Today I wanted to go to church. But I didn’t. I stayed at home.
Attending church is important to me. I am a spiritual person and I enjoy the weekly opportunity to worship the Divine, to pause, reflect and celebrate life and praise a God who I have a relationship with. It is a time where I connect with others who share the same faith or are seeking answers or desiring connection. It is a social network and a treasured community of people.
Today, and for the past several weeks, I have chosen to stay away from this place that plays such a significant role in my life.
The church has long been regarded as a place of safety. A place where the pursued could retreat, the battered be repaired, the anxious could receive peace. But today, for me, I felt that at church there was a sinister threatening shadow that might jeopardise my safety.
Let me clarify, that I believe the leadership in my church, like many churches worldwide, are willing to comply with health directives to keep people safe and have instructed people to wear masks and maintain the required physical distancing.
Covid has reached Queensland and it is spreading like wildfire. I am one of the “lucky” cancer patients who is not currently immuno-compromised. However due to long years of treatment, my immune system is weakened compared to others. I need to receive immunotherapy treatment every three weeks. This week is treatment week. Treatment is undoubtedly prolonging my life. If I contracted covid, I would miss treatment, which could have dire consequences.
Today I chose to avoid church, because even though I’m vaccinated, there is still a chance I will contract covid, due to the nature of this beast. I know that the statistics show that should I contract it, my chances of being very ill and requiring hospitalisation are low due to being vaccinated, but even a mild case could cause a deadly domino effect for me and possibly others. For instance I could have caught the virus at church, had no symptoms then unwittingly arrived at hospital carrying the virus. I do not want to be the person walking into a chemotherapy room and find out via the compulsory rapid antigen test before treatment begins that I had unknowingly brought Covid to the chemo ward.
I am not living in fear and completely sealing myself off from the world. I go to the shops for essential shopping. I have eaten out less, but there has been some times that I have ventured to an eating establishment for a special occasion. (I must say I do feel safer being able to take my mask off knowing that everyone needs to be vaccinated to be in that room, otherwise I would not be eating out.) I am staying home more and being very cautious when venturing out to be quick, choose less busy times or outdoor options. I am being very wary and limiting how I am socialising.
Today I considered it too risky to sit in a building for several hours with a large group of people, including a significant contingent of unvaccinated, and as it turned out, with people ignoring mask rules and not being careful about distancing.
There are many loudly voiced opinions about the vaccine and about the right to have freedom of choice. The Queensland government, (along with governments the world over), have been making rules which keep shifting and changing to deal with the pandemic. Goal posts keep changing as new medical information surfaces. Some interpret this as contradictory rather than merely a response to a changing situation and evolving research. There are political decisions being made to protect people, as well as some political decisions that don’t make sense and are hurting people and businesses in our society. It is frustrating, I understand that. I don’t agree with everything that is going on.
I do support the freedom of my unvaccinated friends to make their choice.
It is said that freedom often comes at a cost. Today the cost of their freedom to make a choice and not get vaccinated, or for their choice to not wear masks, meant that today I was not able to enjoy my freedom of attending church. Their freedom was at the price of my freedom. Contracting Covid for me, and for many others, could have life altering repercussions on our health. The experts would say, and the numbers of unvaccinated in hospitals show, that it can have life altering repercussions on their health too, but that is another rabbit hole to disappear down.
People can believe the minority of doctors, nurses, scientists and social media experts who espouse all types of theories about vaccinations. They can wait to have the vaccine at some other magical point in time when they feel it is “safe”, despite the worldwide success the vaccine has already heralded. They can read the sad stories about those who have endured negative side effects (and ignore the statistics on how many people who this actually happens to) and state this as a reason to avoid being vaccinated.
However as a member of the community who has a chronic illness, your freedom is affecting my freedom. Your freedom affects the freedom of my friends who have cancer and who do have compromised immune systems. It affects the freedom of those with disabilities and medical conditions. When unvaccinated people fill the hospital beds and elective surgeries are cancelled, the freedom of so many more people will be limited. It goes on and on.
Freedom comes at a price. Today I paid some of that price. I paid a meagre pittance compared to many others during this time of a global pandemic.
To be truthful, I don’t know exactly when I will feel entirely safe going to church while there is widespread community outbreak and vaccinated and unvaccinated mingling freely. I had considered going today, and being very careful. I really am missing going to church. When I heard about the unmasked people present, I was very glad I made the decision to stay at home.
It’s no surprise to me that there are differences of opinion within the church. While we share many common views, there will always be differences of opinion (religious or otherwise) within a group of people, even in a church. As individuals it is our job as Christians to share these respectfully and remain unified despite our different viewpoints.
I think the gospel should be preached to the vaccinated and unvaccinated equally. I do think that we need to care for one another by ensuring we hear messages from the church in safety. I know church leaders are trying to accomplish this through a variety of ways and I don’t underestimate the difficulties of being a leader during these times.
One of the Christian values I hold dear is caring for those weaker than yourself. In a society with foundational Judeo Christian values, there are many who are not Christians who agree with this value and seek to implement it.
Let’s consider the impact of our freedom during this time and consider how it may impact the freedom of someone who is weaker and vulnerable. Let’s take care and be considerate of one another.
On this day last week I went to a funeral for a 15 year old boy.
His name was Geoff. I loved that young man. I wasn’t the only one. He was an extraordinary human being. It was a heartbreaking moment three weeks ago when I received a phone call from a friend in tears telling me that Geoff had died that morning in a mustering accident. Writing is my balm so it is my natural inclination to use this method to record my own tribute of memories for him and my dear friend, Geoff’s mother, Allana.
The funeral was sad, yet it was positive. Even as I write this, that sentence sounds like a contradiction when you are talking about a funeral about a 15 year old boy. However as sad and as tragic as losing such a young life, this young man had such an assured faith in the message of salvation that I don’t think anyone who was at the funeral could have left without considering the positive components of the Christian faith, mostly that in death we can have certainty that as a believer that we will have eternity with our God.
Most people wouldn’t be arguing about the validity of heaven at a graveside. After all, even those who do not fully know embrace a faith do find a heavenly afterlife an appealing suggestion. But for it to be a certainty, to have a confident religious belief that makes both logical sense and for it to change your heart, to to have truly encountered the love of Jesus, you live life differently. You live it so differently that you make a difference in the world and in other people’s lives. Geoff, although young, had a full assurance of his faith and he lived his life differently to your typical teenage boy. He lived it remarkably, and that is why in our sadness, listening about the stories about that young man was such a positive experience.
Let me tell you my memories of Geoff.
Back in 2017 my eldest son, who was in year 5 at the time, made what I found to be an astonishing statement. “Mum, I’ve got a new friend that I’ve been sitting and talking to a lot at lunch time.” I might sound like a mean Mum saying that this was astonishing, but let’s just say I know my son. At that point in time he had his cousin who was his bestie since kindy (and before!) and his one best friend for the past 3 years, and they were always together like glue in what was and continues to be, a rock solid, meaningful friendship. But other children? They were in his orbit, but he didn’t talk about other children all that much.
But then he started talking about a new kid named Geoff. Geoff shared many of Jonty’s same loves: farms, the land, motorbikes and cattle. Jonty would come home chattering about the conversations he had with Geoff.
