On a morning walk recently, I was impressed by the brilliant blue sky and happy to see more people and their dogs out walking than there were in the really cold weather. Overhead, magpies were gathering twigs to build nests, Canada geese were honking as they look for nesting sites near the river, and woodpeckers were drumming into trees, power poles, and even roofs of houses. Snow geese have been seen flying north, and a porcu­pine was spotted walking on our street. It finally is springtime here in the foot­hills of the Canadian Rockies.

My husband and I took a winter vacation to Australia last month, which is in a much warmer climate zone than where we live in Canada. In Sydney and up to the north at Port Douglas, we enjoyed going about without the winter clothes we had been wearing for months! We had a wonderful time there, seeing a great city and taking a boat ride out to the Great Barrier Reef. We rather reluctantly returned home, flying from Sydney through Vancouver to Calgary. (Days after we returned home, we were shocked and dismayed to find out that tropical cyclone Debbie devastated parts of the Queensland coast and caused extensive flooding. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the wild weather.)

At the airport, sitting next to us, was a couple from Quebec. Their English was much better than my French, and we started talking about the Canadian winter.

It occurred to me that much of what we spoke could relate to my multiple myeloma winter too.

Back in the winter choir season, one of our songs was ‘The Huron Christmas Carol’. The opening line is ’Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled, that mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead’. This line in recent years to me denotes how one’s hope can all but desert one when faced with a serious cancer diagnosis such as multiple myeloma. The angel choirs are sung by those who have left this earth.

Truly daunted by winter as we sometimes are, we have to remember that in very cold and stormy weather, there is a danger to being outdoors. At temperatures below freezing, hypothermia can damage one’s fingers and toes, or cause sleepiness. Frostbite reminds me of neuropathy, damage to the nerves. I have very warm, down-filled coats, mitts, and even a sheepskin hat to face the elements. Sometimes everyone is so bundled up outdoors that we resemble a crowd of snowmen. Even on bright, sunny days, there can be frost in the air, and it can be dangerously cold. Sometimes I think that multiple myeloma is like that. One can look well and be energetic, yet be harboring the dangerous cancer cells – looks can be deceptive.

Our vehicles are subject to winter problems, and one must remember to put on snow tires in the fall, get oil changes, top up windshield wiper fluid, and generally look out for the maintenance of the car or truck. I won’t forget that this last winter during a cold snap we forgot to plug in the block heaters for our car engines. When trying to leave for a choir practice on a Tuesday night, the car wouldn’t start. There was a long wait to get any help that day, and it wasn’t until the next morning that a repair tow truck showed up to help. My vehicle had to be towed to the service center where a new battery was installed. This took up most of a day, and I was worried that I wouldn’t have my car for getting to appointments and other commitments.

In a sense, having car failure could be similar to being slowed down by illness, injury, or extreme tiredness. These can all be features of multiple myeloma treatments. After my stem cell transplant, I was so exhausted that I could have used a ‘boost’ to get up and around again!

It is a truism that many folks take better care of their cars than they do of themselves. Just as our vehicles need regular service checkups, so do we. I am so grateful to have caught my recent breast cancer diagnosis early, as a follow-up to an annual checkup. I only wish that my multiple myeloma had been caught earlier, but that was a more complex diagnosis. At least it was caught early enough for me to avoid some of the serious complications I could have had.

Just like our vehicles require tires with good treads for winter driving, so do we have to wear warm winter boots with good treads, and perhaps use a pointed walking stick (ski pole) when going about. You just can’t walk around outdoors on the snowy, icy streets without those. Not getting enough exercise, either outdoors or indoors at a swimming pool or gym, is not good for one’s health or immune system. I wear a fitness tracker to try to encourage me to get enough ‘steps’ in a day, no matter what the weather.

Here in the foothills, we have a phenomenon called a Chinook. This is a warmer wind blowing in over the mountains to the west of us, from the Pacific Ocean. The Chinook’s arch of clouds lifting over the western horizon is a welcome sight, for it signals warmer temperatures. I think that my recent break from treatment has been my own personal Chinook wind.

I’m hoping that my personal Chinook continues to blow for a long time.

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The quotation for this month is from Terry Fox (1958 - 1981), a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist, who said: "I just wish that people would realize that anything is possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you try."