Early Days in Seattle

We arrived in Seattle mid-day Tuesday. Through some mystical guidance system, Arnie was easily able to locate our hotel and we were relieved to check into our room. We will moving into our apartment on the weekend.

We walked to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) clinic on Wednesday morning. We literally walked thru the front doors to find David & Sandra Mandzuk waiting for us. What a wonderful welcome!! We had a short visit over coffee and plan to get together for a longer visit in a few days. David looks wonderful (so does Sandra...) and they had nothing but positive things to say about the care they've received. They have lots of practical advice we need to hear.

Another happy event concerns my brother Bob, who has very recently moved back to Seattle. Bob has lived in the U.S. for some time and we haven't seen much of him. He called tonight to say he plans to be in Seattle for a while. It will be wonderful to see him again.

It's Thursday evening & we've had two full days of tests, conferences and examinations. The clinic staff have been exceptionally helpful and supportive. We are encouraged to ask lots of questions and be actively involved in all aspects of Arnie's care. Appointments are ON TIME!! No hours of excessive waiting. (OK, truthfully we have spent two entire days at the clinic, but we have had many, many appointments, and every single appointment has started within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.) Everyone is very friendly and encouraging. It's a wonderful start to our stay here.

Our evenings have been pretty quiet. We've had some nice suppers out, then head back to the hotel & early to bed. We're in jammies by 9:30 most evenings.

Thanks again for your messages. Picture us happily settling in to our new life here in Seattle.
Brenda & Arnie

We're All on the Bus & We're on the Highway

Day two of our drive to Seattle. We've had wonderful driving weather. The roads have been clear and the traffic light overall. We stopped at Hinton Sunday night & will stay in Chilliwack tonight. Halleluia for high-speed internet.

The drives have been long. There appears to be a Tim free zone between Hinton and Kamloops for anyone looking for a franchise opportunity. You can't pick up radio very well through the mountains, and I'm a CBC radio gal, so we've had to resort to other diversions. We discovered that together we know all the words to the old A&W theme song (...hop in the car. Come as you are, to A&W) We read the information package from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. We learned how to select a healthy hamster (teeth that have grown past the chin or a dirty hind end spell trouble...)

We really feel the presence of family & friends on the journey. We listened to the Debauchery Castle soundtrack composed by Eric's good friend, Graham Pritchard. We stopped for coffee & used our Tim's card. (Thanks Jennifer.) We carefully organized receipts for gas & meals in 'the Kelly'. Need a cup of tea in the evening? Ruth sent an assortment. Feeling far from home? We've read messages from my sister in Yorkton, Arnie's brother in Dubai, my friend Susan, currently in Africa and David & Sandra in Seattle.

We should reach Seattle tomorrow. The next stage of the journey awaits us.
Take care
Brenda & Arnie

Countdown to Departure

Only 3 more sleeps until our departure. We have so much to do yet and I am completely unfocused. Two days ago Arnie found me in the kitchen planning to make bran muffins with some almost-stale dated cream we had in the fridge. This gives you an idea of how well I am prioritizing the tasks at hand. Must use up old cream becomes more important than pretty much anything else. I was told to "step away from the measuring cup".....

We are planning to take a ridiculous number of electronic devices with us to Seattle. Arnie has his lap top & I have a lap top 'hand-me-down' from his office. (Thanks Rob. I'll take good care of Bessie & keep her plugged in all the time.) We have the GPS, the digital camera, the Wii, the MP3 player, the cell phones....and all of them have mysterious cables that look alike but aren't. I need my CD's and Arnie needs his games, including "World of Goo" for the Wii, a Christmas gift from Eric. I have to take many, many books along and all my half-finished knitting projects. We need a kitchen calendar to keep track of appointments, family photos, our address book, clothes for winter, clothes for spring, travel Scrabble, cribbage board & cards, origami paper, medical information, passports, letters for the US customs officials and a partridge in a pear tree.

Over the past few days our impending time away has become very real to me and I have cried many, many rivers. I won't see our sons David & Eric for months, so I'm constantly stopping them for one more hug to hang on to. I hear the sound of Amy-Leigh & Krystle's laughter and can't help but smile. I told Arnie I want to go home already & we haven't even left. But...wither thou goes I will go... The care in Seattle is top notch and I am so grateful that this medical care is available for Arnie. (Thanks Micheal Voralia & Sask Health.)

Arnie is looking forward with his usual optimism, good natured practicality and enthusiasm. No challenge is too daunting. He won't let a little chemo and total body irradiation discourage him. He is so amazing.

Thanks to all of you for your concern and best wishes. We are so blessed by your friendship.
Please keep in touch.
Arnie & Brenda

Called to Seattle

News at last!!
We have been called to Seattle and are expected to arrive by January 28th. This leaves us with two weeks to prepare for departure. I'm feeling a little shaky. Our to-do list is a very long one and the time is short. I'm trying to be reasonable, to prioritize the must do tasks over the should or could do tasks. We are arranging for an apartment close to the SCCA (Seattle Cancer Care Alliance). We are contacting family and friends. Work details are being finalized. The screen door we ordered last August will be installed next week.....

