SIRT court battle

Tomorrow we have an early start. Have to be at the Mount Hospital by 7am for the SIRT trial. It is an all-day event so I will see Joan booked in and await her call for an afternoon pick-up.

The SIRT treatment was invented by Professor Gray who at the time was employed at the University of Western Australia. He patented his work, but the university reckoned that as he was employed by it as a staff member they owned the rights to the therapy. And so a court battle, UWA v Gray ensued. The prof won out and the courts decided that as he was not employed to do any research in his position at the university, he was entitled to do what he liked with his invention. If you are so inclined you can read about it here.

He sold it to a major medical firm and immediately assumed the status of a multi-millionaire. All this happened around 1985-6 and at that time my father was diagnosed with bowel and liver cancer. At the hospital I was advised that he had no more than six months to live. I had read of Prof. Gray's work and sought treatment for my father. I guess at that time (1986) the methods were far from being perfect. Never-the-less Dad lasted another three years. In the closing months he told me that he would have rather have not gone through all the treatment and just lived out his time as best he could.

Last evening I went out the front to water my newly planted tomato plants and found a new lotto ticket on our driveway. What to do? I went next door to our neighbors, but they had not bought a ticket. Our other neighbors were not home. I will offer them the ticket this morning. Very tempting to check the numbers in the paper.

Update: After checking with the neighbors that the ticket wasn't theirs, I decided it was now my ticket. Unfortunately no luck for Kev & Joan.

Bibra Lake starting to dry up

Bibra Lake near our house is starting to dry up as we have not had enough rain to completely fill it. This happens every year and most people think it is due to climate change. I also could not remember it drying up every year when I was a ‘young-un’.

Bibra Lake has in fact been drying up for many years. One of the first European settlers was Benedict Von Bibra, a carpenter who ‘selected’ 320 acres acres of fertile land fringing the lake in 1843. He had selected his land near a large depression which he figured would fill with water when the winter rains came. The aborigines called the lake Walliabup and I guess they didn’t jump for joy when their land was ‘selected’ by whitey. The Lake was commonly called Bibra’s Lake and later gazetted as Bibra Lake.

Around 1897 Bibra Lake hosted the largest community of Chinese market gardeners in Western Australia.

So there, no need to panic about the local effects of global warming just yet.

The results of a bank of tests I had were mostly good, but the Ultrasound scan had an unknown mark on either my liver or part of the bowel which was overlapping the liver. The report suggested that I needed a CT Scan to determine exactly what it was. My GP (he isn’t exclusively my GP) gave me a casual ‘don’t worry, we will talk about it in another couple of weeks’. ‘It is probably just some wind’. I hope so, but I can’t see how waiting a couple of weeks and talking about it is going to determine what it is/was?

I think I will go for the CT or another ultrasound to see if was wind and has passed. My GP said that looking at an ultrasound was a bit like reading tea leaves.

Visitors in the night

I have just read a story from the Northern Territory. It seems that a bloke was so drunk that he wandered into the wrong house, took a shower and sat down on the front verandah where the cops took him away to sober up. Read about it here.

We experienced a similar event about 20 years ago when we lived in our grand colonial house in Bicton. Our daughter, Helen, had her boyfriend James visit. Joan and I went to bed leaving them watch TV, or whatever young couples do.

Around 2am there was a loud knocking on the front door, I got up and couldn’t find my glasses, but opened the door where ‘James’ pushed past me exclaiming that ‘it’s bloody cold out there’. He went down the hallway and entered Helen’s room. I was a bit offside with his attitude and decided to talk to Helen in the morning. Back in bed, Joan suggested they may have had an argument and James had stormed off and after chilling down couldn’t get back in.

In the morning I put on my annoyed face and talked to Helen about James’ attitude. “James went home at about 9pm’ said Helen.

Four of us; Kev, Joan, Helen and Martin started looking in all the rooms and found a young man asleep on a lounge, his shoes and socks neatly arranged next to him on the floor. No one recognised him.

I gave him a bit of a poke with my foot and he jumped up asking ‘what time is it…I’ve got to be at work by 8.30’. ‘Could you give me a lift into Fremantle?’ ‘Sorry mate, no lift for you’, and he put his shoes on and waited at the front door to be let out. We all watched in amazement as he careered across the busy highway to the nearest bus stop.

As we sat down to breakfast the talk turned to axe murderers, rapists and just plain thieves.

Helicobacter pylori

Yesterday I had a test for the stomach bug Helicobacter pylori which can live quite happily in the stomach causing stomach ulcers. I have been having some pains just below the sternum and the GP ordered a blood test and a Hp breath test. The breath test is quite simple, but interesting. I got to swallow an irradiated capsule and drank one mouthful of water to get it down. Exactly one minute later another mouthful of water and another minute to take a deep breath and fill a special balloon with my garlic breath. Results on Thursday.

This morning I had an Ultrasound on my abdomen. The technician doing the US called in a Doctor to take a look at a suspicious mark on the scan. Gulp! He didn't know what it was and is recommending that the GP investigate further. Bugger!

OK last medical story........We visited the Radiotherapy Doc this afternoon and he gave us a detailed description of how the SIRT is done, the risks and the possible outcomes. Next Thursday week, Joan goes into hospital for the trial run to determine is she is suitable for the procedure. The trial dose is monitored closely to see if there is any bleed-off to other organs of the radiated spheres. If there is, the procedure cannot go ahead.

And now for some non-medical good news. Joan's taste is coming back and last night she cooked a lovely fish dish. She still cannot eat much as (I think) her stomach has shrunk over the last three or four months of not being able to eat. Tonight it is a meal of 'Spag Bog'.

Progress in the fight against the beast

Yesterday we both attended the oncologist's rooms feeling positive that he would he would take a different approach to the fight against her cancer. He weighed up her progress since he last saw her a week ago and decided to seek a radiotherapist to start Joan on the SIRT intervention. SIRT is the infusion of irradiated particles into the liver with the aim of destroying the small blood vessels feeding the tumours. Sounds easy?....check it out here. The radiation is accompanied by a partner dose of chemotherapy.

It should get started in about three weeks. There is a trial infusion of a small amount of radiated particles to see if there is any bleed-off to other organs such as the lungs. Such a bleed-off would halt the programme. Meantime she has a further break from the nasty chemo. Each day she is getting stronger.

This new found energy has seen Joan working in her sewing room and going out to meetings of the various clubs she belongs to. She does tire easily and we both need to recognise that we are oldies and need a nap in the afternoon.

Because Joan's tumours have progressed, she is no longer on the trial and we will soon find the exact costs of her treatment. We are covered by private health cover and Australia's Medicare. The gap will be minimal.

Some good news

Some good news at last. Joan has been eating reasonably well and has gained weight to the tune of 500grams (.5 kilos for the metric impaired). Not much, but at least we can show the oncologist that she has arrested the weight loss and should be strong enough for whatever treatment he recommends. Hope it is not the previous debilitating chemo regime.

Things are moving well after my car accident. The other driver’s insurance company rang me asking whether I was at fault. Of course I told them that I was unsure. They told me that I was and that they would be pursuing me for the cost of the damage to their client’s vehicle. That,of course, (I hope) means my insurance company. This morning I received a phone call from my insurance company informing me that my vehicle was a write-off and it was going to auction. In a couple of days I am to receive another call outlining payout options.

