Ali had another scan today and good news again! Somehow she's managed to shrink those little suckers down again and now the docs are able to spot two lesions, one at 18mm and the other 15mm. Smaller than last time!
Her hip was looking good too.
I'm not sure what she's doing but everything is moving along better than we had thought possible. Still, it's not something we want to question and we'll just keep on taking as much good news as we can get.
Alison is very excited of course, and relieved.
Just to improve her mood, we are getting the final bit of carpet laid tomorrow. So, after some renovations that have been just completed (well, just about) and the new carpet, the place is looking different. We should have the garage cleared out soon and the kids are mad keen on having a garage sale so hopefully we'll be able to offload some stuff that is no longer needed.
I'm not going to promise to update shortly this time. I know that I was woefully negligent last time and don't want to build up false hopes (but I do hope to get around to it soon).
Bye for now.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
We huv returned frum New Zuland
For those who did not know, we have just returned from an 8-night tour of the north island of New Zealand with the whole family and Alison's sister's family. If you click on the picture below and look carefully, I have roughly marked out our drive.
We had a great time and the kids especially enjoyed themselves. As I start to sort through the photos I'll put some up for you all to see. Here's a brief summary of what we got up to.
Wellington (1 night)
We flew into Wellington and stayed just one night. This was too short as it was a very pretty harbour city and we think that there was more around that we could have seen if we had the time. Highlights were the Chinese buffet (kids cost just their age, i.e. 8 yrs old = $8) and the Te Papa museum.
Napier (1 night)
We went north from Wellington, detoured through Martinborough and stopped after a long day's drive in Napier. The highlight here was the black rock beach at Napier and the short visit to Martinborough which had some nice wineries including one that had its premium label as 'The Great Harry' (no, we didn't get any, at $200/magnum it would want to be good...http://www.palliser.co.nz/n98.html)
Taupo (2 nights)
Taupo sits right on a large lake and was adventure city for us. We went bungy jumping into water (only some of us) and jet boating. The accommodation was great and there was plenty of grass and parks around for the kids to play cricket, touch and ride on a small train. The five kids put on a 'Harry Potter' play for us which kept the big people entertained. Highlights would be the bungy and jet boat.
Rotorua (3 nights)
Or as the kids had so much fun saying, 'Roto-sewer'. Despite the smell, we did have a good time in Rotorua. After a problem with our first night's accommodation, we found much nicer digs and settled in for a good stay. We had fun swimming in heated pools, visiting real live kiwis and riding a 'luge' down a big hill. Paul (my brother-in-law) and I even went sledging, which is like jumping on a plastic boogie board and swimming down rapids. Highlights here would be the cultural night where we were treated to a Maori ceremony and hungi, and either the luge or sledging. Having said that, the smell is the thing that will probably live longest in the children's minds.
Auckland (1 night)
Our final night was spent in a typical city apartment, overlooking a busy street with lots of noise. We were right across the street from a reverse bungy ride where passengers are strapped into a three-seat open-air pod and flung 50m or so into the air as they spin around. I think the latest I heard people screaming on this ride was 1am. Looking out the window was very entertaining as we also saw:
That's it for now but I will be back with photos soon.
We had a great time and the kids especially enjoyed themselves. As I start to sort through the photos I'll put some up for you all to see. Here's a brief summary of what we got up to.
Wellington (1 night)
We flew into Wellington and stayed just one night. This was too short as it was a very pretty harbour city and we think that there was more around that we could have seen if we had the time. Highlights were the Chinese buffet (kids cost just their age, i.e. 8 yrs old = $8) and the Te Papa museum.
Napier (1 night)
We went north from Wellington, detoured through Martinborough and stopped after a long day's drive in Napier. The highlight here was the black rock beach at Napier and the short visit to Martinborough which had some nice wineries including one that had its premium label as 'The Great Harry' (no, we didn't get any, at $200/magnum it would want to be good...http://www.palliser.co.nz/n98.html)
Taupo (2 nights)
Taupo sits right on a large lake and was adventure city for us. We went bungy jumping into water (only some of us) and jet boating. The accommodation was great and there was plenty of grass and parks around for the kids to play cricket, touch and ride on a small train. The five kids put on a 'Harry Potter' play for us which kept the big people entertained. Highlights would be the bungy and jet boat.
