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

50. Sunny France

PHOTOS: French Resort; Chloe on first Holiday; Jules and John stocking up on French Rose; Sinclair Clan relaxing at Restaurant; Provence Vineyards; The Holiday Girls; The Golfing Boys; John Teeing off over the Water; Colin struggling to hit past the Ladies Tees; Mhairi & Gerado walking the Babies; Kas and Chloe; The Mums, Lorna and Kas; Dave and John building the BBQ; Dawsie Practicing for the 3 Peaks...

I can still recall watching people at an airport a few years ago. I’ve always been an avid people watcher, not anywhere to the extent of Kas where I feel she may even introduce herself to strangers because she listened in on their interesting story, but more of an enjoyment to watch life go by. Thinking back, the ones that stood out most to me were the young parents, trying as hard as they could to look after their baby and still keep an eye on their piles and piles of luggage. I wondered what on earth they could be taking with them? I would chuckle under my breath and promise to myself if I ever had a baby, I would keep things to a bare minimum and not turn into one of these flustered, sweaty parents. To my disbelief a few weeks ago, I turned into one myself…

I still can’t really say why we had so much gear. We were leaving Glasgow the next morning at 3am on a trip to southern France to see our mates from Scotland and Australia; thankfully, one other couple Colin and Lorna also had baby Eva joining us. I'm sure we couldn't have been the only couple with a baby! We each turned up with seven items of luggage plus a two piece pram...and I’m sure if Kas could have her way, there would have been an eighth full of toys and more nappies, just to be on the safe side. Instead of just leaving two hours before the flight in the pre-baby days and queuing with the regular mob, this thing had become an operation! It was my first time I’d had to apologise for my baby after Chloe grabbed hold of the ladies freshly permed hair who sat in front of us. I knew I couldn’t relax until I had arrived at my destination and the bags were emptied from the hire car – lucky for us, we did arrive at a stunning resort in the middle of the Provence wine region not too far from Nice. Nice! I know I’m always banging on about how busy things have been, but for the first time in a long time, we did manage to relax and we tried hard to keep our minds away from the Oncology ward back in sunny Scotland. It was great to see the wee girls Chloe and Eva play with each other the whole week on their first holiday away.

My sister Tash, who was also living in Glasgow, has left the bonny shores of Scotland and has just arrived back in Australia after her travels through Europe. She had planned to stay on much longer but unfortunately the bad news from back home has kept on coming our way.
We never lived near a nuclear power plant when growing up, certainly never under power lines, eaten fish with more than two eyes, lived near landfill, an airport or anywhere that could have any been deemed as radioactive. I’ve put my Leukaemia diagnosis down to luck, a series of cellular failures that have gone wrong at some point in the past three years and something that could have happened to anyone. But the news from my Mum has left us with a more than a few questions. She has just been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. As you can imagine, it’s not the best news for us. Surgery is planned to go ahead on the 30th May, so please have her in your thoughts on that day. Lucky for our family, she’s a very tough lady and someone who I’m sure will put up a huge fight. I’ve never been one to say “I’m so unlucky” and those sort of people who are negative can really grate on me – there’s no doubt the news is rubbish but I do believe that life doesn’t put things in front of you that you are unable to handle. My mum told me that. We’ve also had too many good things go our way to consider us unlucky; my daughter Chloe and my brother’s kids Hayden & Eliza and the news that my PCR levels are dropping at a great rate. It's a tough situation once again on whether I board a longhaul flight and get home to see my family. It's leaving me feeling pretty far home right now and the fact that I will miss two of my mate weddings later this year as well, is sure making it harder. Thankfully the sun is shining on bonny Scotland right now.

The 3 Peaks Challenge that we have planned for 21st June is really gaining momentum now. The training has been going pretty well, we have a practice night climb sorted out for next week and that’ll give us a chance to don the head torches and see how hard walking up a hill in the middle of the night can really be. Our target fundraising total of £6,000 is doing quite well but we still have another grand to go. All the boys are feeling the excitement already, so I’m sure our adrenaline will get us through the gruelling 24 hours.

