isobelmtl

Now it can be told

Don’t worry! This is not going to be what my charming and dear friend, Marc calls an “ organ recital”. Those of us of a certain age will recognize this conversational pattern as an exchange of symptoms, treatments, prognoses, gossip about friends and acquaintances in our age group. This post is just to make some observations about a journey through the Quebec medical system for this hapless 78 year old.

First off, I have a very unremarkable medical history. I discovered the Camino de Santiago in Spain five years ago and it became a sort of “ home away from home” with three Camino routes tried and three stints as hospitalera ( hosts at various pilgrim inns on the Frances and Portuguese Routes. Al that walking helped my health too so when I was forced to cancel another stint as hospitalera in January of this year I felt a bit indignant.

This wasn’t supposed to happen! Doctors detected a large mass in my abdomen and thus began a long series of tests, scans, appointments with surgeons cumulating in surgery on June 10 at a large “ French” hospital where I had never been treated before.

The surgeon was a beautiful young woman, renowned as a specialist who told me as I waited for my entry into the ER that my operation would be a bit of a “Pandora’s Box”. Perhaps not the most reassuring phrase under the circumstances but at this stage I was ready to sharpen the kitchen bread knife for a DIY session. When I awoke she told me it had been a “ best case scenario” with a simple removal of a huge mass ( no, I won’t post a picture though I have one)

Here à special tribute to my daughter Elizabeth who came from Vancouver Island to help me, take care of me, support me. She is a nurse so gentle bossing was also part of the care. She made me walk, brought me edible food, kept me the best company. I am truly in her debt.

This is the only complaint I have about that hospital. The procedures were prompt, the care kind, the pain control superb. I must say I never want diloded ( sp) again. it calmed the pain of a 7 inch incision but silver octopi floating around the room were not what I was expecting as a side effect.

So, it’s over. Im walking in the park again and sitting on my balcony awaiting the next adventure

Thank god for my two kind daughters and the skilled staff of the hospital

by isobel cunningham June 16, 2026

And this

No, they are not cute! They are rats with attitude who love to climb up to my second floor balcony and dig up my flower pots or window boxes. In spite of liberal sprinklings with cinnamon and coffee grounds they still sneak around.

I don’t want to come out for a quiet cup of coffee in the morning and be faced with a mess, summer bulbs that will probably not emerge and à panicked rodent who forgot how he got here. Worse yet is the relaxed guy who is sunning himself in a corner and I think he’s dead.

A peaceable groundhog staying in his lane in the park! Muskrats in the lake, chipmunks who would never dream of climbing up a wall or tree to get access to my space – love them.

but this guy is welcome anytime. saw him yesterday in Angrignon and was impressed by how much tree bark he was able to dislodge. Birds are no longer coming to my hand for seeds because the insect population has boomed. I have a healthy crop of bites to prove it!

Being a lover of nature is not a blanket quality. I detest squirrels and mosquitoes! There I’ve said it. Judge me. I have to go clean up my balcony!

by isobel cunningham June 5, 2026

Yes, lots to see

and ladies are walking around the park dressed like this. Some are attempting it in high heels – sometimes abandoned and carried as accessories. I wished this beautiful woman “ Eid Mubarak”and was rewarded with permission to photograph her and to use the photo in my blog.

I did not want to intrude on the many family parties complete with music barb-b- que meals and games for the kids. Both men and women were beautifully dressed. Not like the young lady below but … to each his own, I suppose!

It seems there was a large group event for people who like to dress up as fantasy animals. That cleared up my earlier puzzlement at the sight of a woman pushing a baby carriage and sporting a large fluffy blue tail that curved up to her shoulders.

I’ve said it before, you can see a lot of unusual sights in Angrignon Park!

On Monday nature will take over again. I often wonder what the birds and animals think of our weekend antics!

If some little person comes out through this, his doorway when we have all gone home?

by isobel cunningham May 31, 2026

A correction

After some reflection and a bit of googling I am sure that black water bird I saw yesterday in Angrignon Park is a cormorant. Fits with my image of loons in pristine northern lakes!

by isobel cunningham May 18, 2026

Perspective

Waiting for this number to come up. After exactly three months something might be done about à diagnosis of a “ mass” in my abdomen. No, this will not be what a witty friend of mine calls an”organ recital” but even writers have bodies, those miraculous, mysterious organisms about which we lucky ones usually don’t have to think about much. Fortunate inheritor of a gilded gene bank I even forgot about an artificial hip while giving a medical history recently. That was the result of a fall and I usually only remember it while passing through airport security.

