really well and I was killing it. Yeah! Shane
even nodded off for a while and woke up
suddenly saying: “Why are we swaying?”
“I dunno!” I said
“How fast are you going?”
“Hmmm… 105 k’s” I replied
“CRIKEY – SLOW DOWN WOMAN!”
“Errr, what happened to Skip?”
So that was “The Wobbles”! Hey, maybe I
should have read: “Towing a Caravan for
Dummies” before taking on this task. I
stick to 80 kilometres an hour now.
Our trip to Bonnievale was an especially
memorable one for me. On the 19th
September 2012, I received a phone call
from my GP with the results of a biopsy
on a funny little lump that had popped
up in my neck4 weeks earlier.
I had Cancer.
It was Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. More
tests showed that I had five tumours. One
in my neck, two in my stomach, one in my
chest cavity and one on my right sidechest.
Within two weeks I had commenced the
first of eight rounds of chemotherapy.
My hair fell out five weeks later. After
my third round of chemotherapy,
more scans showed that the tumour
on my right side was not responding
to treatment whereas the other three
were. I was given an ultrasound and a
mammogram. The tumour on my side
was Breast Cancer. I would
continue with chemotherapy
for the Lymphoma and when
my body was strong enough
in between rounds, they
would remove the tumour
in my breast. I underwent
two operations, three weeks
apart to remove all the
cancerous cells, leaving me
with two-thirds of my right
breast. When chemotherapy
for the Lymphoma was completed, I had
six weeks of daily radiation for the Breast
Cancer.
Nine months after my diagnosis, I was in
remission. Five years later, I am still cancer
free and so we took this beach break
again to re-invent the 19th September
with some new memories.
Things I learned during my association
with cancer:
There is always someone worse off than
you.
Take life one day at a time and thank God
for every day he gives you.
Choose your battles and don’t sweat the
small stuff.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they
are vexatious to the spirit (Desiderata)
Little (tiny) things mean a lot.
To say that I’m in love with My Tiny
Caravan is an understatement. She sits
in our driveway most of the time, just
outside our bedroom window. As I turn
her key, and step up into her magical
surround, an unexplainable happiness
washes over me. A feeling all too real,
like the fragrant vanilla hugs that only
a mum can give. The hugs that leave
you knowing that everything will be OK.
The hugs I have missed so terribly for
seventeen years since her passing.
I have sleepovers in Annie quite regularly
now and we have dinner and movie
nights in the driveway. My grandson
thinks that I live in “Ma’s Little House” in
the driveway and that Pa lives in the big
house. I wonder where he got that crazy
idea? It sounds like a mighty fine plan
to me!
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