We Are Sailing!

Three weeks ago, we jumped into the tinny and made our escape from the dark gloomy island.  With a head wind and choppy waters working against us, the little two stroke engine has been non-stop full-throttle, as we try and get as much distance between us and that shitty place.

Yes it's been about three weeks since I had my last RT, and a couple of weeks since I posted.  I think I have enjoyed being relieved of all (most of) the routines of the last few months, so I dropped as much as I could, including the blog.

Last post, I was pretty down and I was having a hard time.

About a week ago, I climbed a step ladder toward my 'new normal'.  My tongue ulcers cleared up and my nausea dialled down a bit.  Also, my all-night coughing - expectorating - reduced to a few interruptions. So within a few days, I could eat and sleep - what a difference that makes to your life (and the lives of the ones around you)!

So for the last four days or so I have felt like a normal person again.  No afternoon nap, no being tied to the recliner as I feed myself through my PEG tube, no groggy-ness and no medication for nausea or pain.

This might have been the result the nautical miles we'd clocked up in the tinny, but more likely, it was because of a short stay at Middleton last week.  It was so nice to get out of the routine and into a new environment.  So nice to be out on the beach with the fresh breeze clearing out the cobwebs.  Ned had a mate down there, and between them they spent a fair bit of that time in the water.  I was with them on the beach, but I had my sneakers on.  I didn't mind, it was so nice to be out and about in the elements.  A big thanks to J & A for the offer of the house, and to Alison, who as per usual, fore-saw how valuable this little break would be, and made the effort to lock in the dates and get it all sorted, whilst I was most likely catatonic in my recliner.

Back at home, I am still dealing with some salivary issues (dryness) and reduced taste.  Though on both accounts there have been improvements.  I was offered a soda water with cordial the other day - I told my mate not to waste the cordial, but he put it in anyway - blow me down if I couldn't taste it as sweet as ever.  Turns out it was 'diet' cordial, so it was sweetened with stevia.  I haven't done the follow up research or testing on this, but I assume stevia activates the sensation of sweetness along a different pathway to that taken by sugar. More subtle tastes are showing themselves but salt and sugar are still not detected.

My PEG tube is really just a nuisance now.  But until I gain some weight and keep it on for a while, I will struggle to get the go ahead I need from the speechy and dietitian to have it removed.  I have an appointment next Thursday with the two of them and I will be making a case, with a detailed food diary, to have the bloody thing removed.  I have put on a few kilos in the last four days so hopefully I can get close to my starting weight before that meeting.

As far as the cancer is concerned, the battle at the cellular level is still being fought.  The cancer cells, with their damaged DNA, can apparently carry on for quite a while and only fall to pieces when they try to divide.  So they don't bother with testing me until three months after treatment (10th September).  I can report that there is no palpable lump, so that's a good start.

So back to my opening analogy, I guess we've upgraded the tinny to a catamaran and the headwind is now a zephyr in our sails.  I can still see the island in the distance behind us. We're not speeding away from it, but there's no smell of two-stroke fumes, no noise pollution and we're heading in the right direction, like Simon Le Bon and the boys in 'Rio'.

A wind break, a packet of chips and a little fire on the beach - sorted!

Before hitting entering the waters at Boomer Beach, Ned will always takes a moment to pay due reverence, firstly to the Boomer gods, and then to his his pink boogie board. Dom does not see the sense in this ritual - he will pay the price.  Maybe not this day, but the Boomer gods will have their way.

Celebrating the taste of stevia!