Family Day

We had a relatively quick visit to John Hunter this morning to have the dressing on his central line changed.On our way home we stopped to have a nice lunch at the George & Dragon tavern at East Maitland.The food was beautiful and it felt great to treat ourselves to something nice while at home.Before we came home we went over to Greenhills for a look around.While there we ran into my Auntie Carol who was really happy to see us.We had a good chat then came home for a very relaxing afternoon.So much so that the only one awake after only a short time at home was Shaylie.Kallan and I both crashed on the lounge and Karina went to bed earlier.Karina had a massive sleep and neither of us could get ourselves going after that.

I'm hoping that we can make the most of tomorrow as it's Karina's last day off before Kal and I head back to Sydney.There is some jobs around the house that need doing but i think they can wait.

Weekend Update

This weekend proved to be a remarkable one.On Saturday the function at the bradford completely blew us away.It was a fantastic turn out and more importantly all those who attended behaved themselves with absolutely no incidents that can sometimes happen when you get so many people in the one place many of whom effected by alcohol.It was a very cheerful atmosphere with so many people showing their generosity in many different ways.There are so many people to thank for their contribution to a fantastic day but I'd like to make special mention to Dan and Karen Quinn as well as a lovely lady named Vicki Gamble who up until yesterday was unknown to all of us.She'd heard about Kallan through mutual friends of the Quinn's and just wanted to help out and be part of the day.She obtained numerous items for the auction and along with Dan managed to put together a great collection of items to be auctioned and raffled off.Of course none of it would've been possible had it not been for Mick Quinn and the people at the Bradford who provided a great facility for the day to take place.It was quite overwhelming to see the amount of people who attended and the mountains of well wishes that were forthcoming throughout the day.

I never like to single people out but i just have to pay a special thanks to Dan because i know how much he put in to the day.Don't let the muscles and bent nose fool you,he really is a big softy and a kind hearted guy to boot.He's always thought the world of Kal and has been busting to do something for him and with the help of others pulled off a magic day.Thanks again to all who contributed and i can tell you just attending meant the world to us.Cheers everyone.

Enoying Home

Last few days have been very relaxing just enjoying being back home.We had a trip to John Hunter this morning to have some bloods taken but were able to leave straight away rather than hanging around waiting for the results.Later this evening i took Shaylie to Kurri for her first soccer game for the year.She played very well considering she has only had one training session this year and i haven't been able to spend much time practising with her as i normally do with both her and Kallan.Her team had a 3-2 victory.Tomorrow night will maybe see me making an appearance for the mighty Warriors in a trial game against the Rutherford over 35's.It may well be a one off appearance for the Warriors and i don't know how much help i will be for the boys.More importantly i should be firing on all cylinders for the after game activities.Looking forward to catching up with the boys whatever the result.

Home Again

Hip Hip Hooray! We're home again.After a little packing and cleaning up,and some last minute playing and craft for Shaylie,we set off right on lunchtime.Our trip home didn't start well due to a pretty bad truck accident on the freeway.Traffic was banked up a long way and it was very slow going for quite some time.Once we got through the trouble it was easy going from there.It was early afternoon when we arrived home and what a good feeling it was.Even Shaylie was saying how good it was to be home.We had a nice early dinner and just chilled out for the rest of the night.I don't know what the plans are for tomorrow but I'm sure we'll find something to do.

Just a quick note to inform those who maybe interested or who are looking for something to do this coming Saturday that there will be a benefit day for Kallan at the Bradford Tavern.There will be some raffles and some memorabilia up for auction along with the regular two up that you see every Anzac Day.Huge thanks to Dan,Karen and Mick Quinn who have organised the raffles and memorabilia on the day.Hope i haven't left anyone out that has contributed to the day that I'm unaware of.I really don't know too much about the day to be honest so i could very well have missed someone.Cheers guys

Coming home

Today at clinic we received the news we were hoping for when we were told that we could come home for a while.I've got a little bit of cleaning and packing to do in the morning but should be out of there fairly early and be home around lunch time.He's due back in Sydney on Friday the 1st of May for some tests then Chemo on the Monday.We were all pretty excited when they said he could come home,all it means is a few trips to John Hunter for blood tests but that's a small price to pay i think.Looking forward to catching up with family and friends when we get home.

Discharged

As expected Kal was discharged after he finished his chemo.He is still feeling really good but has just started to feel a little emotional about a few different things.But apart from that he is doing really well.We'll find out tomorrow when he is due to return and if we can go home.Also today Shaylie and I went to the Parra Bulldogs clash at ANZ stadium where we were asked to do an interview on the field before the kick off to the game.It was for Ronald McDonald House as they were having a fundraising drive at the game and just to promote the house.I'm only too happy to help out because the house has meant so much to all of us and has made everything so much easier.The game itself turned out to be a bit of a fizzer with the Bulldogs having a crushing win.Not that i cared who won but would have liked to have seen a good close game.

