Vancouver

Vancouver always seems to be one of those cities that rank highly in the 'Top 10 places to live' lists, which is probably why it's always been on my mental list of cities to visit. So it was nice to spend a few days there this week to get our US visas renewed.

Overall, Vancouver has a very culturally diverse feel; from the art and totem poles of the First Nation people through to the cultures and great food of the Europeans and Asians who've settled since. I loved the 'melting pot' feel of the place. Here are a few of my favourite moments from this week's trip:

• A leisurely drive around the city with a stop in Stanley Park - a 1,000-acre evergreen oasis which has a 5.5 mile seawall path and drive around the edge.

The boys and a really old tree!

• The spectacular "Sea to sky highway", which took us from the city to the ski resort of Whistler in less than two hours. I can honestly say it was the best drive of my life. Within ten minutes of leaving the city there are mountains on one side and the islands of the Straight of Georgia on the other, the road rising and gently curving between them.

• "Whoa!!" - Patrick's reaction to his first sight of the peak-to-peak gondola that we rode from Whistler to Blackcomb mountains. It spans 2.7 miles and drops 1,400ft into the valley. We waited an extra ten minutes for one of the glass-bottom gondolas to enhance the experience. Truly spectacular!

• All of us trying Caribbean food for the first time. We tried to choose a different style of food each night so, after traditional Canadian, Spanish tapas, and Japanese sushi, we opted for a funky Caribbean restaurant called Calabash Bistro. The atmosphere, aided by a live dj, great art, and no empty tables, was warm and convivial. (Perhaps it was helped by having the biggest rum list in Vancouver?!) The food was delicious and Richard ate a mountain of it.

• Capilano suspension bridge - spanning 446ft with a 230ft drop - it was a clear highlight for the boys. As well as the thrill of the bridge itself, there were treetop walkways, scavenger hunts, and 1,300 year-old trees to see.

The bridge park has the largest collection of totem poles in North America

Don't look down!

Here's a link to the rest of our photographs from the trip, if you're interested: Vancouver album

When I'm on work trips, I've often left interesting and beautiful places feeling like I wanted to return with Anna and the boys. The beauty of this trip was that I could share the discovery with them. All of us fell in love with Vancouver this week.
Until next time.

Getting my wings back

My apologies dear readers, I've been slacking. I just checked and it's over a month since I last wrote - where did that time go? Well, I took on a new role at work, celebrated Patrick's 10th birthday, participated in a leadership course, attended a friend's book launch (more on that in a future post), and completed two more rounds of chemotherapy. So, y'know, it's not like I've been twiddling my thumbs!

(I hope you've all been working on the basis that 'no news is good news'.)

The last round of chemo (3 of 6) was a little tougher than the couple before. I was far more nauseous and fatigued (and I believe a little less conversational!), but I bounced back fairly quickly and was back at work by the middle of the following week. I do have the feeling that I'm more fortunate than many cancer patients I've read and heard about, who are completely incapacitated during chemotherapy treatments. Anyway, we're half-way through and I'm starting to think about life post-treatment.

When I started the blog in 2009, I called it 'Notes from Here and There' to write about the weird and wonderful places I was visiting as part of my job in Audit . My fervent hope is that this space returns to that idea in the spring. (If you're not a big reader of travel blogs then I won't be offended if you don't tune in!) The last round of chemo should be in February, then my oncologist has said that my immune system will take a month or so to recover, so I hope to start travelling again in April or May. Excited doesn't even come close!

One part of my new role (one of four Team Leads - less actual risk assessment, more coaching and planning) is organising which auditors go out to which global projects. I remember the immense excitement I felt in early 2010 when my Team Lead told me I would be going to India and Australia within a couple of months of each other. Now I'm on the other side of that conversation, it's both a pleasure to see colleagues' reactions (unless they're going to Iowa!) and a source of frustration as I want to be out there with them.

