Category Archives: British Columbia

A Different Kind of Journey

March 2, 2016 ~j

Four years ago we were boarding a flight to New Zealand. Usually there’s a lot of prep that goes into planning a journey. From booking flights to packing, or learning a new language, there’s a lot of work, and that trip was no exception. Well, maybe a little easier than normal, Kiwi’s do speak English after all!

Language lessons typically start with vocabulary. An apple, a man, a dog, etc.; the curve goes up from there. I’ve done anything from learn by tape, to full university courses in a dozen or so different languages. I never expected that I’d be a travel companion through the cancer “journey” or have to learn the language of cancer.

Today, I’ve got some of the basics handled. For example, if you mentioned that someone had low hemoglobin I’d be worried about how tired they might be feeling, or if they’re low enough to need a blood transfusion. Or, if you told me someone had a low ANC, I’d know you were talking about their neutrophils, and their ability to fight infection. Basically how well they’ll cope with their surroundings and day-to-day germs that we all take for granted–like being able to go to the movie theatre, or touch a door knob, or get a paper cut.

Who would have though that we’d start speaking in prescriptions and chemo names and even shorten their names to make life easier? Ondansetron, Met, Dex, Vincristine, Docetaxel, Gemcitabine…the curve has been steep these past few months. I don’t know how my brother and his wife have become fluent so quickly, nor would I have ever wished they’d need such a skill. How lucky we all are that they are smart, caring, extraordinary parents. How lucky we all are that they’ve hurled through these terms for almost 5 months and we can use their acquired knowledge to get through medications and chemo here.

Despite so much chaos and craziness going on from appointment /medication schedules, I’ve seen an oasis of calm. About a month ago I had the pleasure of flying to Vancouver to look after Wyatt for the day while Ben was receiving treatment. Ronald McDonald House is outstanding! The most worrisome part of the trip was the germiness of the flight.

I certainly didn't touch this tray! — I certainly didn’t touch this tray!

Air plane germs freak me out when everyone in my life is healthy!!! Visiting someone who could be neutropenic made flying all the more terrifying. People depend on me for care; getting the common cold is not an option. Through conscious effort I didn’t touch anything on the flight except for the seat belt buckle. Ew Gross! (Thank-you makers of Purell hand sanitizer for making the flight bearable.)

I am so grateful for RMH. What an amazing place! Families worrying about their little ones should not have to face added stress and worry of accommodation in other cities, or even worse the torment of being separated from other family members while another is treated for illness. RMH eliminates that worry. The house really is gorgeous. The most lovely volunteers make the house exceptionally welcoming and warm.

Part of the kitchen

Brothers kept together through the generosity of RMH

Submarine Aquarium

Some of the facilities available at RMH

The Orca Lounge

The Lego Lounge – pieces in those bins are sorted by colour.

Walking past the Arts and Crafts Room

Part of the Kitchen

TV for Family Movie Nights

I’ve updated “Get Involved” to include Ronald McDonald House BC/Yukon. My family has directly benefitted from their generosity. Beyond RMH, I’ve included Canadian Blood Services. There is a shortage of blood across Canada (at the time of writing, there was less than 2 days supply of O-…that’s scary folks!). Please, please donate blood if you’re able! You’ll be saving someone’s life! That my friends is a true mark of the incredible kindness of friends and strangers.

♥
~j

ps: I promise this won’t be come about Cancer. It’s just a different type of travel we’re on now.

British Columbia, Canada, Update

2015: Travel Retrospective

January 18, 2016 ~j

Another year has come and gone, and what a year 2015 has been. Unfortunately, the entries are slightly behind schedule. A few other things have been more important than keeping you all informed about our adventures. Here’s my half-hearted attempt at a 2015: Travel Retrospective.

At the very start of January we gained a nephew. The arrival of little Wyatt was without a doubt the best thing to happen in 2015. He was born on January 2nd, and the year started and quite possibly should have just ended right there with a high point.

