56. The Dance-Off

PHOTOS: The Girls at the Ball; Johnny the Prize Winner; Walking Chloe to Gran's in the Morning; Snow at Gran's House; Sunrise over Glasgow; The Snow is Falling in Milngavie; Taking Chloe and Kas to see Santa; Newborn Amelia, Vicky, Kas and Chloe; Proud Dad Graham; Chloe will the Pigs; BBQ in Winter; Matt with his Shotgun; Dawsie missing another Clay; Ice over our back Pond; the drunken BMW purchase...

I don’t know how long it’ll take to acclimatise but the cold crisp days in Scotland to the arid lands of Australia couldn’t be more of a contrast. The days are among the nicest I’ve seen them on this side of the globe, with plenty of blue skies, thick frosts and crunchy white snow. I reckon we might be cowering under the air conditioner for the first few days in Oz and only when I’m brave enough, I’ll test my white skin in the sunlight. With only four weeks left until we head back home to Oz, I’m starting to get very excited…

I should be getting my PCR result back pretty soon as I was with the Doctors last Tuesday – my bloods are still looking completely normal but this time around, I’m not expecting a great deal of change with my PCR. It’s been stuck the past four tests, so I’ll be perfectly happy to be emailed a similar number. I’ve been on my new meds Sprycel for 18 months now, so if there’s not been a significant change in that time, then anything from 0.3 – 0.8% will be good. Anything over 1% won’t be well received. We spent most of the consultation talking about ways we can raise cash in the future and what new meds are being tested and trialled – I’m assured it’s looking pretty good as far as CML is concerned. Kas, a few of the 3 Peaks gang and I were invited by the Lord Provest (who ever this bloke is?...) of Glasgow to the official opening of the new Leukaemia Centre we raised £16k for, at the City Chambers. It’s good to see that the 3 Peaks effort in June is still being recognised as a pretty decent fundraiser. We’ve even been dedicated the Gel-doc machine or the ‘work horse’ as the scientists call it, with a plaque sitting proudly on top. As good as the 3 Peaks Challenge was, I still haven’t been any where near a mountain since then. Maybe it’s time to dust down the boots as get back on hills.

My work is currently in the midst of the busiest time of year, so it’s been pretty tough to get too much else done. For some reason, the booze industry defies the predictions and continues to power on with no signs of decline – maybe everyone is drowning their sorrows in this economic doom and gloom? Anyway, it’s good for us and because of this, the whole company is off to Cuba in February, a few weeks after I get back from Oz. Bring on the mojitos - gold!!

My mate Dawsie celebrated his 30th the other week and we celebrated with in a nice rented chateau in the Scottish borders. Very nice and a highly recommended neck of the woods! Then the weekend following, it was time to head along to our annual shindig that is the Anthony Nolan Scottish Daisy Ball. It’s our third ball in a row and it keeps getting better and better – the fact that I sponsored a booze hamper prize which was then won by Johnny on our table, helped get us going after consuming a bottle of whisky in record time. The entertainment was unreal as usual and the venue was stunning…after many more drams of the good stuff, Dawsie got the party going by having a soccer competition with the ex-Dutch Football Captain, I tore the skin off my knees with a monster knee slide to win a dance-off and Colin having a monster dance-floor stack that made the whole crowd turn and look. After that got out of hand, we left the premises late into the night with snow falling around us. It wasn’t until the next morning that Kas reminded me of my purchase from the silent auction the night before and when I went downstairs, I was greeted by a children’s electric BMW car that I bought for Chloe. It wasn’t until later that we read she can’t even use it until she’s three. Very funny! Anyone keen to come along next year, just let me know and I’ll sort out the tickets…

The next day, our friend Mhairi left for Mumbai in India for a work trip until Christmas. She arrived in the morning to her hotel, the Oberoi, and thankfully she went out for dinner on her first night as her hotel was attacked by terrorists. As you can imagine, everyone's thoughts were with Mhairi and her colleagues and she spent the night on the restaurant floor praying the shooters didn't enter, as only two doors down, tens of people weren't so lucky. She is now back safely in Glasgow and it's very good to have our mate back!

The baby boom is continuing with Karen’s family friend Graham (or Alexei Sayle as my brother calls him) having a wee girl called Amelia. And shortly after, Karen’s cousin Emma also had a wee girl called Niamh (pronounced Neave). All babies and mum’s are doing very well. I can’t wait now until Jen and Dawsie have their baby in April next year!

