Sunday 13 April 2014

A little good news

My mom got the results of her breast surgery back on Friday.  There were nice clear margins around the lump they removed, and her lymph nodes were clear as well.  She still needs a bit of follow up (likely some radiation and possibly hormone treatment), but overall it's the best possible outcome she could have hoped for.   We're all so overjoyed to finally get a bit of good news for a change!

The past couple of weeks have actually been some of the best I've had in a while in terms of mood and energy.  It all started with my trip home to see my family after my mom's surgery a few weeks ago, which probably did me just as much good as it did for her.  My dad was the only one who knew about my visit, which I feared for a while was going to lead to disaster since he couldn't seem to wrap his head around the basics of lying to his wife.  I kept having to field questions about how he was going to get to the airport to pick me up without her knowing (answer: tell her you're going to the hardware store, where you routinely disappear for hours so she definitely won't want to come) or how he was going to stop her from sending my birthday present in the mail (obvious answer: take it and tell her you'll mail it, then DON'T MAIL IT).  It was hilarious and cute at the same time, and reassured me that my dad would never be able to pull off having a secret second family somewhere.  

Despite my doubts, Dad came through in the end and my mom's reaction (huge hug, incoherent happy tears) was definitely worth it.  Then we pulled together an impromptu 38th birthday party for me and had a big family dinner to celebrate.

The rest of the week was spent doting on my 4-year old niece, to whom I am now the awesomest person on planet earth.  We coloured Disney princesses, had a sleepover, braided each other's hair, did each other's makeup (Rocky Horror Picture Show mean anything to anyone??), went shopping, ate ice cream, skipped rope, watched "Frozen", danced about a thousand times to Pharrell's "Happy", and in general had an absolute blast.  I loved everything about being the cool aunt, and it makes me wish we lived closer to my family so I could do it more often.  By day two my niece was begging to stay home from day care so that we could hang out, and at the end of my trip she was talking about how soon she could come to Toronto to visit me.  Man, I love that kid!!

The return home to M and Buddy was bittersweet, but on the plus side spring has finally come to Toronto after what has felt like the longest winter EVER.  We've had some great weather the past couple of weekends, which has allowed us to finally get outside and clear up all of the branches and debris from the ice storm that we had just before Christmas.  We still need to hire some tree and lawn people to help with the last of the cleanup and recovery, but at least our neighbours aren't embarrassed by us anymore.

Finally, we're pretty close to narrowing down our clinic for donor egg in the Czech Republic.  We have had a few Skype consults and I'll share more about our selection process in a later post.  Also, on Friday I was psyched to see that the province of Ontario has announced that it will begin funding one cycle of IVF starting in 2015.  While it's a bit late for me, it's a huge step in the right direction for other infertile couples and goes a long way to helping a lot of people who otherwise couldn't afford it.  All in all, lots to feel good about!

26 comments:

  1. I'm so happy to read this post... Happy news all around :). I'm also so glad that your mom is doing well!! XOXO

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  2. The secret trip preparation with your dad sounds awesome! I'm glad it was such a success. And of course, so glad that things with your mom look good. Hoping for more good news from Toronto!

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  3. So glad to hear your mum is okay! And it sounds like your heart is healing a little over your chemical pregnancy. Sending you much love and continued healing xo

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  4. Awesome post! Your parents sound adorable and I'm glad you got to spend time with your family-- sometimes they really are the best medicine. I'm excited to hear more updates about the Czech Republic.

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  5. Great news about your mom! So glad your dad was able to pull off the surprise!

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  6. So glad you had a great visit! Happy for you!

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  7. All such good news. Your dad sounds adorable. Good for him for pulling off the surprise!

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  8. Glad you had such a nice trip home :)

    And I heard about Ontario funding once cycle of IVF - how awesome is that?! Hopefully all provinces follow suit. As you said, a little late for us... but still very awesome for others!

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  9. So glad that your Mom got great news and that you got a nice visit. It sounds like it was very therapeutic.

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  10. That is great news about your mom and I am so excited you guys are making progress with your donor program. Wishing nothing but great things for you!

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  11. Glad to hear your mom's test results were the best possible and happy to hear you had such a nice trip!

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  12. That's great news about your mom! What a cute story about your dad and I'm glad you had a great trip.

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  13. I am so so happy to read the news about your mom. My one question is, why are there no pictures of your makeup done by your niece?!

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    Replies
    1. I am so very tempted, as it's the best photo ever, but I'm stubbornly maintaining my blog anonymity by not posting pics. You'll just have to imagine me as Tim Curry in Rocky Horror. I assure you, it's not far off!

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    2. That's a pretty awesome mental image!

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  14. Great news about your mom! And your dad sounds adorable.
    I miss being the cool aunt. My niece is now a surly teenager so I'm not as cool as I once was. Sounds you had a lot of fun. You should bring her to Disneyland. I'll meet you there :)

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  15. Yay for your mom's news! And wonderful for your dad to be able to pull off "lying" to your mom. :) I am excited for you about deciding on a clinic. Can't wait for your cycle to start.

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  16. I commented once and then I disappeared. I'm sorry. You're on my blogroll now and I will be coming back :)
    So glad to read that you've had a good few weeks, and that you are feeling better than after the chemical. And also, I'm very glad to read that you are moving ahead with DE. I look forward to reading more about your experience in the Czech Republic.
    And I've been very happy to hear that one cycle of IVF will now be covered in Ontario. Not quite as good as Quebec's coverage, but we'll take it (I also live in Ontario)

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  17. I'm so happy to hear that things are looking good with your mom, that you're feeling better and making a decision to move forward with donor eggs. You've been kinda quiet and I was worried about you. Hugs.

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  18. I really enjoyed the old school Simpsons reference. It was the greatest show of our generation. Fingers crossed on your great Czech adventure. Enjoy some authentic Czech beer (in moderation of course) for me before your transfer!

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  19. Aww, I love your dad! How sweet is he! I'm glad you had a great trip home and were able to pull off a surprise for your mom. Isn't being an auntie the greatest? It's so much fun being the cool aunt!

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