In February, we were hoping to be able to travel but unable to make plans due to Fazh’s uncertain health. Work was slower, so I was finally able to write some more, and just have to put on some finishing touches. Really they’re all there in a row just waiting for final editing!

Mid-March, we took a short trip to the tiny town of Lytton, BC. The Thompson and Fraser River Canyons are always beautiful no matter what time of year. The smell of sage brush and white pine will always remind me of summer time and white water adventures.

St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver — St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver

At the end of March, Fazh finally had life changing surgery. I spent a bit of time in Vancouver while he was at St. Paul’s Hospital. Thankfully his care staff were mostly smart and kind. He was surround by visitors, friends and family from near and far which definitely made the lengthy stay in hospital more bearable.

For those of you in the know–which is worse, Hospital Food or Airplane Food?

EW GROSS!

By April we were able to commit to travel. We finally booked our trip to Turkey. Fazh’s Danish friend Heinrich came to Canada. He was a very nice man, and I’m grateful to have met him.

In May I made a couple of trips to Kelowna to take a colleague to her radiation appointments. Traveling back and forth for days on end while undergoing treatment is not optimal, so giving her a little respite with transportation was the least I could do.

So noisy it's hypnotic! — So noisy it’s hypnotic!

Edmonton was my escape in June. Jessie and I had a gastronomic tour of the city and really should have practiced better restraint. Later in the month, our friend Andrew visited us here for a couple of days, and Jon was able to do a bit of climbing.

At the start July we made a little jaunt to Kelowna to visit my Grandma. I think she needs some extra TLC in July, so visiting her was a definite must.

After obscene amounts of gluttony in Edmonton, Jessie came for a visit here. We did a tour of the Okanagan, through to Penticton, Summerland and Peachland. The Summerland Ornamental Gardens are done fairly well, and worth checking out if you’re in the area. FYI: Nothing is quite so tasty as Okanagan grown peaches! Luckily fruit stands are plentiful in the valley, so we returned with some delicious bounty.

July was capped off with a few trips to the Lake, where the kids and dogs are as crazy a bunch as ever. They’re little, and fully of energy, so they’re into catching bugs and minnows, jumping off the dock, and running around like a bunch of crazy toddler/preschool hooligans.

“Ben ağustosta Türkçe öğrendim.” In August I learned Turkish! If you have never used Duolingo before and you’re keen on learning a new language for FREE, it is awesome. Be respectful of the citizens of your next destination; at least learn some basic phrases and greetings. The tiny bit of goodwill goes a long way.

We spent a couple of weeks traveling through Turkey, and a few days in Greece. What absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous people and fabulous trip! This was also the first of our travels where we’ve been too ill to eat. However, we persevered and saw so many beautiful things. My favorite new spot is definitely the town of Göreme. More on that to come, I promise.

October is when things usually start getting really busy at work; this year was exceptionally difficult. My director lost her father, and a week later she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

We did have a small bit of normalcy with our traditional trip to the Salmon Run at the end of the month with my niece and nephew. And then…

In November time stopped.

My 3 year old nephew was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was instantly airlifted to Vancouver, and has been there since.

December, typically the most “challenging” month for work continued right on being horrible for so many reasons. There were two good days. Two.

One where we visited Vancouver to see Ben. We walked to Granville Island and fed pigeons and gigantic sea gulls. (Note: Feeding the birds is against the rules, but who wouldn’t break one like that to make a child with a life threatening illness smile?!) Ben was himself for a small bit of the afternoon. The other good day was when we celebrated Christmas on the 20th to accommodate his chemo schedule.

On the 27th, I had to take Fazh to the hospital for what he thought was a stomach flu. He had not eaten anything in 5 days. Turns out his cancer is back, and horrid for the 3rd time now. And now we wait to see if there is anything chemo can do to make him more comfortable.

As a side note, why must tumours always be compared to produce? Why not sports equipment, or office supplies? A tumour the size of a computer mouse would be much more appealing than a couple of grapefruits.

