If there is any certainty in life, it’s that life is unpredictable. I first said this to a friend back in December, in reference to both my health situation and a death in his family that occurred around the same time. Well, fast forward four months, and once again, I find myself saying these same words…but this time it’s in reference to a recent death in my own family. As many of you know, my father passed away suddenly on April 1st. This has been a huge and unexpected loss to our family, and we thank everyone for their love and support during our time of grief.

Truly, the last four months of my life could be used to write a country song… the cancer came back, two dear friends passed away in February, the guy I was dating ended the five month relationship…over text!… and then two weeks later my dad died….the only thing missing is that the dog didn’t leave me…probably only because I don’t have a dog!

But despite all of this, I’m back to feeling optimistic.

A lot of this is due to being able to spend time with family, friends and colleagues. All of these groups have been so supportive of me from the outset, and the last three weeks have only reinforced to me the incredible level of support that surrounds me.

Also, I had the opportunity recently to pop down to Texas for a couple of days to visit some dear friends. During the visit, we were able to catch a small concert at an historical venue, the Dosey Doe (doh-see-doh!), featuring an artist named Josh Grider. Josh has a particular song, “Bad Times Roll”, that has been inspirational for me over the last couple of months… it was amazing to hear him perform the song in person and to meet him after the show… I also discovered that food in Texas is HUGE!

The other reason for my optimism is that last week’s CT scan at Princess Margaret (essentially scanning me from neck to knees) came back with all “unremarkable” results. As my friend Angela mentioned earlier today, “unremarkable” is our new favourite word 🙂 So on the health front, I’m pretty happy at the moment (no tumours in my bones or organs!), and am looking forward to the first scan of my brain. This scan is scheduled for Monday and will assess the effectiveness of the radiation on those pesky tumours. I will then meet with the oncologist on May 4th to find out the results (May the fourth be with me!) So all is good with me, and I plan to keep being inspired by my new favourite country artist…

“Let the bad times roll, just let ’em all go…let the bad times roll off your shoulders…don’t look back…let the bad times roll…” ~Josh Grider

(If you like country music, check out Josh’s music on Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music!)