Happy New Year

Christmas Day at Ben's










Christmas celebration with Adam and Lisa








Day at Seaworld with Jess, Tim, mum and dad


Tiernan's 4th birthday party

Day at home with mum - cooking and then playing outside in the mud and rain


New Year's eve at mum and dad's








Happy New Year to everyone - I know I am about a month late but I have been a little busy. Life is going brilliantly. We had the most lovely Christmas. Jess and Tim came over on Christmas eve and stayed the night. Jess and I were up late making sure that Santa came and left his trail for the kids to find the next morning. On Christmas morning, mum, dad and I were up at the crack of dawn but the kids decided to sleep until 7.00am. We were so excited for them and could not believe that they were sleeping in!! They had a lovely time opening the presents and even Arielle got into the mood. After breakfast we went over to Ben and Rebecca's and had Christmas lunch over there. Once again the kids were spoilt and had a great time. The kids went to their dad's for the rest of the afternoon and we partied on.

I stayed at Jess and Tim's for a few days and Jess and I had a great time hitting the Christmas sales. The credit card got a bit of a hiding! The kids were back with me for new year's and Jess, Tim, Ben and Rebecca came over to mum and dad's. We saw the new year in and had a lovely night together. The rest of January was quite busy. Tiernan turned 4 and we had a 4th birthday party for him at McDonald's. He loved it and had a lot of fun with his friends. We caught up with my cousin Adam and his family a few times and the kids absolutely loved being together. Tiernan and I did a trip to Movieworld with Julian (more about him later) and his kids. I was very proud of Tiernan - usually he gets very scared and upset on rides however he was very brave and even went on the log ride with the big dip and splash at the end. The kids had an absolutely fantastic day. Then a few days later, mum, dad, Jess, Tim, the kids and I went to Seaworld. Again we had a fantastic time. Arielle even got into the ideas of the rides and we all had such a wonderful day.

Healthwise things have been ok but not perfect. I had a little trouble the day before new year's and had a little trip into hospital (turned out to just be a chest infection) and then two and half weeks ago I managed to get food poisoning and had a one night stint in hospital. Other than those two little hiccups though things are going well. I have had another CT and all was good - still scar tissue there but no new growths - fingers crossed it stays that way. I have had some more tests on my heart and it's functioning has got a little worse but nothing to be overly concerned about. I am still on my heart medication and quite a few other tablets but I suppose it is a small price to pay for still being alive! I have gone back to being able to drink alcohol which I am starting to really enjoy. Nothing beats a lovely glass of wine with a great meal. I am going to a health retreat on Sunday for 5 nights which I cannot wait for. It will be so lovely - there are lots of wonderful activities such as kayaking, yoga, meditation, flying fox and so on as well as some lovely treatments such as massages and body wraps. I need to refocus and get some more positive energy and thoughts back regarding my health (lately I seem to be a little preoccupied by the fact that I only have a 30% chance of being here in 5 years). Hopefully I will come back a fresh, rejuvenated person.

Well I promised more about Julian... who is that you ask. Well as I mentioned in my last blog I started dating again. I used an online site called RSVP on the recommendation of a good friend. Anyway, in December I happened to meet a lovely guy called Julian. He is a 35 year old English programmer with two children (girl 8 and boy 6). We have really hit it off and we both make each other very happy. His kids are also lovely and the 4 of them (his and mine) get on well. I was not expecting to meet someone so special so soon but I suppose life works in mysterious ways.

My house has not really progressed much. The land settled and the plans were in with the architect for December and January. The architect called yesterday to say that the plans were all finished and I will be picking them up today. The next step is to take them to three builders and get quotes and then the building can finally start.

Well nothing else to report. I hope everyone is having a great 2008

Christmas is nearly here

Well it has been another month since I last updated my blogg. Here are some photos of the kids getting dressed up for some Christmas photos. Taking these was a lot of fun - Nutmeg and Basil (the dogs) wanted to be in the photos and then trying to keep Tiernan and Arielle in the photos and smiling was nearly impossible!