I can’t remember exactly the day I met Geoff, but I can remember meeting his mother Allana. I know I had met Geoff beforehand and had already verified my suspicions that he was a nice kid, the type of kid who was confident and had a beaming smile that made his eyes sparkle. To Jonty’s delight we changed swimming lesson days and suddenly we were sitting waiting for lessons and there was Geoff also. I was standing poolside one day when a lady approached me and introduced herself as Geoff’s mum and told me that their family were praying for me everyday. This was the year that I discovered that I had cancer. Geoff had heard about this at school and come home and told his family and they all started praying for us. A family they didn’t really know at all. I was so humbled, moved and grateful.
Allana told me how they drove past our house most days and every time Geoff would get excited and tell her that it was his friend Jonty’s house and could they pop in. Knowing Geoff so much better now, I could just hear how enthusiastic his pleas would have been to do this. I’m so glad that when I heard this I told her they should come over and invited them over for playdates. When they did, I fell in love with Geoff and his family a little bit more. His Dad, Darren was quieter than Geoff and Allana. But he was still easy to talk to and had depth as well as a sense of humour and an easy going nature. Alex got along with him really well. Geoff’s two younger brothers were adorable little fellows, also quieter than their big brother. I’d started getting to know them on swimming lesson days and they were soft and sensitive little fellows. Geoff’s little brother Tommy even though quiet could still be a little chatterbox but has a beautiful soft and kind heart and Callum is a shy, but happy and content, little fellow and would happily join in playing with my children.
One day we were waiting beside the carpark at school and Allana commented that we had a mutual friend that Darren used to hang out with their children during his homeschooling days. Knowing the ages of those children, I commented she must be way younger than me. She seriously replied, that she is not that young at all, she’s over 30. My mouth closed as then I tried to stifle a giggle as I informed her that I was over 40. Her eyebrows shot up and her mouth opened but thankfully making no comment on my elderly status! Despite the age difference our friendship blossomed during poolside chats and continued as our children played enthusiastically with one another in between swimming lessons and our families would visit one another’s houses and the kids would run around like wild things playing tag, finding wood to burn bonfires and generally doing things that active boys, and one active girl, do.
From those final years of primary school and beyond I have so many lovely memories of Geoff. Always, always those memories are accompanied by a contagious beaming smile and the enthusiastic sound of his voice. Geoff, spending his birthday money buying not only himself lollies for his birthday but also the other children. Geoff, playing hide and seek in the garden, possibly the only times I can remember him remaining quiet, in his excellent hiding spots, but being a very loud seeker! Geoff, having been unable to clear a high jump bar and knocked out early in a sports competition, but had positioned himself behind the mat and was cheering all the other students on. (No matter which house they were in, although he did cheer particularly loudly for Graham house.) Every time a child would clear the bar he would be in a wild state of elation, jumping, cheering, whooping with the enthusiasm of an Australian Olympic swimming coach. Celebrating the efforts of others. This is one of the clearest memories I have of Geoff the encourager. I keep hearing from other students that Geoff the encourager is a common and widespread theme.
I remember sitting one afternoon for a couple of hours in my dining room helping him write his final speech as primary boy house captain. He had excellent ideas and scriptures for what he wanted to communicate to the primary school but just needed some help with structure and grammar. He spoke about Phar Lap, how he never gave up and how his heart was so large and how that helped him be a winner. I think Geoff himself had a heart larger than Phar Lap’s. I also remember that afternoon Jonty being most disappointed when Allana came to pick up Geoff because in his opinion Geoff had spent far too long with me and he had things he wanted to show Geoff around the farm. Luckily for Jonty and Geoff, Allana and I never did a quick pick up. So they happily ran off while we both chatted, which is what Allana and I do best. During the Year 6 graduation I was so proud of the way my neice Corinne who was the girl’s primary school captain and Geoff presented their speeches. Up until that point, I had never heard year 6 students present speeches to such a high quality.
I have more memories of Geoff participating in public speaking when he enrolled in a Toastmasters course that my sister and I ran while Jonty and Geoff were in year 7. Unlike my own child, who was softly spoken and a bundle of nerves, (although he did improve), Geoff was confident and showed a natural speaking ability. He shone during impromptu speeches and as an MC. During the final celebratory meeting when all the parents were invited my sister and I decided to choose the little year 7 boy as Toastmaster (MC) of the evening’s proceedings, even though there were students represented from every year level up to year 12. Geoff’s easy going nature and his friendly manner made him the natural choice despite his age. He had the ability to connect with an audience and to put the upcoming speakers at ease.
Although Jonty had made friends with Geoff at school and for awhile there in the beginning it looked like he might join Jonty’s school bestie crowd, it turned out that they were closer friends outside school. Allana has always said how funny it is that they got to know each other at school yet it was outside of school when they would be best mates. She has said it several times over the years and I can remember once we were at their place and I looked over as she commented. There were the two boys sitting so close to one another they were practically one person, dirt smeared over their faces from being outside in the paddock, heads touching together as they were watching memes on Geoff’s phone and laughing. It was just one of those motherly heartwarming moments. Jonty was an avid handball player and couldn’t imagine lunchtimes without handball. Geoff was not a handball fanatic and so they remained friends but it took a few more years before Geoff found his own bestie, Harry.
Even though Geoff and Jonty didn’t always hang out at school, they would catch up when we were able to. The Bertrams had a busy social life being very involved in their local church and having a very strong extended family network. Whenever we could work out a time the whole family would be excited. If it was just Geoff coming, the younger kids would be as excited as any celebrity that might come our way. Geoff always found time for the little kids, sometimes it was to Jonty’s annoyance. I can remember him complaining bitterly once over how much the kids jumped over Geoff and that it was embarrassing. They would even be more excited if we were catching up with the whole family. I had bumped into Allana in the shopping centre on the Thursday before Geoff died. She had made a meal for us because I was doing radiation and feeling a bit fatigued. I told her that we would far prefer to eat it with them if they were free. She agreed to do that, and then hesitated and said that Darren was thinking of going out to a relative’s property that they loved. She said she wasn’t sure they were going to, so she’d get back to me. That night I mentioned that I’d seen Mrs. Bertram and maybe we would have dinner with them on Saturday. Jonty’s head shot up from his dinner and his face beamed with excitement. The kids started bouncing in anticipation. Then I reiterated the word “might” and said that they may go out to the farm. The kids became quite matter of factly resigned at that point and decided that the farm would be a far greater drawcard, especially for Geoff. Oh, how I wish that we had that dinner.
The family had made it to the farm, at Geoff’s insistence and enthusiasm, working very hard the day before to make it happen for the family, who had a busy week. The next morning they made their way to the farm and on the way Geoff had a jubilient moment singing loudly about the glorious day when God would lead him into the promised land. It was not long later that he was in his Heavenly Father’s hands.
Our house has heard a lot of memories about Geoff being told over the past few weeks. And also so many reflections indicating how inspirational Geoff’s life has been. The memories of Geoff may be bittersweet, but they make us happy. The day after the funeral Jonty commented how he feels happier just hearing so many stories of how great Geoff is. One of the things Jonty has been sad about is the fact that finally he had been starting to find more times to connect with Geoff at school. He’s also found the conversation has flown more freely. Once Jonty is on a roll he is incredibly eloquent. But he can also be a bit socially awkward. I can remember in primary school him coming home and declaring that he needed to head out to Grandad’s farm. I asked why and he replied, “Because I need some more stories to talk to Geoff about!” By the end of last year and into this year it seems Jonty is finally cementing the art of small talk. It really is a learned skill for some people! Even Geoff had noticed it and had commented about how it was getting easier to talk to Jonty to Allana. I will always be appreciative that Geoff was the type of fellow that could maintain a meaningful friendship that they both valued even though there were awkward moments.
