(The Wedding Party; The Groomsmen; My Bro & Sis, Kas Bro and Sis-in-law; End of the Night; Honeymoon)
I've just worked out that this coming Wednesday will be 6 months since I was diagnosed. I've been thinking about the things that I've faced and learnt in that time - things I would never have imagined. I can't say that it's been negative either; too be honest, there's been a lot of positives. It's been the people that I'm surrounded by and the stories of other people's fight and determination that have kept, and will keep, me positive and ready to tackle the next 6 months. In that time, I've also done one thing that I'm most proud of...getting married on the 25th March to my wee lass...
The day was even better than I could have imagined. The boys all turned up in the morning struggling to find my front door through the Scottish mist and drizzle. After a few rounds of Tiger Woods golf on the playstation, it was time to tackle the kilt situation...6 aussies donning the tartan 'skirt' wasn't so easy. We all managed anyway and before we knew it, the wedding cars had arrived and we were all left standing in the kitchen with a glass of bubbly in our hands; everyone ready and keen to get the day started. Then the unexpected happened...something appeared in the sky, parting the thick clouds as we all walked downstairs. The Scots weren't too sure what it was but before too long we had assured them the yellow ball in the air was the sun -poking it's head out for a look...
My nerves were fine and the excitement was building as I patiently waiting for one o'clock to tick over. The time finally came and myself and my groomsmen were led out to the front stage to await my bride. The minister told me to get used to this... As everyone took their seats and the pipe organ chimed into action, we all keenly anticipated the lady in white. To say she was beautiful was a HUGE understatement! Kas looked unbelievable as Tom lead her to meet me at the altar (not sure why he giggled as he handed me over to her). The ceremony went well...the only time the minister looked at us in a weird way was during one of the hymns when Kas attempted to reach a note so high only dogs could hear her. After 30 minutes of songs, readings, crying and laughter...we were officially married; the lump in my throat slowly receded and the photographer enthusiastically took over.
Again, the reception at Mar Hall was better than I could have hoped for. The yellow ball in the sky stayed out to light up the photos and our closest friends and family got the champers flowing steadily. Even though I'd seen Mar Hall a few times before, I was still taken aback at the way it looked...the bagpiper situated on the side of the Hall made it even more dramatic. The meal went well and it was the only thing to keep my mind off my speech coming up. It was so good to have so many people travel from Oz, Canada and the whole of the UK (and Ireland) to come and see us on our day. It was also good to have the Leukaemia right out of the spotlight and have a day to 'pretend' it wasn't there and things were back to normal. Need to have those days every now and again... All in all, the day was a huge success...the dancefloor was never empty as was the bar, the band kept the party kicking on til the wee hours and everyone ensured both Kas and I had the best day of our life...
After the wedding, you find yourself in a situation wondering how it could get any better and what could follow up to such a good day. Buy that person who invented honeymoons a beer for me! To keep up with the theme of this post, the Maldives was again better than I could have imagined. Two weeks of sun, our own water villa with deck and ladder out to the coral reefs and complete relaxation. To top it off, I was away from the doctors, specialists and hospitals for 2 whole weeks; or so we thought...
After the incident with my ankle a few weeks back, I never knew it was in more need of repair. We'd only been there for 2 days and after some vigorous kicking whilst snorkeling to keep up with some reef sharks and the hundreds of Nemo's, I felt a light twinge in my left ankle. After a night of moaning (from my ankle!) we had to get it sorted out and find out what was happening. A quick trip on the speedboat to the capital, Male, and I was quickly attended to by the doctor followed by a specialist, followed by a radiographer and then another doc to tell me my injury was from the injury not having sufficient time to heal. After a few pain killers and a slap up side the head, we were back out the front of the hospital ready to head back to the boat and continue our honeymoon. However, Fridays in the capital are reserved for men only and it was Muslim prayer day. A few stern words and Kas had her mouth shut. Our Island Guide then informed us we couldn't get a taxi as they are all in praying, leaving walking as our only mode of transport. The crutches couldn't get me that far. The guide then called over his school mate who was milling about on his motorbike and within minutes I was cruising down the back streets of Male on the back of a dodgy motorbike, holding my crutches over my shoulder and realising I have just left my Wife-of-4-days on her own in the middle of a mosque. How was I going to tell Tom I've already lost her?!? Luckily we met up 10 minutes later to continue the bliss. The crutches were soon ditched and we enjoyed the remainder of our holiday in the Maldives and Dubai secretly hoping this would last forever...
Now we're back and ready for the next chapter of our lives together. The following months are full of activity. My 2nd PCR (very sensitive blood test) is coming up in two weeks to determine how well I am going with my medication, followed by the trip to the Baby Clinic...not long after I will be running the Edinburgh 10km (May 7th) to raise cash for Leukaemia research, results of the PCR test, the Donor Recruitment Clinic in London and then finally I should find out if the American donor is a suitable bone marrow match for me.
All this will be happening over the next 5 weeks and I couldn't imagine facing this without my new wee wife and all the people who have helped me get past this first 6 months...
