PROMOTING MY BOOK

5th April to 7th April 2010

After such an amazing day on Sunday I still had the hugest smile on my face and a warmth in my heart on Monday. It was a much quieter day which I found my photograph in the Canberra Times at the Raiders Game with a heading 'Little Fan shows Tigers what it means to fight' and boy did they fight back, I am hoping that they will fight all the way to the Grand Final, how wonderful would that be?. I don't think I am anyone special though I am just a girl who wants to help as many people as I can through my story.

I did some more painting because I am doing some canvases for my book launch, I think these are some of the best ones I have done so far. I rode the exercise bike but could only do it for five minutes because my chest became very tight and I had trouble breathing. The chemotherapy affected my lung function and of course my fitness level so I will have to remember to use my asthma puffers before doing exercise. For some reason today also my knee looked like I had played in the Tigers and Raiders game and been injured in a tackle, it was huge and swollen and so painful and I had trouble even bending it.

I did my mathletics and was very pleased with myself because I gained another bronze certificate, I think doing mathletics has helped me stay up with my mathematics especially last year when I spent most of the year in Sydney. Your mathematical side of the brain is the left side so perhaps that is why I am able to keep up with my class. I also completed two Suduko puzzles and played Upwords as well as a trying my cooking skills on chocolate chip cookies for Nalani, Jarrett and Dad to have on their lunches this week.

I went to bed extremely tired and with my right eye drooping which seems to happen when I get tired for some reason. I woke during the night with really severe, cramping and pain in my legs, back and stomach, Mum had to sit up and rub me, use hot water bottles and give me pain killers to try to help the pain go away. It almost reminded me of when I had my chemotherapy and had similar pain through my legs.

Tuesday was another momentous day because I had the privilege of getting to do an interview with Chris Kimball from ABC Stateline. Chris, Adam and Toby arrived at our house at 1pm and they were just terrific. I was able to read some of my Blog, my poetry, show them my Benji Marshall jersey, talk to them about Tinkerbelle and Theodore and answer some questions about my book and myself for Chris. Mum and Dad also got to talk to Chris and tell him about me, my journey and my book. I think all these memories made me remember what it was like and even though I try to always remain brave and positive when I read my poem, I cried. By telling my story through the media and with my book I can reach so many people and hopefully make a huge difference in their lives and help people understand what it is like for someone my age to have cancer and how we can all make a difference in the future. Nalani and Jarrett came home and some more filming was done and then we all packed up to go to running training because they were filming some more there. Being able to run again is important to me but in the mean time having Mum push me in the wheelchair means so much to me. When Chris talked to me at training he mentioned that being able to walk that last 100m (or at least some distance) in our School Cross Country is one thing I am doing for me, you know I never thought about that before, doing that is a goal I have set myself and if I can do it, it will be wonderful and show people that when you are determined you can achieve just about anything. We had fun going around the oval in the wheelchair at running training and it makes me feel like I belong.

We received an email from my oncologist today and he is going to write a supporting document towards my application for being classified as a disabled athlete. This is another way that I could inspire other people not to give up and think you can not be a part of activities you did before you became ill.

I had terrible pain in my scar on the top of my head, if you feel your head at the top there is not much skin there and when it was cut there to let out the excess fluid around my brain there was some nerve damage done and it has given me a lot of grief lately and it seems to be swelling also. We will have to mention this again when we go back to Sydney in June.

What a huge day I had again today but I feel so fortunate to be meeting so many amazing and considerate media people. They are all so interested in my story and my book and it surprises me.

Today I went to school and finally was able to do my art again and Chris, Adam and Toby were there to see me working on it and share it with me. I found out that my fabulous art teacher is leaving at the end of Term which is really sad, I have learnt many new ideas about art from her. We thanked Chris and his team because they have been with us for the past two days and I feel like they are now a really important part of my journey, thank you guys, I hope to see you again at my book launch. The story will be on ABC Stateline this Friday night.

When we arrived home from school the most spectacular parcel arrived in the mail for me, a copy of my book! There it was, I could hold it in my little hands and there was my name on the front cover which Ben did such an astonishing job on. We spoke to Gavin and I thanked him and talked to him, it will be so exciting meeting all the people from Sydney at my book launch that have helped make my wish come true, I don't know how I can thank them enough. I can hardly wait until all of you can read it, it is so different to the Blog because you can read over parts again and again and you can curl up with it in bed or on a couch and there are colour pictures in it also. I hope you will love it as much as I do and I hope that it will touch you and inspire you when you read it. I also found out that the imprint is all done and that the printing of the book is all about to happen - how phenomenal is that?

I still have some more adventures this week with physiotherapy tomorrow although as it is raining in Canberra it really causes my knee to play up so I am hoping that I can still work towards my goals without too much difficulty. Friday I am going to school and it is a mufti day and they are raising money for breast cancer and prostate cancer which I will definitely be supporting and we are having a meeting with my teacher at school to plan for next Term, Saturday is running training, Sunday is running training and then we are having our photographs taken by a professional photographer from Newcastle thanks to Carol.

My Nana sent me an email and in it she wrote this - 'Cancer is like a thief in the night, it comes and takes away things that are precious to us'. How true is that? Once you have cancer your life and the lives of those who love you are changed dramatically forever.