[CCC News] Update on Val's condition, work, etc.

[Michael Kean]

Hi all :)

Sorry I've been a bit slow getting in touch with you all regarding Val's 
condition. Having been thrown into a 24 hour care role with added sleep 
deprivation has not left me much time or energy to fiddle with emails. 
Today we have some family members visiting from Sydney, so I'm getting 
my head above water again and catching up :)

Firstly, thank you all for your more than 100 responses offering kind 
thoughts, suggestions, help, etc. I have replied to a few of you, but 
neglected many so far. Rest assured I did read your emails. I am in 
better spirits now, and while I know the prognosis for broncho alveolar 
carcinoma is generally not great, I'm reasonably confident that we'll 
give controlling it our best shot. She is now retired and out of all 
debt, so that's a big stress off her mind. (Anyone who knows her knows 
she works too hard!) I'm currently, slowly reading "AntiCancer - a new 
way of life" - for inspiration at least, if not information.

A select group of close friends have been receiving daily text messages 
advising how Val has been going. *If you would like to receive a copy of 
these daily messages by email or SMS, write back to me to let me know.  
(Usually sending one or two per day.)*

So far, she's been in and out of hospital a few times. She had somewhat 
lost, and now mostly regained use of her right hand, leg and some 
cognitive ability. The cancer was found in her lung, with spots apparent 
on her spine, and one in her brain. The biopsy results came in last 
Friday, and tomorrow we're off to see an oncology specialist in Armidale 
who will likely refer us to a Sydney specialist. She's greatly improved 
over how she was last week, with the exception of a sore throat. 
Hopefully that's nothing too serious - I too have managed to get yet 
another 'cold' since this all started - but at least this time it's just 
an annoying runny nose type, not a 'wear you out' type.

So far as how my business is going - well it's a bit up in the air at 
the moment. I'll likely start doing a few hours a week when we have 
visitors here. At present the best alternative I can probably recommend 
is Armidale Computers, 67712712 as they are not overly expensive. Amac 
(67712266) is probably a reasonable second, but will probably charge 
more than I. Best to contact me by email, and if I fail to reply in a 
reasonable time frame, write again. It's easier to coordinate that phone 
messages at this point in time.

Val has also asked for "dignity of risk" which is where you allow a 
person to do stuff they want to, even though there is a risk in doing 
so. (In her case, it's mainly being left to do things herself without me 
standing immediately by lest she falls over.) That's a bit of a load off 
my mind since it means I don't have to feel guilty just in case 
something bad does happen, and it probably helps her too.

Anyway, once again thanks to you all for your support. Special thanks to 
Ian and Dianne Bibb for supplying some pre-cooked soup and other food, 
Angela Sole (National Trailers) for helping supply a massive pie and 
quiche, and Lesley Colley for providing support, accommodation in 
Armidale when the days got too long. So far I've only managed to blow up 
one egg in the microwave - they go bang even if you have them open 
before hand - and also set a teabag on fire when I tried to make a cup 
of tea without the requisite water.

Cheers, Mike.





-- 
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*Proprietor, Cool Country Consulting.*
Trading Hours: 10am to 8pm weekdays.
http://coolhelp.com.au/
Tel: 02 6775 0239 Fax: 02 8212 9582 Mob: 0427 644 825
Chat contacts: WLM: michael at auzzie.net Skype: cccons
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