Status as at 31 Dec 2018

I like to provide the occasional status report, a "how I am today" that does not disappear down the screen as I post more entries. If you've found this post and are wondering, How is Nick today? … look at the "Current status as at" tab towards the top left of the screen.

Last update was at 6th August 2018... it's definitely time to update. Not that -- as far as I can remember -- much has changed since then. To be succinct: all is still good.

Now for the usual... less succinct. This post will be a standard ramble. Then I'll try to pick just the key points for the Status page.

===

For, as they say, Those who Came in Late:

This is where it started

My wife and I enjoy life while we are still active & healthy enough to do so. This includes regular holidays, often based around organised walks and runs. I keep a journal of each holiday.

Over the years my holiday journal technique has been refined. I now type each day's excitement as an email. The emails are posted -- when internet access is available -- to a blog. Later, home again, I combine journal posts with photos to create a permanent hardcopy travel journal.

Our holidays are active -- walk and run while we still can. Do it now, while we can because we are Not Dead Yet. Hence the name of this blog. (I did try for not.dead.yet but it is taken. So I settled for notdotdeaddotyet. ie: "Not dot Dead dot Yet"...)

===

August 27th 2017:

I'm running in the City to Surf half marathon. I collapse, wake up in the Emergency Department of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. I'm told that I have an aggressive, terminal brain cancer, GBM4. A few more questions, a quick grope, and I am also diagnosed with testicular cancer.

There is a 50% chance that the brain cancer will kill me within 12 months. Later scans show that the testicular cancer has spread into my torso but it is treatable and low risk.

August 29th 2017: I start to blog my experience. Warts and all. (Not that there are warts. It's far more interesting than that...) The blog name -- Not Dead Yet -- is still appropriate. It is now a blog for living... dying... with cancer. And a blog for our holidays.

I am, after all, Not Dead Yet :-)

===

Over the next days, weeks and months:

My skull is opened and a tumour removed from the brain. My groin is opened and the cancerous right testicle removed.

I am radiated, over several weeks. The brain gets a very focussed dose, can't afford to damage too much of the brain. That's one reason for the nastiness of brain cancer: it's not wise to chop out too much brain, so there is a high risk of microscopic cancer cells being left behind.

My gut gets a slightly broader dose of radiation, only minor worries about collateral damage, it's better to kill a few healthy cells than to allow cancerous cells to survive.

I revisit ED (Emergency Department) a few times due to post-operation inflammation of the lining of the brain.

During and after radiation treatment I have several months of chemotherapy. An effective drug but it plays merry hell with my digestive systems :-( No, I won't go into detail, I try to put those memories behind me. As I put a lot behind me at the time...

===

There are regular scans: MRI, CAT, PET, even an ultrasound (no, I was not pregnant). Six months from my collapse, I am clear of visible cancers.

GBM4 is not all that common. Having a second "primary" cancer is more unusual. Twelve months on -- when 50% of GBM4 patients would be dead -- I am still clear of visible cancers. Beating the odds all the way :-)  I buy several Lotto tickets, win one, fail to recoup the costs. Ah well... I'd rather be lucky with the cancer.

I've been trying to get fit. I took up running marathons in 2012, when I turned sixty. Ran twelve, finished ten, between then and 2016. Slowed down to half-marathons. I am now trying to get fit enough for 10 to 15km trail runs. My heart pumps okay, the legs are getting there, the lungs need a lot of training...

As I said to Deb, I would like to have sex... Okay, I could have left it there. I really said, I would like to have sex without panting and puffing like a steam engine. Recovering from cancer treatment has left me very unfit.

===

I have always been 5kg above my "target weight as a runner", now I am 10kg above that target. Back from our latest holiday and I determine, I will get into more regular running training and I will lose some of that 10kg. Since then I have run 5km several times each week, and gained a kilo. Oh well, win some, lose some.

===

So where am I now:

Physical: Fitness at about 70% what it was in August 2017; main problem is weight & breath. Health (ignoring cancer) is at 95%; some residual, occasional, bowel over-activity. And the soles of my feet tingle, a side-effect of the chemo drug. It's most noticeable after a run.

Interesting: I've had a week or so of solid WoW play -- staring at the screen for hours on end -- but without the expected dizziness. Either I'm taking enough breaks. Or that dizziness was an unidentified symptom of a damaged brain... No, staring fixedly at a screen seems to be a more realistic reason for the dizziness.

I do have aches in the shoulders and arms. Signs of a heart attack, according to a scary magazine article. More likely to be RSI or OOS from too much work & play at a keyboard.

Mental: Still with a high IQ and low street smarts, no change. As far as I can tell. The daily crossword seems easier but that could be my acceptance of a near-miss as an answer. eg Opposite in seven letters, I write "--verse" till another clue tells me whether it starts with ob or re or ad or in... and I'm happy to accept that each of those four options has a shade of meaning that is not really opposite.

I do have occasional trouble thinking of the exact word for a sentence. That's not new, I suspect it's a result of less and less conversation to keep the speech centres fresh.

