Helmut’s Journey

So...we have all been home for over a week and there isn't much to report on. We are all doing very well. But you all want to hear about Dad! He is doing very well as well...or at least as well as can be expected. Mom and Dad stayed in the city until last week Tuesday as Dad's platelet levels were still lower then we wanted. Cancer Care Winnipeg made arrangements for Dad to have his blood tests in Brandon and if he needed another infusion then he could also get that there. So with that news Dad called Nathan right away and made arrangements to move the camper back to Austin Tuesday Morning! Let just say they both were happy to be back "home". They stayed in Austin for a couple of days and then headed back to Shoal Lake where according to Dad "feels amazing to be"! He has had a few blood tests and his platelets did not get low enough for another infusion which is wonderful. Since then his body has been producing its own platelets and as of today they are back...

Where has the last Month gone? I came to be with Mom and Dad on July 12th and in the next 2 hours I will be headed back home and back to some sort of normal. This summer has been one for the history books....the only thing I would change would be Dad's Cancer. In my last post I had said that Tuesday was Dad's 73rd Birthday. We surprised him with close friends of ours, Ron and Lise Mitchler. Them being here was what it took to turn Dads frown upside down. We had a great visit and evening with them. Thank you for surprising him Ron and Lise. Tuesday afternoon Mom had noticed Petechiae on Dads feet and legs which apparently it a sure sign of low platelets. Thank goodness Mom was a nurse...I don't know what anyone else going thru this would do without a nurse in their life. I would have never know what "petechiae" was or what to even look for. Anyway because of the he was scheduled for Platelet Infusion Wednesday afternoon. This procedure takes about 1 1/2 hours and i...

Today as I sit here it is hard to imagine that come Saturday (Lord willing) we will be pulling our campers out of Town & Country Campground and heading home. Where have at the past 6 weeks (5 weeks for me) gone? After today Dad has only 3 more Radiation Treatments left...like what?!?!? This week has been the first week that we have seen results that we didn't want to see. There have still been absolutely no side effects from the treatments, physically...but the Chemo has all but killed most of Dad's Platelets. When he started this his Platelet levels were at a healthy 340,000mcl. Every week they dropped a bit but were still in the "Healthy Zone". Last week Wednesday they dropped quite drastically and were at 94,000mcl. He was immediately taken off Chemo and was to get tested again on Monday. He said in his humorous way..."I should have gone to the Olympics, I would have won Gold for the Swan Dive, or at least my Platelets would have"! 🤣 So glad he can m...

As I sit here looking over the campground which has been inundated with smoke from the Northern Manitoba Forest Fires...its hard to think that we are already on week 5 of Dad's Treatments. Whats even harder to believe is that Dad still hasn't experienced ANY adverse reactions to his treatments. Yes you read that correctly...he is still doing AMAZING and looks as healthy as he did on May 28th (the day before this all happened)!! We have been super blessed with how well things are going for him. I keep waiting for the shoe to fall but the way things are looking...I don't think it is going to! We have chosen to live in the Faith that Dad can be completely healed from this cancer. There have been so many prayers sent up for him that it really is humbling! Last week Tuesday Dad went for a walk in the morning to bring the garbage out...there he met and East Indian man who was eating his breakfast beside his camper. Dad being Dad made small talk and asked this gentleman what was f...

As I write this Dad is sitting on my deck in Morden enjoying the beautiful (hot) weather. Yesterday was his 15th treatment...we are half way there. After 15 radiation treatments he is still showing no sign of ill effects or side effects. He is doing AMAZING!! This evening we are going to The Passion Play in La Riviere, so Morden is our rest stop/relaxation depot before we head out for the evening (plus I get to be in my own house for a few hours)!! Tomorrow Mom will hand the reigns over to me for a couple of days while she takes a much needed break and heads home to Shoal Lake! This is where Dad and I change roles and I become his caregiver! Good thing Mom is the one who taught me how to cook so at least I won't poison the ol' man! He and I will either take this as what it is....a bonding moment...or we will just sit there and stare at each other...gonna be interesting! Dad had his 3rd lab day on Wednesday and again his levels came back amazing...his platelets are a bit lower a...

 "Time flies when you are having fun"...but we have discovered that time flies when you are not having so much fun as well! How is it that 2 weeks of treatment are done? Or will be by the time I publish this update today! I just came back from Mom and Dad's camper with an updated selfie of the 3 of us so you all know how good Dad actually looks and how good he is actually doing, instead of it just being hearsay! He is doing AWESOME!! No side effects...just sleeps a bit more!! Mom has Dad on a pretty regimented schedule and doesn't allow him to waver too far away from it so that is huge when it comes to his fight and recovery. Their morning starts at 8am with porridge and his Anti-Nausea Pill, 930am she makes him a huge healthy breakfast and he takes his Chemo Pill, at 10am he takes his Anti Seizure Pill and starts getting ready to leave for his Radiation Treatment. They usually leave the campground around 11-1115am as his appointment is around 1210pm. Yesterday they w...

 One down, Five to go! It has been a week of learning, waiting, appointments, waiting, visiting and did I say waiting?? Dad has officially finished his first week of treatments and it has made me admire him all the more! He is such a strong man and such a trooper...still my hero (that will never change)! After his first treatment day last this past Monday, I received the following text..."That's one day done and it went well. I feel no different"...these words made me smile instantly. My Dad has always been one of little words...unless he really wants to get his point across or if he is telling stories. This experience certainly has him talking a lot more, which I am enjoying every minute of! Their days have consisted of getting up in the morning, Mom makes sure Dad has some porridge in his tummy before she gives him his Chemo Pill, they then eat a hearty breakfast (its good that his appetite is still good), for those of you that know my Dad personally, he can afford to p...