Then yesterday I received a letter from the Insurance Commission Of W.A. which insures all (legal) drivers for third party insurance. The letter stated that I was involved in an accident in which there were injuries. I rang them and told them that there were no injuries to any party, but it seems that the nice man who ran into me went immediately with his daughter to his GP to affirm back and whiplash injuries. At the time I asked him if they were injured. He checked his daughter and told me that there were no injuries. Nice!

The lady who held my file told me to not worry as they get loads of that sort of claim and in any case they are my insurer and they will look after my interests. Whew!

Confusing English

Three days to go to see the oncologist. Joan has been trying hard to eat and regain strength. Her weight loss has stabilised and she has maintained her current weight since last Friday.

Yesterday we went shopping and she saw some seafood crepes in the deli section of Woolworths. We bought a couple, but she was unable to have more than a small mouthful. She did however have a good breakfast and for lunch I made Eggs Florentine and she was able to enjoy a full serving. Have to think of something appealing for dinner.

When I filled up with fuel today I noticed something on the pump which I hope Woolworths Caltex hasn't stuck on every pump throughout the state. See the pic.
Click the image to enlarge it.

Joan's new car is in for its first 3,000 kilometre service tomorrow. It is a Ford Fiesta which was designed in Britain, but built in Germany. For a company which has been making cars for well over 100 years it has a few design faults. It doesn't have anywhere to store CDs even though there is a CD player in the dash. The window controls are in the armrest, but are too far back towards the rear of the door to comfortably operate with ease. The brakes make too much noise. The Ford designers need to look at a Hyundai or just about any Asian designed car to get up to speed. OK.... enough whinging!

Plastic versus steel

The visit to the oncologist's rooms was not at all hopeful. Although the CEA (blood tumour marker) had not risen, he told us that Joan was far too weak for any more treatment at this stage. He gave her a script for some super antibiotics and an appointment to see him in one week to see if there is any improvement in her general well being. The antibiotics are for what appears to be a skin infection on one shin.

I asked about the SIRT which is the infused radiation into the liver and was told that she is far too weak for a massive hit like that.

It is very difficult for me and indeed most people to understand why Joan cannot eat properly. Faced with what she is going through, logic would tell me that she could force feed herself, but alas that is not so. I will continue to 'force feed' her in a gentle way by mixing Sustagen drinks during the day time and buying some energy bars etc. All the food that she once loved has no more appeal.

Now a couple of photos showing how plastic is not as strong as steel. My car is the silver Mazda and the Honda is the other person's car. The reason there is so much damage to the Honda is because modern cars have 'crash zones' which soften the impact. The airbags didn't even deploy.

I broke my own golden rule

Yesterday was not good. I drove Joan to the pathology department at the hospital to give her blood sample. We both know that that will not be good news when the oncologist looks at the results today. She was extremely weak and tired and when we returned home, went straight to bed.

I drove my Mazda to Kardinya shopping centre to fill it up with cheap(?) fuel. When driving out of the carpark I had to cross the flow of traffic to turn up the hill on the opposite side of a traffic island. The traffic was stationary at some lights further down the flow and drivers in the first two lanes left a gap and waved me across.....you know what is about to happen here. Kev broke one of his golden rules and drove across and was struck by a nice shiny black Honda sedan whizzing down the third lane along side the traffic island. No one was hurt, but it looks like both cars may be written off. My Mazda was only insured for $2,000 so I probably wont see much of that after the whole thing is sorted out. I only paid $2,800 for my car about a year ago, but it is the other party I am sorry for. His was almost new.

After the tow trucks arrived, we were advised what to do and both cars were taken away, including my full tank of fuel.

Because I had neglected to take my mobile phone I couldn't ring a cab and I decided to leg it the 3 or 4 kilometres home. Good exercise.

I woke Joan and she was feeling better, so we went to a gathering of friends at Margaret's house. A most pleasant show in the sun, the first such gathering since Haddon passed away.

I am required to make an accident report within 24 hours. I attempted to do it on line, but the format doesn't suit drivers who cross through traffic to an island. So I went to a police station to get the official form which allows a sketch to be drawn of the situation.

Today we find out what the oncologist has in store for Joan.

A wedding

Our daughter Helen is to marry James in December. James rang me last week and asked for my permission. Isn’t that very traditional? Of course I gave him ‘permission’. A few minutes later he confessed that he would have married her anyway, even if I objected. I like his style!
The wedding is going to be very small...around 20 guests with a celebrant in a park and lunch at a riverside restaurant ‘The Red Herring’. The Red Herring is a quite old restaurant starting out as oyster beds in the early part of the last century. Great spot with much to see as the rich folks cruise past in their ships.

On Sunday James and Helen came down and we went for a drive around a few sites we thought would be a nice setting for the short ceremony. Along the Swan River there are many lovely small picturesque venues suitable for a wedding ceremony....some of them below the monstrous houses of the wealthy..very wealthy! As my mum would say... ‘Where do they get the money?’

The site we all liked most were the gardens at Minim Cove. The ponds are fed by an artesian bore across the river. I previously briefly wrote about the gardens here. It is a great spot and those who know about it aren’t spilling the beans to all and sundry. When we were there on a nice sunny day on Sunday (is that coincidental?) there was not a single person enjoying the place. Even if there are other people about on the day, the gardens have many places suitable for the ceremony and river views for later photographs.

Yesterday I took the ‘Instructional’ flight in a Royal Aero Club Cessna 152. A beaut little plane, and I mean little. The pilot was a young guy and a bit bigger than me. If we were slightly larger it would have been a very comfy situation. Joan and Helen gifted me the flight for my 70th birthday and I had to take it now as the year is almost up since then.

I didn’t take my Nikon DSLR camera and foolishly took a $88 digital compact camera. The photos show why a good camera cost much more. We flew south for about 30 minutes and the view was great. As we flew over our neighbor Dave's business site I had the pilot do a go around and I took a couple of pics to give Dave. Sadly the quality is too poor to enlarge.
Doing a 'touch and go' on a regional airstrip.
Shoalwater bay and Penguin Island.

As for the ‘Instructional’ part of the flight I gave it a miss. I have done that before a few times in Papua New Guinea and I really did want to observe what we were flying over. When we are flying on a commercial flight and we don’t get a window seat I get really angry when I see some ‘seasoned traveller’ who never looks out the window.

Joan is getting stronger daily and we hope she will be ‘running on all cylinders’ for the wedding. She has done quite a lot of walking over the last few days and whilst she has found it very tiring, she is getting better only using her walker over longer distances.

The goodness of strangers, friends, neighbours and family.

Years ago in the last century..probably in the 1950s there was a singer named Donald Peers and one of his numbers was ‘Friends and Neighbours’.

It’s a shmaltzy number which appealed to the masses at the time. Your friends and neighbours were just ‘peachy’ and could be relied on to step in and help out in a crisis. I can’t remember him singing about family? Donald was a Brit and I suppose the masses just after WW2 lived in close contact with their neighbours and probably relied on them in times of need.

Don has long gone now but yesterday I was thinking about the goodness of strangers and family and friends and I was reminded of Donald’s song and the sentiments therein.

