THE DON ROY NARRATIVE
VOLUME VII
www.hillmanweb.com/donroy/07.htmlThe last time we visited, I was 84 years old; now it is February of 2018 and I am 87. Who knew? Much has happened since I last wrote so where do I begin?Because of the distance Beth and I were not on hand to witness much of our grandchildren’s growing up, however, we did manage at least a couple of visits a year whether it was Sardis B.C., Edmonton, New Norway, Owl’s Eye near St. Paul and lastly Olds. Of course we always were there for the stand-out celebrations or ceremonies such as graduations, weddings, etc.
One summer when David was still at school, during the summer vacation he was employed at a Hutterite Colony. We went to visit him there one Sunday afternoon so were able to see the huge tractor he was operating at that time. He enrolled in a Tai Kwon Do school and earned a Black belt in that discipline.
When David graduated from school he left home for the big life in Edmonton. He did not take after his “Grampa” as far as a singing voice was concerned because he was quite good and joined a rock band as their lead singer. On a subsequent visit we went to a hotel one night where David and his Band were performing. Now I guess it is a fact that for a rock band to be “discovered” they must have a gimmick. Well this band was no different so they all let their hair grow really long and while performing, they would bend over and swing their golden locks in unison. It was marvellous to behold, however, it probably wasn’t enough because they never did make it “big”. I guess they got hungry, so to live, had to take jobs elsewhere. Incidentally the name of David’s Rock Band was, “Road Kill”.
David had always had an affinity for the big machines, be it farm tractors or eighteen wheelers. It therefore wasn’t long before he was employed driving Semi’s between Edmonton and Vancouver twice a week. After I don't know how many years, David for the sake of his own well being, gave up this Vancouver run in favour of a job that would allow him more time for life and family. I'm not sure when, he was reacquanted with a former girl friend on-line. He and Yolanda, after a suitable courtship moved in together. A year or two later they had a son Ziah who was born October 2009. I unfortunately saw little of David and family as they were living in Edmonton. Heather moved from Owseye, outside St. Paul to Olds, halfway between Calgary and Red Deer. I should mention here that David had always been something of a work-a-holic and even though he no longer drove long distance semi's, he remained spending very long hours at work. He was then employed by a company that fueled mostly vehicles which weren't practical to drive themselves to a fill-up. Because David was such a good worker, he was taken advantage of by covering for no shows and some days would spend up to sixteen hours on the job. This was of course difficult for Yulanda who incidentally was a real sweetie. This got out of hand with David either on the job or at home sleeping. Finally David saw the light and started driving for the same feed company that employed Ken. Did I mention that Ken was a Field Rep for Unifeeds Feed companys. His specialty was poultry and he had a reputation second to none in the whole province of Alberta.
When Josh graduated from high school he enrolled in NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology). He graduated from there and was fully qualified as a Geomatic Engineer. He soon thereafter found work with the oil industry surveying for oil or whatever Geomatic Engineers do. Josh is still with the same Company doing the same work which was great for many years but since the oil industry faltered the past few years, Josh’s work had become quite sporadic. I should mention at this time that Josh unofficially adopted a boy who lived between his Mother and Josh. The boy's name is Azen and he had been and is most happy to being Josh's son.
Andrew followed in Josh’s footsteps. He also went to NAIT to qualify as a Geomatic Engineer and like Josh was very successful at the profession, however, when the oil industry went bust in Alberta, he was laid off. Andrew was living in St. Paul Alberta and when the County of St.Paul learned they had a surveyer in their midst, they offered him employment with the County as a Geomatic Engineer. I asked him recently that if the oil industry revived would he return to it and his answer was that he loves his new job with the County of St Paul and would stay where he is. Andrew had a beautiful wedding in St. Paul with his high school sweetheart which incidentally I had the honor of piping at the wedding ceremony. Unfortunately through no fault of Andrew's the wedding lasted only one year and they divorced.
Not to be outdone by her brothers, Kyla attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton to become qualified as a teacher. She had assisted on the financing by becoming a model with Mode Models and had also worked as a waitress. When she started to teach in her hometown of St Paul, she doubled as School Counsellor. To this day (April, 2018) she still teaches and lives in St. Paul. She married Danny Reid also a St. Paul resident. They had a beautiful wedding at Fairmount Jasper Park Lodge, September 6th, 2009. Please allow me to jump forward to the present day (April 2020) to tell you that Danny left his high paying job as a construction superintendent at Christine Lake Alberta to be able to stay home to spend more time with his family. About six months ago he was hired on as superintendent of the County of St. Paul.