Later on this evening we all went out for a belated birthday dinner at The Hogs Breath Cafe.It was great to have some time as a family away from the hospital and the house.We had some good laughs with the kids pulling out some good one liners throughout dinner.The best one was when Kal gave Shaylie his explanation of puberty. Bloody classic.Put simply "It's when things start growing and you get hair on ya tackle".That's kal's version and who could argue with that.

Still going well

Kal continues to feel really good,probably the best his felt while having chemo.He's eating and drinking as he would any other day which is a change from all the other times.He's been moved from variety ward down to his beloved camperdown ward and the worst thing the nurse from variety did was tell him he was going to camperdown hours before he was due to go.He hammered her with either "when am i going to camperdown" or "are they ready for me yet".Kal will have his chemo taken down tomorrow at around 2:30pm and then as long as he's still feeling like he is he can be discharged straight away.He will have to go to clinic on Monday to have a needle.Thankfully there will be no wait at clinic because this needle needs to be given 24hrs after the chemo is taken down.The Doctor has told me that everything is already at clinic ready for us to turn up and go straight in for him to have the injection.We'll also find out when his next lot of chemo is due and if we can come home.Not getting too excited about that just yet.

What a day

After an agonising wait at clinic Kal's chemo got underway this afternoon.Kal had bloods,physio and heart scan before clinic this morning and all was looking well.He continues to show improvement with his arm and his physio said she's really encouraged by the fact that she sees progress every time she sees him.That's as good as the day got as our clinic visit was unbearable.It wouldn't have mattered what day it was because it was the most frustrating day there yet,bar none.It just so happened to fall on my birthday.We waited nearly 3hrs before we saw a doctor then after doing the appropriate paperwork were told that chemo was going to start today and to go back out and wait again for the nurse to call us in.It was easily another hour before a nurse called us and then close to another 2hrs before we were taken to the ward as Kal had enough time to watch a movie and a lilttle bit of tv before we were taken up.Thinking that it'll all get better from here we got the ward and found that kal had a room but no bed.I think i was justified in being a little annoyed and having a bit to say about it.On a positive note Kal is so far doing really well but still has about a day and a half to go before his chemo is finished.Hopefully he keeps going and he can get out soon after.We were happy to see my wonderful mum come down to see us and she even bought me a cake god love her.She's staying while Kal's in hospital so Shaylie can still stay here with me which i'm really grateful for

Movies again

Yesterday when we went to the movies Shaylie had to go with Kal's choice because we intended to use tickets he got for his birthday.Turns out no free tickets were accepted for this particular movie but thought it fair that it was still Kal's choice.Shaylie of course wanted to see the latest Zac Efron offering,17 again,but she still enjoyed the movie anyway.Kallan had also said that he wanted to see it and with him having a busy morning tomorrow and then possible admission i thought today would be our only chance.I must say that i found it really enjoyable and had a few good belly laughs.Kal even got a good giggle up and I'll never get sick of hearing that.It goes without saying that Shaylie absolutely loved it with Zac obviously rating very high on the OMG!! scale.

As i mentioned before we have a pretty busy day ahead of us tomorrow with blood test,physio,heart scan and clinic appointment.Then as long as there's a bed he'll be admitted later in the day.

Day at the movies

Today Kal,Shaylie and I went out to the movies to see Monsters V's Aliens.What a good show.To make it even better it was in 3-D and the effects were pretty impressive.I don't know if you heard of the brazen jewellery store robbery but fortunately we were no where near westfields at the time.It happened well before we were there.Shaylie had a very busy social schedule when we returned home.She had to go to starlight room and then be back in time for the kids pizza cooking class that was being held at the house.All the kids had a blast and i would've sworn that there was pizza bases spread all over the kitchen floor because that's where most of the toppings ended up.Apart from that the little chef's did a sterling job and the end prodoct tasted really good.I didn't try all of the creations because lets just say some of the toppings were a little on the exotic side.

Later on Kal and I sat down and watched RPA and both of us were quite touched by the young guy going through the same thing as Kal but on a much bigger scale.This poor kid has had his tumor spread to his lungs and the tumor in his arm is so big they have to amputate for him to have any hope of survival.Through some pretty watery eyes Kal said he feels so lucky and he's gonna make the most of it.I don't know if lucky is the right word but he certainly has the right attitude.I don't think you could be considered lucky when you have any form of cancer.his story continues next week and despite it being a little too close too home we will be tuning in.

