9. Wild Haggis Tour

(Matt and Dawsie at Murrayfield - Scot v Eng)

The countdowns are well and truly underway now!

I say countdowns as I feel I have so many things to look forward to over the coming months. There's definitely been a few hiccups along the way - a few attempts at derailing my optimism and excitement. The Australian crew start arriving next week on the bonny shores of Scotland and for me that is when the holidays begin. From there I am on sightseeing duties, showing friends and family around the country I only realise now how proud of it I am. The castles, lochs, monsters and wild haggis roaming freely in the highlands...

Then it's time to don the kilt (true Scot..) and wait for my bride to walk down the aisle. Am really looking forward to it if you hadn't noticed from my previous posts. I've decided I can have one my first drink since October last year to celebrate...need some dutch courage before I get up and make the speech. Something with more of a kick than Coke or OJ.

...and then finally, 2 weeks away on honeymoon to the Maldives. I'm starting to get a case of Scottish skin so am desperate to tan it back up again.

As the Edinburgh 10km run is coming up in May, I thought that I needed to drag my burger belly out on the roads and get into some sort of training regime. Only 3 runs had passed...I woke in the middle of the night with a pain that felt as though my foot was seizing up and this lasted for a couple of days. I couldn't believe it as I thought I was back to peak health and feeling the best I have in years. Finally the pain got so fierce that Kas took me off to the docs where I expected a prescription of Ibuprofen and a kick up the arse, however...I was told I may have Septic Arthritis from the chemo drugs I am taking and after a quick talk with a Surgeon we were on our way back to the hospital. I'm thinking of getting my own parking spot there. We were rushed in for examination where I was told if it is what the doc thinks, then I will need an urgent operation to flush the bacteria or I could risk losing my ankle joint within 24 hours. Why can't someone just tell my I have a cold? Anyway...after x-rays, watching Kas nearly spew on an old mans gangrene looking foot and a few more check-ups we were finally let away. I think it is tendon damage from running in the baltic Scottish evenings but the specialist just told me what wasn't wrong with it.

The set backs seem to keep rolling in like sick jokes but as I've said all along; we have to stay 100% positive and not let anything get us down. The news of Karen's wedding dress (or the fact they sent the wrong one to her) was almost enough for me to bring the honeymoon forward. Let just hope that she gets a dress and I can walk up the aisle without a dogdy limp...

4th May has now been confirmed and Pernod Ricard are holding a Donor Recruitment Day at the head office in Hounslow...something I am still overwhelmed by. Hopefully we can increase the amount of donors already on the Anthony Nolan database. Obviously I would love a perfect matched donor but that is my secondary goal..I can assure you there are many of people in a similar situation to me that also require a match and that comes to my primary goal; do what I can to increase donors and increase the chance of others finding their perfect donor match. That's why I want to do all that I can to help out the Trust in any way I can (pie eating contest?), and hopefully one day everyone will have a cure.

I'll admit it was bad news but I'm not going to let it beat me or let it ruin the best day of my life...marrying the girl of my dreams in bonny Scotland.