Journey

We are almost packed and ready to go.  Rory and I are returning to Auckland tomorrow morning.  Rory’s blood work this morning was good so he can receive the next dose of chemotherapy on schedule.  We have a clinic appointment with Dr Stephen on Wednesday morning and Rory will be admitted on Wednesday evening to start fluid hydration.  We expect to be away a minimum of three weeks.  Rory is scheduled to have two (possibly three) doses of chemotherapy.  He will then need a scan to check the tumor as he will have completed the two MAP chemo cycles.  In mid-December we hope to meet with the Oncology and Surgical teams to come up with a treatment plan.  Sean and Colt will come up when the going gets tough.  Dr Stephen has said they will try and get us home for Christmas.  I am hoping we will get home for Colt’s 9^th birthday the week before.  One of the challenges of child cancer is being separated as a family.  One parent needs to work to keep the family afloat financially and the other needs to follow the child on treatment.  We are going to miss Sam’s 20^th and Sean’s ?? birthday (I won’t say how old he is!).  Gardiner lads have an annoying habit of being born in December. 

We have continued to make the most of our days at home; Rory volunteered for a couple of hours at the New Plymouth Hospice shop with Nana Honnor, I attended a community restoration workshop organised through the People Cities and Nature project at Waikato University, we walked the Te Henui and Coastal walkways, we made a day trip to Wanganui to meet Trikes NZ who offer a range of bicycles and tricycles custom made to provide people with disabilities mobility, and today Rory and I visited Norfolk Primary today to check out their new native plant propagation unit and restoration work in the gully which was funded by the Trust I work for (Wild for Taranaki). 

I have a big list of people to say thank you to; Janet Hunt for a copy of her new book ‘Three Kiwi tales – more fabulous fix it stories from Wildbase Hospital’ which we intend to share with Starship teacher Jan, Inglewood Primary for the platters of food delivered in the dark of night, Sarah for roast pumpkin soup and getting Colt to school, the Parafed Taranaki family led by Tracey and Erica who spoilt us with a wonderful parcel of goodies for Rory and our family, and John S from the Halberg Foundation for the advice for mobility options to keep Rory active in the outdoors.  I’m not sure how I am going to keep up with Rory when he is moving out at speed on a recumbent bike!