Thanks for the emails, updates and comments – I’ll be back in with the docs in three weeks time for my PCR testing. This one will hopefully show that it’s dropped below the golden 0.1% mark. It’s currently hovering at 0.3%, so there’s not too far left to travel. They’ve asked that I only see them every 3 months after this visit, so fingers crossed it all continues to go well…

*Congrats to Nina and Anthony on the arrival of their baby boy Brodie! Nina and Kas have been best mates since they were 4 and it's funny to see how similar their lives have been.
**Congrats to Ish and Amy on their engagement – gold! About time big fella…
***Please support our 3 Peaks Challenge at www.justgiving.com/3peakschallengeuk

49. Down Under

PHOTOS: Bottle Brush in Sydney; My brother Nick and Hayden in the Blue Mountains; A Couple of Pelicans; Me and Hayden on the Beach; Family Picnic in Cronulla; Dad and Nick; Kas and Chloe; The two girls Eva and Chloe; Me on the Caringbah Waters...


It’s so close now I can just about taste it and with big beak of mine, I can certainly smell it! I’ve been munching my anti-leukaemia pills now for the past 29 ½ months - that’s a combination of around 1,581 tablets of Gleevec and Sprycel at various doses. For the best part of that time my PCR was stuck somewhere between 2-3% and this, in view of the doctors opinion, was far from good enough. If that sort of PCR didn’t budge, then it’d mean I’d have to travel down the bone marrow transplant road. However… since the introduction of Sprycel to my daily diet, my PCR has slowly come down and heading towards this huge 0.1% goal. 2.5% was the norm, then 1.7%, then 1.0%, 0.75% a few weeks later and now I’ve just got my final results back in. 0.3% - gold!! I know it’s not quite at the 0.1% mark but this latest result has more than halved since the last one only three months ago. With that news, I felt I had a pretty good reason to pop open the champers and have a good night in…

On the flip side, most of my good news seems to come with the bad news. When anyone asks me if I want the good news or the bad news first, I’ve always opted for the former. My grandpa had been battling hard after his operation on bowel cancer but it spread pretty quickly soon after – unfortunately he passed away a couple of weeks ago. Without thinking too hard about this situation, I was onto the phone with the travel agents and before I really knew what was going on, I was sitting on a 24 hour journey Down Under. It was a really bizarre and surreal feeling to be walking around Sydney, when not so long ago I was saying goodbye to my girls at Glasgow Airport. I had mixed emotions about being home too – I felt I was being disrespectful when the huge smile appeared on my big head when I looked up and saw the sun (first time in a long time!). Obviously it was great to see my family, meet my niece for the first time and see my nephew again, see a few good mates and enjoy a few beers by the beach but it was also a pretty tough time to attend the funeral for my grandpa and also be so far away from Kas and Chloe. The service was very good – full of lots of happy memories and stories. I only had a few days back there anyway and before too long, I was sitting on the 14,000 mile long haul flight to Scotland. I arrived back on the weekend and the next day I was sitting at my desk and getting stuck back into work. Crazy, crazy week!

The time finally came yesterday – the big 30 has come and gone! I’d been clinging onto my 20’s for a few months now but there’s nothing left to do now but accept the inevitable. I’m a 30 year old family man now with a mortgage, a company car and have friends who have also left the city for the suburbs…that in itself makes me chuckle – when did I grow up?! We had a good party at our house on the weekend however and I proved that I’m still a kid at heart. With the news of my 0.3% result, a new decade to celebrate and some good mates, I decided that I could throw the straight and narrow philosophy out the window and have a good night. I can’t remember the last time I’ve partied ‘til the sun came out…

The lead-up to the 3 Peaks Challenge is still going well, besides the fact that I need to get my big body (I’m not fat, I’m just big-boned) into gear and up the training levels. It did freak me out slightly when a friend (who happens to guide climbers up Ben Nevis 30-40 times a year) said that there’s no chance he’d try and climb all three mountains in 24 hours. We’ve already raised just over £3,500 now and nearing our £6k target but there’s still a lot to do before we hit that total.

