Good, Better, Best News!

We landed back in Kingston on Tuesday, June 3rd without incident and, like anyone, overjoyed to sleep in our own bed.    The first couple of days were catch up, unpacking, showering and sleeping.  and sharing stories of our European adventure.

In keeping with my commitment to share medical news first before going off on tangents,  you may recall that previously I mentioned the cat scan on May 9th.  That same day we learned that my back was clear which was a great relief.  On our return I had an appointment on June 10th with the Gyny Oncology team to review the balance of the scan.  My sense was that no news was good news.  After all, there were no phone messages, no calls to contact them on my return, so prayers continue regularly.

Good news, our appointment was on time - no long waiting before being called in.  Dr. Bryson came in shortly thereafter, smiling and asking if I'd received a copy of the cat scan results - no I hadn't.

Even better news, he handed me a single sheet of paper and through his smile said nothing found elsewhere - yay!  After all a year ago now is when we fell down another rabbit hole to find cells in my liver.

I have never been so happy to see the word NO so many times in four short paragraphs - 9 times in fact.

Best news - at the end of the report - a single line 'Impression':  Interval reduction in the size of hepatic metastases!!!  Translation?  The cells in my liver have actually reduced in size since the last cat scan in November!!!!! I think more people than not believe this outcome is more a result of prayer than any medical intervention.

We agreed to leave things as is for now, not to tinker with the doses of the meds and that I will deal with carrying 'Maggie' (my imaginary 6 year old, weight gain of 63 pounds) around for the summer with a further visit in September to review my case.  More good news is that Maggie only increased 3.5 pounds while we were away, and she and I have agreed to get back to physio and gentle exercise now that we're home and several projects have come to completion.

Our friends Shannon and Tony drove from Mississauga to participate in the Relay for Life on June 6th, and that's with Shannon having had a hip replacement in early May, only 5 weeks after her surgery!  We realized very quickly that the Relay was simply the catalyst for friends to make the effort to get together, catch up and reminisce about life, the past and the possible future.  Shannon and I met at the Calgary airport in November 2000, both of us trekking across the country to attend a weeklong fundraising course at the Banff Centre.

 Coincidentally, we both went a few days early and so were destined to roam the village of Banff together exploring the beauty and breathtaking scenery. We attended mass together and got to know one another, the gift of a new friendship taking shape with barely an effort.  Since that time, while we haven't visited one another frequently, there is that magic of friendship of being able to pick up where one left off and go forward from there.


Relationships to me, are one of the special gifts that we are given in this life and while it may seem to take a lot of investment of time and effort, it's the consistency and deliberate effort that marks the sincerity.
 Relationships aren't tasks to be checked off a 'to do' list with hardly a backward glance at what that task even was.


In my last post I talked about the impromptu visit with folks from Kingston at the Buddha Bar Hotel in Budapest and lunch with a couple from Atlanta with Kingston connections.  We could have easily overlooked the email sent to us rather than strike out to locate the hotel and then spend part of a morning visiting, but we both felt it would be a fun thing to do that would create a lasting memory for us all.

On our return home, as things turned out, at the Relay, I walked the Survivor's lap with Mike and Brad, two other survivors, both of whom we met in Hungary!
We have since agreed to hold a reunion with me volunteering to make Paprika Chicken! And since Brad had originally offered to treat for a glass of wine, well I guess he knows what his role will be!

I have been blessed with an intuitive sense of when it might be time to say hello, send an email or pick up the phone for a short conversation.  It might be a birthday wish, often belated, but even then I tell the person, for all the days I'm late in sending wishes, they can be sure that every one of those days included thoughts of that person.

Building relationships can be like a flying bee gently buzzing from flower to flower pollinating new growth with a promise of future beauty in its own little part of the world.

It seems that too many people have become entrapped in their own little worlds, isolated even further with the widespread use of technology.  It's a sad state to not experience the warmth of friendship and the genuine sense of well being achieved by reaching out to someone with no real agenda in mind other than a concern for that person.  Earlier in this post I've mentioned that since receiving the results of my latest cat scan I have felt a sense of euphoria that supersedes any sort of emotion related to the material world.