Rotorua (3 nights)
Or as the kids had so much fun saying, 'Roto-sewer'. Despite the smell, we did have a good time in Rotorua. After a problem with our first night's accommodation, we found much nicer digs and settled in for a good stay. We had fun swimming in heated pools, visiting real live kiwis and riding a 'luge' down a big hill. Paul (my brother-in-law) and I even went sledging, which is like jumping on a plastic boogie board and swimming down rapids. Highlights here would be the cultural night where we were treated to a Maori ceremony and hungi, and either the luge or sledging. Having said that, the smell is the thing that will probably live longest in the children's minds.
Auckland (1 night)
Our final night was spent in a typical city apartment, overlooking a busy street with lots of noise. We were right across the street from a reverse bungy ride where passengers are strapped into a three-seat open-air pod and flung 50m or so into the air as they spin around. I think the latest I heard people screaming on this ride was 1am. Looking out the window was very entertaining as we also saw:
- what we presumed was a guy out on his buck's night dressed in S&M gear pole dancing against a street sign to the crowd
- a group dressed as caveman dancing down the street, and
- the cops pulling over cars and doing a full body search of the driver and passengers on the street.
That's it for now but I will be back with photos soon.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
More good results
Alison had another scan yesterday and the results were good again.
The main tumour in her liver is now 21mm, down from the 29mm last time and less than half the 50mm it was at late last year.
Other small tumours in the liver are now no longer visible, the tumour in her hip bone has not grown and there are no new growths visible.
We are all very happy as you could imagine! It was a big relief as Ali had been having some pain coming from the region near her liver so we were a bit concerned.
Onto the day to day life issues, Annelise had her interview with Girls Grammar today. We met with the head of Years 3-6 as part of the entry process.
Annelise was asked what she likes at school; 'art, drawing and playing with clay' was about all she could think of. She was then asked what makes her happy at school; 'not getting into trouble' was her response. I was starting to think we were getting into dangerous territory.
Next question was about what she doesn't like about school; 'stuff like maths and reading, I don't like reading books'. Ooops, not the best way to impress.
The winner though was yet to come. Annelise was asked whether there were any special areas that she was working on at school to do better; 'trying not to get into so many fights'.
At least the school will know that she was not coached to do and say the right things and that she is honest (mostly) and has spirit. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next.
Thanks to all for your good thoughts and wishes and I'll blog again in the next two weeks or so.
The main tumour in her liver is now 21mm, down from the 29mm last time and less than half the 50mm it was at late last year.
Other small tumours in the liver are now no longer visible, the tumour in her hip bone has not grown and there are no new growths visible.
We are all very happy as you could imagine! It was a big relief as Ali had been having some pain coming from the region near her liver so we were a bit concerned.
Onto the day to day life issues, Annelise had her interview with Girls Grammar today. We met with the head of Years 3-6 as part of the entry process.
Annelise was asked what she likes at school; 'art, drawing and playing with clay' was about all she could think of. She was then asked what makes her happy at school; 'not getting into trouble' was her response. I was starting to think we were getting into dangerous territory.
Next question was about what she doesn't like about school; 'stuff like maths and reading, I don't like reading books'. Ooops, not the best way to impress.
The winner though was yet to come. Annelise was asked whether there were any special areas that she was working on at school to do better; 'trying not to get into so many fights'.
At least the school will know that she was not coached to do and say the right things and that she is honest (mostly) and has spirit. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next.
Thanks to all for your good thoughts and wishes and I'll blog again in the next two weeks or so.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Back again after a long break
Howdy all
Apologies for the long break between posts but life has been busy racing by and then before I knew it, over a month had past.
Not much has really changed over the past six weeks or so. Annelise is now seven (24/3) and growing quickly. Harrison is settling into school after a slightly bumpy start.
Alison looks great and feels well. I've been busy with work and not around as much as I should be but things are settling down now.
Thanks to all those people who keep pestering for me to continue with the posts. It's all too easy to put it off and say I'll get to it in a day or so but as you can tell, sometimes that stretches to several days (or weeks...or months...).
Anyway, the short version is that we are all well now and things are progressing very smoothly (that is if you excuse the trip I had to Sydney with a brutal hangover and two and a half hours sleep the weekend before last...still paying my debts for that one).