Emotional: I'm balancing disbelief and acceptance. On our last holiday I hit the emotional up-swing, I have now climbed back to the state I was in for several years: enjoyment mixed with frustration. Enjoying life, frustrated at my inability (my own fault) to do all of the things I would like to do. And not believing that I have a terminal cancer.

It's definitely disbelief not denial. The same feeling of invulnerability, that the worst will never happen to me. At the same time I accept that the brain cancer will eventually return and kill me. My aim is to balance the two states. Enough disbelief to enjoy life, enough acceptance that I will not shatter when the cancer returns.

That's the thing, the cancer will return. GBM4 is known to be aggressive, it's known to be terminal. It's a matter of when, and where in the brain it grows the next tumour. I was scanned in early December. It's unlikely that a fresh tumour will kill me in the three months until the next scan. Three months to enjoy life :-)

When a tumour does come back, treatment will depend on the tumour location. (Yes, it will be in the brain...) Most likely, I'll be up for more surgery (or cyber surgery?), more radiation, more chemo. Followed by time for recovery. Until treatment fails or is not possible.

I do have occasional moments of near melt-down. I think, Bugger, no, I don't believe it, I can't just die from cancer. Moments when I feel that an emotional melt-down would be worthwhile. Or fun, anyway. Then I think, Ah stuff it. And carry on.

I'm lucky to have all this time to prepare the way for Deb living without me... Pity I've done so little to prepare. Poor Deb :-(

===

So, current status: I'm fit but need more fitness. I'm healthy & happy. With occasional moments of existential ouch. I'm good for another few months. At least till the next scan.

btw: "Need more fitness"? Really? Why? It seems that being fit helps me to deal with the cancer and its treatment. So I want to be fit for the next scare. Anyway, getting fit is worth the effort. Never know, I may have enough time to get fit enough for the Cradle Mountain trail run :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"For every action there is an equal and opposite government program."

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

... and home again :-)

As we arrive (last night) the man in charge says that his wife is away... That explains a lot. The essential preparation is done, our cottage is clean, neat, stocked for breakfast plus more. But the strawberries in the fridge are going mouldy, a bucket of kitchen scraps is fermenting.

Towels are there, clean and fresh -- but not folded very neatly. Though that one could be by my own standards :-) There are a couple of dead bugs in out-of-the-way spots. Things are there but not completely... right.

Nothing that worries me. Just signs that the wife is away.

Morning, and we pack up and leave. It's a beautiful cottage, peaceful location, plenty of everything. Just needs a neat-freak person for the finishing touches.

We drive into town, Collie, to a garage, to pump up the tyres. They have been low for the last few days, for off-road driving. I bring them up to highway pressure. We head towards home.

We know the way but -- just for fun -- we follow the gps. It takes us exactly where we would have gone anyway... reassuring. I sit on 80 or 90 all the way, just enjoying the drive.

Our only stop is just to the north of Harvey, at the Stirling Cottage Gardens (or some such name). It's a favourite stop: reasonable food and very nice gardens. I admire the garden view, Deb often wanders through the garden. Not today, we see enough, today, from our coffee-drinking seats. Enough for people who are ready to get home, anyway.

We drive on. The weather is warm and sunny. Warm enough that I eventually close the windows and turn on the air con. And -- with no more excitement than the usual highway traffic -- we are home.

All is well. Except for the cat, who has symptoms but no explanatory cause. This started a short while before we went away, typical. Tim managed it all excellently. The symptoms seem to worry us more than the cat. Oh well, she's old.

===

Deb has just gone to bed, leaving me to wrap up this post, the last draft before the printed journal. As she left Deb said that the 4wd drive was... fabulous! Excellent :-)

So we're looking forward to -- sometime -- doing the last stages, from Collie to Mundaring. And -- when the weather is absolutely dry -- tackling the complete track at the Albany end.

An excellent holiday :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"For every action there is an equal and opposite government program."

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

slow roads to Collie

As we are going to bed Deb asks, Are there two sheets on this bed? (This was in the Walpole motel.) Bottom sheet and a doona, I reply. We go to sleep. Wake up an hour or two later ... and feel a ridge across the bed. Oh, a second sheet, tucked in so tight that we had trouble finding it. We adjust ourselves to fit between the sheets...

===

Today: awake at the usual time. Deb always gets up first, I sleep till my cup of tea has cooled. Eat breakfast, pack, load the truck, chat with our host. He's Polish, he tells me. No trace of accent, possibly lived in Australia longer than I have. He's about to try doing some work on his own car, we leave him to it.

First stop --  still in Boyup Brook -- is to top up the tank. We've used about half the tank to cover 540km. We could get home on what's left -- but would rather fill up. At the garage we also buy a wrap & drinks for lunch.

The Mundal track leaves town "past Harvey Dickson's music centre". Turns out that this is a few km out of town, it's a place for music festivals. Lots of metal things -- car bodies, farm machinery -- stacked around as art. And a closed-off area which would be for the music... Amazing the places we have never heard of before.

The track then takes us through Dinninup, so we stop by to look at Keith's block. No major changes since our last visit. A nice spot, very peaceful with no-one here :-)

Today, the Mundal track has quite a bit of bitumen road, perhaps 10%, the rest is good gravel. We drive amongst forest -- trees a lot smaller than yesterday but still some big ones -- and farms. Almost half of the farms are now tree farms.

