Day 613 Singapore September 19, 2008 -17.10 hrs

We have been back to Singapore since Sept 17 . Nicole went to Gleneagles this morning for her blood test. It has been a while since we last were there. Nicole remarked : " we are back again at this hospital..." with past feelings resurfacing.

We have got the results:

---------------Sept 19 ------June 17 -----Ref range
CA 19.9 -------38.4 -------- 43.5 ----------<39.0
CA 125 --------36.8 ---------23 -----------<35.0
CA 15.3 ------- 11.8 ---------n/a ----------<25.0

We have not met yet Dr. Karmen Wong. However, we note with concern the rise of the CA 125 reading, which was declining but bounced back from a reading of 23 to 36.8. However, the positive development is the lowering of the reading of CA 19.9.

Most probably Dr. Wong would want to have a CT scan done, which will happen next week.

It is not easy for Nicole to go through these tests as she is being reminded of her state with cancer. Our surrounding is not helping.

One of my brother in laws was found with cancer of the colon after surgery. We visited him during our recent visit in Mauritius.

Patricia, my younger sister, was found with cancer having spread to her spine near the neck. She is being treated with radiotherapy at Victoria hospital in Candos. She is not looking good and we hope that the radiotherapy will work. She was found with breast cancer in 2004 and had surgery to remove the tumor. But it now appears that the cancer is back.

I met with the doctor treating both my brother in law and Patricia. There is such a gap in the quality of treatment given in Mauritius and the one in Singapore. Plus the facilities at Victoria hospital cannot be compared to those at Gleneagles. There is a serious effort to be made in Mauritius to improve cancer treatment.

During our recent trip to Mauritius and New York, we met with so many persons - relatives and friends - who have been and continue to pray for us. It was so gratifying for Nicole to be able to thank these persons face to face. We met Mario in Mauritius . He is in Canada and we met him at the wedding of Vincent. We met the meditation group at St Luke parish in Roxboxo. I was so touched by the reception they gave to Nicole.
We continue to be united with all of you in prayers.

We are now looking forward to the wedding of Pascal, the son of my sister, Florise. This is going to take place in Mauritius on October 11. Pascal leaves in Singapore. He started this blog when we first returned to Singapore after Nicole was found with cancer. He has been a most valuable support to us.

Day 586 New York Aug 23, 2008 22.14hrs

Some pictures from our visit to Seattle.

Day 585 New York August 22, 2008 - 11.42 am

We are back in New York after having spent a wonderful week with Nicolas and family in Seattle. It was indeed a great joy to see Nicole enjoying herself spending time with our granddaughter Nina.



Of course I had my quality time with Nina too.











This picture is one of the favorites of Nicole. Nina is hugging us very tight.
The joy of being grand parents!

Day 572 New York August 9, 2009 - 14.13 hrs

Today we are celebrating Nicole's birthday.
Fist we give thanks to the Lord for this happy day. Living this day is another milestone in Nicole's life.
This picture was taken at Marga's place, when we celebrated all these persons.

Day 570 New York August 7, 2008 - 14.55hrs

Jean and the sharing of the briani - obviously we are all watching in expectation!

We are back in New York after a most wonderful 10 days stay at Marga and Sylvestre's place in Roxboro, Quebec, Canada. We are both very touched by the warmth, caring and love that they and their children bestowed upon us. They organized a thanksgiving party to thank the Lord for His blessings to Nicole, to celebrate Ivy, better known as Sister Dolores, for her 50 years anniversary of dedication to the Lord, to celebrate Jocelyn's birthday ( age not revealed) and Bert's birthday - 36 years. Nicole had the opportunity to meet with so many relatives coming from as far as Toronto and Ottawa.
We thank you all for joining us and showing your love to all of us. (Pictures will follow).
I had the great joy of meeting Jean, a high school classmate and friend. What a lively and uplifting person. Jean's enthusiasm is so contagious. He wowed us with a homemade briani meal followed with a roti prata meal two days later. Thank you Jean and Bertha for your expression of love and caring. You both are living witness of the Love of God in the world.

Day 559 - New York July 27, 2008 - 21.22 hrs

It has been a while since the last post. Nicole has her medical check-up with Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez. The results are somewhat baffling. The cancer mass marker has remained unchanged at 22 since her last check-up in November 2007.
Dr. Gonzalez was at a lost to explain the lack of improvement, given that she had surgery in February to remove the cancerous tumors. Dr Gonzalez prescribed the same protocol but recommended a check up in two months.
Of course, this was discouraging news as we were expecting to see some improvement in Nicole's conditions. Both Nicole and I have to get used to the fact that she is with cancer. Either we allow this to negatively affect our day to day life or we look at the positive side of life. The tumor markers from her blood test showed that there is an improvement. Life is to be lived day by day, second by second. Like Nicole says to me " I am alive and I am going to live fully now. I do not know how much longer I have to live. Only God knows. Then I am going to live everyday as if it is the last day of my life". She is so right. I am so amazed every day looking at how she lives fully. It is a humbling lesson for me. I thank God for this living witness of His creation. Sometimes we tend to forget that we are alive, not because of anything that we do, but because of the will of God. We have no control on how long we can live. God has the ultimate decision on this.
We are going to be in Montreal tomorrow. What a great event. Nicole is looking forward to meet her sister Marga and the many family members and friends who have provided so much invaluable support to both of us. It is time for thanksgiving.

Day 547 - New York July 15th, 2008 -8.45 am

We arrived safely in New York yesterday after visiting Mauritius and Europe.
Of course we attended the wedding of the nephew of Nicole. We were happy to meet Mario and wife from Canada. It was indeed a pleasant surprise. Nicole had the opportunity to meet many relatives and friends.
In Europe, we met with Philippe and Ah Lee. Philippe is my God Father and I always make it a point to talk to him or meet him when I go through Paris.
We are having the joy of spending time with Bert, our eldest son. This is our first day in New York city. It is a beautiful morning. Life is beautiful. We praise God for the this Gift of Life.