http://www.kitecouple.com en-gb kitecouple.com 2008-11-2T00:00:00Z kitecouple.com http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#31853 12.00 Normal 0 false false false ENGB XNONE XNONE Style Definitions table.MsoNormalTable msostylenameTable Normal msotstylerowbandsize0 msotstylecolbandsize0 msostylenoshowyes msostylepriority99 msostyleqformatyes msostyleparent ... 2008-11-2T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#28634 2008-8-22T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#28635 It is now less than 3 weeks to go to my next and hopefully final operation. I feel that I have spent most of this year wishing my life away thinking about the next appointment test or operation. This operation is known as a reversal and should be much smaller than my previous operation. I expect to be in hospital for 3 to 5 days and then at home for one or two weeks. I cant say I am not nervous and am obviously hoping that the complications I experienced last time do not repeat. However once it is finished life will start to get back to normal. If nothing else I am looking forward to being able to eat what I want to eat and being able to sit on the toilet and read a newspaper. The jokes and pictures have been slowing down but I have received a great picture from Mike Weathrall King one of the organiser of the Exmouth Rotary Kite Festival. The Question that accompanies this picture is this. For what reason is the Police Officer pulling these people overThe ... 2008-8-22T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#27774 It is now five weeks since I left hospital and seven weeks since the operation. When I left hospital I found it hard to walk more than 100 yds was on an extremely restrictive diet and got incredibly tired. Now I can walk 1 to 2 miles a day am on a restrictive diet and just get quite tired. There is definite progress. I saw my surgeon last week and he was very happy with progress. If things keep going like this I can have the second operation or reversal in September. This involves a return to hospital and a stay of 3 to 5 days followed by a weeks recovery. I cant wait. The biopsy following the operation shows that the cancer had effectively been wiped out by the radiotherapy. That said there are no guarantees that the cancer did not spread prior to this. So last week I started 6 months of oral chemotherapy. I knew this was likely to happen although I was surprised that it was going to be for so long. That said anything that can reduce the chance... 2008-8-1T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#26414 As readers of my blog will know I went into hospital to have my tumour and part of my bowel removed on Tuesday June 10th. That first day was not for the operation but preparation. The medical team take control of what you eat nothing and what you drink clear fluids. They also give you some fairly dramatic drugs that put simply ensure your inside is as clean as possible. The operation was scheduled for around 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday. I dont remember much about the day except that I seemed to spend the whole day waiting. A bit like a 12 hour transit in an airport. I remember virtually nothing about from after the operation except for seeing Natalie in the recovery room on the whole serious drugs kept me blissfully unaware of anything. The operation was a success and initially recovery seemed to be going well. By midday on Thursday I was out of intensive care and back to my room. On Saturday I had my first light meal. Saturday turned out to be a turning poi... 2008-7-2T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#25223 It is some time since my last blog. The good news is that we have been very busy the bad news is that I now have lots to say. Natalie and I had an incredibly relaxing holiday in Greece. We rented a small villa in a small town called Vamos near Chania in Western Crete. If you want sun and warmth in May in Europe I doubt you could do better. For 3 days we sat by the pool and for another 3 days we sat on the beach. One day we were incredibly energetic and went for a drive. Crete is a beautiful island and at times you could have been mistaken for being in South Africa or New Zealand. The reason for the holiday was to relax and we managed this brilliantly until we arrived at the airport to come home. Monarch had had problems with a plane in Egypt and needed to send a plane to get 350 poor tourists home. They decided to use the plane that was coming to ship us home. Even thought they have nearly 2 days notice they planned absolutely nothing. The result was a complet... 2008-6-7T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#24009 A few months ago I set up this blog and told friends all over the world my news. I have been inspired and energised by the support and comments that Natalie and I have received from around the world. The first person to reply was an old kiting friend from Denver Jeff Cain. Now Jeff is a quite incredible guy. He used to make amazing kites. If I remember correctly he made a huge reproduction of one of Bells that is Alexander Graham Bell tetrahedral kites. Over time he moved from kites to biplanes. To non kiteflyers this may seem strange but Jeffs progress mirrors the whole development of flight where inventors including the Wright brothers moved from flying kites to developing man lifting kites. In 2000 Jeff was asked to fly his biplane at a fair. Unfortunately his biplane needed servicing and so he borrowed one from a friend. Something went wrong and the plane crashed. Jeff is a doctor and was able to guide his rescuers as what to do and what not to ... 