On the good news front, my mate Dave Cox has just been given the clearance to go home after his bone marrow transplant to cure his CML late last year – he’s just spent 126 days awaiting the news if the procedure was a success and now he can proudly say that his blood is 100% B negative although he used to be A negative. He will still be closely monitored but I’m stoked to hear that it’s all going so well for him after his CML meds didn’t work too well in his body. His website is this and it’s definitely worth a read - http://cml.davidrobertcox.com/

I’ll add a few of my party photos next time but until then, keep the emails, messages and sponsorship coming in. My next visit with my Consultant is in two weeks so it’ll be interesting to get her take on what’s been going on…

www.justgiving.com/3peakschallengeuk

*Unreal to see that this site gets regular visits from the following countries: Australia, USA, Great Britain & North Ireland, Taiwan, France, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Czech Republic, Bosnia, Chile, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, Ireland, The Netherlands, Indonesia, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, China, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, Israel, Egypt, Austria, Singapore, Tunisia, Hungary, Belgium, South Korea, Finland, South Africa, Japan, Kuwait, India, Denmark, Bulgaria, Serbia & Montenegro, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Jordan, Falkland Islands, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Norway, United Arab Emirates, Martinique, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Poland, Cuba, Latvia, Luxembourg, Sweden, Thailand, Argentina, Romania, Antigua & Barbuda and Ukraine…

48. Eleven Eiffel Towers

PHOTOS: Chloe sitting in Karen's Chair; Kas out walking in the Snow; Karen's Nana & Papa bonding; Wrestling with a Kangaroo; Me in the Snowy Pond; The Ice is Finally Melting...

I’m pleased to say that the training for the event that many people doubt is going well. I don’t blame them – at first I thought the idea of climbing three peaks of the UK will be a relatively easy challenge, they can’t be that high surely. But then after some discussions from previous climbers, some research and even viewing the shear size of these mountains in person has brought me back down to earth, slightly. I’m still extremely keen and positive that we can do it; it’s just the knowledge that we will be climbing well over 11,000 feet in under 24 hours, equivalent to eleven Eiffel Towers stacked on top of each other and also walking back down (I’ll have buns of steel after this). I don’t think I’d be doing it unless it was for a very worthy cause, so the £2,400 out of the targeted £6k we’ve managed to raise so far is managing to spur me on. I’m really not sure on where I’m getting this energy from but it’s definitely there and coming from somewhere deep inside, figuratively. For those who haven’t sponsored us yet, there’s only three months left until our big event in June – the longest weekend of the year, literally…

I’m also encouraged that I’m doing this event for the right reason every time I attend the Oncology Clinic in Glasgow’s West End, an event that my Consultant and Director of the new Centre, Professor Holyoake, is joining us on. I can’t help it, I drive right by the new Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre that we’re fundraising for every time I have an appointment. To witness all different types of groups of people turning up to the clinic can be pretty harrowing even to the hardiest of person. Kids with scorched heads from the harsh chemo they’re receiving, closely followed by their parents who are trying their hardest to stay positive. The elderly, this time accompanied by their children. The young adults, sometimes alone or with their young family; I fit in this group, so I can empathise with their situation. No matter who they are, they are all hoping for a miracle. That’s where this new centre comes into play. So, yep, I’m stoked we are doing this Event in June for a pretty good cause.

We’ve just booked our trip back to Oz at Christmas this year – I know it’s still a long way off and we have plenty going on before this trip but I’m just so excited. I’ll get to meet my niece and see my nephew again, watch the kids and Chloe playing together, catch up with friends and family, get a much much much needed dose of Vitamin D in the form of sunshine and chill out with a BBQ on the beach. It’ll also be great to see my grandfather; he’s having a pretty rough time at the moment as he’s fighting some pretty aggressive cancer. He’s a real fighter, always has been, and the kind of man who will make us proud by battling away - so it’ll good to catch up with him. Did I mention the sun as well?

