Week 4

All pictures relate directly to the narrative above them.





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Hi~! welcome back .....look , I never really know what if any direction this blogs going in . Aside from loading the pic's in order that's about as structured as we're going to get . I'm going to have a brew and have a think about what I want to say so why don't you join me.... : )

well , that didn't work and a day later i'm still circling around what to me is truly difficult to write/talk about .So let's head straight to the guts ay? (no pun intended) . During week 5 chemo and 3 of Radio-therapy Gaylene started noticing hair loss. At the start it was just a few hairs on the pillow in the morning then it was hair on the shower/bathroom floor. During this time Gaylene said it was quite pain full and her hair/scalp was extremely tender to the point it was pain full to rest her head on a pillow. You can see below how thin her hair had become.


Soooooo , we felt the only option was to cut Gaylene's hair and hopefully relieve some of the pain she was experiencing. To do this I ran over her head with a number 2 clipper and......

you know? right up to this moment we had maintained a semblance of normality (what ever THAT is ) but as I ran those clippers I felt like for the first time we were coming face to face with the tumor......a sad moment and one I shed a few quiet tears later on in reflection. and ?

it's not the tumor that cause's the hair loss but the treatment? there's a certain irony in that .

and she's still smiling........a little nervously maybe but thu all this Gaylenes refused to be beaten.

On the Monday we returned to Dunedin for the 4th week of Radio-therapy treatments. Monday was taken up with traveling and the treatment then Monday night it really blew. We are sheltered staying were we are but you could hear the wind outside howling her bloody tits off! Waking up Tuesday morning I had planed a day for sight seeing but a look down the driveway put paid to an early start.....that and the combined treatments were taking there toll , Gaylene spent the large part of the day in bed .

Wednesday morning and Gaylene was feeling a lot better ~! So great....we had an appointment to look at some wigs at 10:30 am. I was opting for a long blond wig were the hair stops just short of her arrrrr ...yer : ) . I had my hand smacked heh heh heh.........regardli'ss , all in the name of glamor .

The shop that sold the wigs was located in an open mall. There was a small service lane leading into the shops and it was here that we parked so Gaylene didn't have far to walk....in fact below ? There's the shop!

OK , backing up a little here , this was our second appointment. In the first appointment Gaylene had selected a number of different style/colour of wig and they had been ordered and now awaited us. So we tried each one on and started narrowing then down by having a *possable* pile and a *no way* pile....all done in a little room with a large mirror a'front and the help from the specialist.


Crikey~! bloody flash is a bit bright....

THATS better....and there's a proper way to fit these wigs as we are being shown.....

once on a bit of a comb over and.....

Hmmmmnnnnnnn..........

To me this one just doesn't look natural and THAT i think is the key to it....

better but!...........

maybe?

hmmnnn , a bit darker than both Gaylene and I had in mind but ....

I think we've found one~!

and as good a time as any to mention a few things. You've asked how we are doing financially?

a LOT of the costs are covered by various grants/allowances from the Government. The Wig for example is paid for by you (and us in the past) via your tax dollars as is our accommodation while receiving treatment away from home. Fuel costs are also covered via a claim back form and do cover the costs of travel. The various medicines Gaylenes on including the Chemo tablets are heavily subsidized with minor prescription charges incurred . Due to the nature of this illness I've had to all but stop working to provide 24/7 care.......the government provides a small allowance for this that in reality ? yer ...were digging into savings . I'm monitoring that closely and should I feel the need arise ? We have a few asserts ?liabilities : ) I can hock off , were a ways away from that at this point.....at this stage it's all about providing comfort as needed and getting thru this period of treatment in the hope of a better quality of life for Gaylene .

also you've asked how I and the kids are coping.....we are doing OK , right now we have a focus point in helping Gaylene thu this . While she fights then we are right beside her all the way and as you know.......Gaylene's a fighter : ).

You've also been fantastic~!! from the visits you've made to E-Mails of support and messages on the News Group , txt's and phone calls~!!......course , it's not just *our* story , it's yours as well and the only way we have of showing how much we care is by telling it.

What the future holds we have know idea ....Gaylene is /has always been our rock and to me, Teri and Stacy she's simply........

*home*.......

righto , lets wipe our eye's for the road beacons and it's one day at a time friend, one day at a time ....... : )

After selecting a Wig we decided to drive out to Harington Point which is right at the tip of the Otago Peninsula. Below I've inserted a Map with our route marked in Pink (yes : ) , I'm secure in my manly -hood to use *pink* ) . Setting out from the centre of Dunedin City we took the high road stopping just before Pukehiki for......

this shot..... looking back over the Harbour at Dunedin city and I've used a bit a zoom.....

without zoom....

then turning to my right and looking out towards the entrance ....

This was interesting ! from the distance it looked like a Hill covered in snow but as we got closer....? well , you can see

yup , it's a cloud furling itself around the hill top.....bout now I'm swearing at the limitations of these point and shoot cameras....

buggered if I remember where this is but it looks nice : )

and wouldn't ya know it ? banging on 12 O,Clock and bugger me if here's not a Pub! bewdy ....

seated in the dining room Gaylene is looking out at the view.....

what is she looking at ?

this....

I ordered my standard fare ...a Burger !

and Gaylene had a Chicken wrap......

and wouldn't ya know it? my glass was dry!! easy fix in a pub and brought with a smile......

ya gotta love it : )

I took the next pic to show the extensive retaining walls on both sides of the Harbour...there's a lot of work been done here....

looking at the sandy tip that extrudes into the Harbour from Aramoana

right at the entrance you can see a man made sea wall to help protect Ships etc in their passage thru the Heads...must run a kilometre plus from the shore.

Here's a closer look at Aramoana , steeped in New Zealands history unfortinatly as the site of one of our worst mass murders.....shame , it really is a nice place!

another look at the sand spit .....

Heh heh heh..I was expecting to see the sign read *parts for sale * or sum such....it read *parts wanted* ..brought a smile...

oh? thought i'd lost this pic....remember the retaining wall of a few pic's ago? guess it's a full time job and here they are ...replaceing /fixing a part of it.

Great name~!

as land being precious like it is in built up areas these boat sheds dot the shores on both sides of the Harbour , in fact there's one on the other side of the harbour 4 sale at the moment . Two sheds joined together with it's own boat ramp to one side...NZ $45,ooo.oo .

and last but not least....a simple row boat denoteing a wonderfull life style....nice...!

bye....