I'm still here!

Just a quick update.

Since I last wrote I have been having some good days and some bad days. I am beautifully looked  after by my sister and the crew of friends who have rallied around and the nurses who come daily to administer the medication. I am in no pain and able ( with help) to get out of bed to shower and sit in the sun for a brief time. I even sit in white cane rocking chair -)

Thank you for reading and sharing this journey with me.

Terrie. Saturday

And now

My dear readers
The trip home from Atlanta via San Francisco was great.   Nikki and I spent a day together in downtown San Fran and visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. It was marvellous. My sister, Leigh, joined us in our hotel room in the afternoon and it was lovely the three of us being together for a few hours

Nikki saw Leigh and me off through the security system at the international terminal before she went off to catch the red-eye flight back to Atlanta. Leigh and I settled into our business class seats and had an excellent trip to Sydney. Still on a fluids-only diet, I consumed a considerable amount of ice cream during the flight :-)

Once home again it was straight into tests and consultations with doctors. It is now time to tell you that my prognosis is, yet again, not good.

As my readers you have been the inspiration that has kept me going over the past 6 years.

I hope you know how important you are to me.

I have been able to get up in the mornings knowing there is more to the day than doctors'appointmentsbloodtestsscansherbaltabletsacupuncturerestricteddietchemotherapyradiotherapyvomitingheadachesnoalcoholcheesenoredmeatoncologistsradiotherapistsgeneralpractionersnursesradiographersbloodthinnerstedssurgeryhospitals
I thank you every day for your love and support.

You know that I have recently been in the USA, in Atlanta, with Nikki and her family.  While there I was hospitalised twice in a month with a blocked bowel. The CT scans taken on both occasions, a month apart, and the PET scan I had in Sydney last week show rapid growth in the tumours that are attacking my small bowel. The doctors say these blockages will keep occurring more frequently and that eventually, sooner rather than later, my system will shut down. There is no further treatment that I can have that will be effective.

Needless to say, I am not just giving up. I will continue to live each day as full of energy as I can, implementing preventative treatment while I can, and getting on with normal life while I can. So, please keep in touch and let's keep doing what we always do.

I won't always be able to respond and I'm sure you'll understand that.

I have moved into my sister-in-law's home in Mt. Ousley at her
very generous insistence as she will not be there. There is room there
for me and for my sister, Leigh, to stay and care for me. And plenty of
room for visitors to park and stay!


Terrie. Thursday 17 October