Everything else seems to be ticking along quite well. We’ve found ourselves really enjoying our time as a family and making the most out of what we have right now as Chloe’s just growing so fast. We’re definitely spending less time going out and spending more time outdoors; what used to be a night of beers on the town has turned into a quiet catch-up with friends…I know it sounds like I’m an old man already and acting beyond my 29 years but I can reassure that the beers still as important as they were before. Helps you cope with the lack of sleep! We’ve got our first overseas trip planned with a group of mates not long after my birthday to the south of France. No doubt it’ll be a real tester but I’m more than reassured as we’re not the only couple with a baby. Ah, how life changes...

I’ve now got another 2 weeks to wait until I get my latest PCR test results back from the labs, fingers crossed for the third one going in the right direction. Any number under 0.7% and I’ll be stoked! If it is lower, we’ll all be assured that after 2 ½ years of munching Leukaemia medication, my body has finally started to get rid of the dodgy cells that are trying to call my body ‘home’. The ultimate goal is to get to 0.1% - that’ll mean I’ve achieved a 3 log reduction from the 100% starting point and also my survival stats will be dramatically improved. Now wouldn’t that be worth a celebration? My 30th birthday is in less than 3 weeks time – besides my requested Nintendo Wii, any number under 0.7% will be the best present I could hope for…

So, until the PCR results end up back in my hands, we’ll just continue to enjoy the changing of the seasons – spring has sprung! The Mountain climbing training starts this weekend on the 3,000 foot monster of Ben Vane, so I need to make the most of it.

If you feel that we deserve your cash on the huge event we are undertaking soon, please check out my link. And thanks heaps to those who have already sponsored us!

www.justgiving.com/3peakschallengeuk

47. Ripe Old Age

Photos: Me and Birthday Boy Ouso; Reaching the Peak of Beinn Narnain; The Boys Walking Down; Steep Hill; Chloe in her new Denim Dress; Sunday Walk in the Sun with the Prams; Walking in the Country Park...

How life changes! I’m not sure if it’s my impending 30th birthday, but lately I’ve been thinking, and having a laugh, at how life changes as you move through the years. I’m loving this feeling of being able to clutch tightly at still being in my 20’s, even though I probably look way too old to still mix it with the young fellas.
The first year of your twenties is a bizarre feeling; I still remember a lady telling her child to “ask that man”. As a kid who spent a fair bit of time in my teens with a combed mullet, a nice pair of Reebok pumps and a pair of age-defying acid wash jeans, being called a man was a pretty big step!

Before you know it, you find yourself celebrating your 21st birthday; this is usually accompanied with plenty of booze, partying, hanging out with your mates and then displaying an uncanny ability to wake up feeling fresh as a daisy the next morning.
The next few years are fine, although I distinctly remember my feeling of turning 24. That sounded like I was old and ready to sort myself with a steady job and buy a house. I knew I was never that right person, so I threw in my job and headed overseas on my first international adventure. No surprises to hear that Scotland was the destination.

Mid-twenties was a fun time - more money seemed to be coming in the pay-packet, clothes got better, hair got thinner, the nights out were still a necessity but places that were a little less loud and easier to have conversations started to take precedence over the nightclubs. More time was spent with my lady friend than with my mates, as were most people who were steadily moving from courting (do they still use this word?), to dating, and then to taking the plunge and moving in with each other. The big step!

Then it’s time for late twenties. You’ve probably lost contact with a lot of people you went to school with and then picked up new ones from uni, sporting clubs and jobs. Kas and I got together when I was 24 years old; I then got engaged at 26, married at 27 and a father at 29. Not a bad pace I’ve set.

