Tappy needs a new set of lungs

Well we’re back home safe and sound and finally got the internet up and running. I promised I would kiss the ground the moment we hit Cape Breton soil but there was so much seagull dung around I didn’t want to take the chance on getting an infection.

The following photos are of the gathering on the 30th of March at the Delta Chelsea.

It now feels as though Georgie and I have two homes, one here in our beautiful Island of Cape Breton and the other in Ontario. We arrived in Toronto on November 6th, 2006 not really knowing what to expect, except that it would be our goal to get to hell out of there as soon as possible. But we walked into a community of wonderful people all sharing a common goal and all supportive of each other. We made many, many friends, whom we shall cherish forever. We also had marvelous neighbours in our apartment building who were like family to us. Getting to Hell out of there was not as easy as we thought it would be. Ross Thomas organized a going away gathering for us the day before we left Toronto. Its hard to imagine but while this guy was having more than his share of problems related to his transplant, he was in Newfoundland organizing this party for us, including a free nights stay at the Delta. The gathering was like a high school reunion. Ross took up a collection and thanks to all for your generous donations.We left Toronto on March 31st in the fog and rain and it followed us all the way to Halifax. We were initially going to spend two nights on the road but we opted for one because neither of us was tired. We stayed in a Motel near Quebec City and drove the next day to spend a few days with Ed and Mike (our sons) in Halifax. It was then on to the Cape. It was quite a feeling crossing the swing bridge and hitting Cape Breton turf for the first time in almost a year and a half.

As we were driving down the Westmount Road toward our home we were met by a welcome home sign. Then the driveway was lined with friends and neighbours there to welcome us home. It was quite a sight.

Another surprise awaited us when we entered the house. Ed, Jean Marie and Mike chipped in and did some renovations on the place. That coupled with a lot of free labour from friends, neighbours and Jean Marie, made us think we were walking into the wrong house. After a lot of hugs and kisses we broke open a quart of the finest black rum we could find and celebrated our return.

Its taken a while to get this blog out because we had so much work to do when we got home, so much visiting and so many phone calls we hardly had time to go fishing.J Things continue to go well for me. I am trying to walk every day and I do manage to get a few things done around the house. I have my next visit to the Toronto General scheduled for the 16th of June. I will also have to go back every three months until the end of the year.

This will likely be the last chapter in the “Tappy Needs A New Set Of Lungs” blog. But we are anxious to maintain contact with the many friends we have made. Feel free to leave a comment or drop us an email.

All the Best,

Eddie and Georgie