I think this hill-walking thing is growing on me now, as every time I look outside to the snow and blue sky, I’m tempted to don the gore-tex and get outdoors again and again. Chloe’s commute to her Gran’s in the morning has been via the backpack on her dad’s back for the past few days. Wish me luck that the PCR sends me on a nice holiday and I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Years!! Keep the messages and emails coming in…

55. Birthday Girl

PHOTOS: Chloe's 1st Birthday Cake; Opening her Presents; Girls enjoying the Party; Bobby and Ish; Fellas on the Beers; It's my Party and I'll cry if I want to; Feeding the little Lady; Kas Opening Presents...

I’ve been unsure of what to think of my PCR result I received a few weeks ago. This time last year, I was getting tested every few weeks – I was just moved onto the highest possible Sprycel dose, so the docs wanted to be assured that they were doing the right thing. One year on and I’m only heading back to see the consultants every six weeks and having PCR taken every three months. More emphasis on each one now as you can imagine! So with everyone so keen to finally see how well I’m coping with the high dose, it was with an email I found out that the rollercoaster was set to continue and it’s still not time to get off…

0.67%. Three months ago it was 0.45% and the previous was a record breaking (for me anyway) 0.3%. I was sure this was bad news and only desperate measures could be put in place to avoid any further damage. I felt I was getting more susceptible to viruses and that maybe my immune system was being jeopardised by something of my own wrongdoing. I felt totally fine, healthy and fit, so I certainly had no explanation on why there is an upward trend. Too many Christmas mince pies already?

After a few weeks of deliberating, mainly about hounding the docs for an explanation, I held my tongue and awaited my appointment last Tuesday. I usually get seen by either one of two main consultants, so I was slightly taken aback when another haematologist grabbed my notes and loudly called out my name in the waiting room. I wandered into her consulting room and as she flicked through my notes, I couldn’t help being nosey and sneak a peak at the notes. All I could make out was “reconsider bone marrow transplant if PCR was above 0.5%”. I could feel myself tighten up and when she said that maybe my other consultant should see me as she needed to “talk” to me about something. I already knew what about…

Talk about a case of over-imagination. Professor Holyoake apologised that I never received the email from her to explain that she is quite happy with the results and not to worry. She looked at my previous 12 PCR results and grouped them into 3’s – the first batch had an average of 2.6%, the next batch was 1.6%, then 1.2% and then finally 0.45%. It’s all about perspective! She would only ever worry is there was a definite 10-fold increase ie; 0.3% to 3% and slightly concerned for a 3-fold increase. As long as my next PCR is under 1%, everything should continue as normal as it has been.

19th October will be three years since diagnosis – I definitely fought hard during the initial few months and year, and since then I’ve pushed on to make life as normal as possible for my family and myself. But even three years on, I still can’t help getting dragged into worrying about my future from time to time. Most of my time is spent living as though I don’t have Leukaemia and it’s not even a conscious decision. Of course there are side-effects from my meds but if I treat them as normal, then everything else in my life will follow suit. I’m aware that I don’t update my blog as often as I used to but revisiting this, forced me to deal with issues that I’ve put to the back of my mind. I live as though everything is fine but I’ve got to realise that I’m treading pretty close to the edge and that my PCR’s are far from optimal. A risky transplant will continue to be the next option, so let’s hope I can keep on this same road for a lot longer.

One of the main things that will keep me going strong is Chloe. She celebrated her 1st birthday the other week and what a party that turned out to be (more booze available than at a 30th!). She had her party frock on proudly and loved all the attention that everyone gave her. Such a spoilt little lady! Somehow we squeezed most of our friends and family into our house, along with 12 babies. The singletons and newly weds hid safely in the kitchen, probably one the best forms of contraception was to see the carnage by these wee people created. Our mates Ish and Amy even made it back over to the UK to help celebrate Chloe’s birthday and our first year as a mum and dad. Gold!

Unfortunately we’re going to miss their wedding in Oz this December as it’s my busiest time of year but we will be leaving the shores of Scotland on Boxing Day and heading back to Australia then for a nice three week jaunt. Not long to go now until we visit my folks in Cowra then off to the coast, just south of Sydney, for a week and I’m getting really pumped about arriving back home with my daughter on show. As much as I’m looking forward to baring my white chest on the beach, it’ll be great to watch Chloe playing with her cousins in the sand. We will literally be travelling from 4 degrees to 40. Not sure how my pasty skin will endure and handle this foreign climate though…

I will, however, be here in the bonny lands for when my mate, best man and fellow “aussie living in Scotland with a Scottish misses”, Jason and Jennifer are expecting the arrival of their first baby. Unreal - bring on the baby boom!

