Normality ??

Wednesday 22nd May 2013,


Well the last 42 days have been jammed packed with lots of fun things.

I finished my last rad treatment on Wednesday 10th April and as posted,  was so overjoyed.  We enjoyed a nice bottle of Dom Perignon (2003) to celebrate.
On Thursday, I rushed down to see my Physio, you see, my wonderful hubby booked a surprise trip to Bali for the family :)  He had to tell me as I needed to organise my compression bandage for my left arm.  Thankfully the Physio appointment went well (no swelling) and I was fitted for the new best friend.
The kids had NO idea we were flying out on the Monday and I ran around like a maniac, getting everything we needed to take, fill custom cards out etc.

On Sunday, our young fella, was playing with the kids in the street, so I quickly packed his clothes and finished off my packing.  I couldn't pack Miss 14, can you imagine if I had packed the wrong clothes.... OMG!
Anyway, it was getting really exciting as Monday drew closer.  Hubby and I LOVE seeing the surprised looks on our kids faces and the morning couldn't come quick enough.

Monday morning saw us wake the kids as normal "I' don't want to go to school, it's too early, Im not hungry" banter as like any other morning.  Hubby finally said "well, you are not going to school, we are off to Bali in a couple of hours".  The kids freaked out, everyone was so excited :)  Miss 14 packed and we were on our way.

Part 2 of the surprise was some dear friends were actually in Bali on holiday and they had no idea we were coming.  We checked into our hotel, asked for their room number and made our way over.  When we knocked on the door and it opened, the 4 of us yelled "SURPRISE".... of course we were met with "WTF!!"

Our quick trip up to Bali was fabulous, just what I needed to recharge my batteries.  I kept out of the sun as much as I could and wore a rashy when swimming.
My skin was red raw and very painful.  Thankfully I was sensible and didn't get burnt at all.

On our return home, I had 24 hours to wash and iron and pack again for my trip to Melbourne.  I had 5 days (solo) catching up with my CDH family and getting through alot of much needed CDH work.

When I returned from Melbourne, it was time to get the kids organised to go back to school.  Winter uniforms organised and shoes polished.
We also had our son's 10th Birthday.  This was a HUGE milestone and bought me lots of smiles and tears.

I also had my Dad's 80th Birthday Party to organise.  We had 50 people come and celebrate a wonderful man turning 80.  We had the party catered so all hubby and I needed to do was clean up the back garden, organise balloons etc.
The party was a huge success and although I was completely buggered from 2 weeks of full on activity, it was worth seeing the smile on Dads face.

We also decided to run the Mother's Day Classic (8km) The kids and my Dad walked the 4kms and hubby and I did the 8km.  I didn't run the entire way but gave it a bloody good crack, not bad for someone who was 1 month post Rads.  I ran for Mum, my dear friend Kate, my Pink sistas and myself. A few times the emotions took over and I thought "girl, you rocked chemo and rads, you can bloody do this run"

We have had netball events, dinner catchups and the usual running the kids around in.

I have signed up for Michelle Bridges 12WBT.  I'm determined to get my fitness back and heck, if I can lose or maintain my weight whilst on Tamoxifen..... BONUS!
My energy levels have been good, exercise has definitely helped my recovery.  Towards the end of the day, if I have had a full on day, my brain still struggles to hold a thought and my speech gets slow, I'm conscious of it, so know that's a sign to slow down.

Life is good for me, I blessed to have a loving family by my side, who I know will continually support me.

Lots of love
Shaz x