We do have a little trip coming up in a few weeks time. We need to go to Vancouver to renew our US visas. I'm already thrilled about the possibilities of seeing a city that I haven't been to before and is reportedly very beautiful. It always seems to appear in those lists of 'top 5 great cities to live'.

I'll finish with a great shot of Patrick and his friends at his birthday celebration, all finding it hilarious to shout 'fart' at just the right moment!

ps. A big shout out to my two readers in Bosnia & Herzegovina this month(or my one reader who read the same post twice!). Zdravo, kako ste?

Times when I forget

Last week I went for one of my (now quarterly) MRI scans and went through the results with the oncologist this morning. The scans show evidence of some scar tissue and radiation effects, but no concerning changes to either tumour site - just what we wanted to hear. Every time we go through this, the few days between scan and results are a little nerve-wracking. Again, it's just something we'll get more and more used to as time passes. The 'new normal' around here. Anyway, it was a good start to the week and I've also been signed off to start the second round of chemo tomorrow.

One thing I've noticed recently is a great feeling of actually forgetting that I'm a cancer patient. I think on some level I'm always conscious that I'm fighting it. There are the visual clues of hair loss and surgery scars; when I'm riding, part of me is thinking that every pedal stroke is kicking sand in cancer's face; and often when I'm driving I'll drift into 'how did I get here?' moments.

Recently though, I've experienced moments of being so completely involved in something that afterwards I realised that I hadn't given the battle a thought for a while. Recent examples include a couple of hours of hilarious fun on jet-skis with Craig, my oldest friend (he's not actually that old, I've just known him a long time!). Coaching Patrick's football team to a win (or even a loss) has a similar, all-consuming effect. An impromptu night of wine and laughs with Mary and Daniel works well too, I've found.
Anyway, the feeling is absolutely blissful and, happily, is becoming more common.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to post my favourite image of last week...Anna smiling during the Twin Cities marathon - her first (and now it seems, not her last!). I'm not going to gush too much here, but...SHE'S AWESOME!

That's all for now - big hugs

ps. Remember I mentioned a few weeks ago that my blog stats were showing up a couple of views from Tanzania (strange). This week I see that Latvia is the oddball country on the list. So, "hello" to my Latvian friend(s). When I get a hit from Kurdistan, I'll be a happy man.

Peace One Day

I've decided that today is a good day to write about world peace and about an initiative that celebrates that goal. I think it's all too easy with all that's going on in the world to focus on the negative and forget that there are people and organisations out there trying to make things better.

Peace One Day was started in 1999 by the British filmmaker, Jeremy Gilley, and aims to promote the idea of one day free of conflict and war. (I haven't seen it written anywhere, but I guess the goal is that if you can start with one day, why not two, and so on.) After a couple of years of meeting with heads of state, peace negotiators, NGOs, etc., Jeremy was able to convince the UN to pass a resolution declaring September 21st as a day of global ceasefire. The resolution was passed on 7th September 2001 and efforts to work towards the goal were lost a few days later.

Oh, I know what you're thinking...world peace is unattainable, a Pollyanna dream, but subsequent years of effort have shown that the world can still surprise us...

In 2007, Jeremy travelled with Jude Law to Afghanistan and managed to persuade not only NATO and Afghan forces but also the Taliban to hold a one-day ceasefire, allowing women and children to be vaccinated in hard-to-reach provinces. In Southern Sudan NGOs have used Peace Day to get additional food and vaccinations to war-torn regions. There are many other similar stories on the website.

Anyway, I'll leave it there and hope that others will continue to promote the idea. For me, it's a little like the climate change issue, we can choose to do nothing because it's just too difficult, or we can do something. I believe our kids will thank us for choosing the latter.

Oh, and how thoughtful that they should choose my birthday to celebrate the day!!

A short medical update - I completed the first of six monthly chemo treatments last week without too much drama. The dose went from 140mg during radiation up to 300mg this time and will increase to its maximum dose of 380mg next month. The side-effects were pretty much the same as before - mostly fatigue and stomach cramps - and the anti-nausea pills worked well. Now ready to get back on the bike to enjoy the beautiful fall colours.

