A letter from the Bruyère Family

We are going "electronic" wherever possible. So if you have an e-mail address, please send us a quick e-mail and you will receive the next letter electronically. It's not just about saving paper and postage: it's also about saving time!!

Last Christmas we skipped our annual letter and greetings - and we apologize sincerely! December was a crazy month at work for both of us and we were also leaving to spend Christmas in Florida... so we simply ran out of time. Many of you wrote to us saying you were looking forward to receiving our card: So this year we got started a little earlier because we have many thanks and news to share with you.

On May 21^st, I started my first of six chemotherapy treatments, to last 3 days each and spread 3 weeks apart. Thankfully, my friends and co-workers have enabled me to deal with this and concentrate on recovery without working. I have also been extremely fortunate in that I have not suffered from any nausea or sores from the chemo. As a result, I have been eating well (better than before: no more rich desserts, espresso or junk food) and feeling pretty good, considering...

I have just had my last treatment and will be doing a CT-scan in mid-October. In July, the CT-scan showed great improvement, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for good news. We hope the chemo battle will be over, but the cancer war is not over yet. We will probably be looking at surgery before we can declare victory.

Having taken time off work, I have been able to spend a relaxing summer with the kids or alone in the lakes district. Our friends with cottages have been so kind, it's probably my turn to buy a cottage and invite them back! Other perks? I've lost 20-25 lbs (did I not only need to lose 10?), shaving and hair care have become very minor tasks, and we saw many visitors through Toronto, including Danys and Annie from France, Kathy from Kuala Lumpur (before she moved to Hong Kong), Roger and Judy from Miami, Kay and Sylvia from Germany and many many friends from Montreal.

I really want to thank everyone for their kind wishes, prayers, visits and the way friends and family have come together to help. In the big picture of my recovery, it all helps and it is greatly appreciated.

We now have a gorgeous black piano in the house: Marc and I are taking lessons every week and we actually practice too. The whole family came to our piano recital in June which was held in a church. They say it was really nice. For my birthday this year I really wanted to see the Phantom of the Opera - and my daddy took me. It was spectacular. I enjoyed every minute and I didn't even get scared (Marc didn't want to go!).

This summer in Florida we got to spend two weeks with new friends from Minnesota doing snorkeling, sand castles, sleep-overs, etc. We even went bowling a couple of times. It's tough to get strikes! Summer was packed with fun: Sailing camp, Florida, Baseball camp (that was the best), Tennis camp and, during our week at a cottage, I water-skied for the first time. Dad got it on video. Since Mom loved Les Mis so much, we listened to the CD in the car very often and I learned almost all the songs. Then, Dad surprised us with tickets to go see it here in Toronto. It was so good, so cool - to think that I hesitated! What was I thinking?

Lots of new challenges at work too: Bell Sygma merged with CGI, which means transition plans, new business plans, and now a start-up of a new division.

As you can imagine, the days, evenings and weekends are filled with "children" activities we enjoy as a family - and we occasionally squeeze in a few just for ourselves. For example, we enjoyed a great weekend at l'Auberge Handfield in Quebec (that's where this picture was taken). Chris and I pampered ourselves at the spa and who do we have to thank? Yaya and Papou again for taking care of the children. Mami and Papi also help out whenever we need an extra pair of hands. My cousin Stephanie also moved to Toronto and it's great to have her nearby. We are indeed very fortunate to be so well surrounded.