The track notes mention camping areas but there are no waypoints for them. I catch a glimpse of water off to one side, stop, reverse and drive in. It's a small but very pleasant cleared area by the river. The Blackwood? It's obviously a popular spot for camping or picnics but unsignposted. We stay for morning tea -- biscuits & water -- and enjoy the peace & quiet & view across the river.

In the middle of a paddock are a couple of christmas trees. The Nuytsia Florabunda type. In full bloom in the middle of a cleared paddock. It takes me a kilometre or so to decide that yes, I do want to stop and take a photo. Not much of a photo, the trees are quite a way across the paddock.

The track takes us to Glen Mervyn Lake, we stop for a picnic lunch. 

Our wrap is "chicken Caesar", we wonder what that means, it seems to be simple chicken & salad. Perhaps the mayonnaise is really Caesar salad dressing? Anyway, it's delicious.

Sitting in the shade, looking across the water. A couple of dozen campers & caravanners in the distance, three or four small motor boats dragging waterskiers. We are in the "day use" area, the only people there.

Those campers, we realise, form the largest crowd that we have seen since leaving Albany. Even Albany was quiet, for a "city". Is it the time of year, the off season? Or is tourism really that bad...

There's a cache at the lake... possibly. It's 400m from where we are parked and the last few cachers could not find it. We decide to give it a miss. And drive on.

The track takes us to the other side of the lake, then via various nice roads back to the bitumen. Forest, farms, tree farms. The farms are the all-over brown that is standard for WA farms. The native bush is as green as ever. The country has rolling hills with some flat, often swampy areas.

Back on the bitumen and it's almost straight to Collie. Pleasant country either side, a road that (I think) we have not driven on before. We arrive in Collie by 1:30.

There's a park in the middle of town. We buy drinks from a cafe that started life as a railway carriage. Sit in the shade by the grass, enjoying the peace. Collie is quite busy but our seat is just outside the edge of the action.

There's an art gallery which looks quite new. We wander over but it's closed for a change of exhibits. We're not too disappointed.

We fill in a hour or two with a drive out of town to find some geocaches. We also discover a small town: just a dozen houses, no shops. There's a blueberry farm and a Thai restaurant, way out of town. We later find out that the restaurant has now, in fact, moved into town.

Back to Collie and it's time to find our accommodation.

We're welcomed by the owner, a pleasant old man who has been enjoying an afternoon tipple. There are three dogs (I say hello) and a cat (Deb says hello). Our cottage is hidden in the lush garden, at the end of various winding tracks. I worry that we will go to the car then not be able to find the cottage again.

It's been a warm day, now cooling off to a very pleasant evening. We're sitting with the doors open, looking out over a paddock with trees beyond. Hoping that the peacock off to the side does not continue to squawk during the night.

A very pleasant spot :-)

We will relax for a while longer, then head back to town for dinner.

===

I tell Deb that each day of this holiday has been even better thhan the day before. But I am still happy that we are not following the whole track. Tomorrow we hit the highway and head for home. Even though the track continues for (taking it easy) another two days.

We'll save those two days for another holiday...

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

Walpole to Boyup Brook

I leave our room key on the desk at reception. As I walk out I see the Key Return box just outside. Oh well.

And while I almost remember: Yesterday I wrote something that was wrong. Now I can't remember what it was. Just take any of my holiday reports with a pinch of salt :-) So for today's vague memories...

We leave the motel, turn left... then reverse. The road is closed, being dug up. Just a very short detour and we're on our way. Leaving Walpole.

The Mundal trail does a bit of twisting and turning north of Walpole, as it passes Mt Frankland. Actually the trail doesn't even go to Walpole, we detoured to stay the night. Today we take the direct route back to the Mundal at Mt Frankland. With a couple of side-tracks.

There's a geocache at the Swawbrick(?) art thing. It's a collection of sculptures set amongst bush. Big, impressive sculptures, well worth the visit. That's why we enjoy geocaching, it brings us to interesting places :-)

Next stop is the Thurby(?) herb garden & cafe, we have coffee and cake. Then ... on to Mt F.

At the carpark we look round and say, Wow ! what an enormous rock ! Oh, no, that's not the Mount, that's just a little rock nearby. We climb to the real summit. It's steep but easy, with a good track and lots of well-made steps. Tiring... wouldn't like to try it on a hot day.

The weather is fine and mild. No sign of rain.

===

Deb spent time last night planning our drive. Looking at the track notes and tracing it onto a map. Today, it's easy: Deb guides us, I confirm our location on the gps map. So easy.

It's also a very pleasant drive through the bush. From tall trees, to scrub, some swampy areas, lots of up and down. Another goanna by the road, lots of birds. Forest & farm, all on reasonably good quality gravel roads.

We find a few geocaches and discover places we have never heard of before. Lake Muir is huge & mostly dry, Red Lake is very small and full of water. We pass a few farmhouses, there are two or three other cars, otherwise we are on our own. A beautiful, peaceful day's drive.

