COLD WEATHER BRINGS ILLNESS

11th to 17th June 2011

We were extremely lucky to have a long weekend to celebrate the Queens Birthday, our weather improved and we were treated to some sunshine on Saturday which was fortunate because Jarrett was running in a Cross Country Point Score Event, it was a 3km one on a very hilly, gravel course.  It was his first race since his asthma attack and I knew that he was fairly anxious before the start.  He had a terrific start and led the field  through the croaked eucalyptus trees, up the first hill and out of sight.  A smile formed on my face when we spotted him coming back, running strongly to win by over one minute.  In fact it was hard to say who had the largest smile, me because I was so happy he had not had any problems and was running, well to me when he runs it is like he is flying, Mum because she is so close to us and feels all our pain and excitement or Jarrett whose smile was one of relief and joy.

Sunday we went to running training, the morning started off sunny and still but towards the end it had become dreadfully dark and gloomy with strong, gusty winds.  Nalani managed to actually do some running, six months after major knee surgery she has worked so courageously and determinedly to make it to this point.  I think that her smile on this day matched all of ours from the day before. 

This week was week seven at school, we only have two more weeks until School Holidays and then we get a three week break which I think many students will need because with our drastically cold weather there is so many illnesses going around.  In Integrated Studies the class are still working on problem based solving questions, in English we are looking at various aspects of Shakespeare works and in Science our Physics unit and we looked at levers, I also had to do a Science test which was extremely demanding as most of the questions required quite detailed answers and I am so slow at handwriting. 

When you are at school and have low immunity you can very easily pick up any germs that are present in the air, I have ended up with another cold, after I have barely recovered from my bout of bronchitis.  I am not the only one though, Jarrett has a viral infection and croup, he has been rather unwell and has had to miss running training, school and this weekend is unable to run in the Athletics ACT Cross Country Championships this weekend,  which of course he is devastated about.  Earlier in the Year I had a goal to compete in this event also but of course with my stress fracture which is still healing I am not able to achieve that goal however I have set that same goal for next year now. 

Nalani has begun her Year 12 exams, she is constantly studying as she hopes to do exceptionally well in her subjects, she has already done her PE exam and her Maths exam, next week she has her other exams then has an AST practise on Friday, once that is over she is finished school for this Term, so she actually gets a longer holiday than Jarrett and I.  This afternoon she sang with the choir and they were live on the radio, the song they sang was called They Rhythm of Life. 

Today the day started off with the sun streaming in the windows promising a delightful Winter day, however the sun was teasing us because as the day progressed the weather deteriorated quickly, low, heavy grey clouds appeared and suddenly the temperature dropped, then sleet began to fall ever so gently like little chips of ice that melted as soon as they touched the ground that the earlier sun had warmed.  The icy winds then whipped up even making ripples in the bird bath out the front, it was truly a cold Winters day.

There is a very special person that I would like to ask you to pray for, it is Chris and his family, he did the interview with me on Stateline, he is not well at the moment, he is another extraordinary person who has been given a difficult journey and I hope that with our prayers he will be able to go through his journey more easily.

I have heard tonight from my Endocrinologist and I am afraid to say it is not all good news, some of my some recent tests show that I have a growth hormone deficiency which I will need to have injections everyday for which Mum will have to administer however approval has to go through for them before I can begin them.  I also have extremely high cholesterol, problems with my liver function, some thyroid issues and an insulin resistance. There is one concern with giving me growth hormones and that is that they can cause tumours to become aggressive and there is concern about the remaining tumour however if I don't have them then there are several other serious issues that could arise so they will try the growth hormones and see what happens.  More challenges but they will only make me stronger, I have learnt that been positive and seeing a challenge as a positive on this journey has been important.  You have to try to have a positive outlook on your life and those little aches and pains are nothing compared to what some other people are going through.