Milo died this morning ...

Our precious Milo ... aged 10 years, died this morning after being attacked by a dog while I was walking her on Monday.

The local veterinary clinic staff worked hard to save our sweetie and were shattered that she wasn't able to survive the huge op she had last night. Dr Fiona said, that a few minutes after she'd phoned this morning to say Milo had made it through the night, Milo took a turn for the worse. Dr Fiona stayed with Milo and stroked her fluffy ear, as she knew how much we loved her and she didn't want to leave her. Thank you so much Fiona and all the staff who worked with Milo!

We are shattered. Milo was one of those special friends who made it into the hearts of all who met her, especially those who didn't think they liked dogs.

She has left us with many wonderful memories and friends in Fiji, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and friends and family who've visited from New Zealand.

The world has lost a very special creature, but our lives are richer for the privilege of having Milo in them.

We will miss you our darling! Enjoy being with your special friend Otis, our ginger cat who died while we were living in Fiji!

Hubby's Treatment is going well

My hubby's team were so impressed at how well he was after the chemo drugs were underway, that on the Saturday they organised his first radiation. I drove him to St Andrew's, and it didn't take very long at all ... maybe 10 minutes, and I think the radiotherapy was only for 2-3 minutes of that. The longest part, is making sure he's in the correct position so that the machine does it's three zaps in the right places and misses the vital organs.

During the next week he had a nasal gastric tube inserted down his nose. First they tired it 'blind', but the tumour wouldn't let it past. Next they used the endoscope and the job was done correctly.

Hubby's not very happy about the NG tube, but they said it's better to put it in place now, than have to try and get it down if the tumour swells. Plus this is a better option than a PEG tube.

We were allowed home a few days later, with boxes of 'food' ... tins of jevity to put in the gravity fed bottles. Hubby is to use 1,800 mls a night in his feeding tube. Then during the day, he's to drink as much ensure plus, as he can. Plus he's allowed to try thicker liquids ... and he has successfully done this, including eating some mushy vegetables. Yah! The priority is not to loose weight.

He's had 10 radiotherapy sessions and is feeling good. He's definitely tired and lacks energy, but we're guessing that was the least we could expect. His weight loss appears to have slowed and although he's lost nearly 40 kilos, he's feeling good. Hubby's hair has started to become fine. He's always had very thick, wirey hair, and he now has soft 'run your fingers through' hair. The chemo nurse told us this would most likely happen ... wonder if he'll become a 'nude nut'.

Here's to the next 18 doses of radiotherapy and second round with the two chemo drugs going well. :-)

Chemotherapy has started

My hubby had his first doses of chemo today! It may sound strange, but we were both happy and relieved that this happened, as we so want this cancer removed, but first it has to be treated, to get it to shrink.

He had a PICC tube inserted on Wednesday and then was admitted to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, as they want to watch his progress at the beginning of his treatment, as they're concerned his fluid intake may be compromised. Often tumours in the oesophagus can tighten during the early treatment and close the oesophagus. Here's hoping that doesn't happen.

The chemotherapy drugs he's having are ... 'The use of two chemotherapy drugs, Cisplatin and Fluorouracil. This is being used to treat oesophageal cancer. The chemotherapy is given at the same time as the radiotherapy (on the first week and again on the last week) as it helps to make the radiotherapy treatment more effective. The Cisplatin is given in the clinic each day for around 2 hours, for the first three days when you start radiotherapy and then again four weeks later, for another 3 days. The Fluorouracil is placed in a small pump and is given slowly into a vein 24 hours per day, for four days, on the first and fifth week of your treatment. To allow the fluorouracil to be given at home, it is usual to have a central line inserted into one of the veins of your arm. The pump that you take home is set by the nurses to give you the right amount of drug each day. The central line can stay in place for the whole of treatment.'

The Cisplatin was given over a two hour period and looked quite spooky, as the bag was covered with a black bag. Then he had some fluids to flush the vein, and next the Fluorouracil was attached. It's connected to a small pump, that will administer this drug slowly over the next two days. Think another pouch is then inserted for another two days ... making that four days in total.

On Monday hubby's to have his first radio therapy and I can drive him between the two hospitals, as he has to go to St Andrew's, since TQEH doesn't have a radiation machine.