We have had some wonderful moments over the past few weeks. My dear Aunt Arlene was unexpectedly 'storm stayed' in Saskatoon, providing us with an opportunity to share an evening together. Our wonderful neighbour Laura prepared and delivered a gourmet chicken dinner complete with multiple side dishes and two kinds of dessert! We enjoyed an evening of jazz at The Ivy, listening to Nick Fanner's Jazz 20 class from Marion Graham Collegiate and sharing a visit with Natalie, Mike & Chris. Finally, our departure date means we will still be in Saskatoon for Erics' screening of the Debauchery Castle Trilogy. (Saturday January 24th 9:00pm at the Broadway Theatre. Please join us.)

Now back to my to do list. I'm itching to cross something off.
Brenda & Arnie

Fundraiser December 8th, 2008

Welcome to our blog about Arnie and his journey to Seattle for his Stem Cell Transplant. The trip feels as though it really got going with a huge fundraiser at the Odeon Event Centre on December 8th. Over 300 people came with their love and support to help us with on our way. With all those friends, two bands, a live desert auction and a silent auction the evening was quite a celebration. We hope everyone felt as great as we did at the end of the night.

An attached copy of the thank-you speech from Brenda sums up our heartfelt thanks to all our friends.

Thank you so very much everyone. You cannot begin to understand how much your presence here tonight means to our family. We are so blessed to have your friendship and support. This benefit means the world to us and we will carry your love, and prayers and good wishes with us through the months ahead.

Arnie was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in December 2002. Here we are 6 years later, planning for an allogeneic or unrelated donor stem cell transplant to keep his disease in check. We know that Arnie has had a good response to his current round of chemo (cytotoxic drug therapy) and that he has a stem cell donor that is a good match for him. We don’t know any specific details about the donor, but we do know he is a generous individual to offer to help us in this important way. We also don’t know exactly when the stem cell transplant will occur or where it will take place. Because allogeneic stem cell transplants are not performed in Saskatchewan, Arnie and I will be away from home for 3-4 months to complete his treatment and immediate recovery period. We anticipate traveling to the transplant center in early 2009. Saskatchewan Health will cover the medical costs of Arnie’s treatment. The funds raised tonight will be used for our travel to the transplant center, housing and other costs. Thank you so much for your incredibly generous contribution.

As a small thank you, we want to share 3 thoughts with you tonight and here they are:

· Plant a tree

· Look around you

· We’re all on the bus

First: “Plant a tree”

Arnie and I belong to Resurrection Lutheran Church here in Saskatoon. A few weeks ago, the sermon included a quote from Martin Luther. I’ll paraphrase it. Martin Luther was asked what he would do if he knew the world would end tomorrow. He replied “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant a tree”. For some reason, this statement has come back to me over and over in the days that followed. This may be because Arnie is a landscape architect and I have learned how important it is to plant trees; how they provide beauty and shelter and joy. It’s also because I love the sense of hopefulness in Martin Luther’s answer. Even when times are uncertain, we can choose to be hopeful. We can choose to plant a tree, believing it will grow and flourish. Our family strives to live our lives with this hope.

Trees begin as tiny seeds but you must never doubt the power of seeds. They are small but mighty. I want to gratefully acknowledge my friends and colleagues in Pharmacy who first thought of holding this party. The idea for this benefit was a tiny seed planted at the end of an ordinary work day, when 2 wonderful, generous friends paged me to the 5^th Floor Pharmacy Satellite. Thank you so much for planting this seed. Look what has grown: an amazing gathering of friends and family and an outpouring of love and support.

Plant a Tree

Look Around You

Arnie and I have been overwhelmed by the support we have received over the past few weeks: hugs, handshakes, prayers, cards, words of encouragement, shared tears and shared laughter. Your very presence here is a gift to us. You have shared your talents with us tonight: organizing this event, making posters, spreading the word, baking desserts, decorating the hall, donating auction items. In fact, several people have mentioned how much they have enjoyed preparing for Arnie’s Big Party. I suspect that part of the joy comes from knowing this event will help our family. Please remember how much joy comes from acting and helping others. Look around you and continue to share your gifts with others who are in need.

Plant a Tree

Look Around You

We’re All On the Bus

People often describe the experience of having cancer as a journey. We can definitely tell you that when Arnie was first diagnosed we did not want to embark on this journey. We soon discovered that whether we liked it or not, the journey had already begun and we were already on our way. Early after his diagnosis, Arnie sent an email to his brother Gene who who living in Vancouver at the time. He wrote about his cancer journey and the tremendous support we have received. Arnie talked about the many people who are journeying with us, so many in fact that he finally had to hire a bus to carry us all. So…a final thanks to you all. We’re all on the bus together, journeying through life, sharing our best with each other. We are honored to call you friends.

Thanks.