They were always best together when there was something to do. There is an agricultural show called “Farm Fest” in our local area. Allana and I would always pull our kids out of school and take them for a day. Part of their agricultural education. We would always try to coordinate times to meet up. It only happened once, and even then we left Jonty with the Bertrams because we had to get some other kids to soccer training. It was Jonty’s happiest Farm Fest ever. He also brought home the most loot ever. Geoff was far more bold than Jonty and would approach vendors with confidence asking if there was anything they would give away. Jonty came home with a plethora of caps, rulers, stickers, pens, etc.
Late last year they had started riding their motorbikes around the property we lived together. They loved the increased sense of freedom and adventure. As a mother, I loved how responsible they were together. Having fun, but riding safely within their ability levels. (That was Jonty’s own words of assurance to me.)
In July, it was Jonty’s 15th birthday. A few weeks later it was Geoff’s. Jonty wanted to have a small group of mates over and camp down the back paddock.(He has extended his friendship net over the years!) It was so important to him that Geoff was there. Geoff with all his family and church commitments had missed a few of Jonty’s parties and Jonty had never quite got over the disappointment that he didn’t get to show Geoff his favourite farm out West during his 13th party. I checked the dates with Allana and then went ahead and luckily it lined up for his other friends as well. I always feel honoured when parents trust their children with me, so I had been messaging the mothers throughout the evening and sending photos. At one point I had said about how responsible all the young men were and I’m just so proud of the group of guys Jonty hangs out with. They were all so polite, they looked out for each other and were patient with the younger children. I did mention that Geoff was by far the loudest. I could almost see Allana rolling her eyes as she typed back, “He always is!” But everyone laughed the loudest when Geoff was around also.
One of the greatest gifts Jonty and Geoff gave me when they became friends was that I too gained a beautiful friend. Despite the age gap I have always got on so easily with Allana. We just get one another. Even if it’s that we get how hard it is to keep a house tidy! And oh my goodness, how we can talk. And yet at the end when we have to leave, I feel regret that there’s far more to say! When I received my diagnosis that the cancer was no longer in remission I had lunch with Allana a few weeks afterwards. She said that she had cried for a full week thinking about that diagnosis. In fact Darren had to take her aside and remind her that even though she’s sad for her friend she has three beautiful boys of her own and they need her too! I’ve thought a lot about that advice Darren has given over the past three weeks. (Even now as I need to take my glasses off while I type because the tears are fogging them up.) It is my turn to cry with and for her. With Darren’s wisdom echoing in my head I’ve cried my tears and still carried on caring for the family and trying to keep up with life. Even writing this blog has taken so much longer than I have wanted. I started with “Today I went to a funeral” “Today”, changed to “yesterday” which changed to “this week” until it is what you read above. I wanted to lock myself in a room and pour my heart out through my fingers, but the word, “Mum” kept interrupting me. If anything the past weeks have taught me is that it is a blessing to have your children every minute of the day because as wearying as the fighting and interruptions are, the unconditional love and joy of family togetherness is far greater.
My heart aches for the level of pain that Darren and Allana are experiencing along with Geoff’s little brothers. I am also in complete admiration for the way they have honoured their son’s memory and been an incredible witness of how much hope we have in God despite being in the midst of the darkest tragedy. Almost every time that I text or speak to Allana she says, “God has been so kind…” and then will tell a story of kindness that happened to her that day. It is a time when many parents facing similar circumstances might understandably raise their fists in their air and yell, “Why?” Yet Allana tells stories of how God has been beside them through every moment. Their faith in their God is inspirational. (I know I keep using that word, but the thesaurus has no suitable substitute.) They have illustrated that a sweet trust in God brings far more peace than raging and blaming God. (Although God still loves people through their rage and blame if that is what happens when they grieve.)
Allana and I at my birthday last year.
I know I will never miss Geoff as much as his family will. But I miss him incredibly. I also miss him on behalf of my boy. Last Sunday Jonty was talking to his grandfather and arranged to go to a bull auction with him. He was jumping around excitedly when he suddenly doubled over and groaned. I didn’t know what happened and how he had experienced such sudden pain. When he straightened up he said, “I just realised that I can’t tell Geoff about this tomorrow.” They had always shared a love of cattle. When Jonty got his first cow he was so proud to print a picture of her and trot off to school with it to show Geoff. At his 15th party, he was very proud to show Geoff a picture of her calves. Every time, Geoff examined the photos in detail, asked a bunch of questioned and always shared his trademark enthusiasm. I cry at the thought that Geoff isn’t looking out for Jonty anymore. I got a text from Allana early last year saying that Geoff was worried Jonty was being bullied. He wasn’t. Well, the kid was mean, but it was nothing Jonty couldn’t shrug off. His response was, “That kid bullies everyone Mum, including the teachers.” But it made me feel good knowing that Geoff was the type of friend looking out for a slightly, (even though he is getting better), awkward friend.
I knew that Jonty and Geoff had a friendship that was going to last the years. I grieve the thought that they won’t be getting their licenses around the same time, graduating, getting jobs, going out to one another’s farms (because they both would have been doing something on the land) and examining each others crops, cows or whatever industry they were involved in. I’m sad they won’t be at each other’s weddings or thanking God and rejoicing at baby dedications when their children were born. I know Geoff is in a better place. But, oh my. It hurts that he’s not on earth with us anymore.
Thank you for living 15 amazing years Geoff and for sharing them with us.
Here I sit. Again. Yes, I’ve been here before. In this room, sitting waiting. I’ve checked in to reception before. It all is so familiar. I’ve had the chat about the bill it will cost before. So I know that is yet to come. Even living in a country with good medical access and having insurance on top of that, staying alive is costly.
That’s what I’m trying to do. Stay alive. For a bit longer. Time. Sometimes you can buy time. How much would you pay for a few more …. ? Well I don’t even know what I am paying for. Days, months, years? What about minutes or hours, would you pay for those?
Of course there is prayer. It’s the free ticket out of here. I don’t think prayer is a lottery. But sometimes it feels like it. Oh, there’s people that will tell you that there are free tickets of healing are available to everybody. Which makes me relieved that my belief is that unanswered prayer is a mystery. Because otherwise, what have I done wrong? Why isn’t my free ticket working?
The God I worship loves infinitely. I have peace in the midst of my turmoil. A peace that divine love will still be present during the best case scenario of healing or the worst case scenario.
Someone told me that they were healed, “God is good!”, they exclaimed. I’m not healed. But God is still good. I believe that.
I haven’t given up hope though. I hope that the true statement is, “I’m not healed YET.”
The nurse is understanding. She can see that I’m a frequent flyer in the medical corridors. A patient used to conversations behind locked doors. Used to parroting my name, address, birthdate. I may be young but I have the demeanour of the long term patient. The innocent caught up in the criminal activity called cancer.
I sit. I wait. It is a surprise when you don’t have to wait. You learn how to become productive during waiting.
Time. I don’t want to waste the minutes. Being a stage IV cancer patient teaches you that life is precious. A realisation that is always there. But when your mortality feels precarious, you are aware all the more. Even still you find yourself wasting minutes. Fighting, scrolling, sighing, loss of concentration. Before I berate myself, I realise wasting time is being human. We all do it. I just want more time to waste. And even more time to live productively.
