The good news continues

Yes! Yesterday I had the blood test and today went to the oncologist for the results. And they were all good! What a relief. Liver function readings have all improved, tumour marker is steady and platelet count is back to normal. Wow - I must be doing something right. Everyone kept telling me that I look well and that my colour is good - and now I believe it.

Tomorrow I see the Chinese herbalist, who will be just as pleased and positive, I'm sure.

My time on the Gold Coast is finished. The last two weeks were wonderfully warm and I spent a great deal of time just sitting in the sun and walking on the beach letting the warmth soak into my bones. It felt so good. Back home in Wollongong now - it's cold and windy with a wintry sun. Not quite the same as up north.

So normal life resumes - whatever 'normal' is. Actually I don't really think it's quite normal for me to be watching so much television - but the performance of the Olympians is so compelling that I am spending quite a bit of time out of the cold wind and in front of the television. It's so inspirational to see the efforts and achievements of the young and not-so-young athletes. Of course I'm cheering for the Aussies, but they are all so impressive - striving so hard and elated with their victories. It's exhausting - and I've only just recovered from Wimbledon tennis and the Tour de France with Cadell Evans! What a feast of sporting excellence right in my own lounge room!

Hope you're enjoying it all too. Talk again soon.

a cold, wet day on the Gold Coast

Well, I am now considered competent to be a Civil Marriage Celebrant in Australia. Now I need to go through the bureaucratic paperwork to become registered. It will happen all in good time. So, I'm telling people that if they know of any couple who is planning to tie the knot in 2009 - and they would like me to officiate - just put them in touch!

Oh! and you know that warmer weather I was hoping for on the Gold Coast? Well, today it's blowing a gale, freezing cold and pouring with rain! It's probably warmer at home in Wollongong. I haven't poked my nose outside the door today - but I have finished one book and started another! Talk again soon.....

So far, so good

Hi everyone. Hope life is going as well for you as it is for me. Tomorrow I'm leaving home to go north for a little over 3 weeks to house sit on the Gold Coast. I'll be glad to get away from the winter chills - do hope that it's going to be a bit warmer up there.

I have completed the course I've been doing which will qualify me to become a Civil Marriage Celebrant in Australia. That is - I've submitted all the assignments and am now waiting for the final assessment results to come. So far, so good. Once I receive my Certificate of Achievement I need to submit an application for registration to the Attorney General's Dept. They review registration applications every 3 months, so I'm not sure exactly when I will officially be a CMC! One thing at a time, though. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Today I had my regular fortnightly visit with the Chinese Herbalist for a consultation and acupuncture. He says I'm doing very well. Because I'll be away for a while I have a small acupuncture needle in my left ear that will stay in for 10 days. It's to give me energy to substitute for the session I'll miss in 2 weeks time. I feel well and have been walking and riding my bike regularly to keep up my fitness level. Yesterday I even had a game of tennis - it's been a long time, and it felt great. Golf will come next, but I'm still working up to that.

Well, off to pack my bag for the trip north. Thanks for reading. Talk again soon.

all still going well

Hello my friends

I just want to let you know that everything is going well still. I'm feeling very healthy, I'm building up my fitness by doing lots of long, strenuous walks and I'm very busy working through all the reading, research and assignments for my course.

My next appointment with the oncologist is on 13 August and before that I need to have a blood test. When I see him he'll have the results and hopefully all will still be well.

My course to become a qualified Civil Marriage Celebrant is very interesting and challenging. There is so much legal information that you need to be aware of and to inform the bride and groom about. It's interesting, but the legal language needs to be waded through carefully to fully understand it all. That part is heavy going.

On 13th July I will have a practical assessment for my presentation of a mock marriage ceremony. The 'stand and deliver' part does not worry me, of course, as my POWERtalk training has given me confidence for that; but the content of the ceremony and making sure I have included all that needs to be included requires real attention to detail and is a real challenge. I'm working on it now. I'm sure I'll be fine, as I've passed every assessment thus far, but I'm still a little nervous about it. Having nerves is healthy, of course.

A few days following that assessment I'm off to the Gold Coast in Queensland for 3 weeks to house sit for a friend. It will be nice to exchange the icy winds of winter in Wollongong with the warmer temperatures of the Gold Coast for those few weeks. It will still be cool, but not as cold as here at home.

I love this method of talking to all my friends around the world who go to the trouble of reading my blog. Thank you for reading and for the messages you send me in various ways. they keep me strong. XXXX

an update

Only a month has passed! And it's gone so quickly. And I'm very well and bouncing about full of energy. My fortnightly visits to the herbal medicine man have had good reports, so - health wise - things are great.

I was pleased to be able to attend the National POWERtalk conference in Campbelltown. There were some excellent workshops and it was a chance for me to see people from all over the country that I hadn't seen for a long time. It was fun and rewarding.

And then, of course, I jetted off to Honkers and spent two weeks with Nikki and her family there. There are some pics here, of course ! As well as taking Zeke to the school bus and meeting him in the afternoon, I went with Willow to her playgroup and to both their swimming lessons as well as many trips to the swimming pool and the playground. The rest of the time was spent with all of them in the home environment or out walking. It was very special. No shopping whatsoever - can you believe it? But I did go out to a nice restaurant one night, with Nikki and a friend, followed by a reflexology massage. That was particularly great because just that morning Nikki and I had hiked from the harbour up to The Peak on Hong Kong Island. My feet and calves certainly appreciated the treatment that night. I then continued to do that every second day to build up my fitness. We also went to see the Queen Rock Musical "We Will Rock You".

Since returning home I've been trying to do some more hiking to increase my level of fitness. The weather hasn't been too kind, but I've managed to do a fair bit of walking - long walks as well as going places by foot instead of taking the car. That has a few benefits, of course - -especially with the price of petrol at the moment!

And just to add to the mix, I've taken on an on-line course which, if I manage to pass all assessments, will allow me to perform civil marriage ceremonies. I'm finding it very interesting - lots of reading and legal stuff - and challenging assignments. So far so good.

Thanks for reading. Talk soon

Official Remission!

What a great word - "remission". And that's what the oncologist told me today when I visited him for the results of the latest blood test. Tumour marker has gone down even further and the liver readings are holding their own! Now, that's news I really like to hear.

And what does it mean in the short term? That this weekend I can attend the annual national conference of Powertalk International and next Wednesday I will board a flight to Hong Kong to stay for two weeks with my daughter, Nikki, her husband, Sam, and two of my gorgeous grandchildren, Zeke and Willow.

And after that - well, I'll just have to start making plans, won't I? I don't have to have another blood test for 3 months.

Thank you to all of you who have sent me your wonderful messages and thoughts and given me your great support. Talk again soon.

koala

I forgot to include Clarence in the previous pics of life at Rosebank on the NSW north coast. His girls Chloe and Clarissa weren't posing that day!