Enjoying a Normal Life

The last few days Kal and the rest of the family are beginning to feel more and more like things are starting to get back to normal.We've been really enjoying the company of Kathryn and her two boys along with just feeling like a family again.Kal and i went to the golf course on the weekend for 9 holes.Kal hit the ball pretty well but both of us had plenty of troubles getting a feel for the speed of the greens.They were very quick which is highly unusual for Beresfield.Shaylie again had to sit out soccer this week but will be available for the next game as she gets her cast off on Thursday.She can't wait for that.

Just a quick note of congratulations to my niece Tegan who along with her aerobics team members travelled to Adelaide to compete in the national championships.The result was a GOLD medal winning performance and with it game the title of national champions.Well done girls.

Times are in

The times for the City2Surf were published in Tuesday's Sydney morning herald.To my surprise i managed to come home in a time of 88mins and 51secs.It was a lot better than i expected.I thought around 100mins would've been a realistic time for me on limited preparation so to see that time next to my name was quite satisfying.

Yesterday Kal started Hydrotherapy near John Hunter Hospital.He said he really enjoyed it and worked his arm pretty hard.He said that he found some of the exercises pretty difficult and some actually hurt to do so they had to modify them a little bit.For his first time he did really well and he'll only get better from here.

Just a notice to all who have followed Kal's progress that on Friday the 28th of August we will be having a celebration of Kal's good health at the Bradford Hotel.It will also double as a thank you to the whole community for getting behind us throughout his fight.It will commence in the evening and I'll be able to give a time and some other details in the next few days.Karina and i feel it's the best way to let everyone know how much our family appreciates the effort of the whole community and others outside of the maitland area who have also showed there support.Absolutely everyone is welcome to attend and have a drink and a feed or even just to pop in and say g'day.Look forward to seeing everyone.

City to Surf

The 2009 City to Surf was run and won yesterday even before i crossed the start line.Being a novice to the event i started with the final group.There are 4 or 5 starting groups and the majority of the cure our kids team were in the final group.I was reunited with a lot of people and even some nurses that looked after Kallan participated in the event.It was a wonderful event with so many people participating for so many different reasons.My experience of the event was a mixture of pleasure and pain.There were plenty of well wishes along the way some very amusing and others that wouldn't have made it past lunchtime before passing out.The pain part came towards the end of the race and has stayed with me since.My feet are killing me and i had some trouble earlier in the week and probably didn't give them enough time to get better.I can tell you that along the way Kal was very much in my thoughts and everything he had to endure.I thought the pain i was feeling was nothing in comparison to what Kal and other precious kids felt throughout their respective treatments.My highlight was when i was half way up heartbreak hill and ran past former Roosters,NSW and Australian back rower Luke Ricketson.I'm sure he was taking it pretty easy but that doesn't matter I'll claim it anyway.

A huge thanks must go to my support group coordinator(that's a title she and mum came up with)Peta.She got me to the places i needed to be on time and did the same for mum and the kids.She took me into the city on the Saturday to pick up my timing tag and bib for the big race.I bought a new pair of shoes while i was there as i left my shoes at home(purposely despite what Peta and mum will tell you) as my old ones were making my feet hurt.As if I'd leave my shoes behind for an event like that.Kallan ,Shaylie and mum have said they all want to participate in next years event and anyone who has ever thought of doing the same should most definitely do so.

Physio Going Well

Yesterday Kal had some physio after a short break due to his line removal.He seems to be enjoying his physio and it's starting to show.Both the therapists that look after him commented about they've seen a marked improvement as he's gone along.He starts hydrotherapy next week which his physio has said will be fantastic for him.She said him swinging a golf club is also great for him which Kal was happy to hear.They couldn't be happier with how he's progressing.

Welcome Kathryn and Kids

The kids got a huge surprise this afternoon after school when Karina and I bought a little visitor along with us to pick them up from school.We had our little nephew,Kade,with us and of course if Kade was with us it meant that Kathryn and her other little boy Ethan was here.Shay didn't know who it was straight away but Kal picked it right of the bat.We had a lovely walk from the school back to Nanny T's house with Kade giving all of us the hurry along a few times saying "c'mon guys run c'mon".All the kids had a blast playing and all the women of the family were hogging the cuddles from little Ethan.We're all so happy to see Kathryn,Kade and Ethan and i know how much kathryn has been wanting to come out here especially since Kallan's illness.I hope they have a great time out here and i know we'll enjoy having them here.

