ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

3rd and 4th September 2010

Early in the week we had a glimpse of the promise of Spring however on the day of our Athletics Carnival the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse. Heavy, thick grey clouds filled the sky and they were pushed rapidly along by gusty, winds that felt like they had come straight from the snow covered mountains of Thredbo.

This was not the sort of day that was expected, but the Carnival went ahead despite the Wintry conditions. I went to school in the morning because the first event was the 1500m and I wanted to watch Jarrett run, he is the current record holder for that event. He was a little nervous but feeling confident and thought being on his new asthma medication that he would have a terrific run. The race began and Jarrett had a fantastic start leading the field through the first lap, he was running strongly and looked to be on pace to smash the record, however during the third lap my heart leaped as I saw him slow his pace and as he came past the finish line for his next lap I could see he was having asthma difficulties again. He pushed on but had slowed down dramatically, a boy in Year 12 was gaining slightly on him and into the final lap they were virtually equal however Jarrett had found some extra energy and surged but as he did so, his asthma took hold again and in the last 100m he had to back off once again, letting the Year 12 boy overtake him to win narrowly. We raced up to Jarrett and gave him his Ventolin, which worked much more quickly than it had at National Cross Country ,thank goodness. He was disappointed but said he was okay, he went to rest ready for his next event.

Mum and I went back home to put some more layers of clothing on as the weather had deteriorated in just the short period of time we had been there. We stayed at home in the warmth and watched Jarrett run his 100m from the lounge room window , we could not tell where he came because it was a close race, when we saw him when we went back for his 800m, he told us he had come 4th which is good for him, he is not a sprinter. It was time for my javelin event, I was over competing in Javelin when Jarrett began to run, in the 800m he absolutely blitzed the field, he actually lapped the entire field who were just finishing their first lap when he finished his second. He broke the school record for his age group and was smiling however he said his chest had become tight again in the last 200m of the race. I had two throws of the javelin and felt they had gone further than what they had when I practised in PE, I guess I had an advantage with the wind being lower than everyone else because I was throwing from my wheelchair, so many of the throws were taken by the wind and did not stick in the ground. I did not get a measurement for my javelin because the teacher on that event said they were only measuring the top five throws, we showed him my athlete with a disability classification but he said he did not know what to do about it, Mum said mine should be measured as I am not competing against the other girls in my age group but he decided not to measure.

I went from javelin to shot put, Nalani was assisting on shot put, so I knew that my measurement would be done there. I had three throws and felt I had done rather well, when it was measured I had thrown 2.24m which was a personal best. The wind had become so gusty and it chilled my bones, I was not surprised when the announcer said it was only ten degrees but with the wind chill it must have been only about five. Jarrett ran the 200m just as we were leaving to go back home to warm up again, he came third in a fast, close race and was happy with his effort and was pleased he had not had chest tightness.

As we walked into the house, we could feel the bliss of the warmth, Mum asked if I really wanted to go back to do discus with the weather being so harsh and I told her that I wanted to, so we went back so I could throw the discus. It was organised so that we had all our three throws in one go, each time mine went further and the distance I threw was 4.54m, another personal best. While I was throwing, Jarrett ran in the 400m, he flew around the track and came across the line in less than one minute, again breaking the school record and winning by 200m. His chest had tightened again towards the end, he said he hopes that it happened because the weather was so cold but he has run in the cold before and it has not affected his asthma. He then went on to do javelin, as Mum and I left to go home we watched him throw his last throw, he came 7th and was pleased with his result.

Although the weather had been so dreadfully dismal, I had enjoyed participating in the Carnival and I was so proud of myself, I hope that other people who have any sort of disability can learn from what I am doing, I think there is a saying that goes, 'where there is a will, there is a way', I found a way that I could still compete and even though my throws were no where near what everyone else in my age group had thrown, I had done it, I competed even though I have gone through so much!

I must admit I was elated to come home to the warmth of a hot shower as I was aching, my knee was swollen and my shoulder was throbbing. When Nalani and Jarrett came home we went for a short visit to our friends Rosemary, Luke and Celina, it was Celina's Birthday when we were in Brisbane so we celebrated a little late with her.

I was absolutely exhausted, in pain and starting to feel terribly nervous about my appointments in Sydney which we finally received yesterday afternoon. My schedule is fairly demanding while we are there and they are also talking about admitting me to hospital for the entire time we are there, but Mum explained how we had to book a place to stay and had already paid for it, so now they are talking about me being in hospital during the day and getting night leave to go to the accommodation to sleep. They have said that a few issues have come up from my last tests and they may need to do some extra procedures while I am there. I have to have an EEG on Monday, this measures your brain waves to see if they are normal, you have to have wires attached to your head similar to the ones you have when you have an ECG on your heart. I then have a speech pathology review in the afternoon. Tuesday is full, I have Oncology Clinic, Physiotherapy review, Occupational Therapy review and then my MRI. Wednesday is my Lumbar Puncture, Thursday I have a Radiation Review and Friday I have a Neuropsychology Review. They also are fitting in an Endocrine appointment, Neurology Review, Orthopaedic Specialist Review, Dietician Review and a visit with my Social Worker. Unfortunately, the pain clinic is fully booked and it takes three to four months to get an appointment so I am extremely disappointed that I am not having this appointment as it was the one that would relieve me of some of my pain, now I have to wait until next time, not a terrific prospect when you are suffering in so much pain but perhaps one of the other doctors can prescribed something in the meantime.

I watched the football and was excited to see that the Raiders won and will now most likely be in the top eight, they were so nice when they came to my book launch and when I met them at the Wests Tigers game. I was very disappointed though this morning to find out that the Tigers had lost to the Titans 21-18, Pop is now leading the tips by one but there are more games to go.

We woke this morning to pouring rain, there were substantial puddles in the stones outside and it was cold and miserable, my body is aching all over today, I can hardly move my right knee or hand and when I do the pain shoots through me. I have been teary, I have this really anxious feeling about my appointments in Sydney next week. Jarrett did not have running training this morning as the doctor advised him if he had an asthma attack at the Carnival to have a rest day on Saturday, Jarrett was so disappointed and he moped around the house all morning, running is his life.

Dad had to go to work today because Wagga have moved their Race Meeting to Canberra on Monday and he had to organise staff and other things for it. We went to Magnet Mart to pick up Dad's Father's Day present, we got him a blower/vacuum/mulcher for the yard, he had one that wore out and with all the winds we have been having lately he will be using it regularly and it will make it easier for him than sweeping all the time. When we were there I saw the perfect addition for my fairy garden, it was a wishing well, just a good size for a fairy garden, I will have to save up for it.

I have packed my pink suitcase for Sydney, hoping that I can wear some more Spring type clothes whilst I am there and I watched a Barbie Movie called A Fashion Fairytale. As I am typing this I am feeling really scared about my appointments, I have had some new things happening to me that were not before so I guess it always is in the back of my mind that my tumour could be becoming aggressive again or a new tumour appearing. I should be thinking positive but even when you do there is that little niggling thought in the very back of your mind every time you have something new and strange occur or feel unwell.

I will regularly update my Blog while I am in Sydney and let you know who everything goes whilst I am there. Mum is coming with me, she helps to keep my hopes high, she is the best Mum in the World!!!