About two years ago when the Alberta oil industry was failing, Andrew, because of his surveying qualifications and experience was hired on by the County and since then had been twice promoted. Now to make it a real family affair, Josh had left his surveying job with the oil pipelines and was also hired on by the County of St Paul.
It was approximately the late 80’s that Mom began to show signs of Dementia. She was still driving her wee Chevette and one day in Coeur D’Alene, she drove the wrong way on a one way street. A female officer stopped her and realized she was headed the wrong way to go home and was confused so she confiscated her driver’s license. When Mom objected the Officer told her she would have it returned when she passed a driver’s test. Shortly thereafter Mom fell and broke her hip. From that time her health deteriorated with the necessity of her moving into a Nursing home. Her quality of life was good in the home thanks to Gloria who would drop in almost every day to tend to her needs like doing her hair and keeping her smiling.
Beth of course was still working at Donogh Antiques who were doing antique auctions. Because they knew my Mom liveded in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, they asked if I would be interested in delivering a load of furniture to Spokane, Washington, a 30 minute drive from Coeur D’Alene. Of course I accepted. When I dropped off the furniture at the auction house in Spokane, it was early evening and too late to visit Mom so I went to Gloria’s home. The next afternoon we went to the Nursing Home to see Mom. As I walked up the hall I could see her door was open. She had been sitting up in bed facing the door. When I appeared in the doorway she was very surprised and said, “Don… what are you doing here?” We had a very nice two hour visit and told her we would return the next day to take her for a car ride around Lake Coeur D’Alene, a most beautiful ride. When we arrived at her room the next day, I stood in her doorway and again she looked at me with great surprise and said, “Don, what are you doing here?” She did not remember my visit of the previous day.
All too soon it was time for me to return home. I got up about 4:30am to have an early start and of course (LOL) Chuck was up which wasn’t unusual. As I was leaving he told me that next year he would drive to Manitoba to fetch me. Of course I declined his kind offer as he would have had to make two round trips to my one. I had music on my car radio and as I was half way to the Canadian Border the music was interrupted by a special news bulletin. It was announced that a plane had collided with one of the twin towers of the World Trade Centres in New York City. I thought , “Oh no, just like July 1945 when a B-25 Mitchell bomber smashed into the Empire State Building when it was lost in fog.” Shortly after that I stopped at the last gas station before the Border which was at Bonners Ferry. After pumping the gas I went into the convenience store to pay for it. The cashier was alone and when I mentioned what I had heard on the radio, she informed me that as I was pumping gas a second plane had smashed into the other of the twin towers. Yes, it was the 11th of September, 2001.
I was lucky that I crossed the Border when I did as it was closed shortly thereafter. It was one of those things that happen in a person’s life that he remembers where he was and what he was doing when the news broke. Another of course was the assassination of John F. Kennedy the 23rd of November, 1963.
After Mom moved from L.A. to Idaho I had always managed to go visit at least once a year, sometimes accompanied by Beth, or Heather or Donna. Mostly I made the trip alone. I always enjoyed driving and long road trips didn’t bother me. Sometimes driving to or from Idaho I would pull over for power naps lasting 20 to 30 minutes then resume the trip. My dear sister Gloria always welcomed me with open arms and of course I stayed with her and Chuck every time I visited Coeur D’Alene. Chuck and I were great friends and I fondly remember our “hikes” up the railroad tracks when they lived at Post Falls. Chuck and Gloria owned a lovely outboard and on several occasions gave us tours on Lake Coeur D’Alene, then up the Spokane River which Beth, Donna and I enjoyed very much. Very sadly Chuck developed a very rare terminal disease which severely incapacitated him until he passed 08 November, 2006.
Al had been a Commercial traveller working out of L.A. and for some reason he moved to Bakersfield for a short time before settling for a few years at Sacramento. Gloria and family had already moved to Idaho so Mom, missing her family moved to Sacramento. It was while she and Al both lived there that Gloria and I decided to go there for a visit. I drove to Idaho, picked up her and Scottie who would have been about five years old at that time. We had a really nice visit and started out on the return journey without Scottie who returned later with Chuck. It was a nice trip, a beautiful day when we were driving up the coast in Oregon. It was beginning to get dark when I started to realize my vision was failing. I was really starting to worry, then I paniced when it got so dark I had trouble driving so finally admitted it to Gloria. She told me that if I removed my sun glasses I would see better. She was right.