Thanks for the emails and messages – keep them coming in. I’m currently updating this as I get rocked from side to side on the Belfast-Stranraer ferry on my way back to Glasgow. A city that has just been voted in the Top 10 destinations for 2009 in the Lonely Planet Guide:

“Forget about castles, kilts, bagpipes and tartan. You come for the cocktails, cuisine and designer chic (plus the legendary native wit) ... Scotland's biggest city has shaken off its shroud of industrial soot and shimmied into a sparkling new designer gown." Glasgow is the only British city included in the top 10, an accolade embraced by Steven Purcell, leader of the city council. He yesterday helped to unveil plans by the Dubai-based Jumeirah hotel group to build the UK’s first "six-star" luxury hotel in the city - a 26-storey tower which will boast 160 guest rooms and suites and 85 serviced apartments.”

The sun is shining and the temperature is crisp. Beautiful!

54. Paella Munching

PHOTOS: Me and my little lady in Majorca; Kas, Chloe and I on the Beach; Majorca; Tom, Anne, Kas and Chloe eyeing up the Boats; Kas and Anne at Dinner; Dressed up for the Hotel; Chloe in her highchair; Back home feeding the Ducks; Chloe leading the way; Ish, Amy and Kas in Royal Exchange Square...

That’s certainly been the longest spell between diary entries. I never planned to take a break from jotting my thoughts but it’s been a nice time to take a step back and evaluate life over the past three years. There certainly hasn’t been a shortage of events worthy of commentating but as the cliché goes, a change is as good as a holiday. I guess that depends on the change…

During the balmy Scottish summer we’ve just endured, I think I’ve managed to get my head around my rising 0.43% PCR result, organised our family trip back to Australia this Christmas, been visited by some very good aussie mates Ish and Amy who are now working and living in Kuwait, travelled successfully to Majorca with my two girls, thought I’d suffered a heart attack, stacked on a few kilos after munching fourteen metric tonnes of paella whilst in Spain and been shocked of some news of a fellow Leukaemia sufferer. As per usual, it feels as though I’m piloting a plane through the eye of a tropical thunderstorm…we’re not short of a few ups and downs.

In my last post in June, 0.43% was the new PCR result. It had gone slightly up from the previous 0.3%. At my six-weekly doctor appointment yesterday, the consultants felt as though the two results were the same. It’s not great for them to move up is any way but there has to be trend of three-in-a-row to make any detailed evaluations. After three separate needles to fill up ten vials of blood, I now have the pleasure of waiting another three weeks for the result of this one. The more I get used to being a dad, the more I get desperate to hear good result for myself and get to the 0.1% gold-standard target. Fingers crossed for September! Since commencing my new med Sprycel in May last year and about the time when Chloe was born, I’ve been a little more susceptible to infections – no one really knows what the reason for this is, as all my blood tests show some pretty healthy results. Anyway, my Doctor has also requested a test to see whether my immune system is being jeopardised in anyway because of my meds. It’ll be interesting to hear these results too.

Our recent trip to Majorca with my two girls and my in-laws was a huge success. Just what the doctor ordered – literally. It was just so good to have a healthy dose of a soft, white beach and some heat once again and enjoy the time seeing Chloe, who evidently started walking properly while we were away, playing in the sand and bullying all the little boys who advanced to close. That’s my girl! It was my first sun-seeker trip ‘abroad’ and as it’s only 2 ½ hours away, it’ll be a regular destination for the future. We arrived home on the Wednesday night and before I knew it, I was back on another flight to London getting back into work, filling myself to the brim with caffeine. The next day I spent too much time in some notorious areas of Glasgow that left me feeling pretty tense and uptight – that was the catalyst to start the heart palpitations that lasted a full three hours…long enough for me to get myself to the docs and get a worthy witness to this incident. Before Kas and I knew it, we didn’t depart the hospital until 11pm after receiving ECG’s, a chest x-ray, blood tests and some waiting room entertainment from some boozy neds. Thankfully they ruled out side-effects from my meds, confirmed I had a healthy ticker and that I needed to spend more time in sunny Majorca and less time indulging on frothy cappuccinos.

