Christine Penner

My next brain surgery will take place March 29, 2018, 7:30 a.m. at the Health Sciences Centre. I have spent my last three weeks enjoying time with family and friends. The following pictures are an indication of the fun I have had.  Cross country skiing at Bird's Hill Park with my sister Bev.     Skiing on a Saturday with my niece Stephanie... ...my sister Bev, and Steph's husband Mark. My auntie Olga and cousin Cindy came to visit me one morning - Bev, Olga, Cindy, me. I went out for dinner with Interlake School Division (ISD) finance staff. We had a lovely time. Margaret Ward has become the ISD superintendent! I am thrilled for her! She was the assistant superintendent when I was the superintendent. S Stephanie invited me over for lunch on a Sunday. We invited my father-in-law Bill over for dinner.  Delores is my high school friend. She is always willing to give me a ride when needed. My driver's li...

I was told at my doctor’s meeting February 16, 2018, that I had another brain tumour. I was shocked to find out that a tumor had developed right beside the area that was removed during my last surgery. I saw this MRI image of my tumour on a computer in my surgeon’s office. Seeing this image made me aware that I would be having another brain surgery shortly. At this meeting, with support from my husband and sister Bev, I made the decision to go ahead with the surgery and to sign up for a research study which would study the use of Immunotherapy to treat brain tumours. The next few days I spent time at Health Sciences Centre talking to doctors; signing papers for my surgery and research study; and going for X-rays, MRIs, and blood tests. I was taken aback when my blood tests included taking 24 vials of blood! At that point I was grateful that I would get lots of attention and would be followed closely throughout my surgery and recovery. My second brain surgery was supposed to ta...

After my five and a half weeks of recovering from daily radiation and chemotherapy, I started a new regime in which I took a higher dose of chemotherapy pills for five days every four weeks. This meant that I had some energy for three weeks every month after recovering from the effects of chemotherapy. Half a week prior to every cycle of chemotherapy I did some blood work, then met with my doctor at Cancer Care at Health Sciences Centre. An MRI was scheduled to take place every three months. I met with my doctor and a nurse practitioner every month with the first meeting taking place November 24, 2017. My first cycle of chemotherapy started on Wednesday, November 29, 2017. Prior to starting chemotherapy, I was informed that my liver enzymes were elevated. I was sent for more blood tests which showed a decrease in liver enzymes which I was very grateful for. As a result, I was told to start my chemotherapy at half the dose. So that is what I did. I st...

After my six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation I enjoyed five and a half weeks of recovery. I started each day with a quiet devotional time, took time to exercise, and always enjoyed an afternoon nap. Much of my exercise involved going for a walk. In addition to quiet time, exercise, and napping, I really enjoyed spending time with family and friends. One day I took my sister Bev and my anesthetist Dr. Lorraine Stanko out for an afternoon at the Forks in downtown Winnipeg. On another day Bev drove me to the Interlake School Division (ISD) board office where I enjoyed talking with staff during their morning coffee break. This was where I worked for eight years – five years as the ISD assistant superintendent then three years as the superintendent. Another fun day was a shopping day. My sister Bev took me shopping for comfortable clothes to wear in my new lifestyle. I bought sweats and sports jackets which I now wear every day. I am very grateful that this recovery time...