Great day at the show

After some worrying signs early the weather turned in our favour and we went to the show as planned.Kal started to feel the pinch a little after only a short time so Mum found a place that hired out wheelchairs and walked back with one for him albeit red as a beetroot by the time she got back.After a lengthy stroll through show bag alley Shaylie,Kiarna and I went on a few rides while Kal,Karina and Mum walked around checking out all the animals.Kal was a bit worried about going on rides partly because of the fact he has just come off chemo but mostly scared that he may get thrown around and hurt his arm.He did however show off his progress with his arm at sideshow alley when he had a go at a basketball game.No one else has seen him do it and Karina,mum and the girls were very impressed when he showed them what he can do.After a great day we arrived back at the house just in time for dinner put on by Coca Cola and they even arranged for a hair dresser and nail artists to come along.Mum and I had haircuts,as did others,with Shaylie getting her nails painted also.Sadly Karina,Mum and Kiarna left for home soon after but still a good time was had by all.

Discharged

As expected Kallan was discharged this morning.He wasn't shy in showing how happy he was to be getting out either.After getting out we all decided to head to westfields to do a few things and have a bit of a look around.After spending a few hours there we called into the DVD shop to hire a few DVDs to keep us occupied for the night.For dinner we had one of Kallan's favourite dishes,taco's.It was good to be able sit down and have a meal all together as a family.It doesn't happen very often so it's always nice when it does.If weather allows us we are all heading to the Easter Show tomorrow.Being that it has been raining all day today I'm praying for nice weather so we can all go and enjoy the show.Should be a really good day.

Special thanks to Shaylie who contributed to this post by doing the typing for me.It seemed to be decidedly quicker with her doing the typing.And I thought I was getting better at typing.

Happy Easter

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Feeling good

kal continues to feel good and can't wait to get out.His levels were still quite high this morning and won't be low enough by tomorrow so it will be Monday before we get out.I'm looking forward to some time out of hospital and hopefully Kal will be well enough to get out and do something fun.Not a lot else to report apart from the fact that kal lost his room mate and has a room to himself now.Don't know for how long but we'll make the most of the time we have.

Doing well

Kal had his chemo today and despite feeling ill for a little while this morning he bounced back and is feeling pretty good now.He's pretty sleepy which is fairly normal but he's eating and drinking already so all seems well.He'll probably feel sleepy for the next few days but he always seems to recover pretty quick from this drug so i hope that's the case again this time.

Happy Easter to everyone and i hope everyone has an enjoyable Easter break.

Back for more

After the hype of the last couple of days it was back to business to today with a number of appointments to go to.First it was bloods then a short break before going to physio immediately followed by clinic appointment.I don't know if it was yesterdays events but he seemed inspired at physio this morning.He was working really hard with his exercises and i was so surprised to see him get the little basketball and start shooting a few hoops lifting his arm above his head in the process.To top it off he drained 5 shots in a row and even had enough energy left to kick the soccer ball around in the outside area for about ten mins.Needless to say Bec(physio)was very happy with his effort and progress.Kal has even progressed to the stage where he is doing bicep curls with 1kg weights as part of his exercise program.I was over the moon for him after physio because he realised how far he's come and was so proud of himself.And so he should be.To finish the night it was back in hospital to get ready for chemo in the morning.Hope all goes well and he gets through it OK

A visit to tigertown

Wow what a day.Kallan had an absolute blast and i was like a kid in a candy shop.We were made to feel so welcome and were given a tour around the training facilities before sitting down to watch the boys train.I went from being a kid in a candy shop to a Japanese tourist,snapping pictures everywhere.While the boys trained we got to meet and chat to a few of the injured brigade,some only resting on precaution.Kal got to tell a few of the boys about his illness and proudly showed off his scar.He also had a kick around with a young guy,Blake Lazarus(Glen's nephew),who was ruled out for the season with a knee injury after only the first trial game.He chatted to us for a while and kicked and passed the footy around with Kal.The best part came when training finished and Kal was given a Jersey worn by Benji Marshall in a trial game.It was given to him by Benji and Robbie Farah as a birthday present from the Wests Tigers.They also gave him a flag,hat,beanie and one of the training balls they used today.It's too close to call on who was the most exited today so Kal and I will call it a draw and just remember the fantastic day we both had.Both our jersey's are now covered with aurographs,even Tim Sheens and Roycie Simmons.Wayne Cousins who was our guide for the day took a few photos that will be going on the Wests Tigers website along with a little story.A massive thanks to Tim Gilbert from channel 9 who got the ball rolling for the visit and then to the tigers for making us feel so welcome.It was a day neither of us will forget.

Before signing off i want to wish my nephew Hayden a very Happy Birthday for today.Happy birthday mate hope you enjoyed your day and all of the presents you told me about.Except those Bulldogs pj's.

