Tag Archives: Expect the Unexpected.

Puffin Along

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I was on a lighthouse island in the MIngan Archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec Province, Canada for four days, from August eleventh to the fourteenth.

I went to a photography workshop with Christopher Dodds. I wanted to learn more about my camera and improve my wildlife photography skills. And I did. In four days, my photography stepped up a notch.

We stayed on the island in a house that was set aside for us. Each of us had our own room and a shared bathroom. My room faced the lighthouse which is electronically controlled. It did not interfere with my rest at night. We were served three delicious meals a day. It is amazing how much energy it takes to photograph wildlife.

What was I photographing? PUFFINS!! Oh my goodness, puffins everywhere. They were in flight returning to their burrows with fish for the young. They were flying. They were creating wonderful antics on the cliffs that I could photograph.

Here is a video of some of my better photos. It was so much fun.

There were four of us in the workshop. Charley from Chicago, Julie, and Reiner from Florida. We were a very compatible group. When Charley and I saw the first puffins we just started to laugh for the sheer joy of it.

When we weren’t shooting puffins there was other wildlife to photograph.

Semipalmated Sandpiper
Common Ringed Plover
Raven
White Throated Sparrow
Bay Breasted Warbler

Our typical day started at four thirty a.m. By five a.m. we were on the beach capturing the puffins returning from sea in the beautiful early morning light. Breakfast was at eight and then it was back to the beach for the rest of the morning. Lunch was at noon. We had a bit of siesta time and then returned to the beach to catch the puffins at sunset. Dinner was at five p.m. then once again we returned to the beach for one more round before sunset. Whew.

Shortly after we left the island all the adults leave for the winter. They go back out into the ocean and do whatever puffins do. Except for breeding season, they are solitary at sea. The young wait a few days until they get hungry and soon they also leave their nest and go to sea. Not all the young will make it through their first year. On this particular island as they leave there are seals waiting for the young. Nature can be cruel. Christopher told us that only five to seven percent of this colony of young will make it to adulthood.

After three nights I was ready to settle down and catch up. Following Chris’s suggestion I decided to take the Trans-Labrador Highway to Newfoundland. It is a bit like going through the back door. Whew. It is in the middle of nowhere. And that is how I found myself on the TransLabrador Highway.

Today I am thankful for opportunities that present themselves, I am thankful for good Photographers who are willing to teach others their knowledge and skills.

Today I am thankful for the joy of Puffins.

Expect the Unexpected

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As most of you know I had surgery to remove my right thyroid about two weeks ago. Why remove it? It has had a nodule on it for about seven years.The nodule has been growing a small bit with each ultrasound. The last ultrasound showed a speedier growth than the previous ones. With consultations to my Endocrinologist and Surgeon, we decided it was time for it to go.

With three biopsies that showed it was benign, all of us expected the post excision biopsy to be the same. Well guess what? It is not benign, my biopsy shows a papillary cancer, encapsulated and well defined in the nodule. So now what? The plan is to remove the other lobe and be treated with radioactive iodine and become a Synthroid user for the rest of my life.

I am disappointed and sad. I am also a weary of having the C word wander into my vocabulary, again. Everyone reassures me this is different. Thyroid cancers are slow growing. I will probably die of something else first. Yet, I wasn’t expecting this and I am not happy, at the moment.

What about Africa? What about traveling back east? What about the rest of my life? It pisses me off that cancer can stop so much. When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I was ripping angry. Now I am just confused on how to handle this information.

Both of my doctors tell me it is OK to do Africa for two months. When women are pregnant they wait the full nine months, if they have to, before removing a cancerous thyroid. I get it, I really do, it is slow growing. I also know that when I found the lump in my breast they told me not to worry. “It doesn’t look like cancer.” When They thought it showed up again (it did not), I was told not to worry. I have now trained all the doctors to never tell me not worry.

I also remember Jim’s (my deceased husband) surgeon when they first thought he had metastasis say, “Go to Peru, make memories for you, make memories for her, make memories together. When you return we will get the bone biopsy. Same diagnosis, same treatment, same prognosis.” After the trip to Peru we returned, the biopsy was positive, he went on chemo and five months later he died. Now I know this is not the same but….I need some convincing.

My surgeon says I am experiencing some PTSD and I am sure that this is correct. What do I do with that information? He reminded me that this is a whole different type of cancer. Jim’s was aggressive with a poor prognosis.

I am seeking a second opinion to confirm that it is OK to wait five to six months before the rest of the treatment. I am thankful that the Moores Cancer Center is close.

When I had breast cancer, Jim was here to support me. Now I am alone. I know, I am not alone but I do feel a bit alone. Who do I talk to? Who do I share this news with? What if no one offers to help me out?

I am not alone. My friends have boldly stepped forward to love and help me. I don’t see that changing unless I do something really, really stupid. And even then I think some of them would be here for me. That is what friends are for.

I was hesitant to write this post. As I look back over the years I have pretty much shared everything, why not this? What I need from all my readers and friends is good, positive support. I don’t want to hear the worst stories. Please don’t ask me how I caused this cancer (I got that from a few people when I was diagnosed with breast cancer). All I want is love and support and an occasional ear. Diversion therapy is good.

I will continue to plan my life. Africa is still on, at the moment. I am not sure when I will leave the west coast, that depends on the second opinion appointment. After some quiet contemplation, taking a few days to digest and work through this information, I plan to go back to experiencing life to it’s fullest day by day. As one of my friends said to me “This is just another of life’s big hiccups”.