So, it was a bit of a shock to have to postpone a trip this winter and embark on a tedious journey through the Quebec Medicare system. It took exactly three months to meet a surgeon who undertook to take this damn thing out of my body. I only got here this “ fast” by dint of pestering a helpful and efficient assistant in the hospital where I was originally scheduled for the surgery.

Without much preparation I found myself in a huge downtown hospital overlooking the east side of the city and the St Lawrence river

To find myself in a large waiting room clearly signed as a cancer centre. Hey, nobody said anything about cancer! After staring like an obsessed border collie at the electronic noticeboard for about half an hour ( of course like a true Brit I had arrived an hour early) I finally got to meet the young woman who explained to me that I had been transferred to her only because the removal of this lump would be “ complicated” and she is experienced in this sort of thing.

Now, dear readers, I know your eyelids are dropping. What could be more boring than other people’s innards? However, this is where the writing part comes in. This young doctor actually googled me while I was in her office and exclaimed “oh, you’re a writer!” Thus began a conversational detour about writing, guiding at the museum ( her husband is involved there) that was a wonderful example of her interest in her patients as human beings. À connection!

Suddenly, it really felt like spring. I was flooded with gratitude that I probably don’t have cancer and that this young woman was entering a request for ER time right in front of my eyes.

Suffice it to say I left the CHUM in much better spirits than when I entered. The very next day I got an appointment for some pre op tests ( no whining or desk thumping required here).

Yesterday was cool but brilliantly sunny and I walked 13 km – gotta keep in training for the next Camino, after all.

Oh, also grateful that I don’t have to mortgage my home to pay for all this – ah, Quebec Medicare – you have your moments I must say!

by isobel cunningham May 2, 2026

At Last

I always put my hands on this willow and thank it and another one close by. À poem I wrote about them long ago got published and I thank them for that. Today I thanked them for showing me spring at last

The birds were singing away – except for these two ducks who were enjoying lunch from the lake-bed

Now, maybe someone can tell me what this is

It said poplar or alder but the extraordinary thing is that this poor tree was split during a winter storm but has still managed to keep enough life in it to put out these signs of life.

Frankly, I know how it feels. This winter and a health preoccupation cracked me but…. Today I pop got an appointment for this week with a specialist and hope to be on the road ( Camino, silly) this fall.

Birds going nuts this am and I could have kept them company all day.

Enjoy. Soon enough we’ll be complaining of the heat!

by isobel cunningham April 27, 2026

The window cleaners

Came today. They came late which meant

I had to stay in on a sunny, relatively warm day.

They were characters, the two who did the actual physical work were wiry chaps who wasted no time in removing a winter’s grime from screens and panes. The supervisor was a chubbier type who took a great interest in my apartment, the art on the walls, his recognition of a Murphy bed in one wall and a china ornament my mother left me. He had no hesitation in taking it down from the mantelpiece and remarking on it. When he went off to see to another apartment, one of the chaps actually cleaning had no hesitation in chuckling about “nosey’s” big mouth. He assured me he went on like that all day. They were fast, they did a good job and their fee was reasonable enough for me to be able to give a decent tip to the men who actually cleaned the windows.

As soon as they left, off I went to my beloved park. I dared a spring jacket and was rewarded as soon as I entered with takers for my birdseed. Of course I can never take pictures of that but I saw other wonderful things today.

You can see the stripey tail if you look closely.

I saw a strange reddish groundhog ( I think the name Marmott is much nicer) but couldn’t get a shot.

Can you see him sitting up between two parallel branches? I think he is a young falcon. He sat there for such a long time. He was sunning himself and preening his feathers. His wings were quite dark and his chest, as you see perhaps, à creamy pale pinkish colour.

I sat at least twenty minutes waiting to see if he would fly off and show his wings, but no, he was sunning himself quite happily.

He was my recompense for having to stay indoors waiting for the window washers.

by isobel cunningham April 24, 2026

Can I finally stop complaining?

He’s the guy I have to thank I guess for a beautiful opportunity to see spring birds. Not many, mind but the wonderful thing was it was finally…..warm! I brought bird seeds and timid chickadees took their time coming to my hand. The big thrill was this guy though.

I know it’s not a great picture but to my amazement he allowed me to approach and exchanged calls with me until I got weary of the game. He wasn’t giving up!