Tiernan is getting very excited about Christmas. He absolutely loves Santa and gets so excited he can barely speak when we see him at the shops. I cannot wait for Christmas morning. Arielle on the other hand is petrified of Santa and clings on for dear life whenever we go near him. It was very cute in the car the other day, Tiernan was telling Arielle all about Santa and that she should not be afraid of him.

Healthwise things are going well. I had a little set back the week before last. I had some chest pains and went to the doctor and they did a heap of tests. It turned out that when I was sick with the tummy bug last time, some bugs got into my bloodstream and I ended up with an infection in my blood (it had been festering for 4 weeks). I spent a week in hospital on IV antibiotics but now I am much better. I had a CT as part of all of the tests and everything is still going well - no signs of any active cancer. I had some tests on my heart as well and unfortunately things have not improved at all there (actually they are slightly worse) so it looks like I will still be on the heart drugs for a long time if not for life. I now have 4 whole weeks off without seeing any doctors which is the longest I will be going without seeing a doctor for the past 2 years!!

Socially things are going brilliant. I have started dating again and am having the time of my life. It has been great meeting some new people and it is a lot of fun. No one special yet but I am really enjoying meeting different people and being away from all of the negativity with Cam.

I am working between 2 to 3 days per week. One day in the client's office and the other days from home. In the new year I will probably try to spend two days in the office as I am really enjoying going into the office.

My block of land has now settled and I will start building on it in the new year. Mum and dad have sold their house and I will be looking for a place to rent closer to Brisbane to live in until my house is built (mum and dad have offered for me to stay with them in a rented place when they move so I still have that option open to me).

Not much else to report. I hope everyone has a very happy Christmas and New Year.

Holiday snaps

This morning we went across to the beach. Tiernan's water confidence has improved heaps and he was a little fish. Arielle loved splashing about in the water as well. When we came back to the unit, Nunna, Tiernan and Arielle all crashed!!

Going along nicely

Well it has been nearly a month since I updated my Blogg and believe it or not I am on holidays at Caloundra again!! My nunna (Maltese for grandmother) came up from Sydney on Sunday and today, Nunna, mum, Tiernan, Arielle and I came up to Caloundra. The kids and I are staying until Thursday morning and mum and Nunna are staying until Friday. Unfortunately the weather is still a little chilly for November but Tiernan and I have already made use of the heated spa tonight and we should still be able to go to the beach tomorrow. I'll take some photos tomorrow and update the blogg as I just realised that I have no recent photos to put up.

Well healthwise the past month has been ok. At the end of October I landed a sinus and respiratory tract infection but luckily they were managed with a tonne of antibiotics. Then last week I managed to land myself in hospital for 3 days. Little miss A caught a tummy bug and managed to pass it onto dad and I. Unfortunately I faired much worse than Arielle did and could not keep anything (including water) down for 36 hours. So once Kerry found that out, he admitted me and put me on IV fluids for a few days. I felt so much better so quickly so I was glad I was admitted. When I had the respiratory tract infection I had a CT and thankfully it showed up all clear. There was still some scar tissue left but no cancer. I saw Kerry again today and all my blood tests were good so I now get two whole weeks with no doctors appointments and no tests. He said going forward I will have CTs every two months and then once they are clear for awhile we can move to every 3 and then 6 months. I feel like I am finally on the mend!!

As most of you know by now, Cam and I separated a little while ago. Our separation was very amicable so hopefully it will not be too hard on the kids. We each have the kids 50% of the time and that is working well for both the kids and Cam and I. I have moved out of the house and now live with mum and dad. I will be staying with them until January and then I will move into a rented house with the munchkins as Tiernan will be starting Kindy 3 days per week. I have purchased a block of land and will be starting to build a house on it in January. It is only about 3 minutes from Cam's place so it will be easy with the kids going between the houses. Since separating I am in a much better place emotionally and am getting happier by the day. I am back to socialising with friends and really starting to enjoy life again. Between that and feeling stronger physically each day, life is pretty good at the moment (first time I have been able to say that for a long time).

Well that is all to report for the moment. I'll write again tomorrow.

