1st.... 2nd.....3rd.....

Well I had my 1st Port-a-Cath installed on Monday this week. I  have been hoping for some time now to have my PICC line removed as it is quite annoying. I also got rashes and itchiness due to a reaction to the dressing used to cover it, nothing seemed to really help it. Having a port-a-cath will also provide me with so much  more independence. With the PICC line I couldn't have a full bath and even had to have Michelle help me to cover it when showering.  It will also mean that I will be able to go swimming too! Our pool opening is set for early May so I will be ready to go by them. For those of you wondering, a port-a-cath is an implanted device which allows for easy access to the veins:  for taking blood samples, giving intravenous fluids and medications. Although I wish that I didn't need either, I am happy that this option was made available to me. This procedure provided short term pain for long term gain!

This week also means my 2nd biopsy in as many months. You might recall that I recently had a biopsy done. Newer samples are now needed for the study that I am on. Although a fairly non invasive procedure, it still means going under sedation and can have some complications. 

For the record, I have been in three different Toronto hospitals all in one week! Toronto Western on Monday, Princess Margaret on Thursday and Toronto General on Friday. Amazing really. We are so fortunate and lucky to have a world class medical system right here in Ontario. That is why I am supporting both Southlake Hospital through Richard's Roadrunners Virtual Challenge and have supported Princess Margaret Hospital through the purchase of a few of their Home lottery tickets. Who knows, I may be the lucky winner of both excellent care and treatment as well as a win a new home, car or cottage!

Well believe it or not this week already marks my 3rd week of treatment in the new trial. So far so good!  I had to spend another overnight stay in the hospital this week and will hopefully only need to do that one more time. I am pleased to say that I seem to be tolerating the treatment quite well with no immediate side effects to report. Another CT scan is now booked for the end of April. This is already starting to create some SCANxiety.

1st...2nd...3rd, sometimes it feels like it's three steps forward, and two steps back, but I hope through this journey, that I will at least be a step ahead of where I used to be. 

Richard

Supporting My Local Hospital & Cancer Centre

No update to share as of yet on my biopsy results. My oncologist called me today to let me know that the lab is reanalyzing the sample. The results must be really close and they want to be totally sure of the results as this will determine which next path I will take in my cancer treatment. 

Supporting My Local Hospital- Southlake Regional Health Centre

I am so fortunate to have a hospital in my local community that has a regional cancer centre attached. This has meant the world to me, as I can attend appointments, tests and treatments with limited worry and relative ease. No long commutes, hefty parking fees or hours on the road going to and from treatments. This also means that my family is always close by. A blessing for sure. I am so fortunate so I want to ensure that others who may need our hospital, can get the same support that I am currently receiving, especially from the Stronach Cancer Centre with excellent, modern and up to date facilities and the wonderful, helpful caring staff.  

In my previous post, Supporting Cancer Research, I talked about the various cancer charities that I have supported over the years, not knowing that one day, I would myself be needing to rely on these resources for my own personal health. Our family had planned to participate in the Southlake 5K Run/Walk last year. Unfortunately due to COVID this event had to be cancelled. I am happy to announce that the Erdmann's have signed up again this year for the virtual version of this event. We invite you to join us!

This years event is called Run for Southlake Virtual Challenge. Michelle and I have created our own Virtual Challenge team called Richard's Roadrunners. We are always looking for people to join our team and cause. Between April 12th and May 9th our team have committed to focus on being physically active, supporting our personal wellbeing by eating well, being physically active, building our walking endurance & going the distance. We hope to record at least 40 km of walking during the four week event.

We invite you to join us!   You can find our team registration information here. We would love to have you join us virtually and set up your own goals. Lets achieve this together and raise money at the same time. Alternatively, if you can't commit to being apart of our team but would like to make a donation to the cause, you can do so here: 

Donation to Run for Southlake Virtual Challenge. Please be sure to donate under our team name Richard's Roadrunners. Our goal is to raise one thousand dollars for Southlake Regional Health Centre. We are almost halfway there already! Thanks to those that have already sponsored me, Michelle or our team. We really appreciate it. 

We will keep you updated on our progress in an upcoming blog post, once the event has begun. 

Thanks everyone and get your runners on!

Beep! Beep! Go Roadrunners!

Richard

Everyday Heroes

This week was cancer maintenance treatment week again. To be honest with you, I was a little nervous to go the the cancer centre at all, with the scary stories on the news and online about Covid-19, I really didn't know what to expect. I had visions of multiple sick patients with masks on, scattered throughout the hallways of the hospital, with frantic, tired hospital staff in full gear trying their best to cope with them all. The reality was the cancer clinic was extremely quiet, being isolated really from the rest of the hospital. In fact it was the least number of patients and staff that I have ever seen at the cancer centre (regrettably this is usually not the case).

I was comforted to find that several precautions were in place to support both the patients and staff at the hospital. As soon as you enter the cancer centre you are greeted by health care staff and security that ask you a series of questions, give you a squirt of hand sanitizer and send you on your way. On the chemotherapy floor, the waiting room chairs were segregated with caution tape to ensure that we all sat the required distance away from each other. All of the nursing staff seemed to be in fairly good spirits despite the pressure and stress that they must be under.  

Everyday Heroes

I am so impressed and thankful to all of the hospital staff that are working tirelessly to support all of us that are seriously ill. From the doctors and nurses, to the admitting staff, hospital cleaners, security and all the others that are working behind the scenes. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't imagine what you must be feeling and going through. You have your own families and anxious concerns, yet you come to work to support those of us that rely on you for our medical needs. Thank you!  

Other Local Heroes 

A big thank you to all those that are still working to keep our necessities of life going. Grocery staff, truck drivers, restaurant workers, warehouse workers, pharmacy staff, couriers, nursing home staff, news reporters, and the countless others that have been deemed essential by our government who continue to go to work each day. We thank you for keeping the essential goods, services & information flowing. Thank you!

Thank you also to my friends and colleagues that have been checking in on me and my family via phone calls, texts and emails. These ongoing connections are so important, but especially during these days of isolation for all of us. Even if we can't meet in person, checking in with each other is vital at this time. Thanks to those that have checked in on me. You will never know how much this means to me and my family. I have also tried to reach out to others to check on them to see if they are ok. We all need to do our part! 

Special Request

I have a special request of all of you reading this blog. I ask that you check in on at least two people each and every day (family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances) to see how they are coping during these difficult days. You chose the method (phone call, text, email, video conferencing etc.!) Together we can ensure that physical distancing doesn't mean social isolation and that it doesn't get the best of us!

Finally I would like to thank my online community of friends and followers for keeping me informed and entertained. It seems to be my 'go to' place for 'just in time' information and updates. I do try to limit my viewing of COVID-19 information updates. I don't know about you but the more I watch it, the more anxious I get! Thank goodness for all the creative tweets, posts, videos and blogs that help to distract us. I must say how impressed I am with the creativity of others online. Some make me laugh hysterically, others have me close to tears. Emotions are definitely running high these days.

We are certainly missing our Saturday night hockey games, missing the Toronto Maple Leafs, but all of this is the right thing to do.  

Remember let's keep a hockey stick apart! 

Richard