Back Home

Today we headed back home after his latest procedure but not until after Shaylie had a good play in the starlight room.She wanted to hang out for a while because she doesn't know when she'll be back.I let her go for a while but i wanted to beat the afternoon traffic so i had to put the foot down at some point.It will be October before we are required back for more scans so that's a real good break for Kal.I guess now it's time for me to get back to work and start getting back to normal.I don't know how that will go but i will just take things as they come and hopefully things will fall into place.The main thing for me is that Kal is home and all the really tough parts are seemingly over.

Another Milestone

This morning Kal,Shay,Mum and I headed down to Sydney for the removal of his central line.You could say it's his last remaining link to his cancer treatment so it was a pretty big thing for us.It wasn't until late in the afternoon the he was finally called in and the procedure itself took around 20mins.He was a little upset just as he woke and was saying his throat was "tickley' but he said that he didn't feel any pain from the operation.He started to suck on a lemonade ice block but not long after he threw up big time.He did drink a fair bit of water as well to try and get rid of the tickle in his throat so that may well have been the problem.He seemed to feel so much better after it though and was up out of bed in no time.We moved out into a different recovery area where they continued to observe him.After an hour or so he was given the all clear to go but only as far as Ronald McDonald House.They didn't want him traveling too far so soon after the operation.It was pretty special to see him without his line and it must feel amazing for him to be without it.

Today Shaylie spent the whole day in the Starlight room because two of the cool captains were on today.She has a few faves and hangs out there all day when any of them are on.Today,and plenty of other days,it proved to be a god send for us because there is no way Shaylie would have been able to sit in the waiting room with us for as long as we did.I can guarantee though that they love having her there as much as she loves being there.

Latest Update

On Friday I took Kal to the Golf course as he has been asking for some time to go for a hit.After a bit of a rough start(that goes for both of us) he started to come good and showed that in time his arm won't be a hindrance.He hit some nice shots but got a bit tired after 5 or 6 holes so we called it a day.It was just good for him to get a taste of it again.When we got home he told me that he really enjoyed getting back out there.I told him that for me it was great to see him out having a hit again.

Unfortunately because of her injury there was no soccer for Shaylie on the weekend.I'm not sure how her team went but they had a game on Sunday as well so she wasn't too impressed about the whole thing.On a positive note my old soccer team the mighty warriors had a break through victory on Saturday with a 3-1 win.It was there first win of the year and I'm sure it was celebrated accordingly.I was lucky enough to make a guest appearance in the win and would like to think i had some influence in the outcome.Whether that is true or not is another thing entirely.

Kallan's surgery to remove his central line has been put of till Wednesday after he was bumped off the list for Monday.We won't find out the time until 3 o'clock tomorrow for some reason so it may mean going down tomorrow afternoon and staying the night at Ronald McDonald House.Whatever happens,happens and as long as he gets his line removed i don't mind having one more night down there.

Results are in

Today Kallan and i headed down to Sydney to get the results of his scans.Mum came along with us as she had a present that she wanted to give to Ronald McDonald house.Shaylie couldn't come down today as she had an appointment at Maitland hospital to get her full cast put on.She has a pretty pink one on and she sent me a picture of it after she had it put on.Kal and i had a fairly short wait in clinic today which was good but even better than that was the news that the scans came back all clear with no sign of any cancer about.It was a great moment to hear the doctor say that everything is good.We have another trip back to Sydney on Monday for kal to have his central line removed.He can't wait for that.His next lot of scans are not until October so after Monday he'll have a decent break from hospitals apart from his weekly physio sessions.

More drama's

Due to some problems with the Internet i haven't been able to get on and do the blog in the last few days.In that time we've had another drama but this time it didn't involve Kal.On Sunday afternoon while i was at the club having a few drinks with some of my old footy mates i got a call from Karina to say that Shaylie had had a fall at the park and was in some pain.She'd fallen off the flying fox and the lady that was there and bought her home said it was a nasty fall and she was sure that she had heard a snap.We headed down to Maitland hospital to get it checked out and sure enough the doctor found a fracture.She's been in some pain the last few days but most of the time we've been able to keep on top of it.She still says that she can't believe she broke her arm.On Thursday she'll get her half cast off and have a proper cast put on.

Today Kal had physio down at Newcastle.He worked very hard and his physio team has come up with a lot of different exercises for him to try and break things up.He seems to be enjoying it which is great.