My wish for my hubby is that everything goes well and he's released from hospital soon. I accept that for now ... this is the best place for him to be!

Photos of progress ...

I've been meaning to post pics taken after my last adjustment and also for the past two months ... but life just got way to busy.

Here's some comparisons. It looks like the gap over my impacted canine is continuing to close ... slowly ... but closing ... and that's good.

April 2008

March 2008 ....... February 2008 ....... January 2008


My bite continues to feel real strange ... and I think this pic explains why. Remembering I had a class III bite until late last year ... now look ...

This is how it looked in January 2008 ...

My open bite has improved, which is great news ...
April 2008

March 2008 ....... February 2008 ....... August 2007

If you check out my April 2008 'front on' photo above, you'll see that there's still some gap left from the IPR work done on my lowers back in October 2007. The gaps are reducing ... just slowly.

I can't wait till all these gaps are gone on my upper and lower arches ... as I'm sure it will then be about correcting my bite and getting a date to get rid of these things! Bring it on!!!!!!!!!

Diagnosis

Never get sick around a long weekend ... or at least that's what my hubby's medical team kept saying as we waited for the results.

Finally a week after the biopsy was done, the Dr came to tell us that unfortunately the tumor was cancerous. It's quite large and they recommend shrinking it before considering surgery. One positive, it's appears to be a primary tumor, which means there's no signs of tumors else where in his body. It's recommended that a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy be used to shrink the tumor, then surgery to remove it ... if that's what we want. The surgery for this type of tumor is huge! It requires two surgeons, one working from the abdomen and the other from the chest. They remove the tumor, then stretch the stomach and the oesophagus to meet each other.

We were told that we have to make all decisions, as that cannot be done for us. We will have all the options explained, but it's up to us if we do any or some of them.

It was way to much to take in ... but at least we had a diagnosis and for that we were grateful.

The following morning, when his medical team arrived, my hubby was told he could go home. I was with him, as I wanted to hear if there was any more that could be explained, but we were told that the Oncologist would have more answers and hopefully we'd have an appointment with that person next week.

So more waiting ... but at least my hubby is home! He's still on fluids only, and he's been making veggie soups, custard, jelly and drinking the ensure and enlive the hospital gave us to take with us.

Hopefully we'll see an Oncologist this week!

Humps along the way ...

My hubby (of 28 years) is unwell. He's been unwell for quite some time, maybe six months or more, but I guess we always thought he'd heal, with rest and love, like his hockey injuries used to. Unfortunately this isn't a hockey injury and over the past couple of months (and weeks) it did become more and more obvious that this time, rest and love alone was not going to heal the issues. He's also lost 38 kilos, seven of them in the past week. It's good for him to have lost weight, but not in this way, or at this speed.

He was finding eating difficult and in particular bread and meat became impossible to eat. Then any foods that weren't moist, or were doughy and soft, had to be ruled out. Over the last few weeks his choices became even fewer and while I was in Sydney last week, he finally was unable to keep fluids down. When I returned to Adelaide Airport last Sunday he appeared as pale as a ghost and looked run down, exhausted and most unwell.

On Monday the doctor sent him to hospital. He was 'fed' two bags of bloods and put on IV fluids. On Tuesday he had a Cat Scan and unfortunately a shadow was found around the lower part of his oesophagus and upper stomach. All other organs were clear, but he needs to go to a hospital in Adelaide.

On Wednesday I took him to Adelaide and he was checked into the QEH. Today he had an endoscopy and now we have to wait for the results.

Week 136 - Adjustment 19

12 March 2008

My orthodontist announced my left side is now Class I ... exciting! Unfortunately my right side is still Class III ... and the gap over my upper right impacted canine is still not closed, but it's gotten smaller!

Uppers

• To continue with class III elastic ( 3/16" elastics - red bag) on the right side - minimum of 23 hours a day, change once a day. Wear in a class III configuration - upper right first molar to lower canine.
• No ligs changed (last change was 15 October 2007)

Lowers

• Strong powerchain removed
• A new strong, 13 link, grey powerchain added across all lower teeth
• There's still a small gap either side of my lower right central incisor. All other gaps have closed since I had the IPR.

