Anne Marie

Anne Marie
Mother ~ Grandmother ~ Sister ~ Daughter ~ Friend

Monday, January 3, 2011

The Joys of Friends and Family

Yesterday was a special day both for us and for Anne Marie.  She was so happy that her dear friend, Betty Ann, had made the trip from St. Stephen for a visit.  Betty Ann, God bless her, had brought Anne Marie things that she wanted from home and even surprised her with Chinese food!

Derek, Ella, Eli, Henry, and I got to have a wonderful time at my family's annual get-together.  Almost every descendant of my paternal grandparents were there: 6 of 6 children plus 4 of 5 of their spouses, 8 of 10 grandchildren plus 4 of 6 of their spouses, and 11 of 11 great-grandchildren.  Derek and I were completely surprised and extremely touched when we were given a gift from everybody, at the instigation of one of my cousins, to put towards gas for our trips back and forth to the hospital.  Yet again I felt honoured to be a member of so kind and generous a family.

Today has been tough on Anne Marie.  She's dealing with anger and frustration, which is perfectly natural for her circumstances.  She'll be starting radiation either later today or tomorrow.  I don't know which for sure because Derek forgot to ask!  Some side effects of the chemo seem to be abating, but since it stays in the system a long time there could be more in the wings.

Ella's doing better: no more abdominal pain or fever.  We should get a call this week about an abdominal ultrasound.

That's the update for today.  We will be going into Saint John tomorrow and will probably have more news then.

~Alisha