If it's possible to nurture this newly acquired feeling (for lack of a better word), which I believe is heaven sent, there is promise of a life ahead filled with a peaceful existence unable to be achieved through any earthly power.  The closest I can come to describing it, is that there is a magical column on the left side of my body that embraces my heart and, in a dazzling column of sparkling light, reaches up to heaven with a direct link to God's grace.

 Interestingly, the human side of me, the personal growth work I have yet to do, is on my right side.  If I can focus to the left, especially when I feel the negative pull of being drawn into situations filled with resentment or envy, there will be an opportunity to grow out of and 'unlearn' some of those less attractive traits.

One of the keys to shifting toward the left is pondering the Biblical saying that one can't serve two masters.  Those masters being God and wealth.  As I work this into my thought processes, I'm realizing that wealth doesn't just mean money but rather represents just about everything of a material nature.  How 'immaterial' it all truly is,  and how freeing when one can tap into the mastery of God's grace.  I'm feeling on the cusp of a 'graduation' to a higher level of awareness that must be done on a gradual basis filled with self care, solitude and quiet contemplation.  How peaceful does that sound?!

I write this as I patiently wait for my son Matt to return from Cornwall with his precious cargo - his daughter Ella.  She will be spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and sharing Father's Day with Daddy.  Needless to say the short time ahead will not include much quiet and contemplation.  But it will certainly be fun, doing things that you can only do with almost 3 year olds.

Ella, Azlyn, Ayden

These little people have a way of pulling us all together and creating new and more mature relationships with our own children.   Like someone said, 'if I'd known it would be this great (having grandchildren) I'd have had them first!'.

For those of you celebrating Father's Day tomorrow, may you enjoy time together with family and friends that remind us all of how blessed we are to have one another.

While I miss my own Dad, he has long since gone on to enjoy the life that we all have to look forward to, one without the earthly bondages that keep us from achieving our true potential.

Enjoy the start of summer - hopefully the weather will cooperate - and any plans you might have with  those close to you.

Take care and God Bless,
Until next time,

Liz
"Prayers wrapped in faith and sent with love are the greatest gifts we can receive".

Szervusz (Goodbye) to Hungary

As we approach the end of our bucket list trip to Budapest, the city and country of my heritage, Mike and I agree that it has truly been a life enriching experience.  Before I say more, take note that if you ever think about visiting Hungary but plan to stay on your diet, not eat the food or drink the wine I strongly suggest you just stay home!

We have been living in a Communist built apartment building likely from the 1940's among the locals in the south side of Buda which is on the west side of the Danube separating Buda from Pest (pronounced Pesht).  Our little one bedroom apartment has clearly been updated and renovated in recent times but with obvious telltale signs from the past. The front door of our apartment has three keyed locks including a sliding bar deadbolt which we were cautioned to fully engage on arrival and departure.  When you hear the term 'water closet' which I always thought was a British term, well now I know. The building code of the day required the toilet to be located in a separate location from any other room, hence it is literally a tiny closet, and no, there is no sink so you have to go to the 'bathroom' to wash your hands!!! The bathroom includes a tub, sink and a washing machine. Of course no dryers but racks to hang clothes to dry. A tiny kitchen allows for minimal preparation and cooking with a tiny apartment sized fridge, a clear signal why most people shop fresh and daily. Almost every major corner has a bakery and I've never seen so many people so thoroughly enjoying their sweet treats. And no, the population by and large is not overweight!

We found a little local pub type restaurant in our neighborhood which is a little gold mine in the side of a building. The food is gastronomically delightful and the prices decadently cheap!  We've been trying different meals almost daily unless we were enjoying the home cooked meals at one aunt's or another's home.

Less than a week after our arrival I received an email from hospital friends in Kingston who were going to be here in Budapest at the start of a river boat cruise. So off we go, hopping on the metro and poking here and there as we came up from underground where the 'Buddha Bar Hotel' might be! There it was, almost in plain sight leading to a lovely visit with 10 people like old home week. Needless to say, the original invitation referred to something about a glass of wine or two if we happened to connect! Given the time of day, we opted for a rain cheque and a Magyar reunion once we are all home again. Getting around the city feels as though we are in a giant amusement park. With our two week passes we can jump (well at this point I sort of waddle) onto subways, streetcars, trolleys and trains, most on the honor system and reach almost any point in this dense city within 15-20 minutes. Public transit comes by about every five minutes or so - no waiting in lines like at Disney - more of a speed pass everywhere you go. Underground you go, anywhere from the shallowest subway in the world at 18 feet, originally pulled by horses to 10 stories deep, intended for bomb shelters if necessary. There is also a natural semi circle to the city so to go from point A to point B, you find yourself getting on in Buda and getting off in Pest having travelled under the Danube in mere minutes.

