My Day at the WellSpring "Spa"

Today I had such an amazing, relaxing and independent day and it sounds like Gerard did too! This morning I went by public transit to Wellspring, a cancer support centre on the Sunnybrook campus. It's a beautiful place in a gorgeous setting. And it's just as beautiful inside. Just entering the place and meeting the people makes you feel relaxed and wonderful.
I was warmly welcomed by a volunteer and 20-year cancer survivor - so that in itself was encouraging. She gave me a tour of the whole place - library, art room, workout room, group meeting/activity and counselling rooms, test kitchen, lounge areas, kitchenettes - all brand newly renovated and decorated by various sponsoring companies. The whole place feels so inviting and relaxing. We had a cup of tea together in this blue room pictured below while she introduced their programs and services and advised me to start easy, and slowly ease into trying out various activities while recommending leaving others for later.

There are some drop-in activities like yoga and various support groups, and others that you need to sign up for like cooking classes and courses that always fill up very quickly so you have to register as soon as possible. She helped me get signed up for a therapeutic touch session and a "Look Good, Feel Better" program. By then I was hoping to observe a drumming circle and a yoga group, just to see what they were like. They weren't starting for another 45 minutes so she gave me the blue room allowing me some time to lie back and relax. It was all so calm and peaceful and relaxing!

Somehow I ended up participating in the whole light yoga session. I'd never done anything like this before, but had come prepared with a towel and was dressed in layers with the right kind of wear for yoga. It was wonderful! So relaxing! So good to be with other women in the same situation! And the instructor was the best! Everyone and everything in this place is just amazing! I can't wait to go again! And I think this place is going to be just as good for Gerard as it is for me. It will give both of us space and opportunity to be doing our own thing and I'm really looking forward to learning new things and meeting new people there - a whole new world for me.

I left there around 3 pm feeling like I'd been on a mini-vacation. By then the weather was gorgeous so I walked home from the Sheppard Station enjoying the sun and outdoors, and collecting weeping willow brances for a spring wreath I'm thinking of making.

And now a slight shift in topic... As I was preparing this post, I noticed some loose hairs on my shoulders, and then when I stroked my hair I got four or five more loose hairs, and again, and again.... so I think I'm starting to loose my hair. Henry took some pictures, to show what I look like right now with hair, and I may just look a little different next time you see me.

This was a bit of a reality check. I shed a few tears, hugged Henryand Gerard, called Mark, tried to phone, but ended up e-mailing Alida. I just had to process this reality somehow. I showed Henry the wig Alida and I bought, and the two fleece night-"bonnets" I got today, and some outside hats and a kind of bandana scarf that I have received as gifts. So I'm prepared. Today I already walked around with one of the bonnets for a while trying to get used to having something on my head and one of my goals for this week was to figure out how to style and wear the wig.

I wonder what it will be/feel/look like to have no hair? I'm not sure I could walk around with a bare head, but you never know. We've had fun with wigs, I think I'm prepared with everything else I might need, except a wide-brimmed hat for gardening. So now, I guess we move on and get used to this.

Hair falls out depending on the chemo you receive and how your body responds to it, and I had been told to give it about 10 days to two weeks after my first round of chemo. So the hair falls out because the chemo is stopping the fast-growing cells like hair from growing, and so that must also mean that it must be working on stopping the fast-growing cancer cells, which is a good thing! So we keep praying that the chemo treatment will be effective and I'm sure I can live with no hair for a while if that's part of the process. Hopefully you'll still recognize me next time we meet! So long! I'm off to bed and out for an early morning swim. Sleep tight!