Al and Joyce had moved from Sacramento to Apache Junction, Arizona…. I’m not sure when…. They had a trailer and after spending couple winters, decided to make this their permanent residence.
It was probably about the year of 1995 I played with 1RCHA Pipes & Drums in a Band competition in Winnipeg. After it was finished I went straight to Winnipeg Airport and flew to Phoenix where I was met by Al and Joyce. The strange part of this visit was that my long-time good piping friend from the Portage Air Force Pipe Band, Zane Matiation had a trailer in the same resort, as a matter of fact within a couple hundred feet of Al’s unit. Zane spent much of that time with Al and me. Two occasions that I remember well was a cruise in an outboard of Canyon Lake. Al’s best friend at the time was a retired sea captain who owned an outboard motor boat on Canyon Lake. He invited Zane, Al and me to a sail down Canyon Lake which was very enjoyable. A lucky break was that the Highland Games in Mesa happened during the time of my visit so Zane and I took a day to go witness the pipe band competition. Of course, I had the Pipes with me and was honored to play the teams to the first tee in a golf tournament between USA and Canada. I was told it was very amusing to see a parade of golf carts being led by a piper. Later in the day, I was invited to a celebratory BBQ by the Canadian team. I had a ticket for a flight back to Winnipeg but Zane was returning with his truck and trailer two days later and after much persuading by Zane, I agreed to accompany him on this four-day journey. Regretfully I was a passenger the whole trip as Zane hadn’t invited me to drive. It was an unusual journey as going through New Mexico we experienced a heavy snowstorm and even heading north through Kansas and Nebraska the roads were very icy. I, therefore, did not enjoy this part of the trip.
It was soon after that Al had a very serious stroke. He was fortunate that he was almost immediately airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Phoenix where he was treated. He did suffer ill effects mostly in one leg. Not long after poor Joyce passed. She suffered from the big,“C” for years and now Al was alone. Al was still close friends with George the retired sea captain, who professed to be very rich but one would never know it by the way he closely guarded his money. Twice during another visit, he invited us out for supper but never offered to pay for it. A place I enjoyed very much was in Mesa called “Organ Pizza”. It was a huge venue where one could eat as much pizza as they wished, however, that was not the reason I liked and remembered it. It was where a large Wurlitzer organ would rise from under the floor with the organist sitting at the organ with his back to the public. There was a pot on the floor in which patrons were encouraged to write a music request and deposit it in the pot. I had requested “Marche Militaire” and was so lucky that it was chosen. I have never heard it played better and enjoyed it so very much.
Mom’s health continued to decline and finally on the first of February 2004 she passed. Heather and I drove down to Idaho for Mom’s funeral service. Brother Al had arrived from Apache Junction, Arizona. Nice that my two siblings and I were reunited but of course a very sad occasion. I had taken my Bazpipe (electronic bagpipe) with the intention of playing the lament and Al had intended to deliver the eulogy. We were very disappointed when the pastor disallowed both of us to participate in the ceremony as it was against the policy of the Jehovah Witness faith. Another reason to frown on that faith.
My last visit with Al happened to coincide with President Obama’s inauguration in 2008. He had moved from Sunrise Mobile Home Park to a small older trailer in a much less desirable neighborhood in downtown Apache Junction. I spent a week with him and his health was steadily failing. I don’t want to be a “tattle-tale” but he was not looking after himself. He finally passed on my birthday, 15 July 2011.
For many years I have had an enlarged prostate problem. After two unsuccessful surgeries I was referred to the leading Urologist in Winnipeg who stated that if enlarged prostates were an Olympic event, I would be a gold medalist. He decided I should have what is called a “retro-pubic prostatectomy”. This could be called a major surgery in which I spent a couple weeks at the Health Science’s Centre in Winnipeg. My good friend Lloyd Harness, also a retired Correctional Officer, kindly drove me to and from the hospital. Recovery was somewhat slow and painful. I decided that if I have a dog, walking him every day would be not only a duty but a needed exercise, therefore I bought a Westie who was already two years old. Fargo was an OK dog but not another Kelly.