Photo taken this week after a long day in hospital corridors and medical offices. The sumptuous lambs wool red draped cardigan was kindly given to me by a friend on Sunday. I love it, plus such a beautiful gift makes me feel wrapped in love.
When Mum has cancer the whole family is affected. The house gets messy. The washing and ironing piles can tower. Waiting times increase when the children need things, whether it’s waiting for pair of pants to be mended or waiting for a new piece of school uniform to be purchased. Trips to the library, or other special places become less frequent. Special Mum and Dad time often slips off the agenda. The fridge can become a little more empty and the meals a little more simple. Events can be forgotten or missed. Mum might not be in the crowd watching as frequently as she once was. Sometimes life feels more sad than normal. Sometimes it can be easy to feel despondent. Tempers can fray. Tears come easily. The family can be living on the edge. Emotionally and physically.
While I was doing chemotherapy most of the above list was being checked most weeks. Sometimes beautiful friends and family would help and make sure things were happening for us. People cooked meals or gave vouchers for us to buy meals. My Mum and a friend helped with ironing. Family and friends looked after children. People came around and helped tidy the house. Practical help when you are dealing with a chronic illness is so appreciated.
Things may not be as bad right now. However it takes time to recover after an intense period of Mum being unwell. It is even more difficult to recover emotionally when there is no certainty of treatment ever stopping. Then there is times (like we’ve experienced recently) when a flare up occurs and Mum is out of action again. This time it was more briefly than last time, but things can quickly become discombobulated and emotions that have only just started to settle brim to the surface very quickly.
Unfortunately a month ago or so I started feeling really achey in every join in my body. It was starting to slow me down and I was finding it difficult to function in the mornings. The most unfortunate thing for my kids was I was allowing myself to be irritable and snappy. The tone in a household can be affected by any one person’s behaviour. But I find when Mum is crabby things deteriorate really quickly. It seems that our family’s default emotion is anger. We have really been struggling with a lot of angry little bodies, (OK, let’s be honest, the big bodies have been angry too!), to be truthful, for quite some time, family life has been really tough, and during the past month or so, even more so.
Fortunately my oncologist recognised my pain as a side effect from the immunotherapy I’m still receiving. Taking doses of Advil frequently and regularly has helped the arthritis get under control again. Now we’re working on getting the family to be calm again too.
I wish it was as easy as swallowing a pill to make us humans less reactive! Sometimes it is simply taking a break and slowing down filling a child’s love tank. After a particularly tumultuous weekend, one little fellow really wasn’t coping so yesterday he stayed home from school and had a “mental health day”.
It was day of going slow, apart from pumping through three loads of washing. (Which really is huge in our 11kg machine!) I was doing a little mending job and he was interested in the needle and thread so I taught him how to straight stitch and sew on buttons. It amazes me sometimes how children can find delight in simple things. He sat there for well over an hour sewing buttons onto a scrap of fabric. He then wanted to learn how to use the sewing machine, so we did that.
Learning to sew.
He ran around outdoors while I put the washing on, throwing the ball at me. He laughed hard at me as he tried to catch me out by throwing it at me when I wasn’t ready! He noticed the roses so we went down and picked some. We literally stopped and smelled the roses!
We put them in vases and he delighted in putting a little vase in his sister’s room for a surprise. When Dad came in for lunch he delighted being “an only child” for a little while having Mum and Dad to himself. He persuaded Dad to play table tennis with him for a little bit and then asked for my help to clean his room. (The issue that had brought him to a tumbling into a heap on Sunday afternoon.) We didn’t get it all tidied, but I know he felt supported that we can work on solving problems together.
Did it make family life perfect again? No. But things were just that little bit calmer yesterday. Including when the child in question lost his temper once the annoying siblings returned. But this time he was able to calm down much quicker than the day before. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves or our spouse or our children a pressure valve. We need to slow the pace and give them a chance to release steam safely so that it doesn’t burn the others.
Besides when is family life ever completely perfect? If you ever achieve it, it is only for a moment. An hour or two perhaps of bliss before the inevitable bickering starts or pressures of life and humdrum of living interferes.
When Mum has cancer the whole family is effected. Beauty can still be found in the chaos. Roses can be sniffed. Time can be spent together in the simplest of activities. In the forced going slow moments, family members can regain respect and feel cherished. When Mum has cancer families learn to support each other in the mess and support one another during the hardship. When Mum has cancer the family can exhibit a resilience of spirit that goes deeper than the outbursts and the pandemonium. When Mum has cancer love can still be found in the family. Even if you have to scratch a little below a layer of self protection.
PS. Some friends have been encouraging me to vlog. I don’t really know how to do it, but it feels like something nice to do at the moment, so I’m going to give it a go. One of the activities we were doing yesterday was fiddling around filming from my iPhone. We’re starting simple. Apologies to those who know how to do this properly. Feel free to send me advice! It will be full of mistakes but keep tuned to my Caitlin’s Happy Heart Facebook page or Instagram page. If I work out how to edit our day, I’ll post a YouTube link maybe in a few days time! (Plus like and subscribe if you want me to keep going, I’ll be looking for feedback to see if it’s worthwhile!)
At the end of 6 treatments of Etopside and Cisplatin chemotherapy I was feeling battered physically and exhausted emotionally. After the last treatment all the side effects increased and physically it took two weeks before I stopped feeling sick. Meanwhile throughout all these horrible feelings there was a prickling feeling of discomfort and concern about the inevitable scan at the conclusion of the treatment.
Scans are a necessary part of cancer treatment. We need them if the results are good or bad. But waiting for them. That’s when you get scanxiety. I think there is a sliding scale of how anxious you feel leading up to a scan. Generally I am fairly calm on the exterior, concerned on the interior but just trying to consider the possible options and keep on keeping on. However, I can be like a bear that’s poked if there is the slightest provocation.
At the end of this round of treatment I was expecting to see an improvement but I didn’t think the cancer would be completely gone, so in my head I was contemplating many different scenarios of what would happen next. I think this certainly increased the scanxiety I was feeling. The morning that I was going to the scan I was being particularly snappy with the children and then I paused and realised that I was probably more worried than I had realised about the upcoming scan.
Realising this helped me to calm down, however I probably didn’t handle it the right way! I explained to the child I was yelling at that I was worried about the PET scan I was having. He asked why I’d be worried, which I explained in simple terms, however even though I try to be honest but not create fear when I talk to the kids about cancer, this time I unintentionally transferred the scanxiety onto him. For the rest of the morning he proceeded to meltdown about everything! Cancer hits families, not just individuals.
Part of my concerns when it comes to scans is having the cannula put in and then during the CT part of a PET scan I can often experience intense pain as the dye is released into my body via the cannula. This time it wasn’t a smooth run with the cannula, it went straight in, but they had to use a vein I knew is painful and once the needle was in it was sitting near a nerve so it wasn’t comfortable. However it wasn’t painful during the scan, so hooray for small wins!
I’m sure the real information you are wanting to read is what the results were. Much better than I expected! The cancer in the centre of my chest and lungs has predominantly gone! Insert happy dance! There are three areas where the PET scan still show that there is some type of activity occurring. We will need to wait until the next scan to properly assess what is occurring. But for now I am finished with the chemo and feeling so much better for it!
I will continue to receive immunotherapy every three weeks. Hopefully this will deal with any remaining cancer and also be preventative for recurrence.
So for now I’m cautiously optimistic. I think you may need to have your own cancer experience to understand why there is a part of me that can’t fully celebrate. There has just already been too many twists and turns during this journey for me to reach the conclusion that I’ve entered the “live happily ever after” stage.