A couple of days ago when Joan fell, strangers immediately rushed to help. Our family, neighbours and friends are all poised to help if necessary. So there...Donald was right on the ball!

On YouTube there are a number of songs by Donald, but I have not been able to access ‘Friends and Neighbours’.

I was never a fan of his, but I do remember the song, so it had some sort of impact on me..over 60+ years ago.

A setback

Yesterday was pretty horrible. Joan was home feeling much better and all looked good. She had some difficulty getting up from the toilet and although we know it is because of weakness due to not being able to eat over the last month, we decided to go and buy a commode to sit higher.

After purchasing the commode, Joan decided to use the stairs outside the shop instead of the ramp. She fell down five steps and I couldn't get her up by myself. A couple of good Samaritans helped and after they left she fell again near the car. Again with the help of a couple of beefy GSs I was able to get her into the car. At home, completely exhausted, she rested in a recliner chair. Not good! She couldn't get out of the chair and when I attempted to stand her up she slowly fell down to the floor. Once again the dead weight was too much for me and our neighbors were not yet home from work. I rang brother Graham and he drove the 10k down here to help us. Success due to Graham's athleticism. Today Joan has a very smart wheeled walker, a commode and a shower chair. We hope that a few days of good food will see an improvement and we won't need those aids for some time.

Home sweet home

Joan is home after 10 days at St John's hospital. Even though she was pumped full of potassium she has severe oedema in her feet and legs. The oncologist told her that she would be better off at home rather than languishing in a hospital bed.

One small benefit from all this is that she now is taking no medications for her cholesterol and blood pressure. So there. if you don't eat you don't have high cholesterol problems...simple. Joan now has low blood pressure so no need for that medication.

She has regained some of her appetite and is eating small, regular meals. Still very weak and tired though.

We are scheduled to meet with The Man in another ten days and listen to what ideas he has for Joan's treatment. Surgery, radiation, different chemo or a combo of the lot.

The hospital admin is nice and they are going to post the bill. Don't want a heart attack right there in the oncology ward.

Soon to be discharged

Joan is disconnected from the IV machine. No more potassium drip, no more antibiotics etc. She is now on 'soft foods' and able to eat quite well. She should be able to come home on either Monday or Tuesday

The oncologist has visited and suggested a few possibilities......radiation, surgery and a milder chemo. We are scheduled to see him in another week to discuss his suggestions. We will also be asking about a prognosis on each treatment and also one without any more intervention. The surgery would be on the primary bowel tumour. The radiation would be for the liver tumours of approximately 30 in number. I am guessing the chemo would be just to try and keep the tumours dormant...something that the current heavyweight stuff hasn't been doing. Can only hope.

Joan's recovery has been slow, but treatment was methodical. She has many bruises from IV ports, blood sampling and antibiotic injections. She has fluid retention in her feet and legs which should dissipate now that she can walk around. As soon as she comes home I will get her pushing a lawnmower to speed up her recovery. Just joshing!

A non-cancer post

Some other happenings besides the depressing stuff.

A couple of days ago I noticed a very young Raven on the roadway near our house. Yesterday I saw it down on the hot bitumen and decided that I should see if I could save it. This is a time when life seems pretty important.

It was still breathing so I carried it home and forced some water down its beak. After a few minutes it got a bit brighter and opened its eyes. It, or is it he/she? was too weak to stand so I gave it a little beef broth and put it in a cardboard carton, taping the lid slightly open and putting that end over the outdoor table edge to foil any attempt by our moggie to get at it. I watched through a window and sure enough PC Lock had her arm through the small opening trying to hook the poor crow. I had to shift the box into my shed. Today I gave it some more sustenance...like Joan's re hydration, and it was standing by itself and looking around, so I decided to take it to an animal rescue place near our house. A volunteer worker cleaning out a pen told me that he wouldn't be bothered with a 'bloody Crow', but the boss of the place took it off my hands.
Previously I would have euthanased it (cracked it on the head), but just lately I have come to at least admire their resourcefulness when collecting food and decided that it should have a chance. Birds are very cruel when one of theirs gets sick and usually kill it off. If this babe does survive he/she may well be ostracised and killed in the wild.

Driving home from the hospital I was stationary at a major intersection waiting for an ambulance to get through. Everyone except a young blonde lady saw what was happening and she cruised through in a large BMW forcing the ambulance to screech to a stop. He blew his horn and she instinctively blew her own horn and gave the ambos and extended digit high in the air for all the assembled drivers to see. As she passed me, her hand and finger were still extended but she had the bright red face of embarrassment. I reckon she is still cringing about her little act.

A difficult decision

Joan is still losing lots of fluids....in and then out. The oncologist visited this afternoon before I arrived at the hospital and stated matter of factly that the tumours have progressed....no indication of how much or which ones. He has a great bedside manner..NOT!

As I left to come home, Joan told me to be prepared for the decision to forgo further chemotherapy. We will try radiotherapy; not external beam radiation, but the irradiated particle infusion type.

Joan is not prepared to spend the time that is left in a chemo hell. We will discuss the options we have left when we next visit him.

The doctors suggest that Joan will not be well enough to be discharged until next week sometime.

reinserting a PICC line

We have just had a bit of a setback with Joan's recovery in hospital. She has been told that her Potassium levels are dangerously low and that as they are having trouble with veins they have decided to insert a PICC line again. This will be done this afternoon some time and that will allow all the fluids to be administered and later the chemotherapy drugs.

She is, of course, not very chuffed at this, but the alternative is not pretty.

I will visit her around 6pm this evening.

A vast improvement

Joan has had the works at St John's hospital. All her meds and antibiotics went IV and she has avoided the nausea and most of the diarrhea. The potassium drip continues and she been transferred to the oncology ward.

The oncologist scheduled a CT scan aimed at diagnosing the cause of this major gastric attack. The report seemed, to this non-medic, inconclusive, however the onco said that it suggested that the tumours had progressed. We could see no reference to tumours or cancer in the report and assume that there must have been a second report describing the tumours. The onco told Joan not to worry because he couldn't see how they could make such an assessment as previous scans had been done at a government hospital, Royal Perth. He is to get back to her today after he looks at both this scan and the last one from Royal Perth. Hope he is right.

The nurses we have been dealing with at St John's are excellent. The doctor assigned to Joan's case seems a little lost and his English language skills are lacking.

She has been sitting up and reading, and that is a good sign, and there is a chance of being discharged before the weekend

Our son, Martin visited Joan with me and Helen also dropped in after work.
Helen, stayed over last night and we cooked a nice roast pork with baked vegetables. Lovely!

Time for a specialist?

Please don't read this if you get a bit queasy.

Joan is suffering badly with diarrhoea and vomiting. The fluid she is getting can barely keep up with the losses. She is on a strict no food diet and cannot take even water by mouth because it causes her to immediately vomit. To top all that, she has a urinary tract infection and the doctor in her ward feels that she also has a stomach infection, but they cannot get solid samples for analysis.

I have brought home her underwear and clothes and washed and dried them to take back today. Serious treatment must be determined today as she is getting extremely weak and the current treatment is not working.

