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Home from the island
Mar. 1st, 2009 09:20 pmGood weekend in Ladysmith. The news is that last week they decided not to continue chemo for Sheilla. Now it's just a matter of letting the cancer take its course, however it goes. She said she's been feeling clearer the past few days, perhaps because she's been in less pain and therefore taking fewer pain killers, perhaps because the effect of the chemo is wearing off. She had me feel her scalp today, and I could feel the nubbles of hair growing back. They also drained six liters of fluid out of her abdomen on Wednesday, which relieved a lot of pain and discomfort and increased her appetite, although it remains relatively weak.
She has lots of people visiting her, pretty much on a daily basis as far as I could see. She has a good support circle around her. Sharee is staying with Wendy, a neighbor in their complex, and I stayed there too, of course. Wendy is cooking dinner for them tonight, and tomorrow another neighbor, Carol, is having them over for leg o' lamb. Nice people around there! Carol dropped by today and had us all laughing our asses off. She's quite a character.
Sheilla and Sharee are going through Sheilla's old photos, and Sharee is trying to help her record stories and memories. Last night we looked at a bunch of pictures of Sharee at various ages. I had seen some of them before, but there were a bunch I hadn't seen. Strange to see pictures of her from the time when I first met her, back in 1980. Is that really what she looked like then? It's a bygone era now, overlayed by other memories. How much we've all changed! Sheilla also shared a lot of family stories. I didn't know until this weekend that her father died in World War II, when she was eight.
Well, lots of dimensions to all this. More questions raised than resolved, but I guess that's the way it always is in important times of transition. I hope to see them all again in April, but I'm glad I made it back up there this weekend. Who ever knows how much time we have?
She has lots of people visiting her, pretty much on a daily basis as far as I could see. She has a good support circle around her. Sharee is staying with Wendy, a neighbor in their complex, and I stayed there too, of course. Wendy is cooking dinner for them tonight, and tomorrow another neighbor, Carol, is having them over for leg o' lamb. Nice people around there! Carol dropped by today and had us all laughing our asses off. She's quite a character.
Sheilla and Sharee are going through Sheilla's old photos, and Sharee is trying to help her record stories and memories. Last night we looked at a bunch of pictures of Sharee at various ages. I had seen some of them before, but there were a bunch I hadn't seen. Strange to see pictures of her from the time when I first met her, back in 1980. Is that really what she looked like then? It's a bygone era now, overlayed by other memories. How much we've all changed! Sheilla also shared a lot of family stories. I didn't know until this weekend that her father died in World War II, when she was eight.
Well, lots of dimensions to all this. More questions raised than resolved, but I guess that's the way it always is in important times of transition. I hope to see them all again in April, but I'm glad I made it back up there this weekend. Who ever knows how much time we have?