I'm frustrated that gaps have reappeared between my upper centrals, only small. Plus a noticeably sized gap between my upper left central and upper left lateral. I didn't mention these, as at this time it's all about the gap over my impacted canine closing, so my right hand side can become class I.

Next appointment in 10 Weeks - 21 May 2008.

Heat Wave in South Australia

The last record heat wave was in 1934 – eight days in the mid 30’s. Today marked day nine of temperatures higher than the mid 30’s … a record heat wave for South Australia.

The weather forecast is for another week of these high temperatures.

Records are something that we usually celebrate, but due to the drought having continued for several years, this intense heat is something we don't need!

Tomorrow

It's my 19th adjustment tomorrow and I'm excited, as I've not seen my ortho since December. Unfortunately the gap over my impacted canine has not yet closed ... but there has been progress. This gap is frustrating, as it's taking soooooo long to close!

After my ortho appointment, my hubby is taking me to the airport, as I'm flying to Sydney. My hubby will join me on Friday. We're visiting our kids, who both live there. It's exciting, as our daughter has bought her first home, a town house in Plumpton, one of Sydney's western suburbs. We're staying with our daughter, and will see both kids as much is possible during the stay.

Our daughter is participating in the World's Greatest Shave, on Thursday, a fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Then on Sunday, we fly back to Adelaide ... hopefully refreshed for work on Monday!

House Plans

Here's the floor plans ...

The front of our house is the left of this scan. It's a long ranch style house, with a simple arrangements of rooms. We've gone for a large open plan area through the centre, with hallways opening off either side. One end is my hubby and mine ... our bedroom, walkin robe and ensuite. The other end has three bedrooms, laundry, bathroom and toilet. Bedroom 2 ... the one by the front entrance, will be a therapy room, and will be decorated suitably for me to work with clients.

The room called 'Dine' ... with the double doors, will be an office. It's planned to be a 'versatile room', which means it can be a fifth bedroom, formal dining, or a 'whatever you' like room.

Our entertainment area will run from the back of the double carport, to between the laundry and toilet. Some will be covered and some not.

... we are still waiting for the the founds to be laid ... doing our best to be patient!

Here's a pic of how the finished house should look ...

The double carport has double auto doors, which adds to the length of the place, when looking at it from the road.

Six Ton of Soil ...

Photos of the progress on our land.

Our land before any work began! Photo taken from the top native garden at our existing residence ... facing East


28 February 2008 - What six tons of soil looks like. Photo taken from our soon-to-neighbour's house, which is currently being built.


Photo taken from the road below. This shows the 'rise' of our foundation preparation. The tail of my ute snuck into the photo. Upper right, is our current residence.


29 February 2008 - A photo of our floor plan marked out with crushed metal. To the left is our current residence and to the right is our double carport.

Disgraceful

I'm shocked to find a company in Australia trying to rip people off by so much! :-(

Waterpiks are wonderful for cleaning between your teeth and even more wonderful when you have braces. When I first got braces, there weren't any waterpiks being sold in Australia, and a friend in England gave me one as a gift ... an awesome gift. It was the cordless waterpik Model WP360 and cost about $31 Aussie dollars! This rotten company ... Natdent Pty Ltd are advertising themselves as ... Waterpik Australia - retailer of Waterpik™ brand Oral Irrigators ... and sell this exact same model for $225 Aussie plus $11 postage. I hope that no one in Australia purchases from this company, as this is just sooooooooooooooo wrong!

Recently I purchased a type of waterpik ... battery run, from ebay, from a company called Ozinnovation. This is slightly different to the waterpik, but the battery does give some advantages ... and the cost $35.00.

If you want a waterpik type oral irrigator ... please be careful who you buy it from, as sometimes it's much cheaper to buy from overseas, than to allow yourself to be treated as a fool, by a rip off company!

A few pages ...

More from Fiji ...

Natadola Beach

This photo reminds me of the wonderful time we had in Fiji. The smiles on the faces of our son and his friends in the warm Pacific Ocean ... wow! The joy, the laughter and the simple life!

Precious Moments

Our son's yaca with his beautiful Mum. This was a fun photo I took when I returned to Lautoka to visit in 2006.