Peace everyone!

Good times

Just a short note to post a few photographs and update on the last couple of weeks. We tried to take full advantage of my four-week break between radiation ending and chemo starting. Here's a taste:

My Dad and Margaret stayed with us for a week and we took in the Minnesota State Fair, a stroll along the heritage trail, the boys playing soccer, and lots of boating fun...

Check out the look of sheer terror!

(For anyone who would like to see more photographs of the fun on the lake - especially Richard's fun-boarding antics - there's a Picassa album here: 'boating fun')

A clear highlight of the last couple of weeks was competing in the Minneapolis Duathlon with Anna and some good friends of ours. Anna and Curt both ran the two 5k legs and I cycled the 18 miles in the middle with Mary. Unfortunately the official photographers didn't catch us on the course (I'm going to resist a joke about us going too fast) but my dad was on hand to take this photograph afterwards.

Last, but not least was a short trip to Lanesboro in southern Minnesota with Mary and Curt, their kids, Isabel and Alli (all in the photo below), and Carla and Daniel (not pictured). Time well spent on bike rides, a three hour tube ride down the root river (complete with a six pack for the grown-ups), lots of great food, good laughs, and way too much wine.

Outside Whalen's 'World Famous Pie Shop'

That's all for now - I'm off to have a lie down!
Until next time...

ps. There is a tool on my blog where I can view stats of how many people have read the blog (good for my ego, y'know) and where they are from. This month there were nine page views from Tanzania and, as I don't know anyone there, I'm curious to know...who's out there and are you enjoying the blog?

One year ago today...

My life was changed forever. I feel like I want to mark the occasion somehow, but I honestly don't know exactly how I feel about it. I know that some cancer patients mark the anniversary of the date they are pronounced 'cancer free'. But as I'm not, there's nothing to celebrate. This was the toughest year of my life. Anna and I reached the lowest lows and cried more tears than we had in the previous ten years. On the other hand, I've come through two surgeries, two tiring bouts of radiation, a few rounds of chemo, and I'm still fighting. Furthermore...

• I've grown closer to family and friends
• I'm appreciating the everyday moments more - bedtime chats with the boys, a good meal with friends, a chat and a glass of wine with Anna.
• I'm more conscious of how I look after my body
• I'm working hard and enjoying it more than ever
• I'm having more fun and laughs
• I don't dwell on what people think too much (a gift normally reserved for the elderly!)

I don't subscribe to the cliche that 'cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me'. But it has given me a new perspective, a greater focus on the important things, and made me (in Thoreau's words) "suck the marrow out of life". (More on that in the next post).

So, there, I've marked the occasion. It's not positive, it's not negative, it just is what it is.

End of radiation (2)

Yesterday I had my last round of radiation (again). I'm very happy about not being 'zapped' (as Anna dubbed it) every day, but most of all I think I'm happy about getting the time back. Although I was only in the hospital for 30 minutes or less, the round trip was an hour and a half, followed by some downtime and a nap - I was losing a good three hours or so a day. I'll take chemo until Friday and then have a four-week break for good behaviour! Higher dose chemo starts on September 12th and will run for 6 months.

We celebrated last night by going to our favourite Irish pub for some comfort food (mmm....shepherd's pie!) and a Guinness (for me, not the boys!).

Now I can get back to working full days again. Well, at least until I take vacation in a couple of weeks for the summer onslaught (am I allowed to say that out loud?) of family visitors.

In the words of a wise man..."and that's all I have to say about that".

Managing Energy

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I guess there just hasn't been much to report (medically) and too much good stuff going on to spend time blogging. That's good though, right?

A lot of people have told me how well I look recently which has made me think a lot about people's perceptions and expectations of cancer; and how I'm managing my own treatment program.

While there are aspects of the treatment that are no fun (chemo stomach cramps, hair loss, sore scalp, etc.) I'm trying to focus more on managing energy than on controlling (or complaining about) side-effects. 

