Float Planes

January 26, 2015.

The Tale

On Tuesday, Natalie went to meet her surgeon at the top ranked women's oncology hospital in Toronto.
She was told, even though she repeatedly asked if there were any other options available, there was only one procedure available was a vertical incision since there was a fifty/fifty chance that she had cancer and that she could possibly face a complete hysterectomy.  On Wednesday, she came down to Florence to help me 'bring the dogs back'.  I had told Greg that Natalie had a routine cyst that needed to come out and that I should go back to give her some attention.  I already had been in Florence now for six weeks, and it was time to check back on the house in Canada.  Greg bought into my story.

On the flight home, I got a full briefing about all of the tests. Her CA 125 Marker was elevated.
The lump was huge, and too big to remove laparoscopically.  She also said that she had agreed months ago, to go to Muskoka to celebrate her friends big birthday, and that the upcoming weekend was the weekend of the birthday and Natalie asked if that would still be OK to go.  Surgery was scheduled for September 6.  I thought it would be a good distraction to go away and take her mind off of this big worry.

Natalie drove off on Thursday, and I began my phone calls and googling to find out more about her condition.  I discoved that CA 125 over 35 was considered elevated, and Natalie's blood work came back as 132.  I had a pit in my stomach.  I called every connection I knew.  I couldn't be in better hands, the hospital was highly regarded.  I called Betty to tell her my latest, and she said to me,
"If there is one thing you should fight for, is to make sure that incision is horizontal.  A vertical cut makes a huge ugly disfiguring scar, and Natalie should be given a chance not to have that on her body".  Betty's words of advice made me even more concerned.  I really needed to see if I could get another opinion and I only had three short weeks left.  I could not delay, and it was so difficult to get referrals to begin with in Canada.

I remembered that one of Natalie's Law school friend's father was a GYN, the only one I knew.  It was arranged that he would be expecting my call.  I explained as much about Natalie as I could, and I answered his questions as best as I could.  I was a bag of confused emotions.  I didn't really know all of the answers and wished that Natalie had called him instead of me.  He told me that laparoscopy was the last diagnotic tool available, and it would be easy to go in, and immediately see the mass, and  to go from there.  "It is time to go to a bigger centre" he advised.  He also suggested that I contact Global Patient Services at Cleveland  Clinic, and see if I could get an appointment with a GYN in Cleveland.

Encouraged, I made the phone call on Friday, and told the reluctant Natalie via text message, to be prepared to go to the states when she got back from the cottage break.  I was a bag of nerves waiting for a call back from Cleveland.  I swear the clock stopped moving.  By 4:45 I still hadn't heard back, but then I saw an email, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you, I am still working on it".
It was the end of the work week.  We were going to lose two days over the weekend.

Saturday, Natalie checked in through text message, and told me that she was going up to a famous diner in a float plane, for lunch.
"Oh, great!!!!! Another thing for me to worry about"   I texted her back.

So you just can't make this up.  Two float planes flew 6 people.  Natalie had a fun lunch, and the same six people, got back into the two float planes to go back to Lake Joseph.  It was a busy day on the lake lots of sea dos, jet skiers, boats and someone saw the float plane coming in for a landing, and filmed it because it is kinda cool.  So there is video on you tube "small plane crashes lake Joe.
Luckily, Natalie did not hit her head on the dashboard and so she was not unconscious.  The pilot's door was jammed - he shouted everyone OK???? Natalie remembers seeing all three hands on the door latch beside her.  All three jumped out to safety, Natalie jumped, holding her cell phone in her arm raised, so that it would not get wet and so that she could text me.  She was picked up by a jet skier as was the other passenger and taken to a dock.  The pilot was not with them.  Lots of panic, for lots of people.
The group managed to get back to the host's cottage and then texted me
"Back at Cottage".
I was happy to get that message.  It would take another day to find out what really happened.

And that is how I learned that we had a guardian angel looking after us.