https://www.audible.ca/pd/Romancing-the-Klondike-Yukon-Audiobook/B09Y62PLWV?ref=a_series_Ca_c10_lProduct_1_3&pf_rd_p=e54256e9-89bd-44c1-980b-adcad688db4e&pf_rd_r=B5Z5R0XQPVWE3PBDZP1P
https://www.bookswelove.com/donaldson-yarmey-joan/
Be
Careful What You Wish For is an old saying with an ominous warning
to it and Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
is also an old saying but it has an upbeat tone to it. Both of them apply
to my story.
Be Careful What You Wish For
For years women who had had breast cancer surgery
were told not to use their arms for any strenuous activity for fear of causing
lymphedema, a build up of fluid in the arm. Don McKenzie, a Canadian sports
medicine specialist at the University of British Columbia, opposed this idea.
In 1996, he formed a dragon boat team composed of 24 women with a history of
breast cancer in Vancouver, B.C. They called themselves Abreast in a Boat. And
they proved that strenuous exercise was good for their arms and for their
overall health.
A few years later, they entered in the Vancouver
dragon boat festival and I saw them on the television news. I had never heard
of dragon boating before and I said to my husband. "That looks like fun.
I'd like to try it sometime."
In January of 2001, I was doing a breast self
examination and found a small lump. My annual mammogram at the Breast Centre in
Edmonton was scheduled for February but I called the centre and told them my
news. They booked me an appointment in two days. Although no one said the C
word, after the questions, the mammogram, and the ultrasound, I was pretty sure
it was cancer. Then I was told that I needed a biopsy and that it could be
scheduled for the next week. However, they added "We have an opening in
the next hour and we can do it today." I knew for sure it was cancer.
At my pre-op session a woman came in to tell me
about a group of women living with cancer or who had had breast cancer that met
every month for coffee and to offer support. I asked her if she knew of a
breast cancer survivor dragon boat team in the city. She found the contact
information for Breast Friends and two weeks after my surgery I joined the
team. I wasn't allowed to get in the boat until three months after my last radiation
treatment so I didn't get to actually paddle until 2002. Each summer we
practiced on the North Saskatchewan River and attended dragon boat festivals in
Alberta and British Columbia.
When I moved to Vancouver Island in the fall of
2004, I joined Angels Abreast in Nanaimo. We practiced in Departure Bay
(staying out of the way of the ferries) and on the narrow strait between
Vancouver and Newcastle islands. We went to festivals up and down the island
and in Vancouver.
Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
In 2006, an international festival was held in
Vancouver to celebrate the ten year anniversary of breast cancer dragon boating.
Besides the teams from Canadian, teams came from the United States, Australia,
New Zealand, Poland, Italy, and Asia. It was great to walk through the
paddler's village and meet fellow survivors from around the world.
In Sept. 2007, another international breast cancer
festival was held in Caloundra, Queensland, Australia, and Angels Abreast went
to that. What a wonderful time we had. The residents of the city were friendly,
the venue was excellent, and the hosts did a great job of organizing. The 100
teams of twenty-four paddlers, steersperson, and drummer paraded through the
streets dressed in pink, and many people yelled "Canada" or honked
their horns when they saw our Canadian flag hanging from our balconies. The
festival lasted three days and again I met many special women. After the
festival some of us toured around Queensland and New South Wales. We went out
to the Great Coral Reef and even with my fear of heights I climbed the Sydney
Harbour Bridge. From Sydney we flew to Fiji for a week.
The next international festival was held in
Sarasota, Florida, on October 24, 25, 26, 2014, and the team decided to attend.
The other members were going to fly down, tour around some of the sites and
head home. I wanted more than that, so my husband, Mike, and I decided to do a
three month tour of the U.S. Since I needed to be in Sarasota by October 22 to
practice with the team, we picked September 23 as our leaving date and Dec. 16
as our return date. I applied for and was given three months off work.
We had such a great time touring through nineteen
states. In Sarasota I stayed in the hotel with my team for the three day event.
Again, such a wonderful venue, although at 6:00am it was dark and cool. Once
the sun came up, we warmed up fast.
The last international festival was in Florence
Italy in 2018. Again, rather than fly there for just the festival and maybe some
local touring, I opted to spend nine weeks in Europe. I did two bus tours, travelled
by train and stayed in hostels and hotels for eighteen days and then did a
Baltic Sea cruise.
Since my diagnosis I have met so many strong,
caring, fun-loving women plus I have visited some awesome places around the
world. I am now back living in Edmonton and paddling with Breast Friends again.
Only one woman is still with the team from when I paddled here years ago.
I am looking forward to paddling this year and many
years to come, the silver lining to my cloud.