Busy few days

The last few days the kids and i have been out and about spending time together then yesterday it was back down to Sydney.I took them to see Hannah Montana on Tuesday(Shaylie has been hanging out for it) and i took Kal to see Harry Potter today.Yesterday Kallan had a PET scan at Westmead adults hospital and while we were there Shaylie spent the whole time in the starlight room.The PET scan is a pretty long process so Shaylie got to hang out for a good couple of hours.Before heading up to the hospital we called in to Ronald McDonald house to catch up with the staff and the few remaining families that we know.

Upon our return home Karina,the kids and I went out for tea to celebrate Karina's birthday.She had to work during the day but finished early so we could go out for a family dinner.It was really nice.

Latest update

Kal was discharged from hospital last week just in time to attend the last day of the school term.He went for most of the day and enjoyed being around his mates again,although i don't think he was too thrilled that i made him go for the last day.
On the weekend i went to watch Shaylie play soccer and Kal is finding it a bit hard to go to the soccer.He doesn't like watching at the moment but I'm hoping that will change with time.After soccer i headed up to a mates place at Tamworth to catch up and attend my god daughter's birthday.

Today we headed down to Sydney for some scans.We have another one on Thursday and then the following Thursday we head down again to see the doctor who will by then have the results for us.It will be a nervous wait for the results but we are thinking positively and haven't even considered a bad result

Slight change of plans

After some more discussions with the team in Sydney we found out that they were unable to get Kal in for the PET scan on the Monday.They were,however,able to make it for the Thursday of next week.It means 2 trips to Sydney next week but i will ask if the CT scan can be put back for the same day as the PET scan.There going to be sick of me by the end of the week but we certainly didn't plan to be in here all week either.Kal also had some physio today and he worked pretty hard too.All his sessions from now will be pretty hard going for him and the physio has booked him in for some hydrotherapy for when he gets his line out.Her plan is to make it so that his sessions aren't all hard work and throw a bit of fun in there as well.

Tomorrow is his last day of antibiotics and at around 5 o'clock he should be free to go.We aren't going to worry about getting a gate pass tomorrow morning because I'm a bit over the drive back and forth everyday so we'll just hang out till 5 and then we're out of here.

Some good news

After several days of not much going right for him at last Kal had some half decent news today.The doctors here had spoken to the team in Sydney and after some maneuvering were able to schedule his scans for Monday so there for no need for us to be transferred to Westmead.Small consolation i know but at this point in time it's a bonus.So the plan now is to stay here until Thursday afternoon and then Sydney on Monday morning.A lot better outlook for him.

More of the same

Not a lot has changed for Kal in the last 24hrs.We now know the name of the bug that has caused all the problems but i can't remember it and even if i could i can't pronounce it let alone spell it.We are still yet to hear if we are going to be transferred down to Sydney but the doctor said that being that it is a bug that he has not had before it's highly unlikely that they'll stop the antibiotics early.That being the case it seems that being transferred will be inevitable.I know the nurses at camperdown ward love him but i think even they will be disappointed to see him back in there if that's what happens.The doctor also explained to us that these scans that he's due for on Thursday simply cannot be put back for another day.They are far too important and quite simply they would be completely booked out for months in advance.So we'll find out tomorrow if we're going and Wednesday would more than likely be the day we go.

Doing Fine

Kal is still feeling good which i would imagine is making him question his stay in hospital even more.At the same time he understands full well the reason he needs the antibiotics.Another thing that disappointed him today was the news that he will more than likely be transferred down to Sydney within the next few days as he is due for scans on Thursday and he won't be finished his course of antibiotics before then.He wasn't too impressed by that.All in all it wasn't a bad day today because while on leave from hospital Karina,Kal and i went to the markets for a few hours.Yesterday Kal spent his break at the movies to celebrate my nephew Isaac's birthday.They went to see Ice Age 3 and by all reports it was very funny.These breaks have certainly broken the monotony of hospital for him.Only problem arises when it's time to go back.

This afternoon I had the pleasure of spending some time with my beautiful girl Shaylie.She'd stayed the night at her Auntie netty's after her night out at the wrestling.She decided to hang around and help Ronnie and Netty with the renovations and then came to visit on her way home.She said the wrestling was "mad" and gave Kal the run down of the whole night.It must of been so hard for him but Shay was so excited and he took it like the champ that he is.

Kal Heart Broken

It's been a long time since i updated the blog and all i can put it down to is just enjoying being home and probably being a bit of a slacker.But since Kallan has been home he has been enjoying being at school with all his mates and having his family around all the time.We've had a trip back to Sydney to see his surgeon and received a good report.He told us that the scans show that both humerus bones are almost identical in length and that he doesn't need to see us for another 6 months.Since then he's been doing really well and feeling as good as he has been for a long time.

