countdown

The days are counting down - two more days until the collection of my stem cells, then one week until chemo and transplant. It will be good to be on the other side of those procedures and to begin the journey of recovery. Yesterday I made my first trip into the Krall Centre - the bone marrow transplant day centre at Vancouver General Hospital. I phoned in the morning because of a fever that I was experiencing. An hour later we were off to an appointment with a nurse and doctor. All went well. I feel very fortunate to be living in such close proximity to such impressive care.

Word this week from Caroline Penhale that a car accident has left her with minor injuries that will prevent her from training for the half-marathon in October. She has been given an opportunity to transfer her registration and funds raised to the May 6, 2012 Vancouver half-marathon. Training for that run will begin anew in November. The fundraising goal for the Vancouver run is $1,900. Caroline has already raised $2,595 and so is already well over the goal for her run in May. Once there is an online site for contributions to Vancouver half-marathon in support of Caroline I will post it here.

In the meantime, this moves Janice Love and her participation in the Ride to Conquer Cancer in June 2012 to the fore. Janice is currently 18% of the way to her goal of raising $3,200 for blood cancer research. Your support of her ride will be a great encouragement as she trains throughout the fall and winter months. You can make a contribution by visiting Janice's Ride to Conquer Cancer site online.

off the juice

Today marks another small turning point - I am now officially off the juice. This morning I finished the last of three months of a prescription for steroids. For the past few weeks I have been counting down the days and the pills, looking forward to being through this part of the journey. The good news about high doses of steroids is that they reduce the multiple myeloma in preparation for the upcoming stem cell transplant. The bad news is that the side effects of the steroids are multiple, bothersome and grow over time. Throughout the past three months I have had regular breaks from the steroids. Each break becomes more difficult as my body "comes down" from the super-charged energy that it has been ingesting. I expect that the next week will have its share of fatigue and ache as I go off of the steroids for one last time.

In the meantime, we are back from a wonderful and relaxing family vacation with sunny weather, surrounded by our children and grandchildren. I am now into a series of medical tests and appointments in preparation for the procedures that are scheduled next week and the week following. Next Wednesday my stem cells will be collected. In two weeks from today chemotherapy will be used to shut down my bone marrow so that on the next day my stored stem cells can be used to start me up again. While I can't say that I'm looking forward to the side effects that will come as a result of the chemotherapy I can say that I will be glad to be on the other side of that event. Then it will be a case of slowly but surely getting stronger and healthier again.

Many thanks to all who have sent messages of concern and care, along with word of continuing prayer. It means much to me. Thanks to those in Crescent Beach and in Vancouver who have joined the ranks of a volunteer driver's network to help me get to and from Vancouver General Hospital as needed after the stem cell transplant. What a wonderful support network I have. Thanks, too, to those who have committed support to Caroline Penhale's half-marathon in support of blood cancer research. I see that she is now over 80% of the way to her goal, leaving her needing pledges of $605. Your gift in any amount is a big encouragement to us both.

what lies ahead

This week marks the end of the beginning of my journey with multiple myeloma. The first part of the journey was about discovery and shock and education and preparation for what lies ahead. Since I was diagnosed I have been learning about my disease with my doctors. At the same time family and friends, the congregation and many colleagues have come alongside with support, concern and care. It has been something of a whirlwind. It is certainly not what I had in mind for the summer of 2011.

The second part of my journey with multiple myeloma is the good fortune to be eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant (a transplant using my own stem cells). Preparation for this procedure began when I started a three month treatment using steroids to put the myeloma into remission. I have one more month of this treatment to complete. During the next month I have a number of appointments, tests and procedures in preparation for the transplant. If all goes well I am scheduled to have my stem cells harvested on August 17 & 18. Then I am to have a single chemotherapy treatment on August 24 (to "erase my hard drive"). On August 25 I am scheduled to receive my stem cells back. It normally takes about seven to ten days from that event before the stem cells graft to the bone marrow and begin to produce blood cells again. Amazing. I am to go through the entire procedure as an out patient of the Krall Centre on the 6th floor of the Centennial Pavilion at Vancouver General Hospital. Unless I become very ill I will not be staying in the hospital over night. Instead, I will get rides to and from the hospital as needed. I will be living at home, away from crowds and the risk of infection for about three months before being able to return to ministry part-time. Full-time ministry should follow early in 2012. It all depends on keeping healthy and getting stronger. Then my doctors say that I can expect to enjoy a lengthy remission. That is why it is my good fortune to be eligible for a stem cell transplant.