I feel my body has just got over the shock I forced it to endure on the 3 peaks challenge – the Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre and the University of Glasgow were stoked to see so much cash coming their way and because of the £16k donation, they’ve dedicated a cell sorting machine in our name. Apparently it’s a work-horse in the labs and a piece of kit that is essential. Since then, I’ve also cycled in the 13 mile Glasgow Bikeathon and for some unknown reason, put my name down to cycle in the Pedal for Scotland 50 mile ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh in a fortnight’s time. I really need to get fat belly back on the saddle and start clocking up some miles before lobbing up with my mountain bike on the 14th September…

On the news of a fellow Leukaemia ‘sufferer’, it’s that Adrian Sudbury passed away aged 27 years old recently. He was the man behind the very popular ‘Baldy’s Blog’ website and the man who was extremely unlucky to be informed he was diagnosed with two forms of Leukaemia at one time. He fought tirelessly for two years, gallantly promoting the cause for more bone marrow donors to come forward and even receiving a call from the Prime Minister a few weeks ago. He did some great things and I’m sure his legacy will live on – it’s also another chance for anyone to join the bone marrow registry that has thought about it but not yet signed up and give blokes like this a fighting chance.

Wish me luck for the upcoming PCR result and the Pedal for Scotland - I’ll try not leave the blogging for so long next time…

53. The 3 Peaks Challenge - Movie

Follow this link to see the 3 Peaks Challenge Movie - it's a large file but definetly worth the wait!

http://www.miraclepictures.net/

52. Finally, The Challenge

Photos: 3 Peaks Challenge, Ben Nevis base with the Bus; Stop-watches starting on the Nevis Bridge; Dawsie and Chris Nearing Nevi's Summit; 3am Climb up Scafell Pike; Scafell Summit with the Team; The Water Crossing; Chris Leading the Charge on Snowdon; Big Chris on Snowdon Summit (someone crawling up the final section in the 70mph wind); Me and Tessa struggling with the Wind on Snowdon; Celebration after completing the Challenge; Chloe...

There were definitely a few points during the 24 hour challenge that I questioned whether I could even go any further. The hurt I was feeling at one stage felt like I was carrying a rucksack full of bricks, my lungs were desperately gasping for anything resembling oxygen and my legs felt as though they were made of rubber – I’ve never felt anything like it before. And then as if my magic, I had managed to push through that pain and hurt, albeit with a little help from the boys and the occasion jelly bean induced sugar-rush. My mind was regularly wondering, occasionally thinking of reasons of why I couldn’t possibly go any further, but then I had to keep refocusing and remind myself of why I’m here and why I could keep going. On a mountain, over a mile high, in the pouring rain and gale force winds, we were forced to keep ourselves company as we had no chance of conversation due to the incredible noise the stormy weather made on our ears. You’ve got no choice but to get lost in thought. I saw some incredible efforts that weekend and it was something I’m very proud I was able to be a part of…

It all started out so nicely, crisply ironed fresh clothes were the choice of many – the sun was shining as the buses turned onto the windy roads to the east of Fort William in the Scottish highlands, nearing the start of the first climb up Ben Nevis. We were all excited but there also a feeling of nervousness surrounding the team. We all donned our Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research t-shirts, lined up energised for the photos, the stopwatches started and then we were off – 4,500 feet of hill was awaiting us. The steepness of the path caught most of us unaware and within ten minutes we were already pealing off layers of clothing. This was tougher than we anticipated. After two and a half hours of a constant steep walk, we were nearing the summit – the views were incredible as the snow on top of Ben Nevis sat there enticing us to leave the path behind. That feeling of elation captured us all as we reached the top of the first mountain…one down, two to go. Now we just had to get back to the bottom safely.

The drive down from Scotland to Scafell in the English Lake District was the like looking into the future – our bus was literally getting battered by the storms and giving the drivers very little visibility. Somehow we even managed to drift off and get an hour or two of shut-eye (depends who you ask!). The weather never subsided the whole way through the quiet country roads and upon arriving at Scafell Pike at 2:30 in the morning, the mountains were nowhere to be seen. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. Getting out of a warm, comfy bus into 10 degrees of cold, cold rain and wind was up there with the hardest things of the weekend – we all quickly got changed into our new gear, donned the head torches and followed our trusty guide up the side of a hill that was engulfed in water. The only thing visible was other head torches bobbing away in front of you. That smile Pete our driver gave us before jumping back in his warm bus stuck with me for at least an hour…about until we all had to cross a creek that had swollen and created its own furious rapids. We didn’t see any real light until we reached the 3,100 feet summit of number two at around 5am. We all quickly munched on our soggy sandwiches before turning around and heading back down the mountain that is renowned for its steepness and hidden cliffs.