That all changed on Thursday when he started feeling unwell after he returned home from having physio and having blood taken at John Hunter.I told him to have a lay down and try to get some sleep and feeling quite unwell myself i thought that might do the trick for both of us.I ended up taking his temperature and when it read 39.9 i rang the hospital.Even though his chemo has finished they still needed him to come down.He immediately became upset and even more so when i told him i couldn't come with him because i was sick too.His main concern was that it was so close to the WWE and he might miss out on going.The next morning as i arrived at the hospital Mum rang me to tell me that Kal had returned a positive blood culture and that his much anticipated trip to see his WWE hero's in action was not going to happen.To say he was devastated would be the mother of all understatements.He'd been looking forward to it for so long and i decided that i just can't bring myself to going because i wouldn't enjoy it because I'd be thinking about him the whole time and how much he would have loved it.On the flip side i didn't think it would be fair if Shaylie missed out as well so i gave the tickets to her Uncle Ronnie so he could take her.I hope she has a great time.

Kal will now spend the next 5-7 days in hospital having antibiotics with the only plus being that he is allowed home for 4-5 hours each day as long as his temp is down and he's feeling OK.The doctors will have the final say each day as to if he can get out.

Home sweet home

This morning Kal had a CT scan on his arms for his surgeon to look at before his next appointment.He wants the measurements of both humerus bones to work out when he needs an adjustment done.After that was finished Shay headed to the starlight room to spend the day with another of her favourite captains,captain casual.She has a few faves and it was a sad day for Shay yesterday as probably her all time favourite captain,captain meercat had her last day as a captain.Shay shed a few tears but i can tell you captain struggled also.They all just love Shaylie and I have no doubt they'll miss her as much as she will miss them.We dropped into Camperdown ward to say goodbye to the nurses and it was definitely a funny feeling to say goodbye.It was definitely the hardest time in my life but strangely enough very rewarding at the same time.Things happened that I wish I could forget but I'll take a lot of very fond memories from our time in Sydney.I was fortunate to meet some wonderful people and have made some life long friends out of this experience.We plan on catching up with a few later in the year.At around 3pm we started our journey home and the mixed feelings remained I think because i know that there's still a lot left to do for a while to come yet.

After we arrived home this evening we had family come over for a celebratory dinner. We had a few pizza's and everyone got to spend some time with Kal at home.We'll take a bit to get settled back in and then it'll be time for us to start getting back to normal.We will be taking time out at some stage to go for a holiday somewhere nice. I can't wait for that.

Out of hospital

Yesterday we had an unexpected visit from Melanie Curtis and her family.Mel is young girl we met that had the same type of cancer as Kallan about 6-7yrs ago.She's kept in touch with us all the way through and was in town having scans and dropped in to see him.To give you an idea of what lies ahead for Kallan,as mentioned Mel had her cancer 6-7yrs ago and she still has one more scan to go until she is fully and officially clear.Add to that the continued surgical procedures on his arm it starts to make you realise that we've got a lot more visits yet.But that's OK we're just so happy to know that it will just be visits and not long term stays.That part is over baby(sorry I've been watching Austin Powers).

This morning we had another surprise when the Doctor said his levels were down to 120 and he could go.The normal target is 100 but they weren't going to leave him in with it being that close.He really got it out of his system fast this time around.A coincidence maybe since it was his last one,I think not.He has been quite emotional this afternoon as he comes to the realisation of what he has achieved.Thank you to everyone who has supported us and kept up with his blog.All the comments are fantastic and the last lot of comments were particularly touching.Thank you

Chemo,a thing of the past

Today was a huge day for Kal and now I can finally say that his chemo is now officially all over.I can hardly believe it and i don't think it's truly sunk in yet.Although when it was finished he turned to me and said "that's it I've done it,I've beaten cancer".If I didn't have a tear in my eye before that i definitely had one after it.I know I've said it before but I just have to say how proud i am of him.It's an amazing achievement and one he should be so proud of.It's something he can remember and always draw on this experience for the rest of his life.Although his chemo has finished he needs to stay in hospital as normal to get the drug out of his system.Sunday looks like being the day he'll get out and I'd love to have a little something for him as a celebration.Just as it looked like his last chemo would be a breeze he did get sick later in the night.He was given some anti nausea drugs and I gave him a long shower and it seemed to do the trick.He seemed pretty comfortable watching tele and went off to sleep with no problem.