Rip roaring 21st

It seems self-indulgent to be writing blogs when all is well, as the initial purpose of it was to provide information while the cancer crisis was in process. One or two kind friends have asked why I haven't written and I think, feared that I might be ill again, so, as I've come to enjoy the writing, I'm at it again.

We had a happy 21st for James. The speeches went well and I spoiled Ali's planned comment about water proof mascara by not shedding any tears at all. It was an appropriately joyful occasion, focused entirely on James and anyone who did not know us well, would have had no indication that we'd been a family in distress recently. Considering the fact that my initial diagnosis allowed me to think I'd never make it, it was a very special occasion for me.

Within two days of being back from Cape Town, on a huge high, my mum went into hospital for a fail safe, routine, life enhancing heart operation, which went horribly wrong. The probe went through her heart wall and she was in a critical state in ICU for several days. She was lucky to survive and has emerged with further heart damage, which is all plain bad luck. I was grateful to be well enough to be a supporter and quite relieved not be be the patient for a change. She is back to a relatively normal life style now and we'll have to see what they can do for her medically as she's right off surgery.

The Link at Salvazione School, the literacy programme I'm involved with, has started and is in full operation. We have 25 volunteers on a Wednesday morning and 20 on a Thursday. We're always looking for more so we can reduce the child: adult ratio to 1:1. This project is better for me than any medicine. On raising my head in the middle of a session, hearing the gentle hum of encouraging volunteers’ voices and the staccato voices of little readers, seeing the kindness and patience in people’s faces and the delight in the childrens’, and feeling the ground swell of purposeful work, I feel overwhelmed, it’s a bit like seeing a miracle unfold. The children are highly responsive and learn so quickly.

Tim is still battling with his back and we are persueing many avenues to help him to recover. This is where the term vertically challenged is appropriate.

My veins continue to be a problem and I may need to have a port put directly into a vein under general anaesthetic, so the drips can be admininstered easily. The hunt for veins is becoming more difficult with each visit and I'm only able to take one instead of two drips a week at the moment. One of the challenges for me with the cancer is to accept that I am only 10 minutes in the doctors’ day and that I really need to own my own health, even though my knowledge base and experience is so limited. I need to be continually searching for new solutions.

The struggle is much reduced at present, I hope yours is too.