Cruising with Zach

Zach is our youngest child and is a charming 16 year old. He has always been great with people; he is fun with a good sense of humour with strong faith and integrity. He's already 6 foot 3 inches tall and continues to grow physically and personally and growing into a very nice young man; during my cancer journey he has been the muscle around the house, picking up additional responsibilities and generally doing jobs with a smile and good attitude.

Oct 2011 pic Giving mum a hug

Zach has just obtained his learning drivers licence and I've been teaching him to drive. Last week we had a great boys trip to North Otago which provided us with some good 1on1 time together but also allowed us to immerse Zach in some good driving practice. It was a lot of fun and a successful trip on all fronts. A highlight of the trip was cruising around in a mates classic cars (see pics) - cheers TC.

Its been a joy to watch and participate in Zach's growing up and life to-date. An anxiety you have with terminal illness is that you're not going to see how it turns out with your children including participating in key events in their lives and influencing better outcomes when they need support. I guess its another one of those areas that you've got to learn to let go and have trust that all will be good; Plus still lots of time yet.. 

2011 Dodge Challenger

1963 Buick

Zach License to Drive

Chemo Cloud Clearing

3 weeks post chemo and the cloud is clearing and I'm returning to better health. I got my pick line (catheter used for administering giving chemo drugs) removed this morning and I have no immediately pending hospital appointments, which feels great and a sense of freedom.

The chemo treatment has been very successful and it blasted the tumors in my lungs which is fantastic and beyond our and our oncologists expectations.  Im likely to be called in for a CT Scan in the next couple of months which will confirm how effective the treatments been and how many tumours remain; it will also be a benchmark to monitor how active the remaining tumours are.  But for now we have an oasis of freedom and setting up for a wonderful summer.

Pear tree in backyard looks like it will be bountiful.

I've been pretty sick and rundown after chemo but I'm progressively getting energy and motivation back. When I started feeling better post chemo I started charging around like the energizer bunny but soon realised that was premature and this week have been far more restful with my nose in a book or watching some therapeutic sports TV or good movies.

I find chemo treatment so tough, as well as all the medical side effects it also robs you of energy, your vitality and kills your "Joile de vivre" & motivation. But it also kills cancer and you need to keep reminding yourself about that.

We've got some nice micro trips coming up with friends and family:

• Currently meant to be buzzing around in a helicopter and deer stalking in a remote mountain range; but postponed due to spring storm coming through.
• Zach just getting his learning drivers license, so taking him on a short boys trip next week to North Otago. 
• Plus short trips in next month planned to Christchurch and Wellington to catch up with friends.
• Kat and I planning a more exotic trip over summer to somewhere hot with good beaches, maybe a Pacific Island (Rarotonga/ Samoa / Tahiti) or Queensland.   

Were hoping that my health holds up and we have a good summer.

Sorry for not posting, energy levels have been so low and Ive been hiding away; but now feeling a lot more motivated to communicate.

Regards
Gary