25th Anniversary Trip

I had it planned... back in June.  A surprise trip to Waterton, with a stay at the historic Prince of Wales Hotel.  We would dine at the Royal Stewart Dining Lounge, and have High Tea.  But then the rains came and our basement flooded and I not only had to postpone the trip, but I had to tell Margarit about it, so the element of surprise was gone.  But we did eventually manage to make the trip.

We left Edmonton on the morning of September 26th.  We had arranged to stop in Calgary on our way to Waterton, and have lunch with our friend Chris.  He was having a tough time dealing with his wife Connie's cancer diagnosis.  It had come back, for the third time, and this time it was inoperable.  

In the midst of having lunch with Chris and his son Will and his two grandkids Ivy and Zoey, Chris got a call from the hospital to get there as fast as he could.  I rushed Chris to hospital and Margarit stayed behind with Will and the kids to settle the bill and meet us later.  It turns our the restaurant comped the bill, which was really nice.

Connie was not doing well, she had a bad infection and her white blood cell count had dropped.  He blood pressure was dangerously low at 50 over something.  She was not expected to make the night.  Margarit and Will made it a short time after Chris and I did.  We stayed for a while and got a chance to wave to Connie from the hall.  They were only allowing one family member in at a time to see her.

After a while, as more and more family began arriving, Margarit and I stepped aside and continued on our way to Waterton.  We got there well after dark and managed to check in.  We arrived just in time to order some food at lounge before the kitchen closed.

Over the next couple of days, as we enjoyed our anniversary trip, we learned that Connie had some blood transfusions and took a massive turn for the better.  She continued recovering over the following days and will probably be sent home for further recovery.  Her diagnosis has not changed, and the cancer is still there and still inoperable, but she now has a little more time.