Last time around, back in September 2022,  I had been pretty terrified of the radiotherapy mask fitting. But in the end, my memories of that day are so brilliant and beautiful, and never fail to make me smile when I think of it. My brother (and niece) were over from NZ for a fencing competition…

 On Christmas night just passed, somewhere in the vicinity of 3 am, I woke up with a huge hunk of plastic lying next to me on the pillow.‘Ah’ I thought. ‘Well, that’s that then. The thing I’ve been fearing and doing anything I can to avoid, has just happened. Well… I guess I’ll deal with…

After flirting with my old friend Neutropenic Sepsis over New Year’s, and being so close to having to go into A&E, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be so lucky the next cycle. The trauma of my previous incarceration still feeling too raw, too fresh, to even consider the possibility for a moment. But as…

I don’t know if I had a latent desire to write a novel one day. Was it something I secretly wished for but never thought I could actually do? I placed in, and  even won, some poetry and short story competitions at uni. But I was studying Science. My life was taken over by field…

So, chemo. I was already one cycle down when I first set foot back in the cancer centre for my first time being a day patient. Seasoned professional turned rookie once again.  I had waved my hand around dismissively each time someone had asked how I felt about starting chemo again (for my third new…

So I last left you falling asleep with Clarence and me in our own beautiful bed, after we escaped from the dreaded hospital. It was the end of November and the days were getting shorter and I was getting ready to spend my birthday, for a third time, in the midst of cancer progression and…

So in lieu of being given much of a plan, I decided to make my own. On the Thursday my parents were turning up from Australia to come stay with me and be my eyes and support. On Friday I had my next chemo, so it made sense to me to stay in hospital until…

At some point over Monday or Tuesday, Rosa emailed my team and asked if someone was going to actually come and visit me and talk to me about what was going on. They told her they might be able to come around on Thursday. Rosa asked if I would like her there for it. And…

I was determined to keep making my way to and from the bathroom on my own, but my level of success hinged on whether things were where I expected them to be. There were some very scary moments. The hospital is an ever-changing environment, and with no one really making note of the fact that…

I would like to interrupt your regular scheduled program, with a bit of an interlude. There are plenty more updates on my time in the hospital and beyond, which are itching to make their way onto your screens. But for now… The day the world went dark, something else unthinkable also happened. My dear friend…