Girl's Got Grandpa's Green-Thumb

On Wednesday, I headed South to take my daughter and her other half back home. They'd been visiting with us for a few days. My plan was to stay with them for the night, and then head to Brantford for my mother's phone consult with the pancreatic oncologist (more on that later).

My daughter's ability with plants astounds me. It definitely skipped a generation from my father to her. She has all kinds of plants inside her apartment.

And the greenery doesn't end there. She has managed to create an incredible "garden" on her 5' x 12' balcony. She grows so many things out there...especially herbs.

She says she's a couple of weeks behind with her garden this year. I will have to get her to send me pictures once her garden has grown. I'm so impressed!!!

On Thursday, I headed to my parents' place so that I could be an extra set of ears for them as the pancreatic oncologist passed on information about options. The usual method of treating this cancer is to remove the pancreas (meaning the person needs insulin for the remainder of their life). We're not sure if this will be an option...for two reasons. One...Mom needed to head to the hospital (Thursday evening) for a CT scan to determine if the cancer had spread beyond the small place next to the duct. If it has spread, removing the pancreas will not be an option. Two...my mother's age. The surgeon that specializes in this complicated procedure may decide that my mother is too old (86) to undergo the procedure.

The second option that was presented was chemo, which my mother would be on for the remainder of her life. It would be what they call a gentle dose of chemo, once every week, but it would still come with many of the issues of receiving chemo (loss of hair, loss of appetite, fatigue, ague, etc.)

In both cases, the timeline is still finite....she will eventually succumb to the cancer. When asked what the timeline would be if she chose to do neither, we heard that she would have 6 months to a year.

We are now playing the "waiting game" to see if the cancer has spread before my mother can make an informed decision.

Following the call...and some discussion...I made the journey back home to Echo In The North. I spent time making phone calls to my daughters, and to my niece's (my sister's daughter) aunt (who adopted upon her brother's passing) to update them on today's information. Not only was I very tired, but I was more than a little heart-sick.

I was very grateful that today I would have a Zoom class for which I still needed to complete the homework. Working slow and steady, I managed to get all the log cabin blocks done.

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN