Time at home always means....

.....doctors and blood tests and scans and MRIs (this week anyway), patches and physical therapists AND RESULTS

So, out of all that, the news is sweet and sour. The sweet is VERY sweet as the blood test shows that the tumour markers have gone down again. And the liver function has improved. Yeah!

The sour is that the pain is not going away and not really being masked by all the medication and patches that are being used. CT scan and MRI both show that the tumour in the (psoas) back muscle is impinging on the nerves at L2 and L3 (for those in the know) ie lower back.

So... I have more medication than you can poke a stick at, and than I've ever had in my life before, with instructions for consumption that I need to make notes on - to be sure I'm taking the right one at the right time. Phew! It's more than a full-time job.

And I have them in bulk, because on 31st October I am flying to Durban, South Africa to stay with Nikki and her family until 7 December. I'll need a whole separate bag just for the drugs and the herbs :-). And, of course, letters from relevant medicos explaining why I'm carrying such a stash of drugs.

And now to move totally away from all that drama....... the sweet, exciting news is that Tim's 40th birthday party is on tomorrow night. Big celebrations for the family and his friends.

Yes! I have a 40 year-old son, and a 41 year-old daughter. I must have been a child bride :-)

And Nikki is flying in tomorrow morning in time for her brother's party and a week catching up with family in QLD. She and I arrive in SA on the same day but on different airlines. She's using frequent flyer points on Cathay Pacific and I'm using hard-earned $$$$ on QANTAS.

The Hopemobile is about to be put into hibernation until at least after Christmas.

As soon as I return from SA, my sister arrives from Canada to stay until March. So, it's busy, busy, busy.

I hope your life has the sweetness in it that mine does.

Friday 21 October @ 4pm

on the road home

The pain is just the same - still can't get rid of the burning feeling in my left upper leg

The road is just the same - although there have been some improvements to the Pacific Highway since I last traveled it

The scenery is just the same - brilliantly green since all the winter rain, and the sea is azure blue - as always

The Hopemobile is just the same - a reliable friend who starts first time every time and carries me smoothly along the highways and byways

The weather - well, could be better, but at least it's not raining.

Home tomorrow



Thursday 13 October @ 9.45pm

Going along nicely

Since I wrote last life has been pretty OK.

The wedding on Sunday went well - beautiful sunshine, gentle breeze, beautiful bride, handsome groom, proud parents, happy friends. It was the first day of daylight saving and everyone managed to arrive at the right time. There was some concern about the Queenslanders - but they all managed to work it out.

We were in the Zig Zag Garden at Mantra Resort, Kingscliff on the Tweed Coast.There were fluffy brown rabbits and spiky water dragons hopping and running across the lawn duirng the ceremony. And a persistent bee that wanted to be part of my fashion accessories. Fortunately there was a brave, handsome, young man (my cousin's son) who gave the bee the message that it wasn't wanted and the ceremony went on without a sting. Phew!

The bride is my cousin's daughter so, once the formalities were over, I was able to spend some time with relatives I don't see often.  It was fun.

And then the drive to Mooloolaba. It was motorway all the way, almost 3 hours, and I arrived safely. Carole was already settled into the studio apartment on the beach front and had brought in an evening meal for the tired driver. Lovely.

We spent the next couple of days visitng the local sites - Ginger Factory, The Spirit House for lunch, Noosa, Australia Zoo - as well as enjoying the window shopping and walking along the beach at Mooloolaba.

On Wednesday we drove to Brisbane airport where I left Carole to catch her flight home and I carried on to the Gold Coast and back to Tim and Debs' home at Southport. Debs has just moved in and there are still bags and boxes waiting to be unpacked and lots of things to be sorted. So, the last few days have been exactly that and organising the linen cupboard and the pantry cupboard and rearranging furniture until it looks 'just right'.

And if there's anything that might distract me from the pain, it is the wonderful news that they are expecting a baby next April!! Wow! Another grandchild. I honestly didn't think there would be any more. Very special and exciting news. Scans and blood tests all show that mother and baby are very healthy. They are so happy - and so am I.

It's nice to be sharing news about scan and blood test results that are not related to my own health issues :)

The pain is the same as reported last time - manageable.

I plan to hit the road in the Hopemobile on Monday and make it back to the Gong by the weekend - taking it slowly.

Saturday 8 October (my father is 91 today) @ 9am Queensland time.