In the meantime, our family is getting away on a vacation. We are really looking forward to being together before I begin the next stage of the journey. We will be out of computer range. This blog will be silent for awhile. I will post again in August.

Thanks to so many for your support, care and prayers. It is a powerful experience that fills me with gratitude. Thanks, also, to those who have sponsored Carmen, Caroline and Janice in their runs and ride to raise funds for blood cancer research. Carmen has reached her goal. Janice has until June 2012 to reach her target. Caroline is nearing her goal but needs a boost in support to get there this summer. I encourage you to encourage Caroline and myself by becoming one of her sponsors. Today she is 71% of the way to $3,200. It means that she needs donations totaling $925. Your gift of any size gives her another motivation to train and lifts my spirits. Thank-you!

Donate in support of Caroline Penhale's half-marathon for blood cancer research.

you can never be sure

"I hard hardly begun to read
I asked how can you ever be sure
that what you write is really
any good at all and he said you can't
you can't you can never be sure
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
if you have to be sure don't write"

- W. S. Merwin ("Opening the Hand")

i did not know it

Yesterday (Sunday) was a big day for us. It was the last Sunday we will be together until I am able to return from the stem cell transplant. We are hoping that we will be back together on Reign of Christ Sunday (November 21) or the first Sunday of Advent (November 28). It is only eighteen weeks or so but that is a long time for a pastor and congregation to be apart, especially when it involves re-booting the pastor's immune system. But it was also a big Sunday yesterday because two infants were baptised into the community and an adult entered the congregation through the renewal of her baptismal vows. Any time that the community welcomes new disciples of Jesus into its life is a big day for the church. We could tell that it was a big day by the turn out. When we have to use all the chairs and when we run out of bulletins we know it is a big day. That is especially true when it happens on a Sunday in the middle of July when things are usually quiet and people are usually away. Because it was a big day we had planned to make a video of the service so that those who could not be with us could share something of the experience with us. And all went well - except for one thing. The battery on the video camera failed at exactly the point when the sermon began and we did not discover the problem until the moment when the sermon ended. I expect it is a message from God. Something about not being able to hoard manna in a video camera. The Word of God is meant for the moment, not for collecting. At least, that's what I take from this technical glitch. So, in place of the sermon in video or print form here are some scribbled sermon notes that take off from where I left off yesterday ...

love after love

"The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life."

- by Derek Walcott

ride janice ride

First there was Carmen Lansdowne, living in Oakland, California and training to run the half-marathon in San Francisco this coming October in support of blood cancer research in my name. As of today, with the help of twenty-eight sponsors, Carmen has raised 109% of her goal of $2150 ($100 per kilometre). Way to go Carmen and friends!

Then there was Caroline Penhale, living in Vancouver, BC and also training to run in the half-marathon in San Francisco this coming October in support of blood cancer research in my name. As of today, with the help of thirty-one sponsors Caroline has raised 66% of her goal of $3,200 ($150 per kilometre). This leaves her $890 short of her target. Your help in getting her to the finish line will be really appreciated by both Caroline and myself. We are almost there!

Now there is Janice Love, my former colleague at University Hill Congregation and long-time friend, living in Vernon, BC with husband Jim and my godson, Jameson. Janice is a co-conspirator in the creation of the Christian Seasons Calendar. She was the one who created the first proto-type after I had come up with what seemed an improbable concept. Now, all these years later, she continues as part of the team that publishes and distributes the calendar from University Hill Congregation. Janice has been inspired to begin training for the Ride to Conquer Cancer in support of blood cancer research. It means she plans to participate in the ride from Vancouver to Seattle in June 2012. It is a long way! Talk about commitment. Janice is riding and raising funds in my name and in the name of Simon Higginson, the brother of Jameson's school principal, who has also been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Janice has just begun training and fund-raising. To date she has raised 13% of her goal of $3,200 ($150 per kilometre). Janice has many months of training and fund-raising to go. You can see a picture of Jameson and me when he was an infant and you can make a contribution to Janice's ride by visiting Janice's Ride to Conquer Cancer site. Your support for Janice and for Simon and for me means a lot to us all.

Speaking of my godson - Happy 8th Birthday on July 18 Jameson!