And huge pools of water everywhere. Other parts of the province are in serious flood trouble so I shouldn’t complain about à bit of mud,

Lillies-to-be. Thank you Spring!

by isobel cunningham April 18, 2026April 18, 2026

Pascha is behind us

My grandchildren made these wonderful Easter eggs. It was a strange sort of Pascha. In the middle of Lent our beloved priest was “reassigned” . I’m not going to go into the whole sad story but it was really hard. I am in choir and during Holy Week there is a lot and I mean daily services. In fact on Good Friday I sang in three services. It was strange, disconcerting, to hear an unfamiliar voice leading the services. Last year I was walking the Camino Invierno in Spain during the Paschal season and I vowed I would be at home this year. Now, remembering the Spring flowers, the long days of walking, the camaraderie of being with other pilgrims, I must say it was a more spiritual experience than what I’ve just been living.

I’m lucky to have those kids come to dye the eggs. I’m lucky to be here to grumble about the cold and gloomy spring. I’m lucky to hear the birds who have faith and are busy singing merrily, buildings nests and starting the next generation of chicks.

So cheer up, roll up your sleeves, write something and keep the faith, Isobel. Brighter days ahead!

by isobel cunningham April 13, 2026

Still not yet!

It has been a long time since I made my favorite walk around this “ lake” in Angrignon Park. The temperature was still low and I was glad of my winter coat and hood but the sun was so bright I could not resist. I took some birdseed in hopes of feeding a few hungry chicks. A couple of pretty fat robins hopped along but, silly things, they would not approach. A few chickadees appeared and pecked up a few seeds from my palm. I spotted several of the most vivid and beautiful cardinals I have ever seen but they stayed aloof too. I know the weather is the eternal subject for Canadians but really I think we can all agree that this year things have been long and tiresome. It is getting particularly difficult to put up with Amazon photos serving me up anniversary snaps taken in Greek or Spanish springs.

I mean,come on people! I could not even make it around the lake today as the pathway was so icy I had to walk along the verge.

At one point it was turn around or wade into the water!

Another waiting game has been a health issue. I will spare you most of what a witty friend of mine calls the “ organ recital”. Suffice it to say I had to cancel my latest Camino enterprise set for February 15 at the last minute. When your GP pokes your abdomen and asks” what’s that?” You pay attention. How about a very large non- malignant mass? Because of the situation with waiting lists à central system has been set up and I got sent to à French hospital in what we used to call the “ east end” ( spoken in a subdued tone) .

No objection from me … but what ever happened to laicite ( the great push by the provincial government to erase any and all religious signs from public venues? ) The other thing that amazed me was the willingness of everyone to speak to me in English at just the sight of my name! I wrestled my way up the list for all the diagnostic tests and now I am told I must wait for a letter for my surgery date. Can’t be soon enough for me!

À letter? Im inclined to look out for a carrier pigeon on my balcony railing!

So yes, it is a long Spring season of waiting and let’s hope the payoff is worth it!

by isobel cunningham March 27, 2026

À consolation

who is far away in British Colombia. My daughter who lives here offered me much appreciated practical hands-on help yesterday. What was all the fuss about? I’ll spare you ( most of) the details but…. Yesterday I had my first colostomy test. People are quite right when they say the prep is the worst part and I admit to a profound relief that I live alone while navigating the 24 hours prior to the procedure.

I will undergo surgery soon and this was part of the “ run up” to the much anticipated day. I am happy that I really don’t have much in the way of symptoms but if you must know, I am pretty enthusiastic about getting a large and mysterious mass removed from my abdomen.

To my surprise I was assigned by the Provincial Health Board powers that be to a woman surgeon in a primarily Francophone hospital quite far from my home. This is part of a scheme to even out wait times for surgery. Every time I have gone there over the past few weeks, the employees have taken one look at my undeniably British-sounding name and launched into English! À surprise in Quebec where even “ Bonjour/Hi” is considered Hersey by some. When I asked the admitting clerk to repeat instructions, blaming my poor hearing, he emerged from his plexiglass booth and, commiserating with me confided that his own hearing had been damaged when he worked as a bouncer in a bar on St Lawrence Blvd. Somewhat surprised by this revelation I was touched to see how kind and caring he was to elderly patients limited in their mobility. He came out of his post and offering his arm even escorted one lady down to the examining room.

I was a little afraid of this test and very relieved that the results were good. It was comforting to have my daughter, Helen, drive me, stay with me and take me home for soup and “ a little rest” on her couch. As soon as I got home, my beautiful flowers arrived. Each in her own way with me.

I can hardly wait for the MRI

by isobel cunningham March 14, 2026

Almost forgot!

More than ten years ago I self published this book of poetry. To my surprise, it’s still for sale on Amazon. If anybody’s interested, check it out. They’re listing it at $19 …. I just wonder what would happen if anyone bought it. I had a great experience publishing it on the advice of Judyth Hill, à wonderful poetry teacher I met at the San Miguel Writers’ Conference.

