Yay! Billy and Amy are all packed. Dean is not on any medication at the moment. He starts taking them again next Friday. Apart from sore joints he is feeling pretty good. Dean and I are heading out to Lorne, my sister Kerrys property at Blackall on Monday after the kids fly off on their trip. He is feeling well so we thought we may as well make the most of it. We can only be there for a couple of days before we head back for the next blood test but it is better than nothing. When Dean was in the Townsville General Hospital, the lady in the bed beside him had a brain biopsy the day after Dean did. Since then the pair of them talk frequently. Her news is almost identical to Deans and she is only a couple of years younger. She lives in Proserpine. She met with the Oncologist that Dean is under a couple of days ago and she starts chemo through Mackay Base next week. They will be comparing notes I am sure. The only support group for Brain Tumours is in Brisbane so they will be able to support each other.
All is quiet here as the Bill is on tv. Dean has been addicted for many many years.

Dean feels a bit off today. He went out and did errands that he wanted to get done and probably pushed himself a bit too far. Amys toe is not giving her much grief, certainly hasn't curbed her social life!! Amys and Billys school stage band had their last rehearsal this afternoon and there is a final meeting in the morning for all the students going to NZ. Amy is pretty much all packed, Billy will be leaving it to the last minute I am sure.

Well yesterday my cousin who lives in the US surprised us with a visit. He stayed for dinner. Today his parents, who live in Emerald, arrived and are staying with us for a couple of days while they catch up with him. It is great to catch up with them all. All the socialness has made Dean a bit dizzy so he is having a quiet night while the visitors have gone out for Dinner. I left work at lunchtime and took Amy to the doctors as she had to have part of her big toenail removed. She was nervous as anything but was brave. The deed is done now and the healing can start. SHe is relieved to finally have it over and done with. I came from work late this arvo to find her propped up in my bed, foot on a tower of pillows.

Dean is having an off day to day, feeling pretty crook. He went for a walk and then came home and crashed on the lounge for a couple of hours.
Yesterday he worked out how to record a cassette tape onto a computer and then record onto a disc.(don't ask me how-in the too hard basket for me).
His hand and arm are still aching from the iv chemo he had a week ago.

Dean had his blood test this morning and then saw the chemo nurses. His results came back very good. Everything is within range and he can continue his chemo tablets. He is experiencing a fair bit of pain behind his left ear and down into the back of his neck. We are pretty sure it is from the nerves repairing themselves from his biopsy. Panadol seems to be taking the edge off.
We met Jenny (Deans mum) for lunch at Porters and then headed home. Dean has taken up residence on the lounge again, for a rest.

I have had a killer sore throat for the last couple of days, now it is evolved into a cold :< so am trying to keep my distance from Dean. Dean realised why he was advised by the chemo nurse not to eat chocolate. He ate an icecream coated with chocolate today and ended up with a huge headache. He has his blood test in the morning and then sees the chemo nurse before lunch. I am pretty sure that if his test comes back ok, then he continues taking the 3 chemo tablets a day that he has been taking over the last week. Its a public holiday here today for Mackay Show Peoples Day. None of us went to the show as we didn't want to risk getting sick or bringing home germs.

Dean hasn't been feeling too bad. He thought he was going to be sick in the early hours of this morning, but was able to go back to sleep and woke up feeling ok. From all accounts he spent a very social day on the phone :>

Whoops, spoke too soon. Dean was up most of the night being sick! He isn't feeling too bad now though. While the kids and I were at a meeting this morning, Dean took the pooches for a walk, and he has kept lunch down. He has spent the last couple of days fixing a couple of computers for people, which is great cos it is keeping him out of trouble :>

Deans not feeling as bad as we expected. He said he feels like he has motion sickness and doesn't have much strength. As the day has gone on he has continued to improve.

Dean had his first lot of iv chemo this morning. He also starts taking 3 tablets a day for the next 14 days. He is feeling a bit dizzy and woozy this evening so is having a shower and then going to bed early. The chemo nurse warned him to expect to feel sick tonight and tomorrow, so hopefully he can sleep heaps tomorrow and get through the worst of it.

Dean had his blood test bright and early this morning. He then went to the office for a few hours. I came home from work at 3:30 and found him flaked out on the lounge, so maybe he over did things today. Thats the thing though, he may as well work when he can and rest when he has to.
IV chemo and more tablets tomorrow.

Dean didn't have a bad day. Still very sore arms and legs and pretty weak.
We have to wash his clothes separately to ours. We didn't realise, until the info session last Friday, that Chemo makes the patient cytotoxic to close family members or carers. If he cuts his finger etc, he has to deal with it himself, and if I am handling dirty linen etc, I have to wear gloves. Basically we have to avoid contact with any of his bodily secretions!! Dean has to take his temp every day and if it hits 38 degrees he has to go straight to hospital for a blood test to see if he needs iv antibiotics.
Every thursday Dean has to get a blood test and then see the chemo nurses every Friday, to check that his white blood count and platelets etc are ok for him to continue treatment at the planned rate. If they are too low then treatment will be held off til everything is good again.

Well, Dean wasn't able to make it to the concert. We had visitors in the morning yesterday and when they left, he was asleep before he hit the pillow.
He is very achy,particularly arms and legs, and feels like he has run out of petrol again today. still not experiencing much nausea so far. Still able to eat well. We went for a trip to WoW this morning and that has done him in. He is currently stopping the lounge chair from hitting the ceiling.

Good morning. Dean woke up this morning feeling really weak and washed out, but with no nausea, which is a bonus. He wants to take the dogs for a walk around the block, but I want him to save any energy he has so that he can come and watch Amy and Billy perform with their school band at lunch time. Amy and Billy are off to Rotorua in 3 weeks with their band for a World Music Festival. They are performing today as part of St Pats College 80th birthday celebrations.
Deans' brother Jarrod and his family are staying the night so that will be great to catch up with them.

Morning after!

As expected Dean is feeling very queasy this morning. So I drew the curtains, tiptoed out and closed the bedroom door, so that hopefully he can manage a bit of a sleep in. Lea

1st lot of tablets

Steak and vegies before his first tablets

Dean was told a week and a half ago that his brain tumour that he had treated 13 years ago was back. Today is the first day of Chemotherapy for him. We had an appointment at the hospital this morning and had an information session. He was given the first lot of Chemo tablets to take tonight, so hopefully he won't suffer from nausea too much.