Upon returning to the buses absolutely saturated, Jo our driver informed us that there were severe weather warnings reported on the radio. We quickly derobed, dried off and got on our way towards Snowdon in north Wales, listening to the radio for any further reports. After a few more major reporting of this ‘deep depression’ and ‘gale force winds’ in north Wales, we decided to pull over and start up Jo’s laptop to give us a more in-depth overview of what was awaiting us, six hours away down the motorway. It didn’t sound or look good! Reports of sheds losing theirs roofs and trees blowing down in winds of up to 75 mph (115kph) didn’t sit too well with some of us, forcing a discussion among the team on whether we should continue or abandon this Challenge. Was it all over?
The conversation was about general safety and whether we’d simply get blown off Snowdon – with all in favour of the decision, we started up the buses once again and continued our journey to Wales to make the decision there. We were wasting valuable time discussing alternatives anyway…

The chief Park Ranger informed us over the phone that he could not close the mountain, but he could issue a strict warning of not to climb – if I remember correctly, I think his words were “I wouldn’t be seen dead up Snowdon today!” After no further discussions based on whether we tackle mountain number three, we were dressed once again in our climbing gear and making our way up Snowdon’s path – we had four hours left exactly before the 24 hour time limit was exceeded, so all 13 of us were on our way.

The scenery I’m sure would have been unreal! We were in the clouds within thirty minutes of walking, so visibility was pretty ordinary. Those gusts of wind were starting to become noticeable as we neared the half-way point up this beast of a hill…the wind galloping down the side of the hill above us was so loud, we had roughly two seconds to brace ourselves before the turbulent air hit us and tried to toss us over the edge. The further we went, the harder it became. When I started to wonder whether the wind could get any worse, a man on his descent told us that the wind here was nothing compared to the top. Thanks for the inspiration buddy! The higher we got, the more we had to scramble and use our hands to get up from one ledge to the next. The 24 hour time limit was ringing in my ears, so we pushed on. Finally, the path evened out again and we were left with a 400m walk up a section of the hill that was about 20m wide and only 5m at some points. We were completely surrounded by cliff edges but the clouds prohibited our ability to see them. The final push and we were there…the wind was absolutely howling like a coyote on heat! The summit was marked by a cabin-like structure that we felt obliged to foolishly climb. This could only be done by crawling to the top or else we would have definitely fallen victim to these 75mph winds!

A few high-fives and we were on our way down again thankfully. We’d just about survived this ascent, now we just had to skilfully manoeuvre our way back down too.

I finished the Challenge with my Leukaemia consultant, Tessa Holyoake and one of her scientists Vignir by my side. Tessa was unbelievable throughout this event, putting all of us twenty-something blokes to shame with her far superior fitness.
The rest of us meandered off the hill and registered total times of 23 hours onwards – with four minutes remaining, we were only two down from the full 13 who started this hill. And then as if by some dramatic finale, big Chris and John were seen bounding down the hill in order to complete the Challenge within its allotted time. All the gang stood at the finish line, cheering the boys off the hill and they finished with an overall time of 23 hours and 58 minutes. GOLD!

Maybe this weather made it more adventurous? Some may argue that it was adventurous enough…but all in, as much as I hated it at times, I’m very glad that we took on this tough Challenge and made it. That'll be my last one for a very long time. My legs certainly felt pain for the following week but because of this Challenge, £15,750 will now go to the new Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Facility in Scotland, where people with Leukaemia all over the world will benefit. A big thanks to all who participated, drove, organised and to Pete for decking his bus out with "Leukaemia Research" and "3 Peaks Challenge" artwork!

The one thing that made this event much harder that it should have been for me was the news of my PCR results the day before we started. All the docs and I were confident, it would finally drop below the amazing 0.1% mark, as the previous few had gone down and finished at 0.3%. Unfortunately I was told it’d gone back up and was 0.43%. Not a huge jump but after the levels I’d been achieving, this isn’t anywhere near the result we were hoping for. I’ll keep taking my Sprycel medication (140mg a day) and hopefully the next PCR test will bring better news…

Our fundraising page will be open for a few more weeks – www.justgiving.com/3peakschallengeuk

Thanks again for the support!

