Toronto

    The Clewis family arrived in Toronto on Wednesday, Sept. 8th. They were all quite amazed with the six lanes of traffic going in both directions. They made it to their campsite in Scarborough which is not exactly like the beautiful sites they had on the way down. It is expensive.....pay for everything, even sewage disposal at $10.00 per visit and unfortunately there is no internet.......we have to find another way around that problem!! Any suggestions?????
    On Thursday they got a car rented from Enterprise......a Ford Focus, and they made it to the Hospital for Sick Children for the 1:30 p.m. appointment. Mason had a CT scan and then Jade and Justin met with the surgeon, Dr. Gerstle. They found him to be a very friendly and understanding person and they had a good talk with him about the intended surgery, the expectations, the negative possibilities and the possible benefits of some "alternative treatments". Dr. Gerstle assured them that even if Mason were to lose a good portion of his lungs the prognosis is still good. He said that children rebound dramatically and in a short time it becomes hard to tell that they have lost so much lung capacity. He was also quite frank that there are no guarantees that at some point the cancer may not re-appear. In the meantime we are doing as much research as we possibly can and are growing in confidence that Mason can overcome this disease with additional nutrition that has been proven to defeat cancer. That, and of course faith in God.
    Today, Friday, the family was at the hospital by 8:00 a.m. for a meeting with the anaesthetist and they also had a follow-up meeting with Dr. Gerstle to go over the results of the CT scan. These CT scan results continue to confirm that the tumors are shrinking. The tumor in Mason's left lung is still an object of concern and appears to be attached to a major artery. There is also some indication that the cancer is also associated with a lymph node at this location and, therefore, it is even more important that it be removed.
    After their hospital visit they all went "downtown". They toured Yonge St. and all the strange shops and people in that area. They also went to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame where Jade says that Justin was overwhelmed...."reading everything and even going back to re-read some exhibits. It was better than Christmas morning for Justin" LOL!!! They also went to the CN tower and took the elevator to the top. They were on foot for this whole downtown tour. When I finally caught up to Jade this afternoon she was "sitting on a curb in downtown Toronto"....sounds like a Gordon Lightfoot song ...... waiting for Justin to show up with the car. The boys were complaining of sore legs and were "scrapping" with one another......good old family stuff!!
    Pictures...the first is self explanatory except that Justin looks like he's been struck by something! LOL. The second is from the ferry that crosses between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay - from South Baymouth to Tobermory. Jade says that the swells got to 20 ft. - ya right - and everyone was getting green so they went inside........and of course it got worse!!!! Landlubbers!!!!

    On Monday, Mason has to be at the hospital by 6:00 a.m. Surgery is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. and will hopefully be finished by 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. There is a special mass for Mason scheduled for 8:00 a.m. Monday morning at the Church of Our Lady in Moose Jaw.
    Where ever you may happen to be on Monday we would so appreciate it if you would think of our precious Mason and say a special prayer for him.