Latest CT Scan is Clear!

Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!

Jeanette and I have just come from meeting with Dr. Irish. My head and neck CT scan from last week shows no signs of cancer! We were expecting this result, but it is nevertheless an absolute relief to have it confirmed.

This scan will now become the baseline to which my future CT scans are compared. I am now back on schedule for getting check-ups every two months for a year, then every three months for the year after that, and so on.

My new motto: "Cancer-free since 2007"

The Skater and the Sideliner

It seems that I'm destined for the sidelines. About 24 hours prior to my skating date with Alfredo, a muscle seized in my chest and it made putting my boots on a major challenge, let alone pulling on a pair of skates. Although ice is recommended for muscle pain -- and no doubt my chest would be touching the ice more than my skates -- I decided it safest to leave my skates at home on Saturday. Ah, my dilapidated body.

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Alfredo was disappointed that I didn't join him on the ice, but after a few laps zipping around the rink at Mel Lastman Square, he was all smiles.

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It was a beautiful, sunny day, and I had a fine time on the sidelines snapping pictures, chatting with the other land-lubbers, and cheering on Alfredo. Considering that this was only his second time on skates, he did remarkably well and stayed on his feet most of the time. My lack of skating skills prevented me from offering any advice for improvement, but a kindly Big Sister took him under her wing and offered some tips on how to turn his ice-trotting into more of a glide.

Between Alfredo's hour-long skating sessions, we took breaks to check out the other activities arranged by Big Brothers, including a pizza lunch, a scavenger hunt, a martial arts demonstration, and a couple of clowns making balloon animals. Alfredo scored their last creation of the day -- an impressively complex balloon version of Spider-Man.

On the bus ride home, we both enjoyed that pleasant dozy feeling that comes after a busy day of outdoor winter fun. I've promised Alfredo that we'll hit the rink again just the two of us before the skating season ends (assuming the warranty doesn't expire on yet another part of my body).

Scans, Skates, and Shoes

Today I had my follow-up CT scan of my head and neck. Next week I meet with Dr. O'Sullivan to review the results. Fingers crossed for a spotless scan!

Moving on down to the feet, Alfredo and I spent a fun foot-focused Saturday this past weekend courtesy of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto. First stop was Play it Again Sports where the crack staff fitted us each with a shiny new pair of ice skates!


BBBST, Play it Again Sports, and Capitol One have generously joined together to purchase skates for every skateless Big and Little who signed up to attend Big Brothers Winter Carnival next weekend. Alfredo loves to skate but has never owned a pair and so was over the moon at the gift. As for me, although I have yet to learn how to skate, Jeanette keeps threatening to teach me and now there's no excuse not to learn. Watch this space next week for photos of Alfredo and me in action (read: falling a lot) in our matching skates.

The footwear fashion parade continued when we zipped over to the Rexdale Bowlerama where we donned some bowling shoes and joined the Big Brothers Bowl for Kids Sake community day.


This was a more laid back affair than the media day of two weeks ago, and Alfredo was relieved not to have to give a single interview this time around. Instead, we had an entire lane to ourselves for the entire three hours. The extra time did our bowling skills good and by the end we'd racked up a number of strikes between us.

It was another amazing weekend thanks to Big Brothers and there are more to come. My ongoing thanks and appreciation to the hard-working folks who organize all these great activities. After all, buying skates and providing bowling shoes for all these Littles is incredible enough but for the Bigs as well? That is no small feet! (Sorry. Couldn't resist.)

Running on Full

This morning I managed a full run of my old jogging route!

Less than a minute into my run I could just feel that my energy was going to hold, and sure enough I managed to complete the full circuit without slowing to a walk. Given my recent difficulties with running and the icy ruts on the flash-frozen sidewalks today, I wasn't expecting to get very far. Let's hear it for surpassing low expectations!

Until I can do the full route consistently, I'll continue to supplement my running with walks whenever I can. On just such a walk through Mount Pleasant Cemetery last month, I had the breathtaking experience of spotting a very large hawk swoop low among the gravestones and land on tree close to me. Its huge wing span (four to five feet, I would guess) was hard to miss, and even with wings folded, the bird appeared too large for the tree in which it perched. I managed to snap a photo with my crappy cell phone camera, but it doesn't do justice to this majestic bird:

Here's hoping this is a symbol of how my health and energy will soar in the year to come (we'll ignore the symbolic implications of this being a bird of prey in a cemetery).

'Bots, Books, and Bowling

Despite my fluctuating energy levels and recent back-to-back-to-back snowstorms, it's been a busy few weeks. My weekends have been especially filled with fun stuff thanks to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto. I had promised Alfredo that we'd get together every Saturday (as opposed to every other weekend) in January to make up for the time we missed during my treatment. Big Brothers has been kind enough to schedule all sorts of events to chase away the winter blahs, and we've been attending them all.

First up was a build-your-own robot workshop sponsored by Celestica at the Ontario Science Centre. We attended a similar workshop in September of 2006 and were delighted to discover that this year's robot was different from last time. In 2006, the 'bot was more of a "some assembly required" contraption. This year's robot was more about programming than putting it together. Its easy-to-use software came on a CD that Alfredo was able to take home, along with the robot itself... but not before kicking some robotic butt on the various challenges set up around the workshop room. Here he is winning an intense race against a Little Sister competitor around a Martian obstacle course:

Last weekend we were out and about again to attend the 2008 Bowl For Kids' Sake. Being last year's Big Brother / Little Brother of the Year, we were specifically invited to attend Media & Corporate Day to give interviews. Alfredo learned the exhausting side of fame and soon tired of posing for pictures and talking into microphones.

Fortunately, we were also there to bowl and we had a blast on the lanes. Also fun was bowling on the Nintendo Wii, several of which were set up for the event. This was my first experience with the Wii and it took some getting used to, as Alfredo also discovered when his first virtual ball went flying into the crowd of electronic onlookers. I was grateful he had more control with the real bowling balls.

A Wii was also up for grabs as the grand prize in the fund-raising raffle. I bought some tickets hoping to win it for Alfredo. Our number didn't come up for the Wii, but we were shocked to win the fourth-place prize: a gift bag of makeup products! Despite his disappointment at winning makeup rather than a video game console, Alfredo couldn't wait to take his prize home to his mom. What a kid!

When not bowling or building robots, Alfredo has been helping me out with a project for work. I'm currently finishing up editing on a book called The Seventh Expert that combines non-fiction information about the Middle Ages with game-playing elements to keep readers engaged. Alfredo and I have been field testing the game and I'm thrilled to report that Alfredo has really been enjoying it. We have yet to finish it and will continue to play through the book in the coming weeks.

And speaking of work, last month I mentioned the launch of the Tea Time at Annick Press blog. This past week I posted an entry there about editing picture books. Check it out for a further glimpse of my job.