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.

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.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!!!

It's Alison's birthday today, she is turning.....I can't say as it wouldn't be polite (but 1973 was a great year).



There will be dancing...



and balloons...



...and fireworks.



Hope you join with me in wishing her a happy birthday and that you have a great day as well.

FYI - for those of you who don't know, Alison has declared that her birthdays officially run for a full week so if you are talking to her, you can wish her a "Happy Birthweek" from now until next Saturday.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2009

Hi all again.

Already January is rolling on way too fast. I hope that everyone had a great New Year's Eve and that you are poised for a wonderful 2009.

Since the last post, not too much has been happening. We enjoyed our time in Sydney and Annelise & I made the most of the good weather and beach with swims in the mornings and late afternoons.

New Year's Eve was a quiet one for us. We had a friend visit but only just made it to see the fireworks at midnight (asleep by 12:16am). I was even down at Bunnings around 9:30am the next morning, shows what an old codger I am becoming when I'm even awake that time on New Year's Day, let alone at Bunnings.

Since then the kids have had a few nights down at Mollymook visiting my parents and we took advantage of the situation and had a dinner out at a nice Italian restaurant.

Kids are now home and just doing holiday things like visiting friends etc., while we put up with some warm weather, 36 degrees or so for yesterday, today and forecast for tomorrow. Must say, it's not so bad being stuck in an office working when the temperature is so warm.

For me, work is back on but it feels like I only just left. It's tough getting up and motivated in the morning but then, you have to do what you have to do.

Ali is doing well, and as mentioned in the previous blog, we are moving ahead with the SIR-sphere treatment with further tests due later this month.

Stay well and I'm planning to post some recent pictures soon.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Chistmas/New Year Post

Hello at last. It's been just over three weeks since the last post and life has been pretty busy with everything leading up to Christmas.

To avoid boring you all with the details, I'll get straight into things. I'm on leave from 24/12/08 and back on 5/1/09. Things are pretty busy at the moment which is good in many ways.

We are currently staying at a friend's house in Manly Vale while they visit Tasmania. We are having a great time and very much enjoying the beach lifestyle (except for Ali who hates sand, wind, water and sun - she gets to enjoy some peace while I take the kids to the beach!).

For New Year's Eve, at this stage it looks like it will be a sensible time and we will be back home in Canberra. We are heading back tomorrow (30/12) so there will be time to settle in and rethink whether to be sensible or not.

As far as news on the health front goes, we are hoping to get Ali in to see a specialist on the week starting 19/1/09 to talk further about the SIR-spheres and determine when we can go ahead with a treatment for Alison. She is continuing on her hormone treatments and is generally feeling pretty normal.

Kids are enjoying the holidays a lot. Annelise has forgotten which way around she is meant to be writing the letter 'k'. Despite this, she is looking forward to school next year with her new teacher.

Harrison is not as keen to get back to school but is still excited about having a male teacher for when he starts at Grammar next year. Then again, he remembers which way the 'k' should go as well.


Harry is not so bad and is doing lots of reading.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Update on blog statistics

A while ago I wrote a short post when we reached one thousand visits. Well, it's time for a quick update!

We are now at over 4,000 visits since we started with 550 unique visitors from 16 countries having viewed the blog. All up that accounts for over 3 days' of continuous viewing

I truly hope that you find this a useful way to keep up to date and to stay in touch with what is going on in our lives.

As a quick reminder, if you respond and leave a message via the blog, we don't have any direct way to respond to you personally. While Ali is very grateful (and humbled) by all the response and interest through this website, it is hard for us to acknowledge everyone.

If it is convenient for you to send a message, please feel welcome to send them through to pike.at.work@gmail.com. I will get these messages directly and be able to respond to you individually (unless you are being sneaky and hiding your email) or you can email Ali directly at aapike@tpg.com.au.