May 31

To All,

It is a miracle!

I am proud to report that I have finished 2 novels in one month.
If you remember, I received a nice t-shirt from one of my daughters that said, "I never read, I just look at pictures."

Well life has definitely changed for me. Considering I was in my 5th year trying to finish "Good to Great."
I am now reading Rabbi Bulka's "Chapters of the Sages, A Psychological Commentary on Pirkey Avoth."
My reading time has certainly increased.

Life has been busy for me and meaningful for me.

On May 21st I had my portacath installed at TOH. It has given much more flexibility.
After the final maintenance on it on May 28th, I have now had a shower on 3 consecutive days.
I miss shampooing my hair but on the other hand I do not have to blow dry it.

On May 22nd I had my 3rd round of chemo.
It went well, though starting at 11:30 made it a long day.
Liz's driving was great.

On May 23rd I had a very nice visit from a recently married couple and the bride's Mother.
I unfortunately was not able to attend their wedding in Montreal.
Receiving a blessing from a recently married couple was very much appreciated.

On May 24th I had another nice visit from a good friend, a cancer champion.

On May 26th I went out for my first lunch with another good friend.
Later that day I attended the wedding ceremony of another good friend's daughter.
An added plus was Ariel was one of the bridesmaids.
I did not stay for the reception, but it was my first time out, though only for an hour.
I once again had an opportunity to show off my new Harry Rosen threads.

On May 26th I did start again my 5 days of Neupogen.
Liz has perfected the injection.
Hopefully it will work again and provide satisfactory blood work  for my upcoming chemo.

On May 27th I went to the office for the first time in over 2 months.
It was good to say hello and get updates on how the office was doing.
I must say I was a bit hesitant when I opened the front door to go in.

On May 28th I had a dentist appointment and made 2 visits downtown.

I am busy and I am truly appreciating what I can do and what more I would like to do.

I have been very tired each day so what I can do is limiting but when I do get out or meet people it is so rewarding.

I am battling cancer, but it is just a challenge.
As an engineer one tackles challenges all the time and in the same way.
Identify the problem, consult the necessary expertise and implement an agreed upon solution.

I am so happy with the medical team that is there for me.
I have such confidence with Dr. Metrakos, Dr. Bouganim, Dr.Tobin, The Royal Victoria Oncology clinic, TOH, Champlain Community Care Access Centre and Carefor.
Assistance from Dr. Kitts and Dr. Mimeault of TOH has been greatly appreciated.

I do have my moments, but as many have said to me, that is only being human.

My next chemo is June 4 and it will be my trial 3 week cycle.
Hopefully with its success, I will do another treatment on June 25th which will assist immensely with our Family 2 week vacation starting on June 28th.

In summary, I am doing well, my head is in the right space and I love my Family and Friends.

Enjoy the weekend,

All the very best,

Arnie.

May 20

To All,

To quote a former Governor of California "I am back!".

The recent 10 days have been busy, but also I have been tired.

I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day and the recent long weekend.
Quite the game yesterday for the Senators, truly a team of great character and stamina.
Wednesday night will be an exciting evening for all.

I did have my 5 days of Neupogen starting on May 10th. 
The last 3 injections were done by Liz and she certainly was smiling each time she stabbed me in the stomach.

I had a meaningful week last week as it included Mother's Day, my Father's Yahrzeit and Yizkor.

For Mother's Day we enjoyed a brunch at Danya and David's new place. 
Though I ate too much and had a shluff quickly it was enjoyable to be with the all of the kids and my Mother. 
My energy level though throughout the weekend was very low.

Having everyone home gave us the opportunity to take a family photo. 
As always many thanks to Marilyn Mikkelsen for her patience with the Vered gang.

My Father's Yahrzeit is the Hebrew calendar's anniversary of My Father's passing away. 
My Father was a great man, a great Husband, a great Father, a great Brother, a great Saba,a great Uncle, a great Cousin, a great friend to so many and a great person. 
His memory each day gives me such strength as I confront my daily challenges.

Yizkor is a time to recite prayers for those who passed away. 
More importantly it is a time to remember the wonderful memories of family who have contributed so much to our well being. 
Liz's parents Irving and Zelda and my Father did so much for their children and their grandchildren, such remarkable and meaningful memories.

Sadly for me I started the weekend of May 11th depressed, I was upset over a few things. 
Strange, as I was entering a weekend of family time, but I got depressed. 
One can say you're allowed those moments but I realized afterwards that it was wrong of me. 
I need to be always positive and be around positive activity. 
I cannot afford to experience any negativity or enter a situation that might create any negativity. 
To beat cancer you need to be strong and never weak.

Going to Shul twice this week allowed me to listen to Rabbi Bulka. 
He reminded me that the first prayer said each morning is to "Thank God that you are alive today." 
Truly to be thankful for your health, your Family and for your happiness. 
Everything else is a plus.

Also going to Shul, I was able to wear my new Harry Rosen threads. 
Claude of Harry Rosen and my fashion consultant Solly would have been proud of me.

