Lovingheart

On May 23rd, the week before the chemo that weakened Marlon enough to put him in the hospital, the dog, the boy, and I drove to Montreal. (I am aware of the use of the word 'go' when writing. In German, the verb 'to go' means walking. You don't 'go' in a car.) Before we left, as I was packing up the car, I noticed a fair sized spider web between the driver's side view mirror and the car. I left it alone, figuring the wind would blow it off. It was so nice to see Linsy and Moira and spend time with them. I have missed having Linsy around. It was neat that, when we got there, Olivia, Jamey, and Roka, their dog, were there. They live 15 minutes away from us but were there visiting their son. Mina was definitely happy to see Roka (and all the others too).   Mina got used to walking on sidewalks and being in the city. Other people and dogs, not so much. Moira has given me a belt with a dog lead on it for hands-free walking. It worked but was even bett...

Marlon has had four dental appointments. Two the first week, then the following week, we went and hung out at my niece's cottage for a few days. Nice to hang out with family, celebrate Aneesa's fifth birthday, and get away. At this point, Marlon said, 'This is the most fun I've had in forever' The week after, at Marlon's third appointment, the pain of working on a deep cavity was too much even with extra freezing. The dentist said the cavity was at the nerve and an extraction would be best. Either that or a root canal and there is crowding in his mouth. At that, Marlon was quite upset. Because there are so many factors at play, and still so much work to be done, the dentist recommends dental surgery at sick kids. Just as that was decided the power went out and after waiting a while, they put a temporary filling on the two teeth that had been drilled. So Marlon's fourth appointment included re-filling the tooth that was ok and pictures of s...

Decision was made that Marlon was to go check blood counts on Monday.  We drove down to Hamilton together, quick finger poke, and then leave again.  A couple of times, we drove around the parking garage for almost a half-hour looking for a spot, but Monday was smooth.  Busy place. Blood counts are good so dental work begins.  Marlon's doctor was impressed with the dentist when she spoke with him last week.  In support, I sit next to him in the dentist's room and hope my own anxiety, discomfort, and fear don't affect him. Halfway through the drilling of four teeth which was quite intense, they took a little break to check in with Marlon and see if he was up to continue.  He agreed to do more but said he was most concerned about the tastes of the filling material.  With the pain and discomfort of the first part, one would think that would be the least of his worries but he is very sensitive to taste and flavour.  As it turned out he didn't gag or re...