I will be more regular with my posting from here on in, I promise. ;)
Stay tuned and best wishes to you all.
Apologies for the long break between posts but life has been busy racing by and then before I knew it, over a month had past.
Not much has really changed over the past six weeks or so. Annelise is now seven (24/3) and growing quickly. Harrison is settling into school after a slightly bumpy start.
Alison looks great and feels well. I've been busy with work and not around as much as I should be but things are settling down now.
Thanks to all those people who keep pestering for me to continue with the posts. It's all too easy to put it off and say I'll get to it in a day or so but as you can tell, sometimes that stretches to several days (or weeks...or months...).
Anyway, the short version is that we are all well now and things are progressing very smoothly (that is if you excuse the trip I had to Sydney with a brutal hangover and two and a half hours sleep the weekend before last...still paying my debts for that one).
I will be more regular with my posting from here on in, I promise. ;)
Stay tuned and best wishes to you all.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Some good news at last
Alison had another scan today. Happily, the results were good for a change!
Not only have the tumours stopped growing, they have been shrinking and the largest one is now 58% of the size it was with the last scan.
I'm sure you can imagine it was a very nervous day for both of us but it's great to say it turned out well.
Even getting a flat tyre on the way to pick up Harrison from school didn't put a dent in Alison's day (but then she did have someone who raced out of the office to get him, returned to her car, lent her a car to drive home in with the kids and then kindly changed the tyre on the other car!).
Then again, it didn't really bother me either.
Next week we see the doctor again and will get more news on what this actually means for treatments and in the longer term but for now, we're just happy to take the good news and smile.
Not only have the tumours stopped growing, they have been shrinking and the largest one is now 58% of the size it was with the last scan.
I'm sure you can imagine it was a very nervous day for both of us but it's great to say it turned out well.
Even getting a flat tyre on the way to pick up Harrison from school didn't put a dent in Alison's day (but then she did have someone who raced out of the office to get him, returned to her car, lent her a car to drive home in with the kids and then kindly changed the tyre on the other car!).
Then again, it didn't really bother me either.
Next week we see the doctor again and will get more news on what this actually means for treatments and in the longer term but for now, we're just happy to take the good news and smile.
Friday, January 30, 2009
School time!!
OK, nearly school time. Alison is more excited than the kids or I but then, I can understand.
For interest, here's a couple of pics of Harrison in his new uniform. There's not quite a gap between his shorts and sock...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Quick update
Hi - just a short one today.
Hormone treatment is continuing and Ali gets her next 'top up' on Tuesday.
Mid February she will be getting another CT scan to see whether the tumours have progressed at all. Depending on the results there are two pathways we are considering.
If all looks good and the tumours have not grown, it is most likely that we will continue with the hormone treatment. If not, then it will be off to Sydney to pursue the SIR-spheres.
Hope you're all enjoying the nice warm weather! For all those outside Australia, it has been HOT! 40 degrees + for nearly a week in Melbourne & Adelaide (46 yesterday) and in the high 30s for Canberra. I'm not too sure what Ali is complaining about as I've trapped in an air-conditioned office for most of the week. Something about it being too hot, kids running around like lunatics and that it's too hot. Did I mention she said it was hot?
Hopefully it will cool down by the weekend.
School is back next week. Can't say that the kids are too excited but then I don't really like it when my holidays come to an end either.
Hormone treatment is continuing and Ali gets her next 'top up' on Tuesday.
Mid February she will be getting another CT scan to see whether the tumours have progressed at all. Depending on the results there are two pathways we are considering.
If all looks good and the tumours have not grown, it is most likely that we will continue with the hormone treatment. If not, then it will be off to Sydney to pursue the SIR-spheres.
Hope you're all enjoying the nice warm weather! For all those outside Australia, it has been HOT! 40 degrees + for nearly a week in Melbourne & Adelaide (46 yesterday) and in the high 30s for Canberra. I'm not too sure what Ali is complaining about as I've trapped in an air-conditioned office for most of the week. Something about it being too hot, kids running around like lunatics and that it's too hot. Did I mention she said it was hot?
Hopefully it will cool down by the weekend.
School is back next week. Can't say that the kids are too excited but then I don't really like it when my holidays come to an end either.
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