When Heather and I returned to Alberta after visiting Mom and Gloria, instead of proceeding to her home in Owlseye, we met Ken at a charming town forty minutes north of Calgary called “Olds”. At that time Ken had been working for Feed Rite. When they closed their doors Ken secured employment with Unifeeds at Olds. A huge bonus was that Heather secured a job at the Dialysis Unit of the local hospital. Yes, they bought a lovely house where they lived until July 2017. More on that subject later.
It was 13 May 2005, at Coeur d'Alene that I had the honor of not only attending the wedding of Scottie and his wonderful wife Misty but also played the Pipes for this beautiful occasion. They had been sweethearts from their school days and were meant for each other. Scottie had such a history that one could not imagine. He loved the water so much that he qualified as a deep sea diver and worked on the oil rigs on the Gulf of Mexico. After saving enough to finance a University degree in Omaha, Nebraska, he became a dentist and Misty is qualified as an Advanced Medical Massage Therapist and also a Certified Cupping Therapist. They have two beautiful children, Keali was born 01 April, 2007 and Eli arrived 05 May, 2009.
I have always recognized the importance of the eyes and to that end, I faithfully had eye checks when they were due. Each time before my checks I would try to persuade Beth to have a check as well. Every time I got the same answer, “nothing wrong with my eyes”. Finally about 2004 she decided she needed a check... Too little,,,, too late! It was discovered she had Glaucoma and had it bad.
Over the course of the following years, a great many trips to Winnipeg to see her Ophthalmologist was necessary. When she was to have surgery at the Misericordia Hospital we would stay at the Lodge which was within the hospital. The surgeries did not improve her vision, therefore it was not long before she was declared “legally blind”. Beth never complained about her vision loss and adjusted very well to moving about our home on Kensington Crescent. I helped as much as possible and thankfully never had to do laundry. Ha Ha.
A neighbor who came to be Beth’s very close friend lived two doors from us. Her name was/is Madeleine Addison. Madeleine proved to be such a good friend, who would on occasion cook not only enough for her and Jaime but also enough to bring complete meals over to our house. It proved to be beyond Beth’s capabilities to produce good complete meals and Madeleine’s kindness more than made up for it. Her visits were not only frequent but most welcome as Beth left the house less often because of her impaired vision. She did though enjoy visiting Madeleine's home which was only two doors away. Jaime was originally from Portugal and was a really nice gentleman. He was the epitome of a workaholic and one would always see him working in his yard and especially at Christmas would have the most wonderful front lawn decorated. Unfortunately Jaime developed Parkinsons which ended up taking his life.
It was late June 2012, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. Fargo would follow Beth about the house sometimes causing her to walk into him or trip over him. Because I would be in the hospital for some time I deemed it necessary to remove Fargo from the house to lessen the danger for Beth. We put an ad in the Brandon Sun with the result we gave Fargo away to a lady in Boissevain.
I entered the hospital on 06 July for the removal of a third of my large intestine, The surgery went well and I was recovering quickly, however, I was moved to the fifth floor to make room for more surgical cases coming into the ward on the second floor. I immediately developed a case of acute bronchitis which bothered me more than the preceding surgery as I lost much sleep in the hospital and later at home because of a persistent cough.
Beth and I were so fortunate to have Donna and Bill living at almost a stone’s throw from us. Donna visited very often and Bill was a tremendous help in doing jobs around the house of which I had become incapable. Kensington Crescent was a very good street, at Christmas with most houses having Christmas lights decorating the houses. It became too much of a job for me and Bill took over. For a good few years, he put the lights up well before Christmas and removed them soon after. As was always his way, he did a beautiful job which Beth and I so much appreciated. Very early 2013 I botched a job of changing a washer in the downstairs bathroom hot water tap. The bathroom floor and much of the hallway was flooded. At the time I was wearing mocassins with a black leather bottom. In the process of running all over the place on the wet carpeting, I left black dye from the slippers which would not be removed. Luckily home insurance approved my application for flooring replacement of the complete ground floor to the tune of $11,000. How fortunate to have insurance and how fortunate that Heather reminded me I should give it a try.
Kyla and Danny had a beautiful wedding at Jasper Park Lodge ........... Of course Beth Donna and I attended and of course I played the Pipes at the ceremony. In case someone should ask the tune I played was "Ode To Joy". The wonderful couple formed such an attachment to the Lodge that they have returned on their anniverseries since then. Theirs was a marriage made in heaven as they have since then produced three wonderful children. First was Jaxon who was born 12 Dec 2010. He is so good looking he should have been a girl but that is where it ends because he is all boy. I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to witness his hockey skills but I've been told that he is a natural on the ice. He apparently is the one to ask if you want to know details on statistics in the pro sport scene. The only negative thing about Jaxon is that he is a fan of the Montreal Canadiens.... Ugh!