One thing I'm really happy about is that I've been able to work throughout the first four of these six and a half weeks of radiation/chemotherapy. I really only expected to last a couple of weeks and then take medical leave and now I'm hoping to just work through the whole thing. The one thing I've done to help is take a couple of Fridays as vacation to give me long weekends.

I've also tried to keep up with cycling and yoga (and napping) as much as possible to keep the energy reserves topped up. I don't always feel like it beforehand, but I'm always glad I did afterwards.

I've been asked a few times what's been different this time compared to the October/November treatments. I think the main differences are the faster recovery from the second surgery and the fact that I worked hard to get in shape before the surgery and up until this round of radiation.

One thing I do know...I have never felt as alive as I did last night watching U2, leaping around in the torrential rain to 'Elevation' - what a blast!

Here's my favourite photograph from the night...

The best use of time

I'm often asked (as I'm sure many cancer patients are), "has your perspective on life changed?". The short answer is 'yes, of course' but I'd like to clarify a little. Probably the main thing that I've given a lot of thought to is the use of time.

I suppose when time is precious, which it is for all of us, how we spend it comes into sharper focus. For example, the back of our garage has needed cleaning and tidying for weeks, but as long as the boys want to play a game or kick a ball around, it'll wait. The amount of time spent watching mindless TV has been drastically cut; books that don't grab me in the first 100 pages are cast aside; and I've taken a long, hard look at my social media intake. In fact, dear readers, it was touch and go whether the blog would be continued - unfortunately for you, it will be!

I remember a conversation I had many years ago with a close friend and we asked each other, "How would you change your life if you'd been given the all clear from cancer?". I never thought then that I would really have to make those changes, but here we are. My priorities now are now family time, living healthily, and making the most of free time - from coaching soccer to relaxing with a good book and a glass of wine. I'm also fortunate to have a job that I love, so no changes needed there.

All of this makes me wonder...why have I waited until now to make these mindful choices?

I'm very happy to report that today I achieved one of the goals that I set in this post - to be up on the wakeboard by the end of July!

I'll finish with a couple of shots of the boys from this weekend, using their time well!

Mayo visit 2

Anna and I went down to the Mayo Clinic on Friday to meet with the neuro-oncologist who we hoped would give us a definitive answer on what type of tumour was removed in the April surgery. The results he had suggested that it was the same type as before (Glioblastoma) but said that there was still some uncertainty and that he would ask for some additional pathology tests to be performed. He also suggested that I return to Mayo today to meet with the radiation oncologist to discuss treatment plans.

In today's meeting I found out that the pathologist has downgraded the tumour to an anaplastic astrocytoma (there will be a test at the end of this post!) which is a grade III glioma, based on the additional tests performed on Friday. Although this seems like good news, it doesn't change the treatment plan and the original tumour site remains the primary concern.

The treatment is basically a repeat of the combined radiation/chemotherapy I had before Christmas, then a break of a few weeks, followed by six months of higher dose chemotherapy. There are some risks associated with having two rounds of radiation so close together, but they are far outweighed by the risks of the tumour returning.

I know this is not the most upbeat post, but I feel like I've had a few days of talking about/thinking about brain tumours and the treatment plan for the next 7/8 months and it has taken its toll. Maybe I just need a change of subject (or a good bike ride).

Fragility (by Anna)

Anna wrote this a few days ago and I think it encapsulates perfectly a somewhat 'hidden' aspect of this journey.

http://annamongan.com/2011/06/08/fragility/

Another trip to Mayo

Anna and I met with the oncologist yesterday to discuss the treatment plan now that I'm nearly finished the six week course of antibiotics. The trouble is there is a difference of opinion between the pathologist at the University of Minnesota (an expert in the field, apparently) and my neurosurgeon on the type of tumour removed during the last surgery. The pathology results suggested that it was glioblastoma multiforme (like the first tumour, a grade IV) but the surgeon and my oncologist believe that it hasn't shown the characteristics of that type (e.g. aggressive growth and change in shape). So, our medical team here believe that the best course of action is to get a second opinion from the experts at the Mayo Clinic (I wrote about Mayo here). Apparently they have some additional tests they can perform and different stains that they can apply to the pathology slides to reveal different things. I'm travelling down there next Friday. Hopefully, when I return I'll know which type of tumour it was and what the subsequent treatment plan will be.

I was extremely happy to get back to work at the beginning of last week, much quicker than any of us expected. I was able to quickly taper off the steroids and pain relief drugs and even managed to grow a little hair back before returning to the office.

I'll finish with a couple of photographs from a great memorial day weekend. Friday was 'Super Team Day' at the boys' school with lots of running, jumping, and (a definite highlight) a tug of war.

On Saturday we went with a group of friends from work to kayak around one of the lakes in uptown Minneapolis, although the 'kayaking' quickly turned into pedal-boating once the boys saw what was available for hire!

We rounded off the weekend with friends over for lunch, a bike ride for the guys, and a boat ride for everyone. Fun, food, and friends - perfect!

PICC Chick

Medical update

I've continued to recover well over the past couple of weeks, gradually sleeping less during the day and rebuilding my energy levels. The insomnia that I had after the first surgery has returned due to going back onto steroids, although I've already started to taper those so hopefully I'll be back to normal sleeping in a week or so. I'm three weeks (out of six) into the antibiotics which have done a great job of healing up the scar infection and now I have a longer picc line, I can self-administer the treatment.

Nurse Anna was almost redundant for a little while there, so I decided to shake things up a bit by weed-whipping (strimming) part of our garden, causing a bleed from the picc line coming out of my arm - oops! The on-call nurse came out and re-dressed it but unfortunately she kinked the line and so I couldn't push the antibiotics through, which I normally do just before bed. So, we got her back on the phone (much less 'on call' at midnight, it seems!) and had her talk Anna through how to re-dress the line (not as simple as it sounds). It all worked though and I'm looking into getting this t-shirt for Anna...

Other news

Some of you will have noticed that since my diagnosis I have been wearing a Livestrong wristband. I learned that today is the seventh anniversary of the launch of the wristband (by seven-times tour-de-France winner, Lance Armstrong) and apparently over 80 million have been sold in support of this great organisation.

Why do I wear one? Firstly to show support for and solidarity with other cancer patients, but it also acts as a daily reminder to stay strong and live each moment with energy and purpose.

I think the manifesto they created is incredibly powerful:

The Livestrong Manifesto:

We believe in life.
Your life.
We believe in living every minute of it with every ounce of your being.
And that you must not let cancer take control of it.
We believe in energy: channeled and fierce.
We believe in focus: getting smart and living strong.
Unity is strength. Knowledge is power. Attitude is everything.
This is LIVESTRONG.

I mentioned last time that the bike decision was almost made and here is my new ride...

I went for a first ride yesterday and, although it was less than an hour, I was exceptionally happy being back on two wheels, enjoying the sunshine and the lakeside views. Bliss!

Finally, a book recommendation (for those of you that appreciate them). Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. An outstanding novel, set mostly in Ethiopia and chronicling the lives of twin brothers born to an Indian nun and an English surgeon. I won't go into any more details, but this book has gone straight into my top 5 books of all time. Quite unforgettable.

Hasta la proxima!

Post-surgery (and a new bike!)

I think most of you have had updates on my most recent surgery.

I really did try to 'live-blog' but it just went something like this...

11:05 skull removed
11:14 tumour resection
11:30 latte
12:30 lunch
13:00 hair styling conference
13:30 side-parting discussion
14:00 more side-parting discussion
15:34 side-parting direction decided
15:35 close-up

There was one slightly interesting technique used by the surgeon this time to ensure that he was operating within a safe margin of tolerance around the second lesion. Apparently sensors were attached to parts of my brain to ensure that he could see when my right hand (for example) was being stimulated. Fascinating stuff and a big relief to come into the ICU with no after-effects of the surgery.

Yesterday we had some preliminary results back from pathology on the secondary tumour, suggesting that it was either a grade II or III glioma. The surgeon is now in contact with a number of other neuro-surgeons and oncologists and they are working out an action plan for further treatment. The main issue will probably be that I'll need further radiation therapy as well as completing the original course of chemo.

Fortunately, the surgeon was also able to reopen the original scar and perform an antibiotic flush to ensure that that there was definitely no infection to that site. Further tests have shown that the infection just didn't properly clear up as we had hoped and I've now started another six-week course of picc-line antibiotics to get that dealt with. All under the wonderful care of Nurse Anna.

Bike news - I'm pretty much down to a choice of two bikes for my 40th birthday present from Anna (it might just arrive a little early!). Now I just need some decent weather and a training plan.
Until next time - big hugs.

Ready for surgery II

After a slight blip last week when it looked like the surgery couldn't go ahead this week (my platelets were low again following last month's chemo), we got the go-ahead today for Wednesday. Surgery is at 11am and will take around four hours.


A few people have asked how I'm feeling about this surgery, whether I'm nervous etc. I can honestly say that I'm less nervous than last time. I think having been through it once (fearing that brain surgery might affect my personality, intelligence, coordination, or whatever) and made a good recovery, I feel like the same must be possible this time. Also, I think that last time much of the anxiety was caused simply by learning that I had a brain tumour and suffering the symptoms that went with it.


We also have great faith in the excellent medical team that we're surrounded by, especially the surgeon himself. We've often said that he's probably not your perfect Saturday night dinner guest, but he's passionate and knowledgeable about brains and has explained in great detail what he's going to try to achieve.


All of that said, I know it's still a major operation and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid.

One of the blogs I follow is written by an American guy who has lived in Japan for many years and often comments about aspects of Japanese culture. He mentioned a proverb this week that resonated with me, given the ups and downs of the last few months.


"Nana korobi ya oki" which means 'fall down seven times, get up eight' and speaks to the Japanese concept of resilience. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you get up again.


This approach has brought us this far and will continue to sustain us in the months ahead.


Thanks for all of your support, prayers, and good wishes. One of the greatest sources of strength for Anna and I these last few months has been the feeling that all of our friends and family are behind us. We deeply appreciate it.


I floated the idea of 'live-blogging' the surgery with Anna, but she said I might be a little bit out of it. I'll be back just as soon as I can. Until then, take care and have fun!

New challenges

When I said at the end of the last post that I would face future challenges with courage, I wasn't trying to invite them! Yet, this week a new one arrived.

I spent Monday afternoon in the emergency room as I'd developed a rash over the weekend which I assumed was an adverse reaction to the new drugs I was taking. It turned out to be shingles. Great!

Apparently the chickenpox virus (varicella zoster - my medical vocabulary increases by the week) lies dormant in the body until the immune system is weakened and then comes back as shingles. Of course in my mind this leads to an image of the virus (below) hiding out somewhere (maybe behind a knuckle or something...who'd think of looking?) until just the right moment, then "RAAAAGGH! Here...have some shingles!"
(This is how everybody thinks, right?)

So, the surgeon called last week to confirm that we should go ahead with the op to remove the second lesion. We met yesterday to discuss the details but ended up postponing because of this week's drama. I'll probably have that surgery towards the end of April. This one is in a slightly trickier position in the brain than the first one, but he's confident that he can perform a clean resection without a high risk of damage to crucial brain tissue. Then, the results of the biopsy will determine what further treatment, if any, is necessary. A couple of goals that I've set myself to aid the recovery are 1) to be back up on the wakeboard before the end of July; and 2) to complete the cycling leg of an Iowa triathlon in early August.

I'll sign off with the boys (typical) views on my shingles rash:
Patrick: "I don't want to see it"
Richard: "It's like a galaxy"- he's obviously still got space on his mind.

Medical update

Blogs like buses...you wait ages for a post and then two come along at once!

I returned to the hospital this week for some tests and consultations and received mixed results.
First, the good news...an MRI scan showed no changes in either of the lesion sites. That means there are no signs of regrowth on the original tumour site and there has been no change to the shape or size of the second lesion.
An EEG test showed that I'm having absence seizures, which the neurologist believes could be coming from the second lesion. Absence seizures don't normally cause outward signs, so we haven't noticed them (although it might explain why I drift off sometimes when Anna is talking about running gadgets!). I've been put on an increased dose of anti-seizure medication, possibly long-term, to prevent more serious seizures.

The scar infection that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago hasn't quite cleared up and the surgeon is still suggesting that he operate to take out that section of of skull. He is basically saying that because we took out a piece of skull and then bombarded the area with radiation, the bone didn't have a chance to heal, and now due to the chemo my immune system is too low to fight off an infection. As I pushed back a little, he agreed to try and treat with stronger antibiotics for a couple of weeks and see if it clears up. However, I am starting to come round to the idea that the surgery and subsequent reconstruction may be the way to go. The operations would be a few weeks apart and I'd have to wear a helmet in the interim.

To be honest, I started to get a little down the other day about these further complications and the fact that the other lesion still hangs in the background. A long drive cleared my head and it comes down to this: I have one goal in this thing...to live as long as possible. It's as simple as that. So whatever it takes, whatever surgeries I need to have, whatever nasty drugs I need to take, I'll do it. I'm not trying to appear 'brave', I just don't see an alternative.

St. Augustine, Pt. 2

When I said last time that I'd update "early next week", I obviously meant late the following week!

The rest of the trip to Florida was fantastic, with further visits to the beach, a climb to the top of the lighthouse, a horse and carriage tour of the city, and a great afternoon at the alligator farm.

Two of the highlights for all of us were the day we rented scooters and a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. For those of you who don't know, we used to own a scooter in Barcelona and still miss zipping around on such a fun mode of transport. So, we couldn't pass up the chance to relive the experience and take a look around St. Augustine with the wind in our hair!

Kennedy Space Center (that's how they spell it, rightly or wrongly!) was an amazing day. There was so much to see that if we'd gone earlier in the trip, we'd probably have returned for another visit (the tickets are valid for two entries). We took a flight simulator to experience shuttle take-off on a moon mission; we were able to climb aboard 'Explorer', a full-size replica of the shuttle; we took a tour of cape canaveral, stopping at the Apollo center which houses the last Saturn V rocket built (but never used) for a moon mission. All of this fueled an interest in becoming an astronaut for Rich. Patrick wants to be one of the mission control guys (space travel sounds a bit risky). We also saw an amazing IMAX movie chronicling the discoveries of the Hubble telescope and the spacewalks needed to maintain it. Fascinating stuff.

St. Augustine, Florida

I’m happy to turn this space back into a travel blog for a little while. We’re all in Florida this week and next for a spring break vacation. First, a short medical update...

I should have had the third round of chemotherapy last week but my blood results showed that the platelets hadn’t recovered enough from the last round. Ordinarily the oncologist would have delayed it by a week or so, but as we were coming away for this break she has delayed this round until the day before we come home (Thursday 24th). There is also another issue with the scar from the surgery. It seems to have developed some sort of infection which the surgeon believes could be due to some necrosis of the skull. If that’s the case then he wants to operate and remove the piece of skull and reconstruct it later (sounds like fun!). Our hope is that it’s just an infection that will clear up of its own accord or with the help of the antibiotics I’m already taking. Apart from that, I’m feeling great and gradually looking more like I did pre-September (more hair, less portly!).

So, on to more important stuff... 

I write this from the comfort of a beautiful home in St. Augustine to which our next door neighbours very generously invited us to stay. St. Augustine is a quaint, European-style city on the Atlantic coast of Florida. It’s also the oldest city in the United States, settled by the Spanish in 1565 and still has homes dating back to the early 1800s plus a castle built in the 1600s. One of the things that Anna and I really love about Europe is being able to walk around a town centre - St Augustine and its cobbled streets are perfect for that too!


So far we’ve explored the city, spent an afternoon at the beach, visited the castle, and had lots of reading and relaxation time. In the next few days we’re hoping to get to an alligator farm, Kennedy Space Center, and go for a spin on scooters. I’ll try and update again early next week.

Here’s a shot of the boys enjoying the back yard in shorts and t-shirts.

I’ll sign off with Richard’s take on the trip so far....”this is the awesomest vacation ever!”.

Wrinkles and crinkles

I write at the end of round 2 of chemo and I don't have much to report on that front. It was pretty much like last month - a lot of fatigue and some sickness, but tolerable. It does get a little more difficult as the week goes on to actually take the tablets knowing that they're going to make me feel worse. I just have to focus on the hope that they're doing their work.

I do have some interesting medical tidbits learned last week...

I had a CT scan recently and discussed the results with the oncologist last Monday. One of the things she pointed out was how the swelling on my brain had reduced since the October scan. The steroids have done a great job at bringing back the crinkles (my technical term, not the Doctor's!) that normal brains have.

We also quizzed her a little on which part of the brain might have been affected by the resection and apparently the bit that they worked on is responsible for impulsiveness. So she said I might be more prone to swearing than in the past and impulsive behaviour. I was wondering why I've taken to buying Manolo Blahnik shoes recently.

One thing I noticed just looking in the mirror the other day was that the wrinkles on my forehead have faded. I can only imagine that when the surgeon performed the second op (see this post) he pulled the skin on my face back a touch. Result! Free face lift with every procedure!

Last piece of good news is that my hair is slowly starting to return, which makes me think it must have been the radiation and not the chemo that made it fall out. That said, it didn't stop Richard from wanting to change my profile on the Wii to a character with significantly less hair! You can always count on Rich to keep it real.

I started work again last month and it's absolutely great to be back, connecting with colleagues and putting my newly crinkly brain back to use. I think I'm pretty fortunate to have a job that I love and, although my wings have been clipped until after the summer, I'm happy just to be more active.

I'm having a few days vacation next week to spend some quality time with my big sister. No doubt I'll have some fun stuff to report next time!

Until then, take it easy.

Writer's block

In response to some brutal feedback (mentioning no names) about my lack of blogging, I'm back. Sincerest apologies to you all. My top three excuses for not writing are:

1. Returning to work
2. Writer's block
3. Oprah Winfrey has a whole new channel

On January 10th I started the new regime of chemotherapy which is a higher dose (300mg vs 140mg before Christmas) and lasts for five days in every 28. Depending on my tolerance of this dose, it'll go up to 400mg next month and remain at that until the end of the six months.

The first round, while no picnic, wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The anti-nausea pills work well and, for the most part, prevented me from vomiting. The main side-effect was fatigue. I was sleeping until 11am most days and then had absolutely no energy to do anything during the rest of the day. My appetite wasn't very good either, although some great comfort food (Cottage Pie especially), lovingly cooked by Anna, helped on that front.

The oncologist told me that I should start to feel better around 5-7 days after the course of medication and that was pretty much how it worked out. I felt a little better last Wednesday and then worked from home on Thursday and Friday.

This weekend I felt absolutely great and helped give Anna's brother, Phil, a true Minnesota experience. We started on Saturday with a drive on the frozen lake (see below), we all went cross-country skiing on Sunday, and then watched Patrick play outdoor hockey last night. Coming up we have snowmobiling and snow-tubing...I can't wait (but this is all for Phil, you understand!!).

Another proud dad moment this week as Patrick passed his yellow belt Tae Kwon Do test. It was driving him mad sitting on the sidelines watching Richard, so he just had to give it a go himself. He's only been going to classes for three weeks, so he did well getting up to speed so quickly (and passing the exam with style and finesse...he doesn't know any other way!)

As we don't expect much to change in the next few months, I probably won't write as often - so don't give me a hard time (Mary-Jo!!). I've added an email subscription tool to the blog, so it can let you know if I update, without you having to check back.

In the meantime, take care and have fun!