Here it is just over a month since Nina’s surgery and life is beginning to return to something that seems normal (for us!). Nina is making steady progress every day. It is quite remarkable to see and experience. She is still resting a lot, but her strength and stamina are coming back little by little. It has to be all the work she did last winter with the Sleepy Sunday Spinners! We are going out walking regularly. When we started, it was much like when Nina started her walking program and worked out on hills. At that time, she seemed overwhelmed by the long steep hills. So, she used to walk from lamppost to lamp post, resting at each one. Gradually, she made it to every second one then third until finally she conquered the hill. Her recovery walking is much like this. Yesterday, we went out again along one of our favourite walking routes in Edmonton. We went to the boardwalk, which overlooks the beautiful river valley in its fall green and gold. When we walked along there a couple of weeks ago, Nina rested at the benches along the way. However, yesterday she did the 1K walk without stopping! This was big! Another side benefit of this slow walking is that it really reminds us of the very thing we all talk about! We slow down! There’s just no hurry here!
We have also been enjoying some wonderful afternoons with green tea, cookies, fruit and friends. It has really been way too long since we have taken the time to sit and spend time with friends who come by to visit Nina. An afternoon with quiet music, tea and good friends is pretty much something very special. We really invite you to try it!
OK we all know that I have Pink Hair! Now two weeks after the Run for the Cure it’s still pink! Somehow, I didn’t think about that part of the plan! But, there is something very special about a 60 year old with pink hair! Almost everywhere we go, someone makes a comment! The younger crowd is all too happy and willing to give me the thumbs up and tell me how cool it looks! The best part seems to come from our generation with the mostly grey hair! I get a smile or ‘the look’ as they notice it but try not say anything! Of course, this is an opportunity for me to make a comment like “you should try it to cover the grey like I did”. Then they ask the question, WHY! When I tell them I did it for my wife when I did the Run for the Cure, it almost always sparks a comment about a member of their family who has been touched by cancer! In many cases, it seems that this is the very first time that the grey haired over-weight guys have either acknowledged or talked about cancer! And the best part is that is done in an upbeat an almost humourous way. We actually started talking to a couple of guys having breakfast in a restaurant and one of the guys got quite choked up and had to leave to get the ‘dust’ out of his eye!
The thing is that so many of us have been touched by cancer in so many ways that we don’t know what to do or say or even how to act! My pink hair seems to enable people to talk about something even for a short time that is stuck way down inside!
I know for me see the photo of Nina and me with her pink shirt really touched home. I had just never imagined anyone in our immediate family wearing a pink shirt. We had done the Run for the Cure many times but always wearing the white supporter’s shirt! Seeing Nina in a pink shirt brought it home very clearly how cancer touches everyone in so many ways!
Another quite wonderful thing that has happened since Nina has come home is the re-connections with old friends and deep connections with new friends. Nina has visitors and phone calls from friends that she has not seen or heard from often in a long time. The connection is there and remains strong. We have also come to know new friends that have dropped in to say hi to Nina and this has developed into something quite special.
One example of this is our new friend Jill in Florida! We had sent a few emails back and forth with photos from our cruise in Hawaii. Jill manages a program for Norwegian Cruise Lines. She originally wrote to ask for permission to use a ‘quote’ from me in some of the promotional material. This followed with me sending some photos taken on board the beautiful ship Pride of America last summer. These formal emails shifted when I mentioned to Jill that Nina was having some health issues (little did I know at that time!). Now, we hear from Jill regularly and we have developed quite a friendship! She is getting married in December! And we’re sure she and her husband will be visiting Alberta before too long! All this brought on by Nina’s nasty tumour and caring people praying for ‘favourable results’.
One final note before I bring this email update to a close! A friend gave me an amazing book about working in Nepal. I have become very moved by the book and yesterday I read a short quote written by the Dala Lama. I have taken some liberty with it to share here. It does not matter what wealth or suffering we have in life. What really matters is what we do with it! And so, we need work to recognize both the gifts we receive or the obstacles we face and then thank God for them by looking out for others who might need our help or friendship on their journey! And so, I am reminded again and again of how Nina came to her TRADE YA flickr page!
Well, this started out as an update to say there’s not much to say! And now, three pages later! What can I say! I hope you continue to enjoy reading about Nina’s journey along this new path for us.
Filed under: Sept VII