Then came my first great granddaughter Talyn who was born 29 Sept 2012. When Beth was close to the end in the Palliative Ward, all the Pettersons and Reids arrived on a Saturday and that evening we had a pizza "party" :-( in her room. Talyn was only a year old then and Kyla took Beth's hand and placed it on Talyn's head. Beth, who had been unconscious for days smiled. Talyn is such a sweetheart makes me so sorry I cannot see them more often. Kaynee arrived almost three years later born 02 June 2015. What can I say about Kaynee? She is an absolute joy. If you are in a dismal depressed mood, she can knock you out of it when she enters the room. Soon she will have a big smile on your face. Heather and Ken are wonderful grandparents and oh so fortunate to be able to see the children often.
The summer of 2013, it was evident that Beth was failing. She refused to see a doctor until she had no choice. That summer she attempted to chop down some horrible kind of weeds that had overgrown the garden and was taking over all the space. I tried to hire a pair of friends to chop them out but they refused. Yes, Beth went out with a dull hatchet and tried to do it. She would not be dissuaded. At the same time, she did see the doctor who performed tests and was sent to Winnipeg to have a PET scan which confirmed the presence of cancer. She persisted in trying to remove the horrible weed at the back and her leg bothered her so badly she could barely climb the stairs. Finally, it was time to be admitted and have the surgery to remove cancer from her lung. At the same time, they examined her leg and discovered bone cancer in the femur. We had expected and hoped that she would recover and come home however long it took. Just prior to that our Bill was diagnosed with cancer and was admitted to hospital. Beth and Bill were patients in the same wing, same floor until Bill, becoming worse was transferred to the Palliative ward in the Assiniboine Hospital. Soon after, Beth got progressively worse until finally being admitted to the Palliative ward in the Assiniboine hospital too.
She passed on the 21st of October 2013. Heather and all the family had come from Alberta a few days before her passing. Donna was a tremendous help to me although she was very much in mourning having lost her Bill who passed less than one month before Beth passed. It was a bad time for all of us but particularly Donna having lost her husband then so soon after, her mother.
Now it was time for me to decide what I was next going to do. I was eating mostly packaged frozen foods, sandwiches and Campbell’s tomato soup. I was so fortunate to have wonderful neighbours who would show up at my door with everything from full meals to deserts. Even Sue-On down the other end of the street treated me to her oh so delicious chile. Heather returned to Brandon for a visit so one day she, Donna and I toured Victoria Landing and Riverview Terrace, both Retirement Residences. I preferred the Landing so made application for a suite.
At the same time, I made preparations to sell the home on Kensington. To prepare for the sale I had the complete interior painted. With that and new flooring on the ground floor, it was looking very good.
I gave Donogh Antiques the job of removing all the furniture to their warehouse where they sold it all on New Year’s Day of 2014. That was a terrible day. I could not attend the auction because I couldn’t stand the thought of all my furniture going, but Donna consented to take my place. Everything went at a fraction of what was expected.
Finally and very shortly before moving to Victoria Landing, the house sold. Again, Donna was a huge help in all these jobs and even to the day of moving, she was right there doing all the right things. She had hired the movers and supervised the whole operation. And so the beginning of a new chapter of my life:
I settled into Victoria Landing rather painlessly although for the first while I did not feel like mixing or socializing and to a small degree kept to myself. I did a lot of reading and watching television and almost every evening my wonderful daughter would come to the Landing to sit, keep me company and watch TV with me. We were both grieving but poor Donna, having lost both Husband and Mother felt it more acutely than I.. She did spend much of her daytime hours working in the house by cleaning out all the personal paraphenalia left by Bill. She in that regard accomplished so much. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. Comes to mind when I was having a huge inner ear problem. I had seen the ear specialist in Portage La Prairie who made an appointment for me to have an inner ear procedure in the Portage hospital. I was heavily sedated so Donna did the driving. Halfway to Brandon I became very nauseous having to stop and be sick on the side of the road. I slipped on some ice and couldn't get up and poor Donna had a hard job getting me back in the car. Instead of returning to the Landing I collapsed on the bed in Donna's spare bedroom. The next day I was back to normal and returned to the Landing.