Mother and Child
I love the look on Andrew's face ... he's adorable!

Finally ...

Today around six ton of soil (land fill) was put on our land, and compacted to form the base for the foundations for our house. It was very exciting!

The fill is much higher than we expected and it will mean our new house is higher than any other's in the area. Also looking at the shape of the compacted soil made us realise how big our new house will be ... much bigger than I realised. It's a long house - ranch style.

Now I can't wait for the the next stages ... founds go down, frames goes up, roof goes on ...

A few pages ...

More from Fiji ...

Wiggly Worm
This is a gorgous photo of our son's yaca.


Asena Qoro
When I return to Fiji, I always visit our housegirl Asena. We still enjoy going for walks together and sharing the times when Asena worked for us and cared us and our beautiful dog Milo.

Gorgous Boy
Clinton (our son's best friend) and his nephew, who is also our son's yaca.

Ken's Grog
This is part of a two page display. In Fiji I always enjoyed drinking yaqona (kava or grog) and the gatherings that went with these. In this display, I'm drinking grog with Clinton's father and soon to be father-in-law.

Blue Lagoon Cruise
Our son's best friend working as crew on a Blue Lagoon Ship. Blue Lagoon operate 3 day and 7 day cruises around the Yasawa Islands to the west of Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. We went on a couple of three day cruises, and then helped Clinton get an interview with Blue Lagoon. This photo was taken during a seven day cruise ... and shows two very proud parents ... their Fijian son has an amazing gift and works well with overseas and local guests on the boat.

Two and a half years - 3 February 2008

Front

Left Side and Right Side

Upper Arch and Lower Arch

Progress is harder to see and the gap where my impacted canine is, continues to close ... but so slowly. I'm really tired of this dragging out so long. I'd hoped my treatment would be over around the two year mark, but I suspect it might be more like three years.

Comparing the front view ... at two years and now, I can see that my open bite has closed by about halfway. I never realised this ... so taking photos is a great way to discover change!

I'm very grateful that my jaw pain is now rare. When I do get the pain, it's so much milder, which is truly wonderful.

Now I've got to be patient!

Saturday ... Milo and a snake ...

My day started off horribly ... really nasty! I was hanging out some washing and my gorgeous little dog, Milo, was sniffing round in a bark garden. I heard a noise and went to check it out, as I was concerned she had one of our blue tongue lizards, or a lace dragon cornered. But when I looked, I saw a small head, that I knew was not a lizard. The next minute seemed like an eternity. A small brown snake slide between her legs and under some sleepers ... I freaked!

Milo was standing very still and I picked her up and she lay quite still in my arms. I was thinking she'd been bitten, as although she loves cuddles, she's not one to lie still like that. I had a hand on her heart as I tried to stop feeling like panic and do something real.

Next my neighbour rushed out to see me. She was concerned, as she said all the colour had drained from my face and I looked frozen to the spot nursing my little dog. She talked to me for a few minutes and I then put Milo on the ground. She tried to walk, but was unsteady ... and I was about to panic again, when she appeared to come right and bound with energy.

I continued to feel sick for the next few hours, and have been watching Milo closely all day. Fortunately she appears fine!

This is the second time I've lived in Oz, but the first time I've seen a snake outside of a reptile park ... and that includes working in Queensland's Outback for over a year.

Bring on Sunday ... it can only get better!

A few pages ...

Bath Time

Our son's best friend in Fiji, named his first nephew after our son. In Fijian, this makes Andrew Ho our son's Yaca (pronounced - ya tha), which means our son's name sake. It's a great honour, and I spent a wonderful 2+ weeks with Andrew, his Mum, Grandparents and other family members when I returned to Lautoka for a holiday in 2006.

Yaca

Photos of Andrew ... with his Aunty Stephanie and his Grandmother Rachel.


Girl's Night In - 2006

This was of 2006's scrapping night to raise money for breast cancer ... we had a great time making money for a great cause! I'm yet to scrap the photo's for 2007.

Gaps

The lower extraction gap ... a first molar ... appears to be almost totally closed. Even though it's been slow ... it's gone a load better than the closing of the gap over my upper right impacted canine. I can see a definite improvement ... but I'm nearly at 30 months and that gap is really starting to p1$s me off!

