Jenny
In August this year Jenny was diagnosed with ovarian cancer,
and immediately underwent radical surgery. At the present moment (December
2003) she has finished having chemotherapy, and we are hopeful of a full recovery
- while being realistic about the survival rate of this kind of a cancer. Ovarian
cancer is invariably detected only at an advanced stage, by which time it's
started to spread round the body - hence the need for radical surgery to remove
as much of the cancerous cells as possible in addition to the tumour itself.
Everything happens so fast when you, or your partner, have cancer. It feels as if control over your life has suddenly been taken away from you, you're in the hands of many medical people and their own busy lives. Work & the rest of the family suddenly get shifted down in priority while you come to terms with what life has thrust in your face without your knowledge or consent, and slowly you adjust to the new reality that is your life for the duration. While all this is happening, life goes on outside your world and you have to get used to it. Bills still keep rolling in, accompanied by all their mates and their friends, who are bigger than the bills you've gotten used to. You learn that having top hospital cover does not mean by any means that you have full hospital cover, and the bills are large and frequent. But with the help of Jenny's brothers & sisters, we're coping pretty well. Sadly her parents are not, as they still cannot cope with the Karen they find in their family - but, that's their problem, not ours.
Jenny hopes to get back to work in January 2004, once the effects of the chemotherapy are largely past and her immune system is back up to tolerable levels. The hardest thing at this time is to keep her from overexerting herself, she always has been such an active person that the enforced inactivity has not come easily to her. Meantime, with the help of a good friend, Karen's learning to cook a little better.
Postscript:
Jenny passed away on 19th August 2004, having lost a valiant battle with the
ovarian cancer. I held her as she died.
May she rest in peace: we shall meet again, my love.
Link to Jenny's page
Link to Jenny's Grove
Richard & Chris
Richard and Chris are now 22 and 20 respectively, and are near enough independant spirits - we only see them when they are hungry,
have no clean clothes, or need money. Actually, that's a gross exaggeration, we just don't see too much of them due to their busy
social lives.
We don't see much of the boys now, at this stage in their lives they don't like to spend time with their parents, and life is one long party interspersed with a little work now and again when the financial need takes a hold. We'll probably see them on Christmas Eve for a bit of turkey then they will be off into the night for more partying.
Richard finished University last year, but still can't make up his mind what to do for a living - he wants to stay in the Brisbane area to be close to Katie, but there's no work in his chosen field so it's a question of doing whatever he can to earn a crust when he needs money.
Chris is about to finish his third year at Uni, next year he's doing his Honours year in IT. Still no plans for what to do next, but it'll be something to do with computer games if he has a say in the matter.
"The Girls"
We lost Laura to a single paralysis tick in September 2002, 12 hours after the tick was discovered she was dead, very sudden and a shock
to us both. Six weeks later little Lara came to us at eight weeks old, but sadly at 14 weeks she was diagnosed with a congenital
deformity (mega oesophagus) and we got her naughty litter-mate Tara at 15 weeks. Tara is now 14 months old and has turned into the
weapon of mass destruction the US cannot find. Anything that fits into her mouth gets chewed. Luci is getting tired of a playmate who
just does not ever want to stop playing with her, and tormenting her: Luci is now, much to our surprise, the top dog, though Tara is
bigger and heavier. It goes without saying that Tara, like Laura, is a big, beautiful, German Shepherd. Jenny needs no further proof
of my poor judgement in choice of dogs!
Email me when you have read this letter 