For lunch, we pull off the road onto a bit of a dirt track. Nothing to see, just a weedy patch between farm and bush but it's peaceful. While we are stopped for lunch only one car passes by on the road.

It's a long day. Just 240km but driving on gravel tracks takes extra concentration. It's good to get to Boyup Brook. About 4:30. Time to relax for a while, then dinner. We eat at the hotel (there's not much choice in BB), excellent steak, good salads.

Tomorrow has much less driving. Deb has already prepared for her navigation role. We watch a bit of tv, I write these brief notes. All done.

===

My holiday journals may be brief, they may be incomplete. When I get home I add some photos, perhaps maps of where we went. I will correct mistakes and perhaps add points that I missed. Then the whole lot will be printed into a hardcopy journal.

This blog does not have to be complete & correct. I do try to cover everything of interest... before I fall asleep. The blog is a first draft for the final product. That's why accuracy is not always important -- as long as I type enough to check, later, with Deb.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

4wd to Walpole

Another relaxed start to the day... We eat breakfast, pack up, leave our Albany cottage. It was good :-)

We drive to Denmark and stop for coffee at the bakery. Also buy a wrap & drinks to go, for lunch. Set off to follow the Mundal 4wd track towards Walpole.

There's a track waypoint at the start of a road and the next wp is on another road. How to get from one to the other ? No explanation in the notes. So we follow the obvious road -- even though it is signposted, No through traffic.

We are on a road through farms. Lots of gates to either side, leading to paddocks and, once, to a gravel pit. The more obvious road takes us to a closed gate... we turn back. Take another track... till we reach an overgrown paddock. It looks as though a farmer could drive through it, we choose to turn back.

It's beautiful country: rolling hills, green, cleared paddocks with some remaining bush. A very nice house in a valley, a road of red beech(?) trees as their driveway.

We drive through this beautiful country and back to the bitumen road. Perhaps we should follow the edge of the national park ?

That road -- gravel, probably intended as a firebreak but an easy drive -- goes between farm & forest. After a few km we finally reach the next waypoint. It's Stan Road. There is a sign, Road closed.

Back to the bitumen. Forget the 4wd track. Deb navigates. There's a racehorse goanna slowly ambling across the road. We slow, stop to watch him get off the road.

The 4wd track shows a loop through Mt Lindesay NP, we turn into the park. It's an easy drive, solid sand, just a few dips and bumps. Three kangaroos hop onto the road, see us, hop across in more of a hurry. We pass the other end of Stan Road, no sign here that the road is closed.

The loop goes to Mt L. itself -- except that when it turns onto Mt L. Road -- the road is closed. Back to the bitumen.

btw: In Albany I said that we had found a cache at the top of Mt Something; I may have named the wrong Mt. Not to worry, true facts have very little influence on my travel journals.

By now we are closer to Denmark (where we started) than Walpole. The road we are on is the Denmark Mt Barker Road. We don't want either town. Deb finds an unsealed road... well, a series on unsealed roads that end up on Nornalup Road. Which does seem to lead to Nornalup. Which is on the highway near Walpole.

There's a emu in a paddock. Then some more... then lots more. Seems to be an emu farm. Is that a collar round each emu neck ?

It's a very nice drive to Nornalup. And it's a great relief to finally reach a highway which is near to our destination. We turn towards Walpole...

... and divert to the Valley of the Giants. We cruise to the main parking area but don't stop, we're not into treetop walks. The trees themselves -- from ground level -- are amazing enough. We don't see any valley. Well worth the detour.

We agree that it's been an excellent day's drive. Pity that we couldn't make sense of the 4wd track notes. Lucky Deb found interesting roads for us to follow.

Finally... we reach Walpole. We're looking for the address of our motel when -- there it is. Right on the highway. Easy :-)

Our room is simple, neat, quite large. As we close the door there is a beep beep beeping from outside. I open the door, the beeping stops. Open, silence. Close, beep beep beep. Finally, it stops. Later, we try again: open... close, beep beep beep, open... Then it stops, silence at last. We decide that it was really cheep, cheep, cheep... a bird, with a call which sounds annoyingly like an alarm going off.

"Town" is a couple of hundred metres down the road, we drive. Buy milk to support our tea & coffee habits. The visitors centre sells second-hand books, I buy one. There's a cache nearby. We look -- briefly. It's somewhere on a "bobtail", a large metal thing used for hauling logs. Too many sharp rusty metal edges for us to search for a small magnetised cache. I note the cache as "LMO" -- large metal object. We never try too hard on an LMO.

We have dinner in the motel restaurant. The waitress is a sweet young thing, new to waitressing, very uncertain, has to come back a couple of times for more information. All part of the enjoyment of the evening.

Coffee in our room. Now we're relaxing. TV, books, crossword & journal. Aaaahhh... just sitting... relaxing :-)

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

I had a dream... or two

I have a dream... Yep, another, typically weird dream. This time I do remember a bit of it:

We are being invaded by aliens. The aliens are either shape-shifters or body-snatchers. Either way, they look like us: human, often people we recognise. Luckily, we -- me and a small group of friends -- can tell alien from human.