Lower left gap – extracted first molar

January 2008


July 2007


August 2005




Upper right gap – over impacted canine

January 2008


August 2005

Interproximal Reduction

It's 4 1/2 months since I had IPR (shaving) done between my lower front teeth. Here's the progress ...

October 2007 - Day IPR was done


Close up of the shaving done on either side of my lower right lateral


November 2007


January 2008

A few pages ...

I love scrapbooking ...

I don't think I have a style ... just a passion to record memories and a love of writing!

Are You My Dog?

This shows Milo before and after her pre Christmas 2006 hair cut!



Licks of Love

I love this photo! Andy took it while he was visiting in 2006 and it shows the love between these two members of my family!


Graduation

My girlfriend graduating with a bachelor of counselling.

Zombie Flesh Eaters

My son and some of his friends in Sydney have formed a band. They describe it’s genre as ... Metal / Death Metal / Grindcore ... which all sounds a tad scary, but having spent a few hours at an Irrelevant show, when they toured Adelaide in 2007 and our son was acting manager and their merch guy ... or something like that ... I quickly realised they’re just all noise and the band is a bunch of sweeties!

I’m excited that he’s planning to write again and will get his creative juices flowing. When we lived in Fiji, he used to write reviews for music websites and mags most days. He became real good at getting demo’s from publicists, as he couldn’t buy the type of music he was passionate for, in Fiji.

I never tire of reading his work ... bias I know, but he has an earthy visual style, very similar to my own, just loads better!

Here’s the banner that the band want to advertise their MySpace ...

...too fast moving for my eyes, but I’m sure many will like it.

Here’s the pic I’m more comfortable with ...

My son has a zombie bride and groom tattooed on his feet ... and she’s similar, although not the same, as the bride.

There’s a demo song on the site ... and that’s my boy! I am concerned about his vocal cords, but my wish is that he’ll have fun and enjoy his passions!

European Holiday - Draft One

On Saturday we went to a travel agent to begin formulating the plans we’ve been making to have a holiday in Italy later this year. My hubby has talked about to visiting Italy, Greece and the Greek Islands for some time, and last September I suggested that my income be put in a separate bank account to pay for this adventure. This we did, and we started stage one of planning our holiday. We’ve done loads of online research and also talked to people who’ve been to Italy, and we felt it was time to start getting it together.

We went to the local flight centre, and the assistant manager Jo (Jody) started to put our plans together. She agreed that three weeks made our ideas doable, but obviously if we could sneak an extra day or three, it would be even more fun. My hubby has told his companies directors he’ll be taking time off for this holiday, and they’re okay about it, but he’s unsure of how long he should be away for … annoying, but understandable.

This is our current plans … nothing set in concrete, but a definite start!

We fly from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) by Malaysia Airlines on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday … after 7 September 2008, so we can get special air fares for September. We’ll probably have a one night stopover then fly to Rome (Italy). It will take 7 hours 30 minutes to get to Kuala Lumpur and 12 hours 10 minutes to get to Rome … that’s a long time!

After a day or two in Rome, we’ll do a 12 day Greek Isles Cruise, with the Carnival Cruise Lines. This cruise sounds great …
Depart Rome – 7 am
Day 1 – Naples, Italy – Arrive 7 am, depart 6 pm
Day 2 – ‘Fun Day’ at Sea
Day 3 – Marmaris, Turkey – Arrive 11 am, depart 6 pm
Day 4 – Izmir, Turkey – Arrive 9 am, depart 4 am
Day 5 – Istanbul, Turkey – Arrive 9 am, depart 8 pm (Scenic cruising of the Dardanelles)
Day 6 – ‘Fun Day’ at Sea
Day 7 – Athens (Piraeus), Greece – Arrive 6 am, depart 5 pm
Day 8 – Katakolon, Greece – Arrive 8 am, depart 3 pm
Day 9 – ‘Fun Day’ at Sea
Day 10 – Livorno, Italy – Arrive 7 am, depart 7 pm
Day 11 – Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy – Arrive 6 am – Overnight aboard ship
Day 12 – Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy – Debark 8 am

Maybe a night or two in Rome, then fly to Venice for a couple of nights and then to Tuscany for the final 5 or so days.