Fascinating too when the undercover 'ticket checkers' board the transit and randomly ask to see passes. Apparently the fines are pretty hefty and Hungarians appear to be a very 'obedient people'. Young men offering up their metro seats for women, children and the elderly. Very little jaywalking, but rather politely wait until the little green person flashes before entering a roadway to cross and always on the 'zebra', those painted lines that offer protection to pedestrians.

We've seen most of the sights, enjoyed most of the sounds and found last weekend to be a delightful national event called Children's Day. Everywhere in the city, parks were packed with people with children of all ages undertaking activities of a much more traditional nature than one might find in North America. Parents and grandparents interacting with children in picnic like settings rather than putting them in jumping castles and watching them bob and bounce without any real personal or
physical interaction. It was heartwarming to watch, especially when it covered the city like a warm fuzzy blanket. They even had children (or at least children's voices) announcing the stops on the metro system!

Despite the current and past governments's efforts to rejuvenate the country, it is impossible to ignore the stark contrast between the sometimes centuries old Baroque and Turkish style buildings with their ornate styling and the concrete block buildings, often next door, built by the Communist party during its occupation until 1989. Unlike other large cities, probably mostly in North America I guess, there
are no single family homes in the city with streetscapes a mixture of architecture that becomes more and more a concrete jungle as you head out of downtown. Having said that, much credit is to be given for the green thumb or at least thought of greenery of some political power baron or another for the garden like spaces tucked in between and around these big box multi unit residences.

Last Sunday we attended mass at the 'Cave Church' that is literally carved into a hillside of rock.  The temperature remains an even 20 degrees given the thermal waters running in and around the area.
As I was contemplating this post, this morning, being Sunday, the church bells ringing brought a sense of  peace and melancholy at the same time. We have become so tolerant of so many other cultures, we have given up many of our own time honored traditions. I need not go on about that, you can likely think of a thing or two that fits that category. I believe in tolerance and acceptance yet feel strongly that it is not to be at the expense of others.  When our parents immigrated to Canada, many without the language, without material possessions, worked hard to fit in, learn the language, and formed local groups and organizations to keep their heritage alive, often offering a sense of familiarity in a country that likely seemed like another planet.

Today we attended mass at St. Stephen's Basilica, the main dome a mere 96 meters high, seating for 8,500 and an organ being played with such fervor, one wonders how the windows remain intact.  It's the closest to tears I've been and chilled right through with goose pumps at the sheer sound.

Mike has been an enormously good sport as we traversed the city with him not having any command of the language. He feels that he has witnessed the Hungarian culture which, to him is amazing with history lessons at almost every corner we turned. He's learned what people were like on the other side of the world, the causes they were fighting for or against and is amazed at what Hungarians had to deal with in the midst of the Germans and then the Russians.

As we wind up this amazing adventure, I've been pondering my emotional reactions to all that we've seen and done.  Somehow I thought it would be a deep, moving experience to finally set foot on the soil of my ancestors as I gained a sense of familiarity not to be found anywhere else. What seems to have occurred rather, is almost a calming effect that has rippled through my memories and childhood stories of what is was like to live here, how difficult it was to remain here in the midst of such tragic conflict and the reasons for leaving everything behind to find a new, better life.  And that I among countless others have been blessed with a life of safety and opportunity because of the sacrifices of others.  As I grow older, I gain an ever growing respect for the fact that I have absolutely no appreciation for what our parents and others had to go through, often at the prime of their lives.

My next post will find us back in Canada, back to a routine of sorts, and news of the rest of my cat scan that was done on May 9th. So until then, enjoy the spring weather, get outside and do something to commune with nature. Thank you for taking the time to hear about our travels. Aren't you glad I'm not offering a slide show?!?!?!?

Take care and God Bless,
Hugs
Liz
'Prayers wrapped in faith and sent with love are the best gifts we can receive'.