As fazh says, “At least it isn’t a pineapple.”

Here’s to 2016,
~j

British Columbia, North America, Update

2014: Travel Retrospective

January 31, 2015 ~j

Wow, 2014 was a year of travel near and far. A year that was busy and fulfilling, was also a year of change for the site, though the migration to self-hosting is still not complete! Maintaining a writing focus, while working full-time (sometimes more than full-time), and managing a household is a struggle of a balancing act. Sometimes, it’s more about living the experience, than writing it all down for y’all. Sorry, but it’s true.

Looking back on all of the mini-trips, visitors and experiences we had over the year, I thought I’d put together a recap of sorts. So here it is folks, your 2014 Travel Retrospective.

WINTER

January was a month of lingering cough and cold that felt like it was never, ever going away! Finally, we were well enough to travel, and made it to Mexico to visit Andrew. The Mayan Riviera, though not normally my go to vacation scene, was a great little getaway. (You can read about it HERE.)

February was a quiet month for travel because we had visitors here for a sporting event. There was plenty of time for card games, snacking and catching up between their beloved curling games. (FYI: You couldn’t pay me to watch curling. It’s BORING!)

Bombardier Dash 8-300 prop — The Bombardier Dash 8-300 purrs like a kitten

March gave me the opportunity to go to Edmonton to visit Jessie. We spent a few days chatting, shopping, and touring some of the most hideous Dream Lottery homes ever built. Driving to Edmonton is always a laborious task, but well worth the scenery. However, for this trip, I hopped the 1 hour flight. SO. MUCH. BETTER. On the flight home, I connected with my sister-in-law and nephew in Calgary, and we were all able to fly home together. Little Ben flew like a champ. (His mom did too; anyone who can fly with a toddler deserves a prize!)

SPRING

April and May kept us closer to home. We had a couple of day trips to Vancouver & Kelowna. Vancouver is always a nice getaway even during spring showers. For a change we chose not to drive through the city, and take the Sky Train instead.

Vancouver SkyTrain Map — Thanks for the SkyTrain map Wikimedia commons!

I’ve LOVED the SkyTrain since Expo ’86. And, traveling like a tourist in your own backyard is kind of fun once in a while. We spent the day shopping with my Aunt; I purchased a fab little backpack that has been one of my favorite gear purchases this year.

Then, the most shocking event in the history of our friendship with Andrew occurred in June. HE. GOT. MARRIED! This from the guy who has been an opponent to marriage and monogamy for as long as I can remember, not that he’s for being single, unfaithful or promiscuous either, he’s just never been pepped up about marriage. Well, Andrew met his match in his wife, and we couldn’t be happier for them. We travelled to Golden for the festivities. Catching up with old friends and laughing until our sides hurt made for a super fun weekend.

SUMMER

Oddly, I visited the Columbia River Valley twice in less than 30 days. Once for the aforementioned impromptu wedding, and once for a “camping” trip with Jessie and her family for the first week of July. (Q: Is it still technically classified as camping if you’re sleeping in a double bed, have air conditioning and a DVD player?)

We “camped” near Radium Hot Springs, at Redstreak Provincial Campground. One of the days we drove through to Cranbrook and Kimberly. Along the way we stopped at Fort Steele, a heritage town with a sweet little steam engine train.

Seven Parks in the Canadian Rockies share a UNESCO designation. Driving through the beauty of Rogers Pass to the Burgess Shale, it’s easy to understand why.

My friend Stacey came home from Alberta in August, and it was nice to catch up with her for a quick visit. Jon and I stayed pretty close to home for the most part. We made a few trips to the Lake.

Seymour. She’s a beauty when she doesn’t smell like wet dog.

Lake days are always filled with long hours at the beach, way too many snacks, and pseudo-competitive card games–mix that up with some sun screen, and a couple of wet dogs, and you’ve got the full package. We brought our niece with us for one of the trips. She’s quite the car dancer. The kid has moves even while buckled into a car seat.

