This is the Christmas letter I sent around earlier this month, with some updating. It has been an eventful year for me, mostly for health issues, which I will get into later. I moved in the middle of January, and managed to get my stuff into a bachelor apartment. It is a bit cramped, but I seemed to have found a workable arrangement. Next month, I can apply for a larger apartment. I am not sure how long that will take. It has been interesting getting used to a new area, but it seems to be working out well. I had similar trips this year as last. I was in Charlottesville, Virginia again for five days in April, and two weeks at the end of June, early July. The group I go with is international and they do have a special event for Canada Day. The party was at the Omni beside the downtown pedestrian mall, and a street hockey game spilled out onto the pedestrian mall. I was standing on the perimeter, and many pedestrians were asking me why they were playing hockey in July. Ah, the teachable moment! In early August, I went up to Nipigon again to visit my sister Sally and her family. Once again, we enjoyed the Red Rock Folk Festival and many fine dinners at Hans and Joanna’s and Alan and Janice’s. I only did four days of supply teaching in the spring, and so I seem to have left that part of my life behind. It was a good run. A lot of my time has been taken up with medical concerns. It is a bit complicated to explain so bear with me, or just jump to the end. In the spring of 2012, I had a test for skin cancer on my forehead because I had a small pimple that kept oozing clear liquid. The test came back negative for skin cancer, and was diagnosed as an overactive sweat gland. Unfortunately, it never healed, so last February, my GP sent me to a plastic surgeon at North York General Hospital. He removed the pimple and sent it for testing. It came back positive for squamous cell carcinoma, so I went back for surgery on my forehead. He removed an area the size of a loonie ( for non Canadians, that is the Canadian dollar coin) and moved my scalp down to cover the area. It was a day procedure. All went well until the summer when another pimple showed up on one of the incision areas. The plastic surgeon referred me to the Head and Neck Department at Toronto General Hospital. They did an MRI and a CT Scan and discovered another area of squamous cell. At the end of September, I had a 10 hour surgery at TGH on my forehead to deal with more skin cancer that had appeared after my initial surgery last March. They removed a squamous cell tumour from my forehead above my right eye. Because of this, I have lost my right eyebrow. Then they took a skin flap from my left wrist to cover the area, and also a flap from my left thigh to cover the wrist. The skin flap on my forehead has a diameter of about 6 cm. They removed the lymph nodes from the right side of my face, so the cancer could not go down that way. In addition, they took a blood vessel from my left arm to put up the right side of my face to feed the new skin flap. I spent 8 days in the hospital, and once I had got home, I had to report every few days to Grace Hospital up the street to have the dressings changed. On October 30th, I started a daily ( M – F ) radiation treatments at Princess Margaret Hospital. Shortly after that began, we found a new area of cancer on my right temple, so the radiation therapy was revised. I have now finished radiation. ( total: 6 ½ weeks) It has made the right side of my face quite red, and at this point, the skin is starting to break up. Fortunately, there is very little pain. As the skin breaks up, we have to watch for infection. After the radiation finished, I met with the surgeon. He was concerned about the bump on my temple. He called in the radiation oncologist. He is not sure why the bump has not gone down. The tissue is softer than before, but they say it is 'worrisome'. I cannot do any further testing for at least 12 weeks, so I have to monitor it myself. I have been impressed with the care and treatment at both TGH and PMH, and feel that I am in the best place for treatment. Also, it is only a 20 minute walk from where I live. I have also been blessed by lots of help and encouragement from my friends in Toronto. I had lots of visitors in the hospital, and when I got home. My nephew Stephen and his wife Joanne drove from London . My sister Sally came down from Nipigon for a visit. Stephen drove from London to visit his mum and bring me a gift basket of food and wine from himself and his siblings. Many friends contributed great packages of food, and they keep coming. The freezer has never looked better. Have a great Christmas and all the best for the New Year 318 – 484 Church St. Toronto, ON M4Y 2C7 Tel: 416-925-5096 cliff.gatchell@gmail.com