I have cancelled an appointment she had for today and will do the same for a couple more she has tomorrow. She is not in any condition to be discharged from hospital.

Inconclusive

Joan is still venting from both ends. She cannot even sip water without vomiting.

The oncologist visited whilst I was at the hospital and he ordered two X-Rays be taken; of her abdomen and chest. When the results came back, he told her that she had inflammation of the small intestine and stopped all food for two days.

She had her gall bladder removed some 15 years ago and without food she is getting painful gas and very loud stomach gurgling. My guess is that the liver is still producing acid and it is attacking Joan rather than doing its job on food. A different duty oncologist will see her today.

They are continually infusing fluid and at this time she has had about 3 litres and still more to come. More blood tests today.

She has had a very bad night and I will visit her with our son around 10am. Daughter Helen visited yesterday afternoon and a nurse told her she shouldn't come again until her cold was better.

Hospital for my Joan

Joan slept for 12.5 hours and when she got up this morning she immediately vomited the small glass full of water and her anti-nausea tablet. After that effort she returned to bed with the spins and almost no strength to walk.

I decided to ring the oncologist and after explaining what was happening he told me to bring her into the hospital to be admitted to do a full blood, urine and stool analysis and give her some intravenous fluids. When we arrived the onco's secretary had already made a booking of a single room in the general wing of the hospital and Joan is to be transferred to the oncology wing when a room becomes available.

A very efficient Asian nurse did all the necessary paperwork and called a doctor to start things. He introduced himself as Mohammad and in a heavy accent asked lots of questions about medications and treatment and previous illnesses. He then looked at Joan and said 'Why are you here?' I am guessing that it was 'lost in the translation' because it didn't sound good. Never-the-less things are starting to move, albeit slowly. When a nurse took the blood samples she asked if she was to mark them urgent. He said 'No'. Today being Friday I guess we may not get a result until Monday. He did however tell us that he was changing her anti nausea and anti gastro medications. Let's hope that does some good.

I left Joan and drove home. Coincidentally, as I was driving, a small white car raced up behind me and when I looked in the rear vision mirror I saw it was a delivery vehicle for a well-know auto parts company. The driver was a woman wearing a Hijab. Usually these delivery vehicles are driven by young blonde gals. Strange, but not bad at all.

Clutching at straws

Joan is sleeping more during the day which is not a good sign. Her inability to eat, or keep down what she can eat, is making her very weak.

Our neighbors are medicos...he is head of emergency surgery at a large private hospital and is she is a nurse. They have urged us to try acupuncture with a colleague of theirs who is also a GP. After last night’s sudden vomit attack where Joan lost her food as well as her chemotherapy tablets I am going to urge her to make an appointment with the acupuncturist today. Can’t hurt!

A friend who visited recently is sending us a bag of leaves of a native shrub from the desert areas of Australia which is claimed to cure cancer....once again we will give it a try, but once you get some knowledge about fighting cancer, you realise that each different form of cancer is fought using different chemo and it seems unlikely that one specific ‘herb’ is a cure all for cancer. The people who are selling the small bags of this ‘remarkable herb’ think that it is good so they are charging lots for it. Scaevola spinescens can be found here. Like acupuncture, it can’t hurt.

Joan is having another visit with the hypnotherapist she visited last week. This time he is bulk billing her...probably because we felt that he did no more than give her a pep talk. We want him to put her ‘under’ and suggest that the aversion to the smell, taste and texture of food is no longer present. Worth a try!

Ravens or Crows?

After the good news that Joan's chemo treatment seems to be working, she had a horror night and day with a constricted throat almost choking her when she attempted to drink in the morning. She will probably take another few days before she is able to eat and drink her meagre ration properly and ready herself for the next assault in three weeks. Too many other side effects to list. All of this is just to keep the tumours at bay!
A couple of days ago I was standing out the front of our house farewelling a friend and we observed a Raven land on our Pencil Pine tree (Cupressus sempervirens var. Sricta) right alongside us. The Raven had a tasty morsel in its beak and it pulled aside a branch and 'squirreled' the morsel into the tree, breaking off a small branch to cover up its cache. As I feed the various birds in our backyard I notice that Magpies take one piece of the offering and worry it as though killing an insect and then tossing it down the hatch, before looking around for more. The Crows (Ravens actually) go around collecting as much food as they can get in the beak and then fly up and hide their stash in a gutter and come back for more. Smart or greedy?

At last some good news

I am home waiting for a phone call from Joan to collect her at the Oncology ward at St John's Hospital in Subiaco. We had a meeting with a partner of her regular oncologist as The Man was overseas on a conference. Wish we could change over to this young doctor who was much more conversational and gave clear and detailed answers to our questions. The regular man should have my name on Joan's file, but every time we enter his office he greets Joan and ignores me. Not hard really....he could look to see what my name is or even say something general like 'Welcome folks'. I guess he may feel that the partner doesn't need as much attention as the patient.

Going in for the three weekly verdict is difficult. Has the CEA (blood tumour marker) continued to rise? etc etc. Today's visit was good in as much as the CEA had fallen from 4.400 to 3,500. Hooray! Getting back on Oxaliplatin did the job. It is difficult to describe the relief when getting good news.

I left Joan there for her 3 hour top-up of rat poison and will collect her around 3pm. The fill-in onco suggested that one of the drugs Joan started a week ago should kick in in about another week and it could help her appetite.

So it looks like Joan is back to a stable disease situation rather than one of a progressing disease. We hope that the next CT scan will show more tumour reductions.

We will celebrate with a nice bottle of Champagne.

PS. I collected Joan and we are now home. The infusion of Oxaliplatin really knocked her around this time. Swollen face, tingling mouth, throat and eyes and the Champagne will have to wait a couple of days until things settle down.

Backyard panel shop

Our daughter Helen is in Queensland for a wedding. While she is away I have done some backyard panel and paint jobs on her car. I am not great at panel/paint jobs, but this one turned out OK. It should have, as it cost a couple of hundred bucks for paint etc.
I was washing the car on the front lawn when Dave our neighbor took a look. He reckons his father would say...’It would look good to a blind man galloping past on a horse’. He was only joking, but any close inspection would show ‘orange peel’ paintwork, paint runs and overspray onto clean areas of panels. There are other sayings that suit this job...’close enough is good enough’ or ‘any job is worth doing badly’.

I did make one major blue when preparing the spray gun with the final clear lacquer over one door panel. The paint tub fell off the spraygun hitting the ground and splashing lacquer over the garage floor, the car door, the windscreen and me. That took a lot of lacquer thinner and clean rags to remove the entire repaint job and I had to start all over with the paint and several coats of clear top coat.

Helen will probably be pleased with the overall look..I hope.

On aphorisms (sayings), a recent letter to editor in The West Australian, a writer had a bit of a whinge about Americanisms creeping into Aus English. He suggested we stick to Australianisms to describe things and events. He gave the example of the cricket based saying ‘Let that one slip through to the keeper’ is more appropriate than a baseball based one...’A curved ball’. You can work out how to apply either of those.

Here are some Aussie sayings explained.

Four more days before we front up to Joan’s oncologist. Hope there is some good news.

Insurance claim

Yesterday Joan decided that she was not going to stay home and had me drive her to the regular meeting of a small group she has been a member of for over 20 years.

