Hi everyone,
Aah, another Attenborough moment, as we hear the melodic sounds of
the spotted tracksuit-wearer, marking his territory by energetically spitting
in the street, whilst simultaneously swearing at his pack of tethered dogs....all
of which is taking place while smoking a Superking and drinking
a can of beer so strong it could strip paint off a warship.
Yes folks, in the spirit of our chaotic lives I am writing to you
from Tooting in London.
In the last post I wrote we were thanking all of our mates and
family for raising funds to help us stay in Southern Africa and the first thing
we do is buy air tickets to rush back to the UK!
The reason for all of this is that I discovered a lump in my groin
and after a scan in Pietermaritzburg it was decided it was necessary to remove
the offending nut and biopsy it as it could be more cancer. Just my luck...
I keep on being told that it is easily treatable if it is a form
of cancer, but that is scant consolation to me as I would rather not lose more
parts of my body. Maybe I can sell it on E-Bay or E-Ball - insert your
favourite ball related pun or joke here....
The actual operation is apparently straightforward but with my
immobility and skin problems, I might need a longer stay than the average Joe.
I should go in to St. Georges either Monday or Tuesday for the operation.
The urologist in Pietermaritzburg said that the operation would
need to be done as soon as possible so within a week and after a mad panic packing
up we drove up to Johannesburg from Mooi River, said cheers to family and
friends and before we knew it we were back just in time for the Olympics.
It has been a case of packing our lives up again, evicting
our house guest Ryan in London and coming back to our place. To be fair, the
Olympics were amazing and Jay managed to go and watch the open water swimming
as well as the road race which was a few miles away from where we live so it
has been pretty cool to be in London while it is all going on.
It is great to see my mates and we have found that London seems
small compared to the distances we were travelling in South Africa. Going to
see my GP takes 10 minutes as opposed to an hour or so. The other benefit of
being back in the UK is that I am seeing a range of skin specialists for my
collection of pressure sores, which seem to growing every day.
I am also seeing my oncologist at the Royal Marsden soon so
hopefully this will mean being scanned and re-tested. According to the
prediction made by my oncologist last year I should be dead by now. It is has
been almost a year now and I am not going to sit around waiting for something
to happen. I have reduced my steroids and haven't felt too much of a positive
difference yet. I am taking a lot less than I used to but the side effects seem
to be here to stay and are causing me the most discomfort.
Someone helpfully pointed out that I now look like evil Cartman
from South Park. You decide.
We had been enjoying staying in Mooi River even though say what
you like about the weather in the United Kingdom the houses are built for the
cold, whereas Mooi is seriously cold in winter and I really felt it. My hands
and feet never seemed to warm up.
As soon as we left it started snowing so we dodged a bullet again
with the weather as I think I would have frozen to death. It is still beautiful
in winter as you can see. Yes those are miniature horses running through
the snow in the garden. They belong to my aunt and apparently had to live in
the kitchen during the cold snap.
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In the weeks before we left our mates Dave and Natalie came to
keep us company at various times which was great and Jay and my aunt Leigh kept
us seriously well fed to combat the winter hunger.
So once we knew we had such a short amount of time in Natal we
tried to do everything at once and visited Durban, found Nemo at the Aquarium,
visited relatives and we were even
visited by interesting people from a Spiritualist church who wanted to shout
the cancer out of me which is an experience I won't forget in a hurry.
I also found another sign to amuse us that seems to indicate some
kind rubber fetish among the bird life in Mooi River. I always knew crows were
dirty but wow...
So
here we are back in the UK in our little flat. It isn't all bad to be honest as
I am glad to be in our space in some ways. Leaving suddenly for a year you
forget that you actually had a home. Well I did anyway. We still have unopened
wedding gifts, birthday presents and loads of
possessions.
Jay is keeping well and gives me so much of her time and attention
so I am really happy she is getting to see her mom who is here working at
the moment, and her dad and sister who we have all missed, as well as all of
our friends. It is the first time in years we have managed to celebrate our
birthdays without spending the day in a hospital waiting room.
Like most people I find it isn't much fun being unemployed,
feeling weak and in pain, but you make the most of what you have and I am
blessed with amazing family and friends and this is exemplified by my mother,
who we shall re-name Lancina Armstrong, who rode 135 kilometres last
weekend to raise funds in the blistering heat of Queensland.
For us, it is important to be positive about the situation, make
the most of it and then make a decision about our future plans. Next week will
be a bit stressful with the operation, but hopefully things will work out and I
will be back in action.
Lots of love to everyone and I should be a bit more communicative
now I have more regular access to the internet.
Cue picture of me riding into the
sunset......................sorry I couldn’t find one
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