But right now, I’m enjoying that I’m not feeling so sick. I’m getting stronger and enjoying the extra energy that is allowing me to start catching up on some neglected tasks. My children and family have been so excited about the good report and it’s so comforting to see their spirits lifted.
As for scananxiety. Well, that’s lurking below the surface waiting for the results of the next scan. For now I acknowledge that I don’t know the future and that it could contain both good or bad. I know that either way I will deal with it and keep moving forward. Until then, I will keep loving life and enjoying all the blessings it contains.
It is the day before chemo. I have woken up too early. It’s a common occurrence for me and rather annoying because it means I will likely be tired throughout the day and not functioning at optimum capacity. Which is irritating because I always have a long list of things I want to get done before chemo starts. I always pray that the side effects won’t appear or that they will be minimal. I am definitely handling the chemo quite well, but so far there are still side effects. Tomorrow will be my sixth treatment and I have found a rhythm to the cycle of chemo. As much as I don’t like having side effects, it is somewhat comforting to know that there is a pattern and know what to expect. But at the same time I have a feeling of dread because I know how I’m going to feel like tomorrow. Worse still, I know what I’m going to feel like on the weekend, which always when I feel worst. Of course unless there’s a miracle that is different to previous weeks. I always hang out that this might happen, even though I’m grateful for small miracles that my symptoms are less than they could be.
The weekend was very pleasant full of family celebrations and church family. But it’s over now and it’s the day before chemo and there is a long to do list to conquer.
Todays To Do list:
Getting ready for school.
Lunchboxes made. Instruments and music books packed for music lessons at school. Making sure kids are dressed and beds made and bedrooms tidy before they leave. (We don’t always achieve those last two chores. Perhaps because I’m not naturally tidy I find it really hard to teach my children to be tidy.)
Laundry.
Washing and folding. Because it never ends. Also as the week progresses I will feel far less enthused about keeping up with this never ending task. And given that my appointments are all in the morning, it can be quite challenging to get the washing done before I leave. If the baskets are as empty as possible at the beginning of the week it will mean there will be less to catch up on next week.
Menu Plan.
At the beginning of the week I’ll have enough energy to cook meals from scratch but as the end of the week progresses I will be relying on as many cheats as I can. Thankfully I have a stockpile of freezer meals at the moment due to the kindness of my brother cooking up some meals for me. (In sous vide bags. He’s loaned me his sous vide this week, so this will be my first venture into this French way of cooking!) I’ve also got some meals from a local restaurant that does home cooked meals thanks to the generosity of a beautiful group of people who pitched in to buy some vouchers for us. The menu plan will help me know when to get the meals out to defrost and what I need to get from the shops to accompany the meals. I also need to take stock on what supplies I need for the kids lunchboxes during the week. I have a few frozen biscuits that someone has kindly baked for me, but I do need to stock up on some savoury supplies to balance out the sweet for the kids.
Declutter.
It’s no secret that tidiness is not my strong suit. I’m always on a mission to rectify the problem. It normally feels like a losing battle. Since the children have gone back to school this year, I’ve been a bit more systematic and I feel like I’m making some progress. So on the agenda is to get one more area decluttered.
Appointments for children.
I need to pull two children out of school for a couple of hours to take them to a paediatrician’s appointment that was booked six months ago. They aren’t happy because it’s during their morning tea break so I will have to swing by Maccas on the way there and see whether a McFlurry will appease them for missing out on playtime!
Grocery shop.
To stock up on fruit and snacks for lunchboxes and all the missing items that we’ll need for dinners during the week.
Update chore chart.
My kids have a weekly chore chart, but it needs updating because some of the jobs aren’t working on it and some jobs that I’ve had on the chart previously need to make a return.
Pick up kids.
Pick the kids up from school and do our afternoon routine. Washing lunchboxes (their job!), music practices, jobs and most importantly playing! I’d like to do some baking with someone to have a bit more for lunchboxes during the week. Baking is one of my joys in life and I find it’s a great way to bond with the kids when we bake together.
Dinner and Night Routine.
I’m anticipating that by the time the day has ended I’m going to be feeling pretty tired since I woke up so early so I’m hoping that I might get a little bit of relaxing after dinner in front of the TV. I’d like to watch The Amazing Race Australia with the kids, it’s been Alex and my favourite show ever since season one aired in the US. I love it that they could still do it in Australia last year and even though they aren’t racing around the world it’s been great seeing so many iconic Australian locations. After that, hopefully I’ll be able to get to bed and then fall asleep! Just because I’m tired doesn’t always mean that this little night owl sleeps when I go to bed!
So that’s my day! What are your plans today?
It was my parents birthday on the weekend. We had a family dinner to celebrate. Here I am with my Mum and nephew. Brenton made the chocolate bowl and I made Mum a cheesecake.
Celebrating Mum, Dad and a friends birthday on the weekend.
Looking in the mirror and seeing hair disappearing or nothing at all.
Receiving treatment last week.
Thankfully not all chemotherapy these days result in hair loss. However for those of us who are unfortunate to be receiving a treatment with this side effect, hair loss can be heartbreaking. Yesterday I went to put on my eye make up and realised that I no longer have eye lashes. After that first realisation, it’s all I could see when I looked in a mirror the rest of the day! My eyebrows have been thinning over the last week or two. I think I need a refresher on how to use a brow pencil. I tried filling them in this week and one of my kids asked why my eyebrows looked weird! (Nothing like children to keep it real!) There’s barely any hair left on my head and over the rest of my body. This is my second chemotherapy treatment. I also lost my hair back in 2017.
My skin feels super, super smooth everywhere. Hair does add a texture to your skin and when there are no longer follicles that are even growing a new layer of hair, it feels so different. I think my skin feels as smooth as glass, only softer. One of things that amazed me both times that I’ve lost my hair is how much you don’t pay attention of where there is hair on your body until it is gone. For instance, hair on the back of my neck! For some reason I always notice in photos that my neck somehow looks different once I’ve experienced hair loss. There’s also a missing sensory feeling when you are alarmed or nervous with no hair prickling on the back of your neck! It’s odd the different things a person will notice. I don’t know if others have experienced this, but it’s just something that stood out to me!
When I sat down to write this today, (my kids are having a sleepover at their grandmothers so I’m taking advantage of the quiet house!), I discovered that I had started writing a few months ago when my hair began falling out. I’ll include some of those thoughts fresh from the experience:
Three weeks ago I had the first course in my current chemotherapy regime. It took three days, then there is a three week “break” and then this week I will begin another three days.
Last Sunday I was washing my hair and I noticed that I lost more hair than the usual amount that your hair naturally sheds. It wasn’t huge, but because this has happened before, I knew that this was the start and I also knew that within the week most of my hair would be gone. I knew I would probably have a tough week. The first time my hair fell out, I was not expecting to be as emotional as I was. I thought I would be sad, but I didn’t realise that sadness would make everything more intense and that at the drop of a hat my emotions would bubble over. It turns out, that it was still highly emotional having hair fall out a second time!
As a mother, the first time it happened, I found it really hard dealing with the children because I was so emotional I just had no more energy left to deal with all the typical issues that accompany children. Children don’t tiptoe around you with a heightened sense of cautiousness when Mum has cancer. They resume living, and having all the same issues that children have. They still fight, they still lose things, they still don’t want to clean up and they still have character that is developing. Plus, they are more emotional themselves, because it’s unsettling for them also when Mum has cancer. I wasn’t prepared that having my hair fall out would be highly emotional for the children as well. To them, when my hair fell out, the outward appearance changed, I no longer looked like their Mum, even though I still sounded like her and acted like her.