51. The PCR and the Climb

PHOTOS: Me and Chloe; Kas and Chloe in Sun Tent; Playing in the Tent; Chloe in her new yellow dress; Me and Dawsie on Ben Lomond for a Practice Climb; Thumbs Up Colin; Dawsie and his Poles...

The countdown timer is ticking louder and louder as we turn into the final home stretch of the Three Peaks Challenge build-up. We’ve reached our monetary target of £6,000, managed to shed a few kilos after spending so much time trouncing over the Scottish hillside and the group of 17 are ready to roll. There’s no doubt I’ll be sick of the sight of a mountain once next weekend passes, so I’m making the most of it while I can. The Adventure starts on Saturday 21st June and it will be at the foot of Ben Nevis at 4pm sharp where we take on the first Peak. The climb up the second Peak in the English Lake District should be commencing around 3am and then the final assault up Snowdon in Wales will be around midday on the Sunday – and the main goal is to finish them all in 24 hours! The energy levels are pretty good right now and my medication isn’t knocking me around too much, which is thankfully leaving me feeling pretty confident. I should also be getting my PCR results back on the Friday afternoon, the day before we climb. We are all hoping for this one, Doctors included, to finally drop below the 0.1% mark and give me a “major molecular response” – a level of response that demonstrates a much greater survival rate. It’ll be a big couple of days regardless…

I’m in a privileged position to be breathing a nice sigh of relief right now, and it’s got nothing to do with my CML. Obviously with my situation, I know too well about counting your chickens before they’ve hatched when you’re referring to cancer survival but it’s just great news to hear that my mum has had some very positive news following her thyroid cancer diagnosis. She went under the knife at the end of May where the surgeons sliced a six inch gash across her throat…an area of the human body that almost seems far too delicate to taken to with a scalpel. The operation was deemed successful and it was the following week in a follow-up consultation that they confirmed that they had extracted the cancer and it hadn’t spread to any other parts of the body. Gold! She’s at home now getting a well earned rest and putting her feet up. Also, to follow on from the “lucky” Sinclair stories, by bro Nick also went under the knife on his spine the very same day my mum was cooped up in hospital – three hours apart from each other. It’d been a mixture of injuries he copped during in the line of duty whilst being a policeman on the quiet Sydney streets that eventually led him to have something done about it. The big fella is recuperating well and he should be well on the road to recovery and back to being an active dad as he was last year.

The days are almost at their longest now in sunny Scotland – we recently did a practise mountain walk and we couldn’t set off until 11pm when the sun was dipping below the hilly horizon. As the temperatures rise, you can literally see everyone’s faces growing happier. It’s almost hard to imagine that I’ve been living in Scotland’s bonny shores now for over three years and its weirder thinking that I’ve spent most of that time with Leukaemia. I originally began writing this blog to keep my friends and family in Australia updated on my progress as they were so far away from me – it’s great to see people reading from all corners of the world now. But now, as time goes on and my CML moves from phase to phase, a bizarre feeling overwhelms me as I put pen to paper and jot my thoughts down from the past month. How long will I be writing about Leukaemia? I’ve purposely removed myself from most of the Leukaemia sites and only immersed myself in information that is directly relevant to me. My doctor appointments are spanning out further every time and these catch-ups are quite specifically about me and how I’m getting on. Most of the people at work wouldn’t even know that I have Leukaemia and I have to admit I struggle with that fact sometimes. Not because there is any lingering denial but because I carry on with life as though nothing is wrong with me and I do a pretty good job of just getting on with things. I’ve come along way since diagnosis but I also know there’s a long way to go too. It’s tough sometimes when I’m so absorbed in my family and work that maybe I don’t give enough attention to CML and what prognosis is awaiting me. Only this time last year I was writing about a potential Bone Marrow Transplant and my baby that was due in October…now I’m on the verge of attaining MMR. It’s been quite a year to say the least! This impending PCR result has really got me thinking as you can probably tell… Let’s just hope it’s a good one and I can continue to write about my adventures, amazing BBQ skills, current food cravings and only give the occasional CML update…

Thanks again for the well-wishes for my Mum and Bro. And remember, it’s not too late to sponsor us for the 3 Peaks Challenge! Wish me luck for the PCR and the climb – we’ll be needing it!

www.justgiving.com/3peakschallengeuk