Hitting the Road

After a long, and somewhat painful hiatus, we are on the road again! The fact that you're reading this means we have survived! After two years, two rounds of chemo, a stem cell transplant, and a month of daily radiation. David is cancer free! We are learning to live with the inevitable consequences of intense treatments. We are learning to live with the uncertainty of tomorrow. We are learning how to restart a full, rich, life that came to an abrupt and sudden halt.

Almost exactly two years after our travel adventures came to a startling halt, we are picking up, pretty much, where we left off! We were traveling with Jonathan and Jenna. We had explored Canada’s east coast and were back in Ontario for, what was supposed to have been, a brief visit, when cancer slammed into our lives. Now we are back on the road with the second leg of our journey, this time heading west.

Jonathan and Jenna are moving to the Yukon for a year to adventure in Canada’s north. We will travel with them, for the next six weeks, as far as Alberta, before heading back home. As those who have “travelled” with me before know, my blog is my way of recording my trip. It’s a reflection of my travel, and created primarily for me. But anyone who wants to come along for the ride, is more than welcome to join in our adventures!

After a bit of a rocky start, we are finally settled in our first camping spot for the next four nights. When I say rocky, I am not kidding! Until David’s most recent scans results were confirmed, we made plans and hoped for the best. One of cancers victims is the illusion of tomorrow. Living in the moment is a beautiful concept until that is all that you have! I have always found much joy in looking forward, and have missed terribly the delight in anticipation. However following David’s scans on June 2^nd, the PET results on Tuesday offered promise. The CT reports on Wednesday suggested possible dread. So we spent the remaining time before our appointment with his team on June 9^th, betwixt and between! Not a great place to be at any time, let alone on the eve of a seven-week adventure! Monday, the oncology team confirm he was cancer free and wished us a great holiday! We didn’t have to see them for another six months. The best possible news sent us into a panic as we scrambled to be ready to leave in just two days. It was a welcome challenge!

By Monday night we were back into the unknown when we received a message that more blood tests and scan reports arrived after we left the appointment. We understood there was no serious concerns so, apprehensively we continued to get ready to go. Tuesday morning packing came to a halt when a call came from an unknown doctor booking further tests and appointments for next week! After several hours of emails and messages left and returned, the storm settled and we learned through some miscommunication on their end, there was in fact, not an emergency and we were told to enjoy our holiday and this could all wait until we returned.

This morning, shortly before we were about to leave, a call came from another doctors office at Princess Margaret Hospital, telling us they were booking a full-body PET scan and CT! Reeling as to why this was suddenly necessary it took a full ten minutes into the call before the assistant told us she was booking for June 2026!! She might have led with that!

We managed to be ready to go with only a 30-minute delay and we were off! The joy of hitting the open road was indescribable! Or at least it was joy until we were 33 minutes from our destination and traffic simply stopped! An hour of not moving, with folks out walking and chatting on Highway 69, before we learned that the road was expected to be closed for at least 12 hours. The only detour option, confirmed through OPP, was a 2 hour 52 minute trip!

Finally, long after the park had closed for the day, we arrived at Grundy Lake Provincial Park. We found our site, set up and walked around to explore this beautiful, tranquil oasis that we’ll call home for the next few days. All’s well that ends well??

Jonathan and I took a walk with Nola before bed. We were delighted to discover the only light sources were the night sky, the occasional flickering campfire and the many, many fireflies that twinkled along with us as we made our way to the lake. We joked that even with everything that happened on our way to finally arriving here two years later than expected, it felt like we were on a film set, and it's going to be a beautiful movie.

our home away from home

our little lake

a happy lad indeed, after a very long wait