When I found out I was going to do chemo for a second time, it was the first thing the kids asked, “Will your hair fall out again?”. The reply that my hair was going to fall out brought on more tears from the children then hearing a few moments before about the doctor’s prognosis about the growth of the cancer. (Sidenote, being open and honest with our kids while not oversharing has really helped us to process the journey as a family and has helped the children to freely ask any questions they need to which has lead to some excellent examples of resilience from all five of the kids.)
With my darling one year old niece! She now can claim she has more hair than her aunty!
I try to respect that the hair loss is really hard for the children and make it a bit easier for them. One way I do this is by wearing something on my head most of the time even when I’m at home. At the moment it is Summer in Australia and it has been hot! I would much rather be walking around the house without anything on my head, but it’s a small little thing that I felt like I can do. I’ve talked to another Mum and she said that even though her kids hated seeing her bald they just got used to it. I think it’s all up to individuals how we handle it. For me, there’s one child in particular who really can’t handle seeing me bald. Sometimes at the end of the day I might rip of my scarf for a little bit of fresh air, and four of them are getting a bit more used to it, but this one child really can’t handle it at all. He can’t look at me, his eyes stay averted and he gets fidgetty and can’t concentrate on what he’s saying. Last time he used to beg me to put it back on, this time he’s a bit older and more sensitive, but even still, I can see it’s uncomfortable, so it really is a very small thing for me to just keep my head covered.
Most of the time around the house I wear a square cotton bandanna folded in a triangle, it’s the coolest option I’ve found. I really dislike wearing anything that is synthetic on my head, so even though I have some head gear that is lighter and thinner, if it’s not a natural fabric it just doesn’t do it for me. The bandannas actually belong to Toby and Jayden, (it isn’t that easy finding a square scarf that’s not too big and not to small as it turns out!) they were given to them from a Filipino friend, so they have loved loaning them to me .
Realising your eyelashes are missing is nowhere near as hard as those initial days when my the hair on my head fell out. For me it happened over the course of a week. Every time I ran my hands through my hair I would be left with a handful of hair. It didn’t work if I just had self control I stopped touching my hair. That was actually worse because the hair would keep falling out but it would be one big knotted tangled mass and to get it untangled I would end up with a large ball of hair in my hands. So I found the best method was to keep running my hands through my hair and putting hair in the bin. It really is a bit depressing to look into the bin and see it full of long hair. The first time I had my head clippered once I started getting bald patches. This time I didn’t seem to have as many patches of baldness. Even though my hair kept getting thinner and thinner it meant so much to the kids that I still had any hair. They liked it much better when there was bit of hair left out while I was wearing a cap. By the end I was tying up the most pathetic little ponytail ever with toddler hair bands! Once it got to the stage where the pony tail was too small I cut my hair short and a few little bits just poked out here and there. I liked this better than the first time when I clippered everything off. (Sidenote: Both times there has been a small bit of hair that remained. Last time it was just little fuzz, now it’s just a few strands of hair.) This time it was nice having a little bit of a fringe for longer, it made me feel a bit more normal. There was nothing normal when I took my hat off, the tiny bits of hair that I had looks crazy sticking up everywhere!
I generally don’t like wearing a wig. It’s hotter and scratchy. Last time I started getting good at tying scarves, but I was having treatment in the winter and spring when the temperature is cooler. This time I couldn’t be bothered. My favourite headwear (apart from my home bandanas!) are pre-fashioned bamboo turbans. They are so comfortable, stylish easy to throw on and the bamboo is cooler in the hot weather and warmer if it’s colder.
I’ve deliberated whether I add a bald picture to this post. I know before I lost my hair the first time I went googling what cancer patients looked like to know what to expect. I’m really grateful to those ladies for sharing their pictures. I’m glad they felt comfortable to do this. I’m not going to share pictures, so if you are someone who is bald and don’t want people to see you what you look like without hair, that’s OK too. It’s OK to acknowledge what you do or don’t feel comfortable doing and not feel like you need to do something just because others have done it. I am very comfortable with my body and I love my body, but I’m aware of some of its flaws or bits I don’t like and I cover them accordingly. When I get dressed, I dress in a way that I feel most flatters my body and makes me comfortable and I cover the flaws accordingly. I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a photo in my underwear just to prove to everyone that I have a wobbly tummy and a saggy bottom. In this Instagram world, sometimes there’s a pressure to expose all in order to be raw and honest. I think women need to know their boundaries and not feel the pressure to show more than what they are comfortable with. For me, my words are where I choose to expose feelings with rawness and honesty.
I love this picture because I am catching up with a dear friend from high school. However, I don’t like the fact that my turban has crept up above my ear! This is my equivalent to a “bad hair day” photo at the moment!
When I look in the mirror, I love me, but I don’t like being bald. There are some women who, even though they prefer to have hair, still look amazing without hair. Then there’s certain shaped faces that really do look better with something on their head. I’ve been around a few women now who have no hair and cancer, while they are all beautiful, some really do look better than others when bald. It’s kind of like the difference between some women looking good in a bikini and others look better in a one piece. I just don’t look good bald. I know if I posted a picture there would be many people rushing to reassure me that I look beautiful. It wouldn’t matter to me, when I look in the mirror, I don’t hate me, but I don’t feel beautiful until I put some headgear on. No wonder why my kids prefer seeing me with something on my head, so do I!
So a last photo to leave you with because it was so fun I can’t leave it out! Yesterday my hubby and I went on one of our most exciting dates ever! We flew in a helicopter over Brisbane to Sirromet Wines where we had lunch together before flying away. At some point during lunch I had a few tears when I was saying how frustrated I am that I can’t work anymore because want to earn some money for a few pieces of furniture we need in the house. It’s nothing urgent, but it’s just frustrating that cancer has for the moment stopped me doing a job I love and the pocket money always felt good that I was helping contribute. Anyway, those tears washed away my eye make-up so my unlashed eyes were on full display for the world to notice! I’m fairly certain that no one really noticed my missing eyelashes! It was so delightful to spend some time together without children and just enjoy one another, plan for the future (like Alex assuring me that we’ll work out the furniture issues, haha!) and acknowledge some of the uncertainties. It was a great way to belatedly celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary hair loss and all!
I woke up this morning feeling not particularly well. Not terrible. Just not particularly well. The tumour under my breastbone was a bit painful and my body was aching and I was still tired after a night’s rest. I received chemotherapy this week and the weekend afterwards is always when I feel the side effects most.
23 years ago I woke up on this very same date excited, nervous and full of optimism about the days to come.
It was my wedding day 23 years ago!
I hope you’ll excuse the grainy old photos and indulge me a little trip down memory lane.
There’s a lot of anticipation and expectation about wedding days. For good reason. My wedding day was one of the best days of my life. It also has been one of the most important days of my life. A day where Alex and I became our own little family. Which has miraculously become a much larger family thanks to the blessing of the five beautiful children who have become a part of our life. We have spent 23 years together working, playing, doing the routines of life. It has been a wonderful life together.
