The Oppenheimer Report 8/28/17

The Tuesday night before Shauna was released, I stopped on Queen Street to catch a short set of Jon Brooks performing at the Cameron House. It was one of those odd early gigs that just happened to occur shortly before my nightly visit to the hospital, and I decided it was time to do something for myself; a little therapy for the war weary. All caregivers out there know that it is important to take some time out for ourselves. 

When I got to the Cameron House, Jon was standing out front talking to some patrons, and I jokingly chided him to get back to work.Hey, I didn’t just pay five bucks for parking to watch him gab with his fans. We had a nice albeit brief chat, and then he went back inside to play. It was a bare bones set, just Jon on the acoustic guitar with a bassist, but Jon’s songs are magical. The first song he played was “Mercy”, which is one of Shauna’s favorites. As he started to he play the song, I began to cry. All the pent up emotion of the past ten days came pouring out and I wept. Normally, I might be embarrassed by my public and involuntary show of emotion, but this was cathartic, and for some reason I just didn’t care. There was a man named Ward (I think) sitting next to me at the bar, who seemed to have some kind of nervous disorder. He made unusual jerking movements, but when Jon began to play, he got up and danced. He was very interesting to watch. It was remarkable to see the man transform when he danced. He had an unusual rhythm, and his dances were extremely fluid and interpretive, following the ebb and flow of Jon's songs. Jon obviously knew him, and carried on a light-hearted conversation with him throughout the set. There was a lot of love in the room, and for about thirty minutes, as I listened to one of my favorite Canadian songwriters in this small bohemian bar, with this unusual man dancing alone to the music, I was not in traffic, or waiting for something.

Wednesday, after Shauna was released from the hospital, we headed back to the Kensingnton Eye Clinic for a follow up appointment with the ophthalmologist who had sent us to the hospital in the first place. She said that Shauna’s eye was a little better, but that we weren’t out of the woods yet. After four hours there, undergoing another myriad of tests, we picked up Jasper and headed back up to Katrine. We’d left our house up north, thinking we’d be gone a day or two, and it turned into two weeks. We still do not know what has caused this latest autoimmune dysfunction in Shauna’s body. The testing done at Sunnybrook, and Toronto Western Hospitals ruled out many diseases, but we still have no answers. Now, and for the foreseeable future, Shauna is taking even more medications than she used to. The steroids are particularly troublesome for her, and she says she feels flu like but at the same time “amped”, making sleep difficult.

We got home from Toronto at around 2:30 AM, and it was lovely to sleep in our own bed. Last Saturday afternoon, I attended day 2 of the Hunters Bay Radio Radiothon fundraiser, and joined the dozen or so other local musicians who performed some songs live on air. We raised a good deal more money than we did the year before, and every year the station grows. Nice to be a part of this little oasis of love in an increasingly complicated world. Music continues to be my go-to therapy, and I have met so many like-minded people through the radio station. To all of my friends, all the people at the station, and all of the musicians I have come to know and who have offered their love and support, we thank you all. We’re going to be fine, and it is a warm feeling to know that so many of you care.      
                           
 - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED