4 years 6 months

4 Years 6 months

Things have changed again!

I have ended up with a whole lot of travel going on over the next few months!

This month we will be going to the Sunshine Coast for our anniversary. I'll be volunteering at a brain tumour charity fun run followed by a brain tumour conference. September Kim and I are going to Tasmania for a week! Kim and James heading off to Adelaide on their own adventure. October I head to Melbourne to volunteer at a women’s retreat for brain cancer patients followed by the BTAA summit and the COGNO ASM. Finally (as far as I know) I will be heading to Melbourne again for BioMed Link 2015!

I have, in the last few weeks, joined the Hand Up Creatives team and am organising an event in February 2016 to raise funds for another brain tumour support charity. Lots and lots of things going on that all look to be positive! I am really enjoying doing the work for the Hand Up Creatives event and overjoyed to be able to help. The purpose of the group is something that really appeals to me and the people involved are fantastic.

I feel like I have really turned a corner with everything. I am coping with life generally a lot better. I am looking forward to things and enjoying life. I actually feel happy! I've picked up photography again. That horrific 7 month chest infection/pneumonia/asthma ride truly sucked but I through that now. I am still having to deal with the effects of it like increasing my fitness, seeing a muscular-skeleto specialist about the costochondritis, a respiratory specialist for the brittle asthma, I'm still on steroids, Salbutamol, Atrovent, and Fentanyl. It could be worse!

At 4 years and 6 months I feel that I have managed to heal and get through most of the post op issues I had. I still have some memory problems and a change in my learning ability. Everything else seems to be fine. I have had the very special opportunity to walk through the pre op and post op experience with a wonderful woman on the other side of the world. Her op went very well and she is having a great recovery. I am so happy that these surgeries can go so well.

I wrote a piece for LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago about brain tumours and the assumptions people make when confronted by someone’s brain tumour diagnosis. It also explains the areas of the brain that can be effected by surgery and of elevated CFS levels in the brain. I have a couple of courses coming up which will add to those I have already completed.

All in all, life is good.

I hope you are all well and enjoying life