She got a lift home and was very tired when she came inside. The situation she is in, plus the horrible side effects of the chemo hit her for six when she opened a letter from a man she had been in a minor traffic accident with in a shopping centre car park on the 12th of June.

He is insured with the same insurance company as us (RAC) and although both cars have been repaired, RAC had neglected to send a paper for Joan to sign acknowledging that a $350.00 excess was to be paid to the other party. As it happens the letter from the RAC was also in the mail, posted 2 days ago.

He originally wrote a mealy-mouthed letter soon after the event, and now in this letter he suggests that we are 'not people of integrity' and threatens legal action to recoup the $350.00.

Joan rang the RAC and after talking the operator through the situation, was satisfied that they would contact him and suggest that his letter was rude, the implications ill conceived and any delays were caused by the RAC tardiness in contacting us about the matter. Joan is normally quite adept at handling such situations, but this one caused her considerable grief.


We don’t expect to hear from him, but I feel like finding out where he lives and doing a ‘Round Up’ job on his front lawn. Bastard!

Damn this disease

Yesterday we went to see a Psychologist/Hypnotherapist in the hope that he may be able to trick Joan’s brain into thinking that food does actually smell nice, taste nice and not have the texture of wet cotton wool.

He was located at a an upmarket commercial centre named Chelsea Village and the large carpark looked like a saleyard for BMWs, Mercedes, Jags etc. I waited outside for the hour session and when we were back in the car asked Joan if she had been successfully hypnotised. She was not sure as he had not done any of the regular hypno moves.

Later I was concerned that he had just given her a one-hour counselling session, so emailed him to see if he had actually hypnotised her.

He replied...

Kevin: Yes, however Joan was not sure she was able to respond fully. I think when I send her the personalized recording she will "experience more" with practice and get the benefit she needs.

Joan: here is the link for some helpful hypnotic recordings to start now doing daily. I will send you your personalized recording within 48hours.


Seems like the stage show hypnotists are either all BS or they are better at getting instant results.
We will download Joan’s ‘personal’ recording and load it on her iPod. Worth a try!

This morning she is very sick...even so, she is doing some washing and paying bills online. She has just decided that bed is best for her today.

Damn this disease.

5 Days to go on Xeloda

Nothing good to say about Joan's condition today..same as yesterday... morning bile vomit etc etc. She has struggled to get enough food down to take her chemo tablets. 5 days to go on Xeloda, then six days free before we see the oncologist again.

Some random photos to pad out this post.

Brother Graham couldn't resist buying a bowling shirt ala Charlie Harper. He isn't actually going to wear it out in public; more like wearing ugg boots around the house.

Our cat does the usual cat things and here are a few snaps.

A few days ago I thought I recognised a fellow serving me at the local liquor store. Tim was in one of my classes in my first year at Willetton SHS in 1984. We chatted for a while and yesterday I scanned a class photo and gave him a copy. Willetton SHS is the largest government Senior High School in Western Australia and was a great place to spend 13 years as a teacher.

Sunday morning and the Australian Federal Election is far from over. The Greens, will it seems, have the balance of power once the independent winners have decided which party they will align themselves with. The Greens are a bit of a worry as it seems that although they all run under the Greens' banner there are a few factions within the party which may not be as moderate as their leader Bob Brown.

Hypnotherapy

Joan is having another bad day. She started the day with a green bile vomit and couldn't eat much breakfast. We talked about consulting a hypnotherapist with the aim of trying to trick her brain into believing that the bad tastes, foul smell and nasty texture of anything she tries to eat is all gone. Sounds reasonable!

I rang a few hypnotherapists and decided on a well-known one who is also a psychologist. Joan is to see him on Tuesday morning. We don't know what we can do if that doesn't help.

Another method of getting nutrition into the body is by PEG...a duct into the stomach. Read about it here. Last resort stuff!

Our Prime Minister (for the moment) is scooting around all over Aus getting in a last minute warning about the Liberal Party and the leader Tony Abbott. She reckons that if he wins the election and is confirmed as the new Australian Prime Minister on Sunday he will bring back work choices on Monday. That's ridiculous...he would wait until Thursday at least.

Federal Election

The election is only a few days away and I still haven't made up my mind about who is going to get my vote. It would be easier if I knew what the local candidates could offer rather than the BS of the leaders of the three main parties. Of course that cannot happen as elected members of a party must toe the party line whatever they think.

A couple of nights ago I was flipping channels and came upon the Sports Channel. I'm not big on sports but I watched a bit of a baseball game between the Texas Rangers(?) and the Boston somethings...Texas won the match, but it was a draw on which team won the spitting contest. Do they still chew baccy? It was certainly something that enables a quarter inch diameter squirt from just about all the main players. Incredible!

Time for a confession. Monday evening I took the two bins curbside, one of them loaded up with a couple of cartons of wine bottles....unfortunately one of them included 4 full bottles of bubbly. I didn't realise my disastrous error until the next evening when I went to put a couple of bottles in the fridge. Old timer's disease creeps up on you!

My dear Joan is very unwell today. She is sleeping in a lounge chair with a heater keeping her warm. We are worried that she may have to come off the Xeloda after only five days out of 13. She is going to try and sleep and get over this setback rather than ringing the oncologist as he will immediately stop Xeloda and we will probably be back to square one. Nausea, diarrhea, tiredness and a host of physical side effects are taking their toll on her. She still cannot eat and it is showing in her rapid weight loss and lack of energy.

Permanent Residents of Paradise

We have been reading a blog written by a long-term expatriate in Papua New Guinea. The blog is called Madang-ples bilong Mi, which translated means Madang-my place. Jan, the author of the blog lives with his wife on the edge of Madang Harbour. He has a dive boat and dives every weekend. His job is to maintain the computer network for the Pioneer Bible Translators who as the name suggests, translate the Bible into local languages. They both consider themselves to be Permanent Residents of Paradise and intend to spend the rest of their lives there. Jan's blog is here.

Madang is certainly a wonderful place...I taught there in 1964. Madang along with almost every other major centre in Papua New Guinea, unfortunately does not have the hospital facilities that the average country town in Australia has. Expatriates with serious medical problems usually fly south to Cairns or Brisbane to get treatment and Cairns is where Jan and Eunie are now seeking answers to what could be a major problem. Eunie's biopsies are not back yet and if the results are bad they may have to leave 'paradise' to seek proper treatment unavailable in PNG.

Over the last ten years or so we have thought of making a Sea Change or even a Tree Change and spending our 'golden years' down the south of our state. It is well that we didn't make that change as Joan needs to be close to major medical facilities and specialists for her ongoing battle with advanced cancer.

Yesterday we sold one of our cars, the Daewoo Nubira. We accepted $4,500 from a chap who I believe was born in the country formerly known as Yugoslavia. He was a pleasant big man. The car was for daughter No. 3 and man, did he give it a going over. He eventually decided to buy and pulled out a cheque book, but got quite insulted when I said I would accept a Bank Cheque or cash only. Being Saturday he couldn't get a Bank Cheque so had to go borrow cash from friends or family. So with a bone-crushing type handshake our Slobodan Molosevic lookalike put daughter behind the wheel and they drove away leaving us with just one more car to dispose of.