Very shortly after I was admitted to Brandon Hospital to have a knee replacement. After about five days I was transferred to the physio ward at Rivers Hospital and was there for three weeks. I have to say that the Physio treatment was very good but not so, as far as medical care was concerned. The reason I say this is because the last few days I took sick and could not eat. Although the staff knew of this, I was never diagnosed and treated. The day I was released Donna had come to fetch me and took me directly to my family doctor who after five minutes had diagnosed my problem and prescribed a medication which after a day or two I improved.
About a week later I developed a severe pain whenever taking a breath. After three or four days and on a Sunday morning I could take it no longer so went to the Emergency Room at the Brandon Hospital. Donna arrived shortly after and spent the rest of the day with me while I was being tested. Finally early evening I was admitted. The following morning Donna came to visit and while there a Dr. Mohammed arrived at my bedside to tell me I had Stage four lung cancer which was inoperable, untreatable and terminal. Donna asked about chemotherapy and we were told the Chemo could kill me before the cancer. When Donna asked how long did I have, his answer was, “about two months”. Was it shocking? Of course, but at the same time I subconsciously did not believe it, therefore strange as it may seem, I was not in the least upset.
The following morning, again when Donna was visiting, a Dr.Bookatz introduced himself to be my new Doctor. He asked me if I would consider a biopsy. I asked him what it would entail so when he told me that, yes it would be painful as well as uncomfortable I said, “What is the point if I’m to die in a couple months?”. After undergoing more tests it was determined that I did not have bone or liver cancer. Donna and I told the doctor we were planning a trip to Alberta to visit my daughter and family. He cleared me to go on the condition I take with me a portable oxygen apparatus. The next few days were spent getting prepared for what was expected to be my last trip.
I had taken steps that one must take when confronted with their demise, such as cashing in a large portion of my investments, signing my car over to Donna and yes, I even went to Dental to have my teeth cleaned so that I would look presentable to the nurses when I inevitably end up in the Palliative Ward. Ha Ha. I must have been in a state of denial as deep down I think I knew that I was not going to die and there was nothing for me to worry about, so I didn’t worry.
Donna and I flew West Jet to Calgary and of course Heather was there to meet us. Surprise! Gloria also came up from Couer D’Alene to say goodbye to her brother. Actually it was a great visit! Like a family reunion with lots of reminiscing and lots of laughs. Shawn was even kind enough to prepare a photo collage to be shown at my funeral. I have to say that the chest pains had long since disappeared and I was feeling pretty good.
I don’t remember a lot about the next two months except that I felt normal and was enjoying a good quality of life at Victoria Landing. I have to tell you though about what happened early in that two months. My grandson David was at that time working in Vancouver. When he told one of his workmates about his “Grampa”, the mate told him about a friend who beat cancer by taking cannabis oil. David told his Mom, my Heather, who asked me if I would be willing to try it. I said “Of course! What have I got to lose?” David procured some, sent it to Heather who drove to Brandon accompanied by Ken. One Saturday would have found us at Donna’s house preparing this solution in capsules which I immediately started. At this stage I had opened up to socializing much more and participating in almost all the activities. Donna as usual came to visit almost every night. I eventually progressed to taking two of these capsules per day and found the effects rather unpleasant. Also, I had to watch the timing of consuming them as I could not go to the dining room (or anywhere else) while “under the influence”.
Approximately two months after my “death sentence” I received instructions to go to the hospital for a chest X-ray. One day after this I had an appointment with Dr. Bookatz. Donna accompanied me and as we entered his treatment room he was looking at the viewing screen which showed my chest x-ray. He then looked at me and said, “Mr. Roy, your lungs are clear. You don’t have lung cancer,,,, it must have been pneumonia or maybe a heart attack”! He then wagged his finger at me and said, “if you contemplate court action, just remember it was I who advised a biopsy and you refused”. Donna and I were so surprised and yes, shocked that I don’t remember what we said before he almost shoved as out of the room. I have never seen or spoken with him again, After his heart attack remark, did he refer me to a cardiologist? No, he did not. I have not seen or heard from him since then. It was later confirmed by my favorite ex-pupil who is now a radiologist that it had been a misdiagnosis
I had considered suing, if nothing more than to recoup my investments which I had cashed in to give the money to my family. Being Canadian I decided to not pursue this course.
