News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, but I have ended the week on the shore of Lake Ontario. To make a long story short, I accepted an invitation to curl in a bonspiel in Toronto and I have enjoyed it a great deal. A team from Dallas/Fort Worth was one player short, and Viggo mentioned it, and I bit! So, I've been practicing for the last month, and am starting to get comfortable playing again. We played three games here in two days, and that was a bit much, but I also saw progress in my play, so it's encouraging. I intend to keep playing back in Thunder Bay, and also when we travel out to Regina later in the winter. Viggo has another crew wanting to come to Thunder Bay at some point for a spiel, so I'll be working to try to set that up. Otherwise it was a busy week, as the appointments for investigative work on my DVTs have continued with blood work and a lung scan. I've never had a lung scan before. First they had me breathe in some radioactive gases, and then they took a series of shots with an Xray machine working in a circular path around me for about 20 minutes. After that, I was injected with some radioactive fluid, and then had another 20 minutes of Xrays. Finally, I headed to another Xray room, and had some regular Xrays taken. Apparently this allows them to see the extent of air penetration of my lungs, and also of blood circulation. It should also help them determine whether I've had any damage from a pulmonary embolism. The search continues! I got a bit more work done on the kitchenette, the taping is complete, but further mud remains to be applied. After I took off for Toronto on Thursday, Wendy started to work on the living room wall. I thought that wall was already finished, but apparently there were some imperfections, so it's being fixed! The markets ran well to end November, and I've almost got back to quota. December didn't start well, but it's only one day. The week began with an exciting Grey Cup game in snowy Ottawa; I was delighted to watch Toronto win it. NHL play finds the Pens playing better, the Oilers playing better, and the Leafs near the top of the league. KU Jayhawks continued their winning ways, and have been raised to #2 nationally.

Eric had some exciting news. He is now, officially, a clinical member. It says so right on the AAMFT site! He is so pleased to be done. We are pleased to congratulate him on this accomplishment! Erica got her new compression “fancy pants” and recalled what it was like when she got her first ones. When the therapist took her measurements a few weeks back, he commented that there were some big changes. Here's some pics to make the comparison. The bulge out just before the knee is now a curve inward. And there's a knee gap!

From left to right, top to bottom:
April 2017 when she got her first pair of compression,
July 2017, right before surgery,
July 2018, 10 days after surgery,
November 2017, new compression.

Haaken continues to enjoy school and living on the coast. They are still working on jumping through the hoops for student loans—was it always this difficult?! Liam is doing well at school and is making the most of his grade 12 year.

Erin and Kristian are doing well in Regina. Kristian had a big game of 216 in bowling today, and raised his average to 137! Wowsers! Well done, buddy! He has also been emailing me more about his book. It's been a fun experience for me. We've decided that we're now email pals!

We enjoyed celebration Trav's birthday last weekend, but then it was back to work. Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy with Puckshots and Stickerz work. Joanna has determined to stop doing her contract work as a phlebotomist for now. Perhaps she'll pick that up later. She's enjoying her work at Fox on the Run, and we all benefit with some good eats from there as well.

And that's about enough for this week.