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A quiet week. The hernia is all but in the past, and I continue to ramp up my activity levels. I restarted yoga, and apart from a few stretches, rarely felt any sharp pain. And thanks to some more winter weather, I was able to gradually – and gently – shovelling some snow. Another form of physio!
I also attended a ‘non-fundraising fundraiser’ (i.e., no pledge forms but strong messaging about how well funds are used) at The Ottawa Hospital. Really well-organized, and they have their messaging and story down pat (the mantra ‘Compassionate People, World-Class Care’) is matched by their emphasis, in highlighting success stories, on ‘talent, technology and research’.
More leading-edge work done here than I expected, although I had some confirmation while getting my second opinion from Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital, Canada’s leading cancer centre, of just how respected the Blood and Marrow Transplant team here is. The other message, always relevant, is how low fundraising administration costs are (20-25 percent, compared to most large cancer charities, which are in the 40 percent range), which is always something I look at.
A nice touch was being seated beside one of my nurses from 5 West (the hematology ward). Nice to catch up and, as she said, the nurses are always happy to see how patients are doing well after they have left their care.
The dinner even included a nice shout-out to my book!
We watched Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom. A quirky movie (like all of his movies), about two kids who find it difficult to fit in, one a boy scout in a camp, the other a girl from a dysfunctional family, who run away together. Never really comes together, even if it is well-filmed (the colour has a sepia tone which gives it an unusual warmth).
I continue to wade through my mafia book (The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto). It is heavy going, and I think unfortunately, the storyline suffers through the endless details of meetings, killings, drug busts, court cases (successful and unsuccessful) and the like. I admire the authors’ detailed research but a shorter book would be more engaging.
Life continues to be good.
My Lymphoma Journey 
Take it easy Andrew!
How wonderful to have nothing to report. 🙂 Glad to hear that you are on the mend. And Spring is just around the corner. Last week I put in the lettuce and the green onions and started tomatoes in small pots in a warm spot in the house. The forsythia is about to bloom here as well – the sign that it is time to prune the roses and fertilize.
Spring is a bit later here, still lots of snow to melt but the sun is stronger, the days longer and the snow is melting, so a similar feeling. But gardening will have to wait another month or so!