I’ve just wrote, “I will never regret saying ‘I do’ “. I backspaced. It’s not the truth. Honesty is one of my top attributes, so to be truthful, there has been plenty of times that I have regretted saying “I do”. Marriage can be excruciatingly annoying, painful, frustrating and tedious. There have been moments where I have questioned why I am in this marriage. But I’ve stayed in the marriage. And that commitment to stay, I have never, I will never, regret.
As complicated as marriage, the good far outweighs the bad. It has been my joy and pleasure to be Alex’s wife. We have shared so many adventures together from the ordinary life of jobs and commitments to the exciting times of travel and events to all the beautiful moments shared with family and friends in between.
Marriage is between two people, but it is influenced and influences far more than two people. Once children are on the scene, and we are so grateful that they arrived, the sphere of influence in our marriage became magnified. Suddenly we two people were doing everything with our heart and soul to make five (for us!) more people happy, healthy and help them to find purpose in this life.
Marriage is two people working together to achieve outcomes that are better done together. It’s joining forces with people around you. As I’ve been reflecting on our wedding day 23 years ago I’ve been thinking of all the people who were present and celebrated the day with us. I loved having a large wedding, it was so special to share the start of a new life with a group of people who were cheering us on into a combined future. I am so happy that the friendships we had back in those days still continue. We still have special connections with everyone in our bridal party and so many more people who were a part of our life.
When I was younger I had no idea how the years make friendships so rich. We are so blessed indeed that our families are and always have been a supportive crew around us throughout our marriage. So many excursions, birthdays, meals around the table together. Marriage becomes a community of people around you.
23 years later I’ve woken feeling not particularly well. My ailments and complaints are really quite mild. The issue with my mild complaints is that I know that these aches and pains have a far more sinister origin to your regular mild complaint. Which leads me to reflect on the vow we made 23 years ago to be by one another’s side in sickness and in health. With the optimism of youth, this can somehow feel more of a romantic statement rather than the true grit that is required if it becomes a reality.
I am so blessed to have Alex by my side during these more difficult times. His devotion as a husband has been echoed the words of the scripture my cousin read on our wedding day. His love has been patient. He has been kind. He has been willing to put his own ambitions aside in order to help me and together we have persevered through the hard times. I always feel protected by Alex and I am thankful that our love has plenty of trust and hope in one one another and in our God.
I love you Alex, and always will. As long as we both shall live.
Every time I get back here and write a blog I get all enthusiastic about writing again. Invariably, over the last few years, that enthusiasm wanes as dull everyday chores take the place of writing. Then I get myself into the situation I face today. What shall I write after the haitus? Do I write what I planned to write about next? Or do I update on what has happened since I last wrote? Or do I just write about a new topic altogether?
Today I’ve elected for the latter two in the hope that I can achieve the first question posed above before I have to go through the process again. (Because I really did want to share about a wonderful opportunity our family had before I started treatment.)
The update. I feel like there is nothing too much to say. Maybe it’s because I answer this question so regularly, or maybe because my new routine feels quite dull and a bit blergh. I’ve now completed my third treatment of chemo. My new normal is receiving a Cisplatin/Etoposide + Keytruda infusions every three weeks. It takes three days to receive this cocktail. I seldom say “Cheers” and would never recommend placing an order for this particular cocktail concoction. There is a new wine bar in my town and it looks far more fun! (Especially the cocktail with fairy floss as a garnish. Stuff dreams are made of. I’m not drinking at the moment because I don’t think my kidneys can handle anything else, but if I was…)
The effects from chemo are that I’m stuck in a three week cycle according to the way my body is responding to the drugs. The first five days are the worst. I feel quite nauseous and sick, but thankfully I haven’t vomited. I have a yuck sick taste in my mouth, especially in that first week. I was warned my mouth might taste metallic due to the platinum in the drug, I don’t feel like it tastes metallic, what does metallic taste like after all? Maybe I’d know if it were truly metallic, for now I think it’s just a gross taste in my mouth that makes some food and water less appealing than usual to eat/drink. I also feel quite wiped out and get very little done.
During chemo. (My hair was thinning at this point. Now it’s mostly fallen out except for a fine layer that isn’t enough to hide my scalp!)
During the second week I feel tired, but I can function better, so long I don’t overdo things too much. The third week I’m feeling much better, so I try to get as much done as possible while trying not to think and dread the next week when I’m going to repeat the cycle and feel low all over again. I’ve been praying for little or no side effects. There have definitely been side effects, but I think it could be far worse, so I’m thankful for that and continue to pray and hope and believe that the treatment will work. I know some people want to know if it’s working when they ask me questions along that line, but you just never know what’s happening until there is a scan so you just hang on tight and stay on the ride. Even after a scan, it only takes a few weeks, and you are back to that feeling of unknown. I’m grateful for my faith that I have peace while I sit in the dark.
Many people, when finding themselves in unsavoury scenarios ask the question, “Why Me?” I think it’s very understandable why people ask that question, they just want to get out of a bad situation.
“Why me?” isn’t a question I’ve asked. Another cancer patient had remarked to me once during a conversation, “And then you go through the whole question of why is this happening to me.” I realised that this hadn’t been a part of my experience. I had no judgement that she raised the question, but for me the question instantly was, “Why not me?” Bad things happen in the world all the time. Wars happen, children die of terminal illness, sickness happens, abuse happens. The world is full of injustice. Why would I be excused from any of this suffering more than the next person? I don’t want this to happen to me. But I don’t want any injustice to happen to anyone. I find asking “Why Me?” is an unanswerable question that offers no solace because it is not a question that can alleviate your suffering in any way.
On a similar vein is the statement, “It’s not fair.” No, it’s not fair that I have cancer. But it’s also not fair that there are refugees in my city who are trying to re-establish their lives after experiencing atrocities in their war torn countries of origin and the indignities of living in refugee camps. It’s not fair that in my city when I go to bed at night there are children who won’t sleep as they cower in corners afraid of their parents. It’s not fair that when I go to my local cemetery there are child sized graves or headstones of people who have died far too early. I could keep going on, but I think you get the picture. It’s not fair. This is our reality, not just in my city, in every city across the world.
This doesn’t mean that all is hopeless. Quite the contrary! For every tragic story there is an opportunity to insert positive experiences. If you aren’t currently facing your own hardships there’s an even greater opportunity that you can insert yourself into another person’s story and be the positive. In fact, sometimes those of us in the middle of hard times get opportunities where we can be the positive part of someone else’s story. The beauty of looking for these opportunities is that when we start giving it makes our own lives feel so much more worthwhile. Sometimes the most cheerful moments that snap us out of feeling anxious or depressed is when we give ourselves the opportunity to do something for others rather than focus on ourselves. What a privilege to be a part of someone else’s story. We become the “but” when they tell their stories. “I was in this dark place, BUT someone came and did this for me.”
Thank you to the people who have helped me during this time. You know who you are. It’s quite overwhelming sometimes and I don’t always have the opportunity to thank people to the extent that I feel thankfulness for their actions. I have had people give me thoughtful gifts, money raised for meal vouchers and even a holiday, cards, a package left on the doorstep, vouchers, gifts, books and most of all so many kind words, encouragement and prayers. My heart feels so grateful for the prayers that are prayed for my family and I. I am so humbled. For all the “Why me” and “It’s not fair” questions that are asked, I find far more comfort in the prayers of those who believe and my faith in my God. Of course I could go into more depth (and hopefully will some day) on the theology and why I still serve a God and believe that he is good despite the evil and suffering in the world. But for now I just wanted you to know that in the middle of the knowledge that there are sad things happening all over the world, I have a peace that there is a God doing miracles everywhere and comforting the broken hearted. It helps my heart stay happy, a deep rooted joy that there is more good than evil in the world, and a sure feeling in my spirit that good will triumph.
