A BUSY WEEK AT SCHOOL AND GREAT GRAN NOT WELL

19th to 25th March 2011

We had a miserable weekend in Canberra with it raining both Saturday and Sunday so I was unable to do any practise using my rollator at either Stromlo or the AIS where Jarrett was training.  It was the perfect weekend to stay indoors doing homework, watching DVD's or going to the shops.

It was also this weekend that we received the news that Great Gran was becoming worse, more fluid was building on her lungs and they had to give her more oxygen to help her breathe.  My Nana and Pop had to organise to get there as quickly as possible so they could see her.  Great Gran is a very strong person though, perhaps I have inherited my strength genes from her, the doctors did not think she would survive the week, but here we are, it is Friday and she is still hanging in there although she is not very well at all.  It has been a terrible time for the family and we have been praying for her not to be suffering at all during this time.

This week on 23rd March it was exactly two years since I saw my paediatrician, was rushed to Canberra Hospital for an MRI  ,told I had tumours on my brain and rushed to Sydney that evening.  I was operated on the next day in a ten hour operation, told they could not remove all the tumour in my cerebellum and one they would not even attempt to remove because of its location at that stage I did not know whether the tumours were cancerous or not but as you know they were.  That was the day that my life and my families life changed forever, I look back now and know that I was given that journey for a reason, I am still fighting and in those two years I think I have been able to make a huge difference in many people's lives.  Hopefully I may have two more years to be able to continue to reach out helping others and inspire them.  I think that there is no hurdle, no matter how large that you can not jump if you have courage, determination and hope.

School has been very hectic this week, we have had numerous tests which have taken their toll on me, Monday we had a Maths test, there were three parts to it, the first part had four pages.  We had a double lesson to work on it, so that was ninety minutes, after ten minutes my eyes were flickering and I could not focus on the sums in front of me, my head began to throb and my right hand became stiff, painful and extremely weak.  I had a little break and had my hand massaged to try to help the muscles which had all spasmed, it was like my hand was crippled.  I closed my eyes to try to stop the flickering but every time I opened them and looked at the page in front of me they just seemed to flicker all the more frequently.  I tried my hardest but it was just too much.  I felt so strange, my head continued to throb, my eyes just would not stop flickering and my right arm became painful with shooting pains going from my fingers right up the length of my arm.  I was pleased when the lesson was over, although I had not even finished the first part of the test and was dreadfully disappointed because I love Maths but obviously that period of time concentrating is too much for me.  

Mum took me home after the test and in the car on the drive home I was crying because my arm was so painful, once at home, I had a seizure which was very frightening and left me with pain and no use in my right arm.  It remained painful and immobilised for the rest of the day and I also had a headache for that time period too.  When I went to bed, it was still very weak and I did not feel well, I was hoping to wake up with some improvement the next day.

To my relief, there was improvement when I woke, although I was still very weak in my right arm so at school I used my left hand to write, thank goodness I learnt to use my left hand after my surgery, it certainly comes in handy when I am faced with a situation that I am unable to use my right hand.  At school this week apart from the Maths test, we have been learning about cells in Science, continuing work on our novel Holes in English, planning our own website in I.T and began a science project about salinity using broad bean seeds and different concentrates of salt water.  On Thursday I had a Science test, it was also quite difficult although no where near as long as the Maths one, I did struggle and it exhausted me but I finished it. 

Each week I work on my physiotherapy exercises which Rhiannon gives me, although when I am ill or like on Monday when I had the seizure then I am unable to do them which to me is a real setback as far as I am concerned. I have to be patient though and take the good with the bad remaining positive and also not to be too hard on myself if I am unable to achieve some things, some days.

On the weekend Jarrett is racing his first Cross Country race for the season, it is a 2.1km Junior Point Score Race and then he is going to also do the 4.2km Senior Race.  For National Cross Country this year he has to run 6km, that seems like such a long distance to me.  Nalani has been working hard at the gym and is well on track to be able to participate fully in sport in the next three months.

I am doing footy tipping with my Nana and Pop again this year, the first week I did terribly only getting two right while both Nana and Pop got six, the second week I improved a little so I am hoping that this week will be my week to shine.  Luckily my West Tigers won last week and this week is a huge game against the Raiders.

Next week will be another busy one at school with more assessments happening, it is Week 8, this Term is a ten week term so we don't have many more weeks left.  Then on the weekend it is the Relay for Life at the AIS and then on the Sunday is a Woman's and Girls Fun Run and Walk which is helping to raise money for Ovarian Cancer our School is encouraging people to take part in both events, I am going to be doing the Relay for Life on the Saturday and then on Sunday Mum, Nalani and I are doing the fun run and walk, raising awareness about cancer is something that I am just so passionate about, of course these events are not specifically for brain tumours but I think it is just as important. 

'In life we can find hope almost anywhere, it may be shinning out from someone we know, it may be in nature in the form of a rainbow or even deep within our own heart, it is hope that keeps us smiling and living'