Happy birthday Kal

And what a good day it was too.First it was a few formalities at the hospital to attend to and with all his blood levels good and his methotrexate levels down to a acceptable level it was time for him to enjoy his day.And that was my main aim of the day,to make it his day.I just figured that with all his been through he at least deserved to have a day where it was all about him.With all our family and kids from the house all here to celebrate i think that is exactly what was achieved.He even had the girls from public relations come down to spend some time with him.First we had all of my family here for a party with anyone welcome to attend and then in the evening Karina's family came down.It would've have been great if everyone could have been there at once but with work commitments it wasn't to be.I'm sure that didn't make any difference with Kal.He was just so happy to see that everyone made a special effort to come down for him no matter what the time it was.He said later that he had a great day and to all who made the trip down i thank you all so much.You all helped make the day what Karina and I had intended it to be,special.

Discharged

Despite his Methotrexate levels still being a little bit high Kal was able to be discharged on the condition that he still take some medication and he goes for bloods and a clinic appointment in the morning.They wanted to see him out for his birthday and he made sure they were aware that that's what he wanted.But they still need to keep an eye on his levels,hence the blood test and clinic appointment in the morning.

For those of you who missed the today show this morning also missed Shaylie front and centre on one of there weather crosses.They were there for an Easter promotion and they had a big Easter egg hunt and then a kids group sung a few songs.Just before the group(buggered if i can remember who they were)sang there songs Shaylie managed to get her way to the front near the camera.Apparently Karina and eye got in the shot as well but we most certainly didn't plan that.

On a very sad note i would like to extend my condolences to the entire Greedy family,especially Julie,Robbie and Alyssa after the tragic death of there son and brother Judd.He was killed while racing in super sport motorbike championship.He loved his bikes and i know he was adored by his family.He will most definitely be sadly missed

Yesterdays update

Yesterday saw even more improvement in Kal with he and his roomy,Sean,having plenty of fun on the x-box.It's proven to be somewhat of an ordeal when the nurses come to do obs.One has to pause while the other is being seen to.Although Mel does her best to muck up there game or make them crash just to annoy them.We had a visit from pop as well as my Auntie Ann and cousin Peta.Kal always enjoys there visits and later in the evening he said the reason he's so tired is because he hasn't laughed like that for a long time and he had plenty of laughs today.To make the day even better his Mum arrived in the afternoon which made him so happy.

Getting better

Today saw an improvement but still not feeling fantastic.He had a bit of an unsettled night but woke this morning a little better.He's sharing a room with another young boy around his age and he was able to chat and play a few games on the PlayStation together and with Mel,his favourite wacky nurse,looking after them both they were certainly kept amused.He loves having Mel look after him because she always keeps things upbeat and pays out on me constantly.He also had another favourite Nicole(Blondy)looking after him so it was a double bonus for him.I get the feeling that he's a bit of a favourite with them as well.Although feeling better he's still very sleepy and later tonight he started to feel a bit off again.He settled off to sleep OK and hopefully a good nights sleep will see more of an improvement tomorrow.

Another positive report

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Good report from physio

After the high of last night it was back down to earth with a thud this morning.We had a number of appointments this morning and he's also without a bed.After clinic he had an physio session and his physio,Rebecca,is very pleased with his progress.He is very close to being able to fully straighten his arm and his shoulder movement is coming along nicely.He had a relaxing afternoon while Shaylie spent the majority of her time either in the starlight room or playing schools at the back of the house.Speaking of the starlight room channel 9 had a camera crew there and once Shaylie new they were coming there was no way she was going anywhere.I don't know when it'll be aired and Shay said she didn't get on camera anyway.Also at the starlight room she fought for and won back her UNO championship belt beating a few of the captains in the process.Kal has an appointment with Dr Stalley in the morning then hopefully he'll have a bed so treatment can start so that he can be out of hospital for his birthday.Either way I'm certain he'll have a memorable day.

Latest update

Due to some Internet troubles lately I've been unable to update blog.Kal has had a really good time at home and has attended school everyday this week.He's spent a few hours at school each day and even went this morning before returning to Sydney.We both had a very relaxing time at home and caught up with some friends as well.Kal seems in really good spirits and is in no way daunted by the thought of returning to Sydney in fact i would suggest that he's keen to get things moving again.The break at home seems to have refreshed him and I have absolutely no doubt it's exactly what was needed.

Tonight Kal,Shaylie,Nan,Pop and I went to watch the socceroos play Uzbekistan at ANZ stadium.After a ordinary first half display the boys kicked into gear and,despite some early Oscar nominations from the Uzbek's,the Aussies came away 2-0 victors.A fine header from aerial specialist Josh Kennedy opened the scores for the Aussies and with there domination of the second half evident it wasn't too much longer before the one and only Harry Kewell added to his tally of goals for the socceroos.It was a most enjoyable night and it was great to watch some high quality football.Lucas Neill was man of the match for mine he was just awesome at the back and never really looked threatened.

Well it's back to hospital tomorrow,again depending on bed availability,and we are hoping for a change in fortunes for him so that everything goes smoothly.We don't want any more delays or other illnesses coming up.