A lovely break

Here are a few holiday snaps. Mum, dad, Tiernan, Arielle and I spent a week at Kings Beach (Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast). Our apartment looked directly over the beach and it was just lovely. The kids had a ball. Tiernan absolutely loved the beach - he went fishing and swimming and played in the sand and had so much fun. Arielle found the water a little too cool for her liking however she was happy playing in the sand. I had a really relaxing break and being in the fresh ocean air gave me a lot of time to think about life and reassess where I was going. Just before I went away, I spoke with my doctor about survival rates. I had read studies that quoted 5 year survival rates of around 30% post stem cell transplants. I thought it was a little low so wanted to clarify it. Unfortunately the numbers were correct and the 5 year survival is only 30% (I stand a reasonable chance of getting the cancer back again and I have already been exposed to all but 2 of the drugs they can use to treat Hodgkins). I am not letting it get me down though as the cancer only wins when it stops me living and right now I am trying to live my life with my two gorgeous kids to the fullest. I think it will just make me more aware of how precious our time on this earth really is.

I have changed email addresses - my old one will stop working on Nov 10 - if you have not got my new email address sent an email to dette @ beeconsulting.com.au and I will send you the new address

All good news

Well all my treatment is now finished!! Yippee!! I still have to see the heamatologist (weekly) and cardiologist (quarterly) but at least there is no more treatment to attend. We had a little scare last week. My blood test results weren't so good and there was a concern that perhaps there was a new tumour. I had a CT on Thursday and not only did it show there were no new tumours but it also showed the mass that was showing on the last CT was even smaller and the shadowing that was showing on my lungs and liver last time was no longer there at all. So basically it was even better than we were hoping for. I'll have a few more blood tests on Tuesday to help work out what is going on but at least it is not the cancer. My red blood cells are down a bit and not recovering so I may be up for a blood transfusion but I dont mind that as I always feel so great afterwards. My immunity is not picking up so well so I also may have to have monthly transfusions of something called Intragam which will give my immune system a little help until it works out how to recover on it's own. Basically at present I have the immune system of a 2 month old baby without the benefit of getting a mother's immunity from breast milk. It is all quite fascinating really (I'd find it more fascinating and less scary if it wasn't happening to me!!).

Energy wise I am feeling better each day. I am waking before 10am most days now which is a big improvement on my 11am to 1pm waking time of only a few weeks ago. Slowly I am eating more although my weight is still dropping a little (43.5kg at the moment - my doctor is not too happy with me). I am spending quite a bit of time at mum and dad's and that is really helping with both the resting and the eating side of things. They are both great cooks and they really look after me - I couldn't ask for better parents.

We are looking forward to next week. Mum, dad, Tiernan, Arielle and I are going away to Kings Beach (Sunshine Coast) for the week. We are staying in a unit opposite the beach and it will be great fun. They are off water restrictions up there and there are some fantastic water play features at the beach which Tiernan will just love. There are lots of rock pools and beautiful sandy beaches as well as a great kids sea water pool which is all under shade sails. There are also jettys that you can fish from. It is going to be a lovely holiday and we cannot wait. Tiernan keeps telling dad to remember to bring his fishing line as he wants to go fishing and catch a snapper!!

Well not much else to report. As usual I have posted some photos of my two adorable children. The first is of Tiernan and I at Seaworld (mum, Tiernan, Arielle and I went last week) and the second is of Arielle balancing her bowl on her head (and being very proud of her trick).

Things here are going quite well. On Wednesday I finish radiation and hopefully that will be the end of my cancer! The radiation has been a walk in the park compared to chemo - the biggest hassle is having to go into the Mater each day. So far I have had no skin damage and no sore throat although they said the side effects will peak 5 - 10 days after treatment finishes. As for tiredness, I am always tired anyway so I haven't noticed much of a difference!

The kids are going well. Arielle and Tiernan are the best of friends and it is so lovely to see them playing together. Arielle is pulling herself up to standing on anything that will sit still for a minute. She loves reaching up on things and then throwing whatever she can reach.

Not much else to report - I hope you enjoy the photos and video of the kids.