The cover illustration is a statue here in Montreal that’s part of a monument to Georges Etienne Cartier.

Why not read some poetry today. Spring’s coming, promise!

by isobel cunningham February 27, 2026

It is really coming – Spring!

On my way around the big pond in my neighborhood park. I’ve posted lots of shots from this vantage point. This is the first one this year though. It has simply been too brutally cold and snowy to tempt me out here. The treadmill at the gym has been a sporadic substitute. Sometimes even getting there was too risky. However, the days are getting a tiny bit longer and yesterday there were even a few hours of sunshine. It was hard to walk through the snow on my usual path but on the wider sections, to my surprise here was a snow-blower!

A few old friends were happy to see me with my bag of seeds. The chickadees were chased off for a few moments by this little warrior, à woodpecker who would not allow sharing ftom my palm.

When I go to the gym I listen to a podcast about the Camino de Santiago “ the Wise Pilgrim” It’s about the old days, the Middle Ages, and how the pilgrims travelled, what they ate ( no energy bars then!) and the dangers ftom robbers and unscrupulous innkeepers.

I should have been one of those “ innkeepers” by now as I was to be hospitalera in Porto for the last two weeks of February. Ah, but a surgery looms. Nothing very serious but after all , one can’t let mysterious “ masses” hang around in one’s abdomen! À surgeon is lined up and I will beg, cajole, plead for an early surgery date. In the meantime more walks as my beloved ducks now have tiny rivals. They have better manners than the ducks too, one of whom was pecking at my pants leg when all the day’s seeds had been thrown down . “C’mon spill!” He seemed to say. My chickadees come and land on my hand and take ftom my palm.

Today is Ash Wednesday and unusually, the start of Ramadan too. Many people walking towards the light.

by isobel cunningham February 18, 2026

I Promised and … I Did

I had regular birdseed and inspired, I included the ends of some green beans I had been preparing

The few that picked up à bit of greenery- spat it out!

Read up on what to feed them and will include some steel cut oats today.

My friend, the crow refused to enter the fray and kept watch on a tree branch.

I am in awe of how all these ducks have survived this brutal winter here in Montreal. I know, I know, eider feathers but their little webbed feet!

by isobel cunningham February 5, 2026

Goodbye, until next time

There is only one king in my crèche. I know a playful dog ran away with Balthazar decades ago and we only found a chewed up remnant weeks after Christmas. The dog, Katie, suffered no ill effects. What happened to the other Magi … I cannot tell. This set was bought by my parents at least forty years ago and the little white sheep is certainly an interloper. She’s china and the rest is pure mid century plastic.

The poor tree is out on the balcony, waiting for city pick-up day.

How quickly the season passed but there are other wonderful things to look forward to now.

God bless and may all come round again to a happy Christmas in 2026

by isobel cunningham January 10, 2026

The day before Christmas Eve

It’s snowing properly today and it almost certainly will be “ a White Christmas” I have a visitor staying with me for a few days. My dear niece, Katy, is here from Greece.

She was so kind when I was in Kefalonia, it was a pleasure to have her here in Montreal

Christmas Eve service and carol sing tomorrow night and then Christmas Day with Helen and her lovely family. Thankful for good health and to be living in my beloved country of Canada.

Merry Christmas all!

by isobel cunningham December 23, 2025

She’s baaack!

It was a pretty torturous travel itinerary from Vancouver Island to Montreal on the 15/16 th. I know, I know … winds off the island made take off difficult. I was rewarded with some beautiful shots over the Strait of Georgia though.

A lovely sky. Getting out of Vancouver was no easy feat. And who knew the meal vouchers don’t include a drink which I certainly needed to while away the many hours before I finally got on a plane to my home town. I mean how much Duolingo can I do? However, finally sitting safe and sound in my home is a blessing. I miss the green of the Island though.

Now, get stuck into Christmas card writing ! Yes, I’m that old! Love sending and getting them.

by isobel cunningham December 17, 2025

Some sights on the Island

Yes he really was right across the Oyster River as I went for my noon walk. This picture is a bit fuzzy as I had to crop it. I took it just in time as he soon spread his wings and flew up the river away from the sea. You would never seen him here in the summer. Too many people about! The sea was absolutely calm and some seals were playing, slapping their fins and tails but they were too far away for pictures.

Also known as Christmas Rose although they have nothing to do with roses.

I couldn’t find a single bush with berries.

by isobel cunningham December 1, 2025