September

The rest of September went by pretty quickly. I was moving pretty slow but quickly felt pretty much the same as I had presurgery. Being off work and knowing everyone is at school carrying on as usual is kind of weird but I was hoping to go back soon – despite many people encouraging to take as much time as I can and to not rush back. My case worker handling my long-term disability claim is fantastic and very supportive. She seems genuinely concerned about my wellbeing, even offering for me to just call and chat with her if I ever need someone to talk to. She is always asking if I have enough support – I definitely do! Near and far.

Another highlight of the month was a visit from Janine, Brandy and Gabrielle! Janine called me right after my surgery and told me to choose, her come here or me go there because Roger said she could book a ticket! Yay! Selfishly I chose her to come here b/c I really couldn’t face travelling the day she called haha so she booked herself a ticket and prepared for her and Gabby to visit. When I picked her up at the airport some crazy lady jumped out from behind a post asking the time – Brandy came too as a surprise!!! We had such a great visit…even if they were sick while they were here and made me sick too LOL. I was hoping the nausea was a sign of recovery but no…just a case of the flu. It was wonderful having them stay with me, I miss my girls. We mostly just chilled because I tire easily and Janine does have the baby so its hard to ya know climb mountains but we looked at lots of mountains! and they got their crave cupcakes. We had a lot of laughs and they gave me a shoulder to cry on when I had one of my little breakdowns I seem prone to worrying that I’m not getting better. Not gonna lie, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows and although I try to stay positive about getting better it sometimes feels hopeless and its frustrating not being able to do anything but wait it out. Thanks for being there ladies. I also took Janine and Gabby into my school for a visit. Seeing the friendly faces did me a lot of good. My coworkers always make me feel so welcome and it was nice to catch up with them. We were there for the Terry Fox run so a lot of parents were there too and so many came up to say hi and see how I was doing. Its weird, I remember my first day of school there and how I knew nobody…after 4 years there I really feel like a part of the community. And of course the students!! The kids always put a smile on my face. It was such a great feeling having so many past and current students run up excitedly to say hi and ask when I was coming back. Even kids I’ve never taught walked a bit with me to chat. It was good to go back for a visit, just what the doctor ordered. A few teachers were shaving their heads to raise money for cancer so that was a fun thing to be a part of. I made my donation and cheered them on haha! I normally do my own fundraising for cancer in September and do the Light the Night walk for the leukemia and lymphoma society of Canada in recognition of my dad beating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma twice (go Dad!) but the timing of the walk just didn’t work out for me this year – next year for sure.