Christine Penner

My month of September has been interesting. I stopped taking my liquid drugs the entire month because my blood levels were down. I was off of these drugs for five weeks - August 29, 2018, to October 5, 2018. In addition to my low blood levels, I also had very thin blood. For two weeks I stopped taking my daily blood thinner needles - September 6, 2018, to September 20, 2018. On September 21, 2018, I went back to my blood thinning process. I hope that as I move forward I will be able to stay on my drugs on a regular basis. Throughout September 2018, I was very concerned about my parents. After dad's first hospital stay September 8-12, I spent as much time as I could at their home to help them with all the health issues they were dealing with. Sadly, on Monday, September 24, another ambulance was called to drive dad back to the hospital. He developed an infection as a result of the antibiotics he received during his first hospital stay, and had t...

On Saturday, September 8, 2018, I got a call from my brother letting me know that my dad had fallen in his hallway and had been taken to the Steinbach hospital by ambulance. My husband and I were at our cottage so we packed up and drove to the Steinbach hospital to see him. When I met my dad I was grateful that he could talk to me. The next few days I went back to the hospital to visit with him wearing a surgical mask as my white blood cell counts have become low again. My dad has diabetes and struggled with a few issues. Gradually he started walking and was able to go home on Wednesday, September 12. The following weekend I went to my parents for night. I was grateful to see that his diabetic issues are slowly getting better. I am madly in love with my parents and so grateful that, at this point, they are managing their health issues.   I visited dad in the hospital. I was grateful that we had a wonderful conversation. Mom was in ...

In the month of August I had a few ups and downs regarding my brain cancer. My four main cancer updates are as follows.      1.    O n Friday, July 20, 2018, I started taking my liquid drugs again as my blood platelets, hemoglobin, and white blood cell levels had improved. This enabled me to continue taking my liquid drugs in August.     2.   On Friday, August 3, 2018, I took my chemotherapy pills which I take every six weeks. This time, to keep me as healthy as possible, I was only given half the dose. 3.    On Friday, August 10, 2018, I was thrilled when a doctor told me that my brain tumour had shrunk. On March 29, 2018, during my second surgery, 80% of my brain tumour was taken out – I had 20% of the tumour left in my brain.   On Friday, August 10, I was told that half of my remaining tumour had shrunk. I was thrilled! 4. On Wednesday, August 29, 2018, I got a call from my nurse. My blood test given that morn...

  On Wednesday, August 8, 2018, I went to the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) in the evening for an MRI. Then on Friday, August 10, I went back to the HSC in the afternoon to discuss my MRI with a doctor and a nurse. At this meeting I was told that the portion of my brain tumour that remained after my second surgery had shrunk. I was thrilled!! This was the best news I had heard in the past year! My husband and sister Bev were with me. They also were incredibly grateful and happy to hear the good news! Right after this doctor’s appointment my husband and I drove to our cottage. When we got there I jumped into the lake and splashed in the water with sheer happiness! God has been so good to me. I am incredibly grateful for such a positive response.   Bev and I were thrilled to hear the good news! Of course my husband was thrilled too!  My son Ryan and grandson Finn texted me this picture  to wish me well when I went to see my doctor. ...

    As I did not take my liquid drugs for most of July, I had a wonderful time with family and friends in Winnipeg and at our summer cottage. In particular, jumping into the lake and playing with my grandson Finn was a lot of fun. Every Tuesday my husband and I drove back to Winnipeg as I had to go for blood tests every Wednesday morning. On July 20, 2018, I started taking my liquid drugs again as my blood platelets, hemoglobin, and white blood cell levels were improving. I am grateful that my blood and body bruises have gotten better.   July 26, 2018, was a special day for me. A year ago I went to Emergency at the Health Sciences Centre and was told I had brain cancer. I was so shocked and surprised on that day. My first brain surgery was scheduled for August 8, 2017. In the past year I have had two brain surgeries, had six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation, and have been enrolled in two research studies. I have worked hard every day to stay as healthy and fit a...

  On Wednesday, June 13, 2018, I went to the Health Sciences Centre to get a blood test. Unfortunately I was told that my study drugs had affected my blood results. Since my blood platelets were critically low I was taken off my liquid drugs and told to stop using my daily needles which thin my blood. Since then I have noticed many bruises on my body. I now continue to go for weekly blood tests as they monitor my progress.     Since I stopped taking my liquid drugs in the middle of June, my blood platelets, my hemoglobin, and my white blood cell levels have slowly started to improve. As I still have some very low blood platelets I continue to get many bruises on my body. I went to see Dr. Pitz on Friday, June 29, 2018. I was told to stay off of liquid drugs but to start taking daily needles again to prevent blood clots. I continue to go to the Health Sciences Centre every Wednesday morning to get blood tests.     Although my lab re...