Saturday

Yesterday was an emotionally exhausting day all around. It began with my mother phoning me to tell me that the doctors now say my uncle had weeks to live instead of months. After crying my eyes out for a while, I showered and drove to my hair appointment. After I got my hair done (just straightened to match my sisters), I raced across the city to West Edmonton Mall where I got my make-up done. First time I've ever had full make-up... I barely recognized myself. After that, my sisters and I came back to my apartment where we met up with the professional photographer and had an hour long session both indoors and outdoors. Posing with my sisters was trying at times because they both like to ham it up and I'm like, 'can we please just get this over with??'.

After the photo shoot, I took my sisters and Jules out for dinner and then we all headed to the hospital to see my uncle. My dad had been there from 8 am and my uncles two kids flew in from Vancouver and Calgary as well. My one cousin called his wife to bring up their two little ones because my uncle looks so bad. His wife is eight months pregnant so I'm sure that was a comfy three hour drive from Calgary to Edmonton. She arrived with the kids just after we got there in the evening and the kids perked my uncle up a little. We left the hospital around 9:30 pm and went to the hotel they are all staying at. Once the kids went to bed, my two cousins, my sister and Jules all went down to the bar to have a couple of drinks and catch up on the years we haven't seen each other. Three sips into my drink the freakin' fire alarm goes off in the hotel and bar and strobe lights are going off and it's just chaos. The hotel had to be evacuated and the fire department came and 45 minutes we were allowed back in. Some jackass took a fire extinguisher off the wall and used it (for fun, there was no fire) and it triggered the alarm. After shivering outside and trying to keep little ones warm, we were finally able to get them settled again and go back to our drinks. By the time Jules and I got home, we just collapsed in bed exhausted from all of the excitement of the day. My mind was racing with a lot of different thoughts but I think I still passed out within two minutes.

My uncle wants very much to go home from the hospital, but unfortunately his home is 5 hours North-West from here. The hospital initially put him on the waiting list for a bed up where he lives and they would air lift him there the moment one opened up, but the whole family is against it because he'd be completely alone up there with no family and we have family from Ontario and Quebec flying across the country today, tomorrow and Tuesday to see him. One of my other uncles is driving my grandmother up from B.C. to see him as well because she's too old and frail to fly. Another uncle is flying for the very first time in his life in order to see his brother before he dies. I bet they haven't seen each other in at least twenty years. One of my aunts is flying in from Ontario today and the other aunt cannot afford to get here, so my dad is buying her airfare to get here. All in all, it's unbelievable how his siblings have just dropped their lives (and cleaned out their bank accounts) to get here as soon as possible. It makes me cry just thinking about it. It's moments like these that make life incredibly beautiful.

Anyway, after the doctor examined him yesterday night he told us that he is going to put a hold on the request to transfer him up to his home town and told us it's time to get the family here. He's in absolutely no condition to be moved anywhere... but we will not tell him he's not going... we want him to hold on to his hope.

His last living birthday he'll ever have is today. I don't know his exact age, but I think he's either 49, 50 or 51. He'll be celebrating it with the family he grew up with... the family who sat around the kitchen table when he celebrated his first birthdays in his life. I get teary-eyed again just thinking about how special that is.

Today I'm grateful for:

* Family
* My girlfriend
* My health and the health of my friends and family