Who are these friends ? No idea, totally unfamiliar. All I know is that I am not alone. And that we are destroying the aliens, one by one. With a lot of running through city streets, leaping out of tall buildings, bashing and burning. It's a typical dream style: lots of action to keep my real self warm, lots of distraction to keep my mind off the need to wake up and go to the toilet. Unusual -- and nice -- to have the help of friends.

We have destroyed all the aliens in our area. Taking a rest, preparing to go to another area where we know there will be more aliens... And I wake up.

What does it all mean ?

It would be nice to think that I am dreaming of fighting -- and beating -- cancerous cells. With help from friends. Clearing one area though accepting that the the fight will continue in another area.

Or, I could simply be reading too many alien invasion stories in fantasy and science fiction... Nooo... I like to think that my mind has taken the science fiction and applied it to reality. Winning the current battles and ready to continue the long-term war :-)

===

Another recent dream has me flying away from an unidentified enemy. As I turn a corner -- out of sight of the enemy -- I dive my flying machine directly down under the ocean. Safely out of sight.

The being-chased theme could be more of the battle against disease. The idea of flying then diving -- I could tell you exactly which SF book inspired that :-)

And again: another alien battle. In this dream I -- and I alone -- have discovered how to teleport. I teleport in amongst the anonymous enemy, battle a bit, teleport out to safety.

These are occasional dreams, perhaps one or two a week. With a common theme: battle against a very powerful enemy. On the one hand, I never win the war. On the other hand, I am never badly hurt and I always -- in the short-term -- escape to safety.

So... nyah nyah nyah to the bad guys :-)

===

As I wake up I have this strange thought, a fully-formed bon mot:

"I don't have the super-power to see the future. But at least I can see to the edge of the bed."

Make of that what you will...

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

a day in Albany

Correction: our cottage is not unchanged. Rather, the original cottage is a clear part of the current structure.

There is a two-room cottage made up of bedroom and other room. The "other" room has -- perhaps had originally -- a fireplace, the room may have been living / kitchen / anything else. There was (I believe) a verandah front and back.

The front verandah is still there, with a view past the Entertainment Centre and across the harbour. We're on Frederick St, btw. #26. The back verandah is now kitchen, dining room, bathroom. With a second bedroom added on the side.

All walls look the same from inside. Well lined, nicely painted. The older walls are more solid, brick or stone. There is an online reference to "an 1800s cottage", that would be the older part. I suspect it was all thoroughly restored, relatively recently.

===

We have two full days in Albany. Day one, we tested the start of the 4wd track. Learnt enough that we will bypass a lot of the start of the track.

Today we explore the town. Sorry, the city.

Deb has decided the we should walk along Middleton Beach to Emu point. It's a beautiful day for a beach walk: cool but breezy. After a few km I ask Deb, Is this walk to replay childhood memories, or is it because she has always wished to do the walk ? It's quite a long walk.

Nearly 5km along the beach and we finally reach the Emu Point cafe. Just in time, a drizzly rain starts. No worries, we sit inside with an iced coffee, a pot of tea, a shared white chocolate brownie -- a "blondie". Delicious :-)

We walk back. The wind is howling in off the sea. The drizzle is light, intermittent. We start by walking along a sealed track, sheltered from the wind. The flies also appreciate the shelter.

By a strage coincidence it is also nearly 5km to walk back... We feel that we have done our exercise and can relax for the rest of the day. After, that is, walking a bit extra to find a geocache.

We find one cache on the walk out. We fail to find the one at the end of our walk. But we do find a few more, as we drive round town.

First, though, we have lunch. At the Three Anchors cafe at Middleton Beach, the start & end point for our beach walk. Shared fish & chips. Nice.

Our afternoon driving starts down by the docks. We check the giant seahorse painting on the silos, impressive. An unexpected cache by the water's edge, an unfound cache near a sculptural windvane on the mole protecting the marina. Couldn't find that cache but we're glad to have found the sculpture.

Then around Mt Clarence. Up to the top, wander round, find a cache. Admire the views over Frenchmans Bay and the rubbish tip. We also find a cache in a small park called something like Cooija, the Friendly Place. (Or something.) Enormous granite rocks, a bit of lawn, seats, bush. The sort of place which we would never find if not for geocaching.

Enough ! We drive home and collapse with tea & coffee and... doing as little as possible. I sleep for a bit. It's a bit chilly, Deb gets the gas fire lit.

Dinner is caneloni that we had picked up at IGA the other day. Very nice.

An evening spent relaxing. I may be early to bed...

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

4wd track test

We have two full days in Albany. Today, we test-drive the 4wd track...

Saturday night I crash early to bed, about eight o'clock. Wake up at 6am, get up just a bit later. Our plan is to drive to Elleker -- where the track ends -- and follow the track (in reverse) to Denmark. An easy, not too long drive. Testing the track and the track notes.

No rush. We set off after 8:30. Buy coffee at Elleker, head from there at 9:15.

It should be possible to see the track on our gps, that doesn't work, not sure why. Some of the track shows, not today's section. Not to worry, all the waypoints are there. Deb follows the track notes -- in reverse. I watch the gps map and head towards waypoints. It's all quite easy.