We may turn this trip around and start in Venice (or Rome then Venice), then Tuscany, then the cruise … not sure … but we have a plan … sort of …

Then on the way back to Adelaide we'll spend a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur. Then home!

We chose the month of September for this trip, as it will be autumn in Italy and the weather will still be warm.

... Still have to make plans for our beautiful 10 year old Milo. We have two choices ... leave her at home and have her visted at least once daily from a pet and house care agent, or have her holiday in the local kennels. I think I'll ask her vet for advice on that one!

Christmas 2007

We had an amazing time!

We flew to Sydney on 22 December and stayed at the Four Points Sheraton on Darling Harbour. That night our son joined us and we had a lovely time together ... which included a great meal in one of the many fabulous restaurants around the harbour.

The 23rd is our daughters birthday, so we took her for a day out to Taronga zoo. It was great to be able to go out as four adults and have so much fun! Our daughter's flatmate joined us, and we had a great day. That night we met up at the Star City Casino for a fabulous meal. Our son brought his girlfriend and my two nephews (my brother's sons) joined us. It was great seeing them, as all the next generation on my side of the family (mine and my brother's children) currently live in Sydney. We had a huge night.

On the 24th we chilled ... enjoying fine dining around the harbour and rests in our hotel room.

Christmas day ... well it arrived and Sydney was dull and cool. We wandered around the harbour for a while and found ourselves sitting in a cool breeze by the water with takeaway cups of coffee and tea. It was a bit like ... 'is this really Christmas?' ... but more was to come.

Next we walked to a train station ... and got lost. When we found a station, we were told to take the train on the yellow line ... which we did. We were soooooooooooooo proud, as we could easily see the stations we had to pass through to get to Westmead Children's Hospital, where our daughter is a nurse. We watched them pass ... until we realised that the last two weren't on the map ... damn! Then we realised this wasn't the right train and had taken a turn to the right, instead of the left. At the next station we got off, called a taxi and paid $30 to get to the hospital. It was great to see our daughter at work and spent time meeting other staff and being shown around the hospital. I loved the Japanese garden that children and family can sit in, as it has water moving gently around ... very peaceful.

When our daughter finished work, she drove us to our son's place and they both joined us in our hotel room for presents. Then it was to the hotel bar and then to a wonderful Christmas night meal ... it was fabulous.

On Boxing Day our son had a party at his flat, so we spent a few hours there, but decided to leave and let the 'real' partying begin. We chilled back at our hotel ... and enjoyed another night of fine dining at a restaurant on the harbour.

Our final day ... damn ... it always goes too fast, but we'd had a fantastic time. Our daughter picked us up and drove us to where our son works, so we could see him and his friends in action. Spent some time with him and then it was to the airport!

We arrived back to a heat wave in South Aussie ... phew it was hot with day after day over 40!

Our beautiful 10 year old Milo was thrilled to have us home!

Week 122 - Adjustment 18

6 December 2007

My orthodontist was pleased with my left side, as it's now getting close to having a class I molar relationship. Unfortunately my right side is still class III ... I wasn't pleased to hear that.

Uppers
* Wire tie put round left canine bracket
* To continue with class III elastic on the right side - minimum of 23 hours a day, change once a day
* No ligs changed

Lowers
* Strong powerchain removed
* Archwire removed
* Ends clipped on archwire, to prevent poking over the next three months
* Archwire replaced
* A new strong, 13 link, grey powerchain added across all lower teeth

My next appointment is in three months! My orthodontist is hoping the upper right impacted canine gap will be closed by then. Here's hoping it is ... as it's been a long wait ... around two years!

I'd hoped to get new upper ligs, so I could do my christmas colours of black and purple, but my orthodontist didn't want them changed. So have black for another three months ... plus the wire tie ... which will be okay! Had to get the boring grey powerchain again, as this is the only colour Con has in this strong chain. Here's hoping the gaps resulting from the IPR I had eight weeks ago, will be gone by my next appointment!

I enjoy my appointments and after discussing some general orthodontic stuff, it was holiday wishes and two more bags of 3/16" elastics (red bag) ... and I was gone!