Learning a Big New Word

Finally it was time to have Christmas up in my hospital room (which was shared with 3 other stroke patients). Actually it was kind of fun, J came to visit as soon as they allowed, we had lunch on my cot, and shortly after that who came for a visit but the big man himself! Santa came by and handed us a couple of little reindeer-beanie baby type toys that I thought were pretty cool. J apped a pic of me and Santa before he left! It was cute.

I was happy to have celebrated with my aunt and mom a couple days before Christmas, because they had to leave to get back to Manitoba for work etc after the two weeks they spent with me. And at this point I was getting a day pass to explore Calgary a little every day. (And no more laxatives!)

J and I spent a lot of time at the Chinatown area, went out for dinner, visited my cousin from Edmonton, another cousin and his fiancee a couple days later, and really tried to enjoy ourselves after all that time being sick and miserable in the hospital. Unfortunately my eyesight was so poor that I couldn't see the mountains in the distance from the city, but I did see a lot while we were out in the malls and looking for nice Christmas lights up and down streets.

I think it was around Dec 27 that I finally got my diagnosis from the doctor. I had never heard the term before: Myeloproliferative Disorder. Now this was a word I'd get to know a lot better in a very short amount of time, because for me, not knowing what I'm in for is simply NOT an option!