looking at the green leaves on the trees outside trying to visualize winter. The snow today was really lovely, just as pretty as I imagined it four months ago. Prettier.
I believe I mentioned previously that after chemo started I lost my gray hair first, then brown, and then I was left with very thin light brown hair, the colour I had as a baby. I never lost that hair completely, and, in fact, it continued to grow. It has grown from a quarter inch to, well, long enough to stand up on end and make me look like an installation at the Ontario Science Centre. We will take the razor to it tomorrow. The next time we will need the razor, I hope to have a full head of thick hair (with colour and texture yet to be determined...chemo can change both of those). Maybe I'll get the Elvis hair I've always wanted?
I'm off to take my pain meds and head off to bed.
Much love,
Kip

Day two, for the last time

Dear Friends,

This picture was made by my friend 11-year old friend Felix Guenette. Thanks, Felix, for sending this to me...it's great.
I had a very good day today, and tonight, the pain is setting in. Catherine is monitoring me carefully and we are staying on top of the medications. Cath has been dreaming about babies lately, and it makes sense - the first weekend after chemo treatments we set the alarm for every four hours so that her little bald sweetie can "feed" on medications. She says I don't look sick but that I look like a little baby. I'm relieved and happy that that's how she sees me.
We had a good day at chemo yesterday. For the first time we had our own room, an isolation room for folks with compromised immune systems. That wasn't my situation, but it was available and we really enjoyed it. Catherine was very tired and overwhelmed and at one point crawled up on the bed with me and cried. A volunteer passing by gave us some warm blankets and we just snuggled in while the drip continued. Kathy, my friend from Ottawa came in on the train and she and Julie arrived at the room at about 1:30, just as I was finishing up. As I rang the bell, there were many tears of joy and the nurses "whooped" and applauded. God, that felt so good.
We drove home to the playlist which was fantastic, and people were guessing who suggested each of the songs. Thank you again for submitting those. I'll listen to that CD in the years to come and remember the support I had throughout my chemo.
We then returned home to a phone message from Julie Salverson who, with her partner Bill, was ringing her bell in McBurney Park in Kingston. Then I learned of all of the other bells - in the School of Music (Sheri posted that video on youtube, the link is in her post), in the music library, in the Department of Film and Media, in backyards, at dinner tables. Thank you all for loving me so beautifully. It has meant so much to me over the past few months.
Time for bed.
Love to all,
Kip

The Ringing of the Bell

Almost there...

Hi Friends,
It's the last night before my last chemo. We have been crossing off the days of November, and as I look at the photo, I see that with each passing week my hand has become increasingly firmer as I make an "x."
I now have a terrific playlist together for the drive home and to help get me through the next few weeks. Thank you.
Have I mentioned the bell ringing ritual? (I think so, but chemo brain...) The chemo ward has a navy bell called the "Liberty Bell" and patients ring it as they leave their last chemo. It makes me tear up every time I hear it - I think of what people (and their family and friends) have gone through for the last few months or even years. The patients getting chemo, all hooked up to their IV poles, clap (to the extent that they can) and cheer and nurses line up to applaud and give the graduate a hug. It's really moving. I'll be giving the bell my best effort tomorrow.
To add to the festivities, my parents will be ringing their navy bell tomorrow afternoon in Halifax and Julie Salverson will ring a bell in Kingston on my behalf. We will post a picture of our ritual at the Princess Margaret once we get home tomorrow.
With love,
Kip