I’ve also spent the last two and a half years of my life living with Leukaemia. I’ve certainly loved my twenties and there’s nothing I would have changed – I’ve got my two girls by my side! Now, it’s almost time to continue living with Leukaemia in my 30’s… not dying from it.

I’ve only been into see my Doctor once since Christmas and that to me is a great feeling. We get along great at the consultations but there’s such a feeling of freedom to know that my appointments are getting further apart. On the flip side of this, it also makes the actual appointment day a pretty bit deal. Much bigger than it ever used to be! The day at the Oncology Ward feels so far away from what I’ve been getting used to lately. A huge emphasis is placed to ask the right questions, check the right results, organise the next PCR and keep up to date on any medical issues I should know about. My next PCR will be taken in two weeks time and it’s one I’m having mixed feelings about. The last two have been moving in the correct direction (1.7% then 0.7%); the sign of the medication working in my body is to have three consecutive tests heading the same way. I’ve got my fingers well and truly crossed for another great result but it’s also a scary feeling to know what I’m about to face. I’ve never been one to place too much emphasis on any particular test but the more time I spend with Chloe and Kas, it makes me twice as determined to beat this. I guess only time will tell.

The training for our upcoming 3 Peaks Challenge is going very well, so far. A few mates and I set upon conquering Beinn Narnain on the Scottish west coast highlands last weekend and it turned out to be a decent challenge. Not one to be scoffed at. It was only when we were taking on the final assault on the peak. We were there for my mate Ouso’s birthday. I started thinking that this mountain was only at a fraction of the height of Ben Nevis, Scotland tallest peak, and the first mountain to be climbed in our challenge this June. We need to get training hard and get our bodies in some form of shape that would be able to endure the 24 hour event that climbs well over 11,000 feet and takes place in 3 countries. Bring on the stair-climber at the gym…

Chloe continues to thrive which is great to see. She’s been snoozing the whole night long for the past five or six weeks and we’re probably getting more sleep now than we’ve ever had. I’m only saying that as it makes a huge difference when dealing with an oral chemotherapy every day; the meds can make you a bit drowsy, so that’s why I take it at night. Her whole body keeps growing and I can see a change in her every day – new things she can do, like rolling over and giggling. I know I’m probably a boring, doting dad but I just love this time with her. I can imagine it goes from being quite nice, to running around after them and making sure they don’t get into everything. I’ll savour this part for the time being anyway.

Thanks for the emails and messages, wish me luck for my PCR test and keep in mind that I’ll be turning the ripe old age of 30 in about six weeks.

We’ll be kicking off our official 3 Peaks Challenge Fundraiser in a week’s time, so please don’t forget to sponsor us on the link at the top-right of this page! It’s for a great cause – the new Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Building in Scotland.

www.justgiving.com/3peakschallengeuk

46. Super Sunday

Photos: Kas and Chloe on the Computer; Mum & Dad on Queen's View; Road to Aviemore in the Highlands; Hiking in Mugdock Country Park; Hills over Inverary; Chloe in her Seat; Boat Docked in Inverary; Bagpiper in the Highlands...

It’s hard to know where to start this one off – I’m feeling surprisingly energised and enthusiastic about so many things right now, so instead of placing them in any order, it’ll probably just come out in an incoherent mess. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s fresh new year that makes me feel as though I’ve got a blank canvas to work with or that I’ve just had a holiday for the past three weeks but I’m trying to make the most of this while I can. And to top it off, the sun is shining in winter UK right now…love it!