I had a birthday recently. Here I am with my sister having a beautiful brunch with a few dear family and friends.
I’m sitting here at 2:17am feeling nauseous. I woke up about 45 minutes ago and have temporarily given up sleeping for the moment so I’m sipping some ginger tea and starting to write this.
This is my second consecutive day of chemotherapy. Tomorrow (or rather today!) I have a third day at the hospital, (as an outpatient), to continue my immunotherapy. I’ll be doing this every three weeks for the next 4-6 months if all is going “well”. 3 weeks ago my oncologist told me that that the spots on my lungs had grown, as had the main thymic tumour. It seems that immunotherapy is not enough right now. It is never nice to find out that cancer is getting worse in your body. There have been a lot of tears. A lot of brain activity. Many, many prayers. More than anything else, I need a miracle right now.
So what to write? I thought I would give you a look into a cancer patient’s life on the lead up to receiving chemo. (For a second time, this isn’t my first trip on this merry-go-round.) This is just an insight into how I’m processing it.
If you are a Mum who is unfortunately in the same club as me, I’m sorry. Chin up girlfriend. We are strong, us women. You can do this. Even more importantly, if you are a believer, I find so much comfort that rather than saying, “You got this” to myself, I tell myself that “God has got this.” No matter what I feel inside, I can always maintain my equilibrium through the peace of resting in His arms. I feel I can cry out for healing. I cry out in lament that my family and I are walking this journey and know that he is big enough to carry my sadness on his shoulders. This knowledge gives me a joy and that despite my circumstances I can rejoice in the power of my salvation. The title of this blog remains true. Caitlin’s Heart is ever Happy. Even when it’s Sad. The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
So here’s an overview of my past three weeks.
Travel to Brisbane to receive treatment and receive scan Results.
Thankfully, now that I have reached the cap of paying for my Keytruda, I am able to remain in Toowoomba and only travel 15 minutes to treatment these days. I chose to drive to Brissy with my husband to receive scan results. I just figured I’d prefer to hear anything potentially bad face to face and see the scan with my own eyes rather than having it communicated via Skype, which is now the main way I communicate with my oncologist. Turned out to be a good call.
Travelled home and then another hour to pick up the children from the family farm.
So, I was teary, but I managed to hold myself together throughout the treatment, but burst into tears the moment I sat in the car. Alex and I processed it together on the way home. We still did our scheduled stop at Costco. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to, but we don’t get the opportunity to go to Costco often, and there was a few things that I wanted, so we decided to proceed. I sniffled in a few aisles, but buying an awesome big bag for my Christmas tree, big boxes of snacks for my kids and of course my favourite Costco treat, pop corners, did help to cheer me up somewhat. Look, if retail therapy works, I’ll take it!
Told my parents and children the bad news.
The plan had been for Alex to travel to the farm to pick the children up. I’m often feeling a little tired after treatment, so I was going to take the opportunity to have a bit of a rest. So I think Mum and Dad knew something was up when we both arrived. We told them the oncologists report. It’s not a happy time telling your parents the bad news that their daughter is not responding well enough to a cancer treatment. No matter what age. There were hugs and tears. We all remained stoic though. Alex and I were in agreement, and always have been, that we are honest and up front with the children while not trying to overwhelm them with too much information. This has probably been the hardest conversation to update them about. They are getting older and have had enough time to develop a cancer radar that they are now a bit more aware to read between the lines. They are all pretty devastated that I’m going to lose my hair again. They think I look like their “real mum” with long hair, and I’ve just got it back to my children’s approved length.
Wave Goodbye to Husband as He Drives Away.
OK. So I wouldn’t recommend the farewelling husband bit if you are in a similar situation, but Alex had a bloke’s weekend pre-planned taking our new 4wd and camping on the beach for a mate’s 40th birthday. I told him that I was nervous about him leaving, he had also gone to a pre-arranged blokes weekend back the first time I did chemo and my hair started falling out. I didn’t do well that weekend three years ago on my own. But I knew that he had been really looking forward to this trip and had done so much preparation in the weeks preceding, plus life is potentially going to get busier for him also, so we agreed it would be good for him to have a break. He agreed that I would let him know that if I wasn’t coping he would come home. Just knowing I could push that “panic button” really was enough for me. I didn’t need to call him home. There were some really tough moments where the kids would ask hard questions, and I was really very teary that first couple of days. The kids were trying really hard to be sensitive, but they are just kids, and they can’t maintain anything for extended amounts of time. And to be truthful, when I just had to force myself to get into Mum mode and push my feelings to the back seat, it kind of felt good to just proceed as if everything was normal. It may have included a meltdown or two from a child or I once or twice, but we got through it. Our emotions were all a bit raw. I wasn’t in denial, I was just getting on with the job that I want to remain on the earth to do. The joy of the ordinary. Alex did end up coming home a bit earlier than planned though, and I was really grateful. I was just starting to get to the end of my tether!
Spend a Weekend with the Kids.
So the kids and I really did have a lovely weekend. I had always been disappointed that Alex was going away on a long weekend. Long weekends are always a great opportunity to do things as a family. Luckily, him being a wise husband and married long enough to take the cues, we took advantage of him being self employed he took half a day off and went to the Sunshine Coast and had a “long weekend” a few weeks earlier. Plus we had a mini-break out on my Dad’s western property. So I was set to spend this time with the kids. Alex had told me to do whatever we wanted and splurge while he was away. When a wife hears that from her Accountant husband, she automatically feels blessed! He’d even suggested we go to a theme park on the Gold Coast. My heart kind of sank at that suggestion, because I didn’t think I really felt like that, but my kids are always super keen to go to a theme park, it’s a real treat. However when you contemplate the possibility of not as many days with your children as you want, all of a sudden you have an overwhelming desire to do whatever it takes to make some happy memories together.
Happily, we came up with a plan that suited me so much better and luckily the kids had such a good weekend also. The kids have been begging me for Disney+ and it turned out they chose installing it instead of going to Dreamworld! Cosying up together with junk food and binge watching the Mandalorian was perfect. We did a few outings. We went to the local swimming pool.
We also visited a park because it’s Carnival of Flowers time in Toowoomba where the kids ate cupcakes that they had piped the flowers on themselves. There was no parade this year so some floats were in the local shopping centre. The kids were sighing that I wanted to look at them there. In the end we didn’t find them, but the kids went home happy because we did find Xbox pyjamas.
I’m always grateful that kids favourite foods are easy to make and we did some treats like waffles and pancakes for lunch. We had also scheduled in a game of laser tag with an aunty and cousins and happily Alex arrived home to participate in the game. We finished with an ice cream from Gelatisimo which is a treat because with five kids it’s not the cheapest ice cream option! My favourite memory of that trip was all the chocolate dripping off Toby’s happy face.
I received the news on a Thursday afternoon. All of these activities took us through to the end of Monday. I’ll explain where my focus was during the rest of the three weeks before treatment began in a further blog. Us Mums need to be prepare when it comes to big events, if we can. But for me it was also acknowledging that I can’t do everything and doing as much as I could. If I have any advice to give if you are in the unfortunate position of preparing for chemo, it’s be kind to yourself. Choose what is most important to you and pace yourself. And in the meantime, make as many nice memories as you can!!!