With the Russian madman causing mayhem in the world, I am really trying to maintain a positive outlook.
The war news is dominating and it’s difficult to avoid. But am very aware of how my mental health can affect my physical health, so I am attempting (and so far succeeding) to limit my news watching/viewing. I look at just enough to get a very superficial overview but even that is more than I want. I feel so sad for all the people affected by this megalomaniac!
Time flies by, even the chemo treatments. Yesterday was #5 of the planned 6. The results of my blood tests continue to be good. The cancer marker went from 301 to 187 this week. But not low enough to move on to the next stage. Dr. McCleave said they want to see it at around 30 which is quite a long way yet.
When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500km above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.
The fourth treatment went as planned. Mick came with me so he was able to meet my doctor. It’s always good to have another set of ears in a consultation but this one was very straightforward because everything is going so well.
November 16 last year is the fateful day I got the definitive news that changed my life.
By then I ‘d been in hospital for 8 days going through tests and everything else that goes along with a cancer diagnosis. I’d just had laparoscopic surgery for a biopsy and the GYN/surgeon came to visit me after I had very gently been given the diagnosis. He’s a lovely man and from reading his bio, a pretty religious one as well. He said to me as he sat at my bedside, “Have you considered end of life?”
I spent the last day of my stay in French Polynesia wandering around Papeete on my own. This busy, noisy city has lots to offer and I visited the Municipal Market, the waterfront where I first arrived on Vadura many years ago and some of the local parks. The following morning I said goodbye to Tahiti - until next time.
Getting there is usually half the fun, but this flight was not the best. I was on Air Tahiti Nui which was a code share with Air New Zealand, so I assumed it would be as good as, or better than, ANZ. The flight itself wasn't bad, a bit bumpy at times, but I was completely unimpressed with the food and the service. Los Angeles to Papeete was 8 hours. We were served cold meals with very old, dry rolls. The flight attendants were almost invisible, barely coming round at all. I know it was the middle of the night but not everyone sleeps. And I didn't, with a huge family of Tahitians in the seats beside me and for three rows in front, all of them coughing and sneezing and wheezing the entire night!
It was wonderful to get my feet on Tahitian soil again and it was so tantalizing - I did not want to get back on the plane for the last 5 hours. The traditional dancing as a greeting got my memory banks going. The airport is much larger than when I was last there, and the smell of flowers couldn't compete with the smell of jet fuel.
I spent a little time in the Duty Free store, bought a couple of bottles to take to New Zealand. The Tahitian rum was VERY good!
It was good to be able to stretch a bit and walk around before the next leg, where the service and food was marginally better.
Once again, the flight was jammed, not a free seat anywhere, but it was a relatively short flight. Immigration and customs took forever, as I understand there were 7 international flights that arrived at the same time. So Zoze and Jenni's faces were a welcome sight in the arrival area.
Jenni took the scenic route home to Tauranga, with a stop for coffee and a walk along a river (name to be determined). I did find, though, that although I was tired, I was not jet lagged as technically I had just skipped a day - a 20 hour forward flight. So it was easy to get back into a normal routine, after a good nights sleep.