Back on the heavy stuff

This morning we had a 10am appointment with the oncologist. There were a few sad stories in the waiting room. One woman was in the last stages of whatever cancer was consuming her being. It was not good for Joan to observe.

When we got in he reviewed the last week and the blood tests showed that the Blood Tumour Marker, the CEA, had doubled. Oh shit!

He assured us that the disease was still termed a stable disease, but the CEA indicated that the current chemo regime is not doing its job. He decided to revert to a different combo of Avastin, Xeloda plus the nasty Oxaliplatin. We will just have to put up with the side effects if we are to see any improvement. The infusion was to take three hours and I decided to go away and wait for Joan's phone call to come and collect her.

On the way home I decided to buy some casserole steak and make a curry which we haven't had since Joan's diagnosis due to her lack of appetite. It will be ready when she gets back home, but I fear she will not be able to eat any of it.

Vehicle repairs

Helen’s car is back on the road and running well. The repairer also runs a wrecking yard and the replacement engine was from a car in his yard. All up it cost $1250....$500 for the engine and $750 for fitting including all the extras that go with an exchange. I was impressed and went back yesterday to buy an electric window winder for my Mazda 929. The man showed me where it goes in the door but refused to fit it himself. ‘Too difficult’ he intoned with his Arabic accent. His business is a cash business and they seem to have mislaid the receipt book.

I spent the best part of a day removing the door panel, the old motor and the window glass and then fitting the new regulator. It fitted well and is just like a new one. There were a few curses muttered, but I am pleased all went in as it should.

Tomorrow we are starting the medical round again. Joan has a blood test in the morning and we see the Oncologist Friday morning. Joan is on a trial and we are wondering whether the trial restricts our options as far as treatment goes. There may be some other treatment available outside the trial...we can only hope. We recently saw a news item about ground breaking external beam radiotherapy being done in a hospital in Sydney. The treatment was for brain tumours, but I will ask the man whether it can be used for lung and liver tumours. I suspect he will give me the look and brush the question aside. If it can help we would travel to Sydney for treatment.

Shopping and lunch

Yesterday we were still a little shell-shocked with the latest results of Joan's CT scan. We went and did a shop, looking for something that Joan may be able to eat. Bought some fillet steak and she will prepare it with some Portabello mushrooms we have growing in the shed. We know she can eat the mushrooms. I bought some Blue Swimmer Crabs locally known as 'Blue Mannas'. Maybe a fresh bread and crab meat sandwich will appeal to her....it certainly will appeal to me.

The young part-time checkout girl
perfunctorily inquires "How are you?'
Not really expecting a negative reply
and not really even caring how the customer is
managing in this fight with the monster

The customer replies 'good thankyou',
conditioned to the niceties of convention
when what is really needed
is a raging protest about the unfairness of it all.

For lunch we went to Cockburn Central about 10 kilometres from here. The food was OK and Joan was able to select her small meal from a Chinese self serve stall. I went for Indian and although it looked good, was just! On the way out Joan bought Peter Carey's latest blockbuster, Parrot and Olivier in America knocked down from $49.95 to $19.95.

I am re-reading for the third time, Jack Finney's Time and Again, a wonderfully plausible time travel adventure returning to New York in the 1880s. We have had two copies of this book lost or swiped and don't want to lose this one. Some time in the 1980s I made that fact clearly on a label I pasted inside the cover.

Bad results from CT scan

This afternoon we attended the oncologist. It was not a good result. The lung 'tumours' which previously had been described as possibly not tumours had grown. The liver tumours were still as before in static mode. The tumour blood marker has risen and the Oncologist was a bit puzzled as to what to do next. Joan has another week without chemo and just a one week dose of Avastin which is supposed to stop new tumour blood vessels developing.

We were both devastated with this result...especially with the oncologist's seemingly lack of direction.

We have another week of no chemo and the onco will look at the scans rather than relying on the report faxed to him. Don't think that will change anything.

Heavy times.

North American holiday

Cousin Ted and I went to collect our daughter's car and aimed at at least reducing the bill for a wrongly diagnosed fault. The repairer was having nothing of it and after some argument, I paid the $1400+ for a job that didn't cure the problem. 'Not our fault that what we thought was the problem was not!' As we left he said 'see you later'....not bloody likely.

The car had been sitting for almost a week and the cylinders were pretty well full of oil when I drove off. It was about 10 kilometres before the oil and dense blue/white smoke had dissipated. I was extremely embarrassed driving in traffic looking like an oil refinery on fire.

Tomorrow I will drive to Malaga to talk with another wrecker/repairer who has come up with a much better price for an engine replacement. The exact model of car and engine has to be determined as this vehicle was privately imported from Britain to Australia and the european designation is not the same as vehicles destined for Australia.

This afternoon we had a visit from friends Marg and Brian who have just returned from an extended holiday in North America. Good to hear from them about their adventures in the U.S. and Canada. We have travelled to quite a few places around the world, but North America is, for us, probably the easiest country to navigate in...apart from driving on the wrong side of the road.

Joan's CT scan tomorrow morning and the Onco on Friday. Hoping for some encouraging results to make the burden of chemotherapy worthwhile.

Avastin

Consumer Affairs got back to me concerning worries I had about paying for a mechanical job on our daughter's car.

If the repairer has assured you that the initial repairs on the valve seals 'will fix the problem' and not...'may fix the problem', then you are entitled to expect that result for your money.

Great, but then CA goes on to say...'If the repairer does not agree, it may have to be decided in court if you decide to pursue it'.

The court cost would be far in excess of the repairer's bill. Kev is a loser once again.

A couple of recent court cases have left me a little puzzled. One Prison Officer accessed a prison computer and harvested details of several inmates and then passed the info onto a bikie gang associate. He received a suspended sentence because the Judge thought he was just trying to bignote himself with the heavies. Another bloke who is a member of a British extremist group got a bit pissed and shot up the roof of a Turkish Mosque in Perth. It was deemed not to be a racist attack and he also got a suspended sentence. He was ordered to pay for the repair of the golden dome. With my luck I would get jail for taking a leak up an alley.

We went to see the oncologist yesterday and also had a top up of Avastin at the cancer clinic. The oncologist was a bit shocked at Joan's weight loss over the last three weeks...5 kilograms.
He was a little hesitant about telling us the exact results of the blood test, merely saying that they are 'all right'. Previously he has told us that they are either normal or good. We are returning next Friday for some more Avastin and to hear the results of the CT scan Joan will have on Tuesday.

Dodgy car repairers

I have been surfing the net for possible cures for Joan’s lack of appetite. It would seem that the people who suggest the fixes have not had a serious problem with lack of appetite.

This morning I tried a Ginger Tea made by boiling fine strips of raw ginger in water and adding a bit of flavour to the tea with honey and lemon. No go: the ginger burned her throat. Chemo damages the quickest growing cells of which the throat is certainly in the race.
Ginger tea is reputed to both help restore appetite and dampen appetite for weight loss....which one does one believe? Probably neither!

Tomorrow we are going to ask the oncologist if there is something he knows that works. All the other questions I have put to him receive the, did that come from the internet smile.