Also during last week I was given 2 more books as presents to read for a total of 4. 
This is putting extreme pressure on my normally allotted reading time. 
I am happy to report though that I am halfway through 1 book and 25% through a second book. 
They are strategically located in the house for easy access.

This week is a big week for me. 
I have a portacath installation scheduled for Tuesday in Ottawa and Chemo scheduled in Montreal for Wednesday. 
The 2 events are dependent on my blood work early Tuesday morning.

For your information, I am considering creating a blog for my updates with the assistance of my kids. 
A good friend suggested the title "The Chronicles of Arnie-a". M
y initial polling is quite favorable for the title.

Now it is time to go to sleep as I have an early morning.

Many thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers.
They are so much appreciated.

All the very best,

Arnie.

May 9

To All,

The deed has been done.  Attached is a photo from yesterday. Great job by Starr.

I am getting closer to the Bruce Willis or the Yul Brenner/Telly Savalas look (depending on your age group) for my Harry Rosen model application.

I am proud to be getting closer to joining the look of such prominent locals such as Vernon White, Harold Feder, Mitchell Bellman, Howard Silverman and others.

Today I get my pump removed. Tomorrow I will start 5 days of Neupogen to ensure that my Neutrophils are okay.

I have not been tired at all really after my second round compared to my first round.
I went for a walk to Starbucks yesterday. Also no gas at all compared to my first round.

I have my appetite and I do not have nausea.

My next round of chemo is scheduled for May 22nd in Montreal.

So all in all, I am doing okay.

What about those Senators!
Big game tonight in Montreal.

With a Senator's win, the Vered Family will be the winner of a large order of Schwartz's smoked meat and karnatzle from the Adessky family in Montreal as abet on the series.
I believe our GP eggrolls were never at risk.

All the very best and enjoy the rest of your week.

Go Sens Go!

Arnie.

May 8

To all,

Yahoo, big Sens OT win, great way to end a good day.

Home safely, now to see how I will react to my second round of Chemo.

I do not have nausea and I am happy with my bowel movements.
I am tired but more from lack of sleep rather than the treatment.
I will see how the day goes.
I know, I need to exercise.

I have good news and bad news.

Interesting that the news is both good and bad news.

I have been losing my hair lately but I was considering anyways the Bruce Willis look for my Harry Rosen portfolio. So I am going for the buzz haircut this morning.

I checked my weight on Monday and I have gained 13 pounds as I am now at
173 pounds.
My medical team is happy with the weight gain but I might have to call on the She-Devil (my personal trainer) to come back on board. 
Cindy will be happy but I will not be.

So I guess it is the half empty or half full attitude.

Have a great rest of the week.

Be positive, life is too precious to sweat over the small stuff.

Go Sens Go!

Arnie.

May 7

To all,

Today was a good day at Chemo. I even had a good bowel movement but Liz and the nurse were not too interested in that.

It went well and we were on the road back to Ottawa at 5pm with a stop at Tasty Foods for pizza.
We just got home.

Attached is a photo of me getting chemo. I did receive compliments on my t-shirt.

Hopefully I will be back for my 3rd round of Chemo on May 22nd.

Now to finish the day perfectly with a Sens win.

Go Sens Go!

Arnie.

May 6

To All,

The weekend ended perfectly with the Sens beating Montreal literally.
As you can see our kids enjoyed the game.

I did my blood work in Ottawa this morning and I am cleared for chemo in Montreal tomorrow at 9:00am.

We are leaving soon to go to Montreal.

All the very best,

Go Sens Go!

Arnie.

May 5

To all,

I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend.

I have had a great weekend and look forward to a successful day of chemo on Tuesday.
I will do a blood test in Ottawa and hopefully I will be good to travel to Montreal Monday night.

My end of week included my first lunch out on Friday, shul, a pedicure, DQ and a walk on Saturday and a lunch with all of our kids on Sunday.
A perfect way to end the weekend will be with a Sens win. It will be a great game as all of our kids will enjoy a Sens game together for the first time.

Recently I have had discussions with some people about how things are going. My thoughts:

1)  With the many trips to Montreal and overnights in Montreal, I have been spending a lot of quality time wit Liz. It has been wonderful.
I am slowly learning what not to say about Liz' driving.

2) Our kids have been great, showing such strength and camaraderie in helping each other with their individual and collective challenges of late.

3) I have a great appetite, eating almost what ever I want.

4) From recent comments I have received, I look great.

So what is wrong with this picture?

Nothing! I have always had challenges in my life and will continue to have challenges, I just have an interesting one now.
But what I have realized, is that now I am stronger than ever before. This is because of my Family and Friends.

I have not been out much for some time so I thought I would pass on some recent photos of me.
I am building up my Harry Rosen modelling portfolio.

Though it is well known that I do not read books, since I recently received 2 books to read, I will try to read but it will be a slow process.

Going to shul yesterday, I wore my new suit. It is a nice feeling to be slim.
Harry Rosen models watch out, new competition is up and coming.

I look forward to a successful blood test tomorrow, an easy drive to Montreal and an uneventful chemo treatment.

Wishing everyone a great week.

Lots of love,

Arnie.