Every so often I adjust the tyre pressure, let some air out. I don't have a particular pressure to aim for, I just drive, let out some air, drive a bit more -- until the ride feels smooth enough.

It takes several stops to let out enough air. Not that the track is rough... The truck was recently serviced, I just can't believe how too-hard the tyres have been pumped. In fact they are so hard that I had to let out air on the highway to Albany. It takes several stops to get the tyres down to a comfortable pressure.

Another test of the system: the gps shows track waypoints in red and geocaches in purple. There are two caches just 3km off the track, we drive to them.

Very nice spot -- we have found the Hay River. Never heard of it before, the caches are at camp/picnic spots by a large pool on the river. We get close but fail to find either cache...

The first cache is -- presumably -- in the bush near the parking space. The bush is wet, we don't want to get wet, we give up. At the second cache, someone is camped. We don't want to disturb them. So, back to the 4wd track, caches unfound.

The bush is wet ? Yes... it's been drizzling rain all morning. Annoying drizzle, I'm constantly turning the wipers on and off. A bit of a worry: this track is said to get boggy when wet.

Down a sand track which is interestingly rough. Then a series of "wombat holes" which we could handle -- but, beyond those -- a nasty bit of bog.

I step across the bog -- and sink in. I think we could drive across with at least two wheels tracking on solid ground, two in the mud. Can we do it ? Probably. But that's not good enough. (a) I don't take risks with just the two of us in the one truck. (b) The track notes mention more bog and two river crossings still to come.

We turn back.

Past those geocache sites. We stop for lunch -- a very pleasant spot looking over the river. We eat in the truck, it's still drizzling rain. We don't look for the caches.

There are some mapped tracks following the river, that would lead to a later point in the track waypoints. By going beside the river for a few km we could cross that river on a sealed road.

Wrong ! The river-following track has bog holes. Okay, we may be able to hug the edge of the track and squeeze by. Again, we don't. We turn back.

Back to the highway, along the scenic drive back to Albany. It's a nice drive. It's not the 4wd track. We managed to follow perhaps 50km of the planned 160.

We spend the afternoon sitting in our cottage. Reading. Relaxing. Listening to the rain.

Evening, we decide to go out for dinner. "Rustlers". It seems to be an American franchise. Friendly -- almost smarmy -- staff, food is good. We share ribs and share dessert. Then set off to look for the lights.

There is a WW I memorial light display at the top of Mt Clarence. Takes us a while to find our way but it is worth the visit. Very atmospheric as long as we avoid the loud talkers and shouting children. There's a chill wind but the rain has stopped.

We appreciate the display then head back to the cottage.

Somewhat disappointing test of the track. On the other hand... This section is (I think) the only part with boggy bits. And -- as we travel north -- the weather will improve. Deb has checked the next part of the track notes, only one bog hole. And it seems that we can drive around that one.

Tomorrow we stay round Albany. Next day we try the next section of track.

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

it's another holiday :-)

Today, this blog shifts back to its original intent: a holiday journal. We are on holiday, a few days in Albany then driving home -- via 4wd tracks. Civilised, though... no camping.

The Mundaring to Albany ("Mundal") track is newly defined, various 4wd tracks linked, where necessary, by ordinary roads. The Mundal Track runs -- no surprise -- from Mundaring to Albany.

We will travel the track in reverse, starting from Albany. There are track notes in the form, "TR" at a given latitude/longitude. No worries with the lat/long, all waypoints are in the GPS. Deb -- as navigator -- will need to translate TR for north-to-south travel to whatever it is when driving south to north. Lucky Deb is a good navigator.

We set off on Friday but the fun really starts on Thursday:

I start loading the truck (ie our 4wd Prado). Just a few odds and ends, either straight into the truck or onto the family room floor, waiting to be loaded. Two days till we leave, on Saturday.

Deb goes to the hairdresser. Just as she's returning home, I'm taking the cat to have an ultrasound. Yes, we're going on holiday and the cat is sick. I spend an hour with the cat at the vet hospital. Deb, meanwhile, is off having lunch with a friend.

Later in the afternoon the vet phones. The cat has no internally visible problems. An earlier urine sample shows no infection. So it's an unpronounceable name for inflammation of the bladder. Daily medication is required. Deb phones Tim, who will be looking after the cat while we are away.

In the evening we have a bit of time to think about what we will need to take with us.

Friday, we look after our grandson. We drop him at home an hour earlier than usual, this gives us time to pack. Deb starts packing clothes, I spend ten minutes and have my own clothes packed. My more important role is to pack the electronics...

GPS for in-car navigation: good maps but battery good for only ten minutes, only good when plugged into car power. GPS for geocaching, multi-day batteries but no proper map. Oh, and a wrist-watch GPS in case we walk any long distances. We have no intention to walk anywhere at all. (Okay, *I* have no intention to walk.)

Tablet for this blog, for emails, for Deb to watch videos -- when I don't need the tablet. Mobile hot-spot for the tablet. Various plugs and wires for recharging. Deb's camera, recharge then pack. My camera, with spare batteries. I shave, then pack the shaver with its recharger. Phew.