FALL

Our new little nephew was born the first week of September…while we were waiting for a flight in Toronto. Yep, we missed his arrival because we were traveling to Spain. Jon and I spent two weeks touring through Spain visiting some gorgeous historic sites. More on that adventure to come. Trust me, I’ll be very busy writing over the next couple months.

October was ridiculously busy month for me work wise. A co-worker was diagnosed with cancer, so we lost an integral member of the team while she left to focus on getting herself well. I missed our annual tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch. Jon was able to go, and had a great time with the kids. Later in the month, we were able to sneak away for an afternoon to visit the Adam’s River Salmon Run. Our niece and nephew were so excited to see all of the fish. We’ll have to make it an annual tradition too.

In November, Fazh decided to go to Denmark. He asked me to plan the trip about a week before he decided he was leaving. For so many reasons the task was nearly impossible! Through some divine intervention, I was able to find his Danish friend on the internet, and he ended up having a once in a lifetime trip. And now, Fazh too must focus on getting himself well.

December, while frazzling, has updated/reinforced my outlook that the “small stuff” shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar. There are so many more important ways to spend time than focusing on trivial matters.

That brings us back to January. Our newest nephew was born on the 2nd. Fortunately, we were in the same city for his arrival. At present we just wait to hear from surgeons, so that they get Fazh fixed up.

We’ve had so many wonderful adventures this year; Thanks to everyone who was a part of them.

Here’s to 2015,

British Columbia, Canada, North America

Salmon Run

January 12, 2011 ~j 1 Comment

Mid-September, I roped a friend into going to the Adam’s River Salmon Run. He really wasn’t keen on it. As someone who works on the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, he sees thousands of fish in the river each summer, and understandably didn’t want to go see more. Luckily, my persistence paid off, and we went for the mini road trip. Every 4 years there is a mass return to the spawning grounds; 2010 was supposed to be one of the biggest returns in the past 100 years, so why not check it out?

The Salmon Run was elementary school field trip extravaganza when we were little! We would have to learn all the stages of the life cycle. Here’s your science lesson just in case you don’t remember grade 2. The salmon swim from the Pacific Ocean, travel up the Fraser River through Hell’s Gate, up the Thompson River and into the Adam’s River where they spawn and die. (And, smell horribly bad!) The eggs hatch, grow, swim to the ocean, live there for a few years, and if they’re lucky to have survived that far, they swim back to the Adam’s River to start the cycle all over again.

We were there at the start of the Sockeye run and the very end of the Chinook run. The size difference between the two fish is crazy, but I wasn’t able to get any good photos of Chinook to compare. They don’t turn the bright pink colour that the Sockeye do. We wandered the trails, took a few photos and all in all had a fun little road trip.

British Columbia, Canada, North America

Zippy Zip

August 31, 2010 ~j 1 Comment

For something to do at the end of August, we went to Whistler for Ziptrek. We’d been talking about going for a while, and then finally had the opportunity. Ziptrek was AWESOME! I took some video, but can’t find the memory card; when I do, I’ll post it.

I hadn’t been to Whistler for a couple years, so seeing the changes that were made for the Olympic village was kind of sweet. There was some construction going on in the main village, and the fence/screen was all photos from the Olympics, which reminded me of how fun Vancouver was for those couple weeks.

The campground we stayed at was great. The outhouses looked like normal outhouses, but had flush toilets, sinks with running water and hand soap in them which was rather posh compared to most campgrounds–not that I’m complaining! We stopped at some Provincial Parks and did some short trails along the way. We ended up visiting Nairn Falls and Brandywine Falls. Both were super pretty. On the way home we drove through Squamish on the Sea to Sky (which I also hadn’t seen since the Olympic improvements). All in all a fun weekend. Gotta love spontaneous weekend road trips.

Happy Travels,
~j

this bird flies