This morning I rang Consumer Affairs seeking help with a dispute I am about to have with a car repairer. Our daughter’s Mazda 626 had started to blow lots of white/blue smoke at startup in the mornings. Once running the engine doesn’t smoke which suggests that the piston rings are not the cause. The repairer suggested it would almost certainly be valve guide seals missing or worn out. They suggested I leave the car with them and they would do further investigation. Next day they confirmed that replacement of the valve guide seals would fix the problem and I reluctantly agreed to an all-up cost of $1450.00. The job was done, but the oil was still getting into the cylinders and creating a warship-like smoke screen at morning startup.

Now the repairer has the car still and wants $1450. for a job that didn’t fix the problem.

Hope Consumer Affairs can help me.

The repairer now suggests that the only fix is to replace the engine with a secondhand one they have in stock....the total cost which included the valve seal repair job is to be $3,500. The car is only worth about $3500.

A visit from the U.S.

Joan's sister Dorothy and hubby Mike have their daughter Katherine visiting from the U.S.. She brought her new man Rick and he impresses as a nice bloke. He is a doctor (dermatologist) who works for the U.S. Army. Not sure if he is in the army or just working for it. Katherine has a top level job with Price Waterhouse in San Franscisco.
Katherine, Dorothy, Joan, Kev and Mike

Joan is having a bad run with Chemotherapy. Apart from all the physical crap she has to put up with, she has completely lost her appetite. We have tried lots of recommendations from medical sites and patient forums. We are to buy some Ginger Tea today to see if that lives up to the claims of improving appetite. Since diagnosis Joan has lost almost 20kg

Joan, is an avid reader and I am thankful that even in the midst of all this she can still enjoy a book. It is as though she is transported out of chemoland temporarily.

Daewoo for sale

Joan is out in her new car this morning. It isn’t red, but it is a great car fully optioned (is that how you say it?)with lots of high tech gadgetry which will take a while for we oldies to become familiar with.

I have finished preparing one of our cars for sale and it sits on the front lawn, shiny and beautiful...just like a dog that you want to give away, but snuggles up and licks you. I haven’t had a single call from the advert I placed in today’s paper. Too expensive at $5,000, or is it that second hand Korean cars are hard to sell? Probably both.
2003 Daewoo Nubira

The Australian Prime Minister has just announced that her government (if re-elected) will follow the U.S. model of giving $2,000 ‘Cash for Clunkers’ to everyone who upgrades their old pre 1995 car to a new ‘green’ vehicle. The name of the scheme is similar to the U.S. one except the U.S. was stimulating the car industry and the Aus scheme is aimed at reducing emissions (or winning votes). Most folks driving a pre 1995 car are unlikely to suddenly take $2,000 and buy an approved car costing between $13,000 - $40,000. She aint gettin my ‘92 Mazda 929 for two grand!

Ford Fiesta

We collected the new car yesterday and I must say it was a major hand-over. About 45 minutes of instruction on the controls, of which the voice control was the most interesting. The last car we bought new was about three years ago and we just got the keys and drove off. I am unsure if it just Ford that has this full-on handover?

Because Joan could not get a red car, the salesman sprung a nice present of a red flower arrangement as a consolation. Because we paid cash, he also threw in a couple of extras.

I have advertised one of our fleet of cars in tomorrow’s newspaper and today have cleaned it thoroughly, drained and replaced the coolant and have yet to drain the oil, replace the filter and give it a drink of nice new oil.

Amateur car buyers have been schooled in how to sniff the oil on the dip stick and determine whether the engine is in good condition. There IS a 100,000 mile smell! This car has only done 70,000 kilometres and is in good shape.

No red car for Joan

Haddon’s funeral went as well as could be expected with his friend Dennis reading the eulogy which brought back memories of his life and adventures peppered with humorous anecdotes. The wake was held in their semi-tropical ‘Bali’ back yard.

Joan has been going through a tough period and had to stop the Xeloda chemo three days short of the round, because of severe damage to her hands and feet. We hope that her appetite will return over the week before seeing the oncologist again. She is to have a CT scan next Thursday in preparation for the oncologist’s review of her treatment.

Joan’s new red car is, it seems, out of the question due to lack of supplies from Europe. She has agreed to take a silver model and the dealer is rushing the preparation, licencing and insuring of it so she can take possession today after 4pm. I hope that will cheer her up somewhat as the last couple of weeks have been decidedly unpleasant.

The scan results will give us an indication as to whether the Xeloda is worth all the pain and misery; not that the man will give us much choice in the matter of treatment.

One funeral and a wake

This afternoon we are attending Haddon's funeral. Joan helped write the eulogy and Dennis, who is brave enough to read it, made a few additions and changes. It is a good farewell tribute. There will be a wake held in Marg and Haddon's backyard.

Joan has had another setback with her chemotherapy. The Xeloda has once again caused nasty side effects…this time the Hands and Feet Syndrome where capillaries in the extremities burst and cause considerable pain. She stopped taking Xeloda this morning and this evening the oncologist is to ring and discuss the next move.

In recent months Joan has thought that she should have a new car….a red one! Her first car was a red Fiat 500 Bambino and she reckons her last car should be a red one too.

We looked at several brands around the $20k price…Mazda2, Hyundai i20, and lastly the Ford Fiesta. We 'drove past' several other brands which didn't appeal. We were waiting for the release of the i20 and when it arrived this week, we were a little disappointed. The Mazda is quality but rather large for a small car. When we took the Ford for a drive we were sold. For $21k drive away it is loaded with features the others cannot match….too many to list here, but one nice one is voice command which controls all the electronics. Tell it to start the radio and it asks for a location…'720 ABC' and hey presto ABC starts. Same with Bluetooth phone, CD and iPod.

Anyway, we signed up and made a deposit to buy a red Fiesta with a wait period of 5-6 weeks. Then they told us that there is only one red one here and it has been sold. I took the man aside an explained about Joan's condition. They agreed to refund the deposit if we aren't completely satisfied. This morning Joan is still very keen on the Fiesta and is thinking a silver one might be OK if we have to wait months to see a red one delivered from Europe. Of course we don't know the wait time on a silver car either at this stage. Waiting for a call from the salesman.

Farewell Had

Haddon Rudkin has left us. He died without pain leaving many good memories for family and friends. Seven years of chemotherapy and radiotherapy failed to stop the progress of his prostate cancer. Only in recent times did he despair about his condition. I hope I will be as brave when I am going.

Farewell Had

Joan and I have just returned from Hollywood Private Hospital to see Haddon for probably the last time. He has been getting worse over the last few days and morphine has wiped him out. He is unconscious and the doctor has given him at most two days. He looked peaceful and ready to leave us all.

I have been at other death beds before....my brother's; my father's and mother's. Mother fell down with a massive stroke, but her heart was still beating when we rushed to her house after being called by my sister who was looking after her. She died as we tried to revive her, which was probably fortuitous because there would have been major brain damage.

Margaret, Haddons wife, will have much to contend with .....the funeral; the estate settlement as well as the emotional strain of losing a lifetime partner. Their children are strong people and will give her all the help she needs.

She can also rely on us for support.