My last major catch up with Super Doc was on the 18th December, just before my folks arrived from Australia and when I finished up work for the good part of a month. The long time between doctor appointments eases the mind and let’s you concentrate on other things that would normally have been seen with more importance. I had my PCR taken then and we also discussed a range of things from side effects and fundraising for the new Leukaemia Research Centre – I didn’t want to let the catch up be dominated by bad news and trying to stay optimistic. It’s a tough day on the body and mind walking into the Beatson Oncology Centre, Kas has always noticed a sense of stress that I emit before my appointment. I’ve only noticed I’ll have cold hands, a rarity for me, and that it makes it harder for the vein to bulge and offer a decent supply of blood to be extracted and tested. Obviously the place is full of cancer sufferers, most with a determined face as if they’re trying to show that they can beat these nasty cells that have taken a liking to their cells – I often wonder what they are suffering from, hoping that they will all conquer their illness and get rid of the head scarf that have been forced to don. The ones that shake you up are when a whole family will exit a room with swollen teary eyes, evidently with bad news. Although I’ve had a mixed bag of appointments and thing to deal with, it does however open your eyes up to the reality of what’s going on to others. Witnessing the silent killer at work! And it’s definitely not all bad news either. News of someone’s remission is equally easy to read on the people’s faces who have been obliged to attend the clinic full of people in the same cancer boat. To hear that someone is on the mend is very hard to top…

So, on the back of my observations and outcomes from the Oncology clinics, I’ve finally joined the group who “seem” to be on the mend…my PCR result came back last week. It’s been a fairly bumpy ride on the PCR front – these extremely accurate tests of Leukaemia levels are the deciding factor of your treatment. Since changing from Gleevec to Sprycel last July, my PCR have continued to hover around the 1-2% mark. Good, but not quite good enough. When Chloe was born it jumped from 1.2% to 1.7%...quite scary feeling when I had finally started my family. I then had my meds increased from 100mg to 140mg per day – it seemed quite obvious as the docs were treating someone with a healthy love of burgers or just “big boned”. That did the trick – the PCR dropped from 1.7% to 1% and then the latest result has finally placed it at a very good 0.7%. This now puts me in a tough predicament. I’m pretty stoked that it’s cracked the 1% mark…unreal. But I’ve got to be mindful that it’s gone up in the past after a low result. I’ve had a few champers to celebrate the good result as they don’t come by too often without getting too carried away – stay positive and optimistic is the key! My next PCR test is not planned until around April, my 30th birthday could coincide with news of my dodgy cells moving extremely close to remission. Bring it on.

My Annual Fundraiser is gaining momentum and we’ve just locked in a date for participation - put Saturday June 21st in your diaries because we’re going to need everyone to dig into their back pocket and dish out some cash for a very good cause. The Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research building is due for an imminent opening, very exciting stuff as the building will be home to some of the world’s best Researchers, Bone Marrow Transplants, Leukaemia treatments and my Super Doc consultant is the Director. Me and a few Aussie & Scottish mates have decided to take on the 3 Peaks UK Challenge on the longest day of the year – climbing the highest peak in Scotland (Ben Nevis 4,409 feet), Wales (Snowdon 3,560 feet) and England (Scafell 3,210 feet) - 11,180 vertical feet in 24 Hours. Anyone keen to join us, you’re more than welcome…there’s no choice on the donations though ;) The Sunday Mail are running a story this Sunday, funnily enough, about our optimistic venture where we’re hoping to get to a £6,000 total, so it’ll be very good to spread the word.

I’m still waiting patiently to be asked to continue my public speaking on the CML Tour, a nice trip to Oz would go down very well. We just got emailed the feedback from the recent CML Conference held in Edinburgh and I’m stoked to see that I’ve topped the list in the speaker’s rating – 4.8 out of 5…gold! I had made a few gags about my big bald head that must have gone down well on the day…

My folks are now heading back to Australia after a successful tour of the bonnie lands – it’s been great to see them with my wee girl Chloe who changes almost daily. Also good for me and Kas having a few extra babysitters around! The last couple of visits from the folks have been littered with bad news and illness. It was only last June when they were here when they had to see me lying on a hospital bed with Pneumonia. It’s priceless that they got to see me looking better and the PCR heading in the right direction. It makes such a huge difference.

Wish me luck for the appointment next week – my mind should be fairly clear this time as I’ll be having a few beers at Murrayfield watching Scotland play France in the Rugby 6 Nations on Sunday. Thanks for the emails and messages, keep them coming in…