I'm travelling in Europe on business for just over a week. I'm in Helsinki, Finland and then I'll be in Sweden, Germany and Russia. Honestly, it's not as glamorous as it sounds.
I've been able to call back to my folks to see how my mother is doing. Today she sounded much better than earlier in the week. It was a brief call, but she did not sound as out of breath as she has been previously.
Since overseas cell phone calls are very expensive I've been using a computer service called Skype. Skype has amazing voice quality and it's free for calling from computer to computer and cheap for calling from a computer to a regular land line. (Cheap here means about 2-3 cents per minute, which is 50-100 times cheaper than European hotel or roaming cell phone rates.) You just download the software, register and plug in a headset. It's really easy.
If you want to see what I'm up to in Europe, you can go to Splashblog and see photos from my cell phone, like the airline food I had on my flight from Munich to Helsinki the other day. (Click on the photos to see them full size.)
- Splashblog: Travel photos
- Skype: Download
My Mom had the pleural sclerosis with talc procedure done the week before Mother's Day in order to control the fluid accumulation in her pleural cavity so that she can breathe properly. She was released from the hospital the Saturday before Mother's Day. She started Topotecan this past week. I have read so many bad things about malignant pleural effusion that I am really scared. My Dad and I protect my Mom so that she will continue to have hope until her last living breath as she seriously does not want to die. She is 74 and was diagnosed with stage 3 in Nov 2004. She then had her cytoreduction (I call it debulking surgery) at the Univ of Colo. Hospital in Denver where I live. Then she had her chemo up in MT where she and my Dad live. I like reading about your Mom and I wish her, you and the rest of your family the very best. I fly up to MT once a month to see my Mom and will be going up there for 5 days over Memorial Day weekend. I cancelled a CPE conference I planned to attend in Newport RI for a week in July. (I am a CPA). However, Newport RI will always be there and my Mom won't be. I am sure it is hard for you to travel. Thanks again for your postings.
Posted by: Pam Doig | May 20, 2006 at 12:27 PM
Mark, great pictures. Are you sure this is a business trip. Looks more like a 'Cavanaugh' get together. Had a chuckle looking at your pictures....and made me think of all the times we gathered at 14 Cameron, 67 Francis...or 41 Third Ave.
Thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin & Cecile Hoeg | May 21, 2006 at 06:29 AM