Prostate Cancer

This morning I rang our daughter to suggest that we get the RAC to immobilise her car immobiliser so that I could start it. Having lost the car key and the immobiliser button previously I was getting very frazzled as to how to fix my old timers' bungles like losing her car key. She rang the RAC and they were on their way to do the job when I found the key and immobiliser in the grass as I brought our wheelybin in from the front verge. I rang Helen to get her to cancel the RAC call out. It had been out in the heavy rain and didn't want to start the engine, so I dismantled it and dried it out with a hair drier and it is now a 'goer'. Already with a head of grey hair I now have plenty of white hair after that little episode.

I searched every square foot of our house, workshop and storage shed as well as four cars. Never thought that I would have dropped the key in the grass outside the house.

Our friend Haddon is, it seems, near the end. He is in a private hospital, Hollywood Hospital, and has reached the stage where the doctor in charge has requested a family meeting tomorrow morning. I fear that they are going to be given a frank assessment of the situation and alternatives which may be unpalatable to loved ones. I will visit him with another friend tomorrow, possibly as a farewell visit. He has had seven hard years of treatment for advanced prostate cancer.

Custom Composts

I still haven't found Helen's car key. At each inquiry amongst friends and businesses I have had contact with over the last few days I have received the same...'what were you doing when you lost it.' That doesn't help one bit. Helen thinks she has a second key somewhere and we can buy and re-program the engine immobiliser
A wheel wash entering the piggery area

Our neighbour Dave runs a composting business near Mandurah. About two weeks ago we were in Mandurah and decided to check out Dave’s poo farm. He has a business partner and a reasonable sized work force. There is lots of machinery; front end loaders etc, turners and a very smart separator.
Rows of compost in progress

On the 400 Hectare site there is also a large piggery with approximately 18,000 guests at any one time. The muck from the pig pens goes into a series of filtering ponds and water and nutrients are used in the composting process. At any one time there are about 10,000 cubic metres of compostable material mixed in precise proportions in rows where turning machines turn it every couple of days. The whole composting process takes about 12 weeks. Dave estimates that they market about 150,000 cubic metres of finished product per year; most going direct to farms. A large mushroom compost operation is also on site.

A turning machine turning the line of maturing compost.
The Separator
The separator is a million dollar machine and passes the product through a series of screens, magnets and blowers to separate metal, plastic etc. The turners are also very expensive, running to around $500,000 each.

For the home composters here is Dave’s composting formula:

30 Parts Carbon to 1 part Nitrogen

The carbon can be...(woody stuff, leaves,paper,sawdust)
The Nitrogen can be ....(Greens)

The water to air proportions are also important....the mix should squeeze in the hand without being able to show any water. Turn regularly for the air part.

I must have those proportions all wrong as my compost tumbler makes compost cricket balls.

Test your internet connection speed here. This is not an advert.

Winter blues

It's wet and cold here. It seems like only a few weeks ago I was looking forward to winter; being able to rug up and feel warm near a heater, but the reality of it is quite different.....bring on summer! Don't know how we would survive in a place that really feels winter. Ours is quite mild really, with minimums of around 1 or 2 degrees Celsius at worst.

On Friday we attended St John's in Subiaco for a consultation with the oncologist and a top up of rat poison at the Ivy Suite. Joan's bloods were perfect: good liver and kidney function, but the CEA ( the blood tumour marker) had risen again. It was a small rise, but a rise.

We asked for more details from the last CT scan report and he gave us a photocopy. That scan was on June 16th and another scan is due in a couple of weeks. The report noted that there are small differences in some of the tumours in the liver....one is slightly larger and one smaller. It doesn't mention anything about the bowel cancer. Once again it suggests that the 'small irregular non-descriptive peripheral aspect of left lung may well represent a benign cause'. or in layman's terms..that lump might not be cancer. The report suggests that this is a Stable Disease.

Our daughter Helen is today returning from a week in Melbourne. While she was away, I took her car for some TLC. I have 'repaired' a rear mudguard scrape she had and replaced a broken rear light. Painting comes next...not my forte. I guess age is catching up with me as I have lost the key to her car which also has the remote and immobiliser attached. So, we will loan her one of our vehicles until I either find the key or re-key the whole lot. Bugger!

Pavlovian Ruby

The (new) Prime Minister of Australia has in a statement told Australians "People should not be afraid to say what they felt about border protection". Boy, is that a green light to all the racists here?!

In fact Australia's refugee problem is just a drop in the ocean compared with many other countries. Leaky boats chartered by refugees sail mainly from Indonesia; some direct from places like Sri Lanka. Many letters from readers and indeed remarks by opposition politicians say that the government should intercept these boats at sea and send them back to where they came from. I would assume that would mean giving them fuel, food and water, medicines and ensuring that the craft is seaworthy. It would be worldwide news if a single boat sank after being turned around by the Australian Navy. Fail!

Another suggestion is that we let them get to Australia and then immediately fly them back to their country of origin. Fail!

A letter from a cretinous reader suggested that all the boats be towed back to their port of departure, the refos unloaded and the boats sunk. Fail!

Whilst I have sympathy for refugees, most of them attempting to reach our shores are Muslim. A letter to the editor of one of the local newspapers said....

' Nearly 500,000 Muslims living in Australia cannot vote for Julia Gillard (the PM) because according to the holy Koran, an atheist cannot be a leader of the believers'.

The letter was written by one Hafeez Shaikh who, I believe, is an ex Muslim. There are a few dyed-in-the-wool Australian Christians saying the same thing.

Helen and James' puppy, Ruby (the destroyer) is still trying to eat anything left within her reach. They have purchased an electronic teaching (punishing) device which has a electronic collar and a base station which is placed in Ruby's target zone. As soon as she approaches the base station there is a loud buzz and if ignored the collar gives her an electric shock. It works...as soon as Ruby hears the buzzing sound she swiftly leaves the area. It will be interesting to see if Ruby later associates that area rather than the buzz with the punishment.

No good news here

About twenty minutes ago we witnessed an accident in Fremantle. An aboriginal man who was very intoxicated walked into the rear side of a slowly moving bus. The victim fell to the ground unconscious. As it happened there was an ambulance on the spot caught in traffic. The ambos jumped out and did a splendid job. The bus driver was most concerned for the man and I guess for himself. I gave him my name and contact details as a witness. The victim didn't look too well when we were leaving; a fair bit of blood coming from the head and face. He was on his way to Fremantle Hospital. The ambulance crew also witnessed the accident.
Our friend Haddon is in Hollywood Hospital getting life saving treatment for the compounded results of chemotherapy and cancer. He has had a lot of fluid drained from his lungs and one lung has 'collapsed'. See here if you wish.

He will be in hospital for at least another week and then it is hoped to get him home with the help of that wonderful organisation the Silver Chain. They will supply a hospital bed and visit at least 3-4 days a week to administer medicines and attend to his toiletry etc.

Our other friend, who is in full-time care as a dementia patient, has recently caused a few problems. It seems that he was on an outing with other patients and when the bus was alongside a school, something clicked in John's head and he became very animated and struck one of the carers. When back at the residence he struck a couple of other elderly patients, knocking one to the ground. The management of the residence have told his wife Joy that if any more incidents occur they may have to either sedate him heavily, or transfer him to a secure home. The incident came 'out of the blue' and for a few days his speech was quite understandable. The brain is unfathomable!