There's a bit of food to be packed. Not much, we intend to eat in towns. Except for lunches, which will be between towns. Either sandwiches bought at the start of each day, or pot noodles... there is a small gas cooker in the truck. And I fill up the large "fitted" water tank, just in case.

Deb watches some television, I play World of Warcraft... then, an early night.

Saturday: no great rush to leave, we are just driving down the highway to Albany. Deb finishes her packing. I load everything into the truck. Breakfast... cat medication squeezed over the cat's food, she seems to accept it... we leave at about 8:30.

Our plan is to drive to Albany, stay there for three nights. We'll spend one day on the track, 4wd-ing, then back to Albany. A "free" day in Albany. Then get back on the 4wd track... with accommodation booked at two towns that the track crosses. Once I told Deb that we could stay in comfortable accommodation she would not allow me to pack a tent. So... no emergency back-up, we must reach those towns. No worries... I hope.

First stop on the drive is to refuel, 100 litres of diesel. Then we follow the highway.

We stop at Bannister for morning coffee and a berry crumble, very nice. The Bannister roadhouse has an excellent selection of bakery items.

We stop for a light lunch at the Black Cockatoo cafe in Kojonup. We like to stop regularly, to stretch our legs. My legs, really, since I'm the driver.

The bakery just off the highway at Mt Barker has a mouth-watering selection of bakery items... pity we are not after food :-( They are also playing a video of the food being made -- in-house, by hand. Mmmm... All we buy is coffee and tea to take away. It is so hot that it is at drinking temperature when we reach Albany. Just as well, due to a mis-communication Deb's coffee is black. She adds milk once we have reached our accommodation.

Our accommodation is a small cottage within a kilometre of town centre. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, dining, lounge, verandah. Perhaps a hundred years old, cleaned and painted but no major refurbishments. We park the truck in a carport next to the house -- sheltered from the occasional drizzling rain -- find the key & let ourselves in.

It's beautiful... not flash but, well, beautiful. I like older cosy rather than modern sterile. It sleeps five or six but the living areas would be crowded with more than just us two. Specially since Deb & I each claim an entire two-person couch. The verandah is above a road, regular traffic but not too bad, from inside we can hear but not see the traffic. The advertised "sea view" is there... but not extensive.

And so we are in Albany. Resting, reading, writing. We need to go to the shops to buy milk, Deb has decided that we will buy a frozen pizza to heat-and-eat at home.

Time to go out and find a shop...

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

minor matters

In some matters, my grandson & I are passing each other... For both of us, going to the toilet is a hot topic for discussion. Both of us have moments when we must rush to the toilet: grandson when he was too excited to go earlier, me when I'm hit by a rush of urgent need.

Grandson will get better at toilet management; a few years from now he will be as capable and self-managed as anyone. In a few years... I could be worse. We are at a common stage, passing each other -- in different directions :-)

Years ago I recognised that running is good for the digestion. A long run will -- as my mother would have said -- get me moving. Well, I moved very rapidly after the weekend's trail run ! Now, all is back to normal. It seems that all my activity was pre-run nerves and post-run... get-up-and-go movement.

Incidentally: out of 225 people on that trail run, I beat two of them ! Yeehaa ! :-)

===

Did I document my new cancer-related feeling ? Not anger, not misery, not one of the standard reactions. I just have a feeling of, This is ridiculous... Brain cancer ? aggressive ? terminal ? What a ridiculous situation !

===

Google mail has gone mad... I'm getting apologetic messages about my last post, google says that it has not been delivered but more attempts will be made. Yet that post is well and truly posted, I can see it on the blog.

If the last post ("going back a bit") appears twice -- blame it on an obsessive compulsive but confused piece of mail software.

===

A while ago I posted a link to this blog onto a Cancer Council discussion site  (https://onlinecommunity.cancercouncil.com.au/t5/Facing-end-of-life/bd-p/endoflife). I thought, other people with cancer may like to read one person's views. I planned to post the link then forget about it. One blog at a time !

Then there were four replies. With four different views of the cancer experience. My approach is to post, get it off my chest, stop thinking of the latest issue, feel better, carry on... but I think I should reply to those comments on the cancer council site. Just so I can stop thinking about those four replies :-)

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

going back a bit

It's a few days since my latest all-clear. Time to fill in some details... what few I can remember.

A correction: Whatever part of my brain I may have said had a tumour… the surgery was a "right parietal-occipital craniotomy". That's what it says on the scan results. I read a bit about that bit of brain, in Wikipedia.

Can't find the article now... but I do remember one function that was mentioned: navigation. So that's why I don't win at orienteering ! Not because I'm slow, just because the cancer affects my navigation. Hmmm... no... I don't think that's the excuse. I'm just slow.

=== 

Before getting the scan results: Deb & I are, of course, nervous. I also have a strange feeling of... certainty. I think of it as superstitious learning (it's not): the previous scan was clear therefore this next scan will be clear. Not really learning. More self-delusion.

