In the middle of July, we were upset to find out that my mom had a cancerous tumor in her colon. She receives really good care in Lethbridge and the doctors were quick to schedule surgery for the end of the month. Her surgery went well and they were able to remove the tumor completely by just removing a small section and she is recovering well from her surgery. She had some scary moments being taken to the ICU with irregular heart rhythms following surgery but got that all straightened out. Scans did show however that she has some cancerous spots or lesions on her liver as well. So she will be starting chemo next week for that, we've been told this treatment will be ongoing for 6 months. We are all very optimistic about it, because my mom is otherwise healthy and a very strong person, and she continues to have such a positive attitude which can do nothing but good for her.
So, while the kids and I were staying in Lethbridge, so I could visit my mom in hospital post-surgery, I get a phone call from Matt (who's living the bachelor life in Calgary while he works for 4 days). He's in the hospital because he had gone out for a walk late one night, decided to jog through a "park"/field to get home, and has fallen and broken his ankle. The poor guy rolled it, then fell on top of it, then tried to stand up on it, and then dragged himself to the curb where he waited 3 hours for someone to stop and help him. (I guess 6'5" guys don't feel nervous enough to take their cell phones with them when out walking in the dark...) He had to have surgery on it - 6 pins and a plate. So I left the kids with my in-laws (thank goodness for them!), hopped in the car and drove back to Calgary. Matt spent the night in the hospital, and after sleeping off the anesthetic and pain meds, and some lessons on using his crutches, we were in the car headed back to Lethbridge (his aunt and uncle were visiting from BC and he wanted to visit, and he wanted to see the kids that night). He now has an air cast (but still crutches) and is back at work for a few hours a day. We've been driving him and picking him up downtown because he can't drive or take transit. (From our house to downtown, 2 round trips a day, and they're only letting him work 4 hours. You do the math - it's not pretty). But we are glad he's ok and it wasn't any worse. On the bright side, we've spent lots of time together as a family this month. Here's a picture of Matt at his parent's house a couple of days after surgery:
Back at home. Cheesecake made 'specially for the patient:
Matt with the new air cast:
Anyways, it was the day after Matt broke his ankle that our very first nephew was born!! Oscar Philip Olfert was born August 3 in New York. Congratulations to Jason and Michaelia! Michaelia was 10 days overdue and was finally induced. Oscar was born by C-section after a long labor and had some water in his lungs, and somehow ended up having Strep B virus. So he had to stay in the NICU for 10 days for his antibiotic treatment. (This, just to add to the series of unfortunate events, we find out via cell phone call as I am driving hop-along back down to Lethbridge, shortly after he was discharged from hospital). But we are very happy and thankful that Oscar is healthy, and he has been home for a few weeks now. The new mom and dad are enjoying their little boy very much. We are excited to be a real Auntie and Uncle and we can't wait to meet him - not until they visit at Christmas though. Here's a picture of Oscar. He's so cute:
So we have a couple weeks at home to get our heads on straight, and a nice visit to Taber to spend a few days with my mom at home. (Right before we arrived, my Granny's close friend Joe passed away which was very sad for her as they spent a lot of time together. But my Granny was there with him, and he had been unwell for a while.) Last weekend we went to Wetaskiwin for a Mayer family reunion (my dad's side). It was a nice visit with family that we do not get to see very often. I did miss my dad, and thought how he would have enjoyed it too. I was so busy visiting (and keeping up with my kids) that I did not even take any pictures. I should have given the camera to Matt while he was sitting there with his foot up! We got home Sunday, and to my surprise Wednesday get a message from my cousin that my Auntie Marg had suffered a heart attack Sunday night in Edmonton. Last I heard though she was due to come home from the hospital and to take it easy at home, so fortunately she is alright.
So, our family and friends are in our thoughts and we hope that the rest of you are safe and sound and well. I am also very glad at the moment that I decided to stay home from work this year too, I can't imagine my state of mind if I had just had to start back teaching too. On a positive note, this weekend we celebrated Lewis' first birthday with a BBQ at our house, with lots of family. I will post the pictures when I get them off my camera. I can't believe a whole year has gone by already and how much he has changed. We are so fortunate to have such a healthy happy little boy (and for Jaina too, who is a wonderful sister).
We are off this week for a vacation to Sylvan Lake. We had booked it a while ago and Matt decided he still wanted to go (that it was actually better than riding in to work every day for 4 hrs), and that we could use a little R&R. So when we get back hopefully I have some nice pictures to post from that too.
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