"A change is as good as a holiday" or so it is said.  That may be true, but only if an actual holiday break is impossible! The last few weeks have been a welcome holiday break for us from the more recent routines imposed in response to the cancer and its broad impact in our lives. It is abundantly clear that the embrace of loving family and friends has it's own 'healing power'. Sue was remarkably 'well' all the time we were way - engaged and energized by the presence, the sharing, the fun & silliness, and even the tears.

 

Unfortunately we have returned to routine with a thud! Having arrived back in steamy Darwin in the early hours of Tuesday morning, we were off to the oncologist at 9.00am, followed by blood tests ahead of commencement of Round 6 of chemotherapy yesterday morning. It was interesting to hear the chemo nurse comment that Sue's improved blood test results and blood-pressure numbers reflected someone who had been on holidays!!

There is not much to report on the medical front. We are back in routine - infusions, tablets, appointments, blood tests etc. This may or may not be the last round of this chemotherapy regime. The oncologist is cautious regarding the accumulating side-effects and has further reduced Sue's dosages for this round. He has ordered a full set of scans (body and head) before the next consultation so it will be interesting to see what (if anything) has changed since last time.

As I type, Sue sits in stillness on the verandah, baptized in the morning sun, caressed by the already-warm breeze, staring off into the distance.... She confides that she is re-living recent experiences in South Australia and Victoria. As she wanders the trails of memory, feeling afresh the embrace of family, re-living the moments and days, her face softens, a thin smile lifts her face, and her eyes sparkle with building joy-tears. A paradox of strength and vulnerability eloquently displayed. She exudes a divinely gifted peace. Sue is at her most beautiful in moments such as this.