It sounds positive: "knowing" that this scan will be clear. I don't like it. The more positive I feel before the result -- the bigger the potential let-down. So I treat it like feeling nervous, I avoid the extremes and move towards calmer, only slightly nervous anticipation. With a mildly hopeful expectation.

The scan results -- are good :-) Both Deb & I are pleased. Not, however, over-the-moon. Why not ? I have another three months to live ! But I am still tied to a three-monthly cycle of scans. When one fails -- it's back to cancer treatment. It's back to the expectation of imminent death.

The scan results are excellent news. I still have cancer, still hidden.

===

No worries :-) We carry on with a busy weekend. Toy library on Saturday morning. Orienteering in the afternoon. I do a short course, I have a trail run tomorrow.

Sunday, I'm up at 4:15am. I could have taken another half hour in bed but like to be early for an organised run. This one is at Yanchep, I'm there as the organisers are starting to give out the bibs, the chest numbers. An hour to wait till the start.

Another reason I like to be early: plenty of time to go to the toilet. Three times.

I claim that my digestive process is back to near-normal but this morning is ridiculous. Three lots of good quality poo in one early morning. My poo-processing goes in fits and starts: nothing for a day or two then a burst of action over a couple of hours. Normal pre-run nerves starts the process. As long as it is all clear before the run, I'm happy.

Yes, no problems during the run. Oh, okay, I do stop running... twice... to pee in the bushes. That's just normal.

The run is fun. Fourteen kilometres round the lake. Four hundred runners. I start near the end of the pack and end even further back. It's my slowest ever pace for a trail run. Not to worry... I'm back to my aim from my very first trail runs: the aim is to complete the course, time is irrelevant. And I do finish :-)

On the way home I buy a Christmas tree, a real tree. The tree farm is near Yanchep, I phone Deb to get the address, I use the GPS to guide me. The GPS tries to guide me on a 100km trek through the city... I reset it and try again. Much better.

===

Post-scan. I may not be over-the-moon. But I am cheerful. It's a good weekend. Just one oddity:

After lunch, still in post-run recovery (which I stretch out all afternoon and evening). A sudden rush to the toilet, the sort of rush that will not be denied. This time it's not normal, it's closer to diarrhoea… but black. Very strange. Oh well, it passes (lol).

Now I'm awake for a couple of appointments this (Monday) morning. First, to the GP. I liike to see her after a scan, share the good (so far) news. And to talk with a doctor who is not all-cancer.

Cancer does not stop other medical issues. My non-cancer medical needs are minor. The GP froze off a wart that was annoying me. Today I will ask her to check my ears, they feel full of wax. Minor stuff. But the GP is a good listener.

Then to get my hair cut. It's grown out from the post-radiation shaved look, ready to be cut. I've been waiting... If the scan showed fresh cancer I planned for a clean shave, clear the scalp before radiation cleared it for me. With a clear scan -- I will be asking for a "proper" hair cut.

Breakfast, doctor, hair cut. Then a relaxing day... Deb is on holiday, so I can relax and watch her work in the garden :-)

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====
   

clear again :-)

Phew ! Another scan, another all-clear... I'm "cancer-free" for another three months. Quite a relief, for both me and Deb.

Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper

...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved

===

"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs

===

Dying for you to read my blog, at https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/ :-)

it's not just me

I'm not the only one with stressotoxin build-up as the scan date approaches. Deb confessed to "a restless night" before my latest scan. After more than forty years marriage I can tell the difference between a restless night and lying awake in the middle of the night.

When I was first pronounced "sick" and was suffering under the necessary treatment, Deb had many sleepless nights. Now she is sleeping normally -- usually -- again. Worried but not letting it *over* stress her. That's good.

===

I'm still waiting on the latest results. Not so much worried as ... restless. Can't settle to anything. Just picking away at a few things that I need to do. Reading, playing, reading, eating, playing. I'm in the middle of reading two books, the final Harry Potter and the non-Potter book by Rowling. Enjoying them both but... I read a few chapters, get restless, do something else. Get tired of other things, read another chapter or two... Restless, can't settle to any one thing.

===

Yesterday: At the playground, watching the grandson. A mother notices my polo shirt and asks about the motto: "Enjoy Life, three months at a time". First time anyone has asked. What do I say ? The first bit is easy.

"I get my head scanned every three months. If I am clear of cancer then I can Enjoy Life for another three months. If the cancer is back..."

I hesitate for just a fraction. "If the cancer is back then I'm dead. Or dying. Or something..." Oh, drat, a rapid backtrack, that was a bit abrupt. I hope she is not too upset :-( What should I have said ? I should, at least, have prepared an answer in advance.

Next time -- if the question is asked a next time -- I shall try, "If the cancer is back then it's another round of treatment. Sigh :-( So, meanwhile, I have three months to Enjoy Life :-)" There, that sounds better...

Of course when the question was asked I was down to enjoying life for just three *days*. In just a few days I will be starting another three months in which to Enjoy Life. And that's something to be glad about...

Or not, as the case may be :-)

====    Dr Nick Lethbridge  /  Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
===

"Real people don't make very good politicians." … Ginger Meggs
===

dying for you to read my blog: notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au :-)
====