My name is Gene Anderson. I was born on Friday, July 13, 1934 (my lucky day)in a small town in Saskatchwan. I have an older and younger sister. After graduating from high school I moved to Saskatoon and attended Robertson’s Secretarial College, then worked in a law office. During that time I met Ron, my husband, who was in the Air Force going thru flying training. When his course was over he was posted back to Winnipeg, which is his home town, and after a few months convinced me to move to Winnipeg. I had a job lined up, so I packed my trunk, got on the bus and moved in with his parents. I lived with them for a year before Ron and I were married on Aug. 27th, 1955. Our first child, Scott, was born in Oct. 1956. In 1957 Ron was transferred to Trenton, Ontario. Our daughter, Cheryl, was born there in 1958. We lived there for four years, till he completed his term in 1962. Then we moved back to Winnipeg and Ron began working for IBM. In 1966 we moved to Montreal. It was a great time to be there during Expo. In 1969 we moved to Markham, Ontario. Then in 1972 we moved back to Winnipeg. In 1979 Ron was offered a transfer back to Toronto, but at that time his parents weren’t well, so we chose to stay in Winnipeg and bought a small office machine business. Both of us worked in it. It was getting harder to compete with the buying power of the big chain stores, so we sold (gave away) the business in 1995.

In May, 1997, I suddenly became very ill and was diagnosed with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and Carpal tunnel syndrome. It took a while before the right combination of medication brought me relief Along the way I developed several diseases – Sjogrens, Raynauds, Polymyositis, Scleroderma, Pulmonary fibrosis and Pulmonary Hypertension – Connective Tissue Disease. I also have HBP, Glaucoma and Cataracts.

In Oct. 2001, I was operated on for bladder cancer. I underwent BCG treatments and have had four more surgeries on my bladder since then. On November 4th, 2001, I was admitted to Grace Hospital with heart failure I was in the hospital for two weeks, on oxygen, and being treated for a heart attack.. I was sent home without oxygen and again was short of breath After seeing two heart specialists and a lung specialist (Dr. Bshouty) I was finally put on oxygen on June 2, 2002. Then on March 26, 2003, I was prescribed Bosentan. It must be working, as I have been feeling quite well.

I am a Christian and believe in the power of prayer. I have had a lot of blessings in my life. We were able to do some traveling – Hawaii, Mexico, London, Africa, Florida, California (where Ron’s sister lives), and Arizona. Most of my children and grand-children are within walking distance from us. They are very supportive. We have a friendly neighborhood. Every year we have a block party. I learned early in life that “life isn’t fair”, so don’t expect it to be. I try to have a positive attitude. Nutrition and exercise have always been important to me. There are days when I feel fragile, but most of the time I feel quite well.

In August we are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary and moving into Fred Douglas Place, which is right down town, where the action is. A new chapter in our life will be starting and we are looking forward to it. (Hope I make it – I have soooooo much to do before it happens).