2008-5-8T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#24007 Every year we go to a kite festival in Cervia. It is a strange experience which is hard to describe to anyone who has not been. Most kite festivals are geared around the spectators. There is generally a programme and the idea is for the kiteflyers to entertain the public. Cervia seems to be different the focus is the kite flyers and kite makers. There is no programme and no obligation on anyone. You fly because you want to. Being in Italy when you are not flying you are drinking eating or just spending time with friends. It is more of a retreat for kite flyers than a festival. That is why every year kite flyers travel to this little Italian seaside resort from the various corners of the world. We are lucky it is just a Ryan Air flight. This year we have been unable to goto Cervia. I felt that I wanted to go to Italy more than normal so I really missed it. One of the highlights of Cervia each year is goto dinner at Gianlucas parents flat. Gian... 2008-5-7T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#23490 Some twelve years ago Natalie her sister Paula and I decided that we should give Natalie and Paulas parents a dog for Christmas. Initially we went to Battersea dogs home which is the largest rescue home in the UK. Before we were allowed to see the dogs we had to watch a video and about how we should treat a rescue dog. I remember being told that you had to make sure they had a space to themselves somewhere to rest or sleep that was their area not yours definitely not in your bedroom. It was a depressing place with huge numbers of dogs that had been mistreated and were at best depressed as a result. We could not find a dog. Later on Natalie and Paula went to a rescue home in the South West and fell for a tiny little mut. At the time they both wore a perfume called Issey Miyake and for some reason they decided to name the dog after a perfume however given that Paula cant spell it was written Izzy. Paula brought Izzy upto London before Xmas. The first night we... 2008-4-28T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#23142 Natalie has kept me busy the last two weekends and so I have not written my blog. I did not know how many people were reading the blog. I have received some lovely emails asking me how I am getting on and asking why I have not updated my blog. So I thought I better write an update. Firstly as far as my radiotherapy is concerned I am 90 the way through my treatment. I have my final session on Tuesday. Five weeks have passed incredibly quickly. The staff at the clinic have looked after me incredibly well and I am so grateful to all of them. It will be strange not to see them every day. My main side effect continues to be tiredness. The last few weeks I have been coming home after my treatment and having a nap for a couple of hours late in the afternoon. Last Monday and Tuesday I could not do by Wednesday I was exhausted. I have learnt my lesson and will have to pace myself. It will probably be hard this week. The treatment has provided a convenient ... 2008-4-20T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#22454 I am officially half way through the radiotherapy treatment. Yippppeeee. This is apparently when the side effects start kicking in. Boooooo. As you might imagine a lot of people are asking me How am I feeling. This is very different from the How are you discussed last week. This is a question of great concern. Reality is that physically I feel very little difference from normal. I am definitely more tired but that is not the end of the world. Last week I did not go back to work after my treatment and came home instead. There are some other effects but nothing I cannot cope with. All this got me thinking about what the word Cancer means to people. It seems that for many it is a really scary word. In fact some people cant even bring themselves to say it. When Natalie and I first heard we decided we needed a code word. Parachute was decided with PAR being my initials and chute a veiled reference to my bottom As time has gone on I have reali... 2008-4-6T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#22104 Last night Natalie and I went to a friends 40th birthday party. We knew many of the people there some well and some that we had met at other parties or events. For them life was normal but for me as much as I try to deny it life is most definitely not normal. Talking to people was hard. The first thing most people say when they see each other is how are you. This is so standard that it hardly qualifies as a question the response is I am well how are you. What do I say Do people know my diagnosis and feel it better to ignore it or do they not know Should I tell them or try and make small chat I felt that I was in a goldfish bowl but could not work out whether I was trying to stare out or was everybody staring in All that said I am bowled over by how supportive family friends colleagues and acquaintances are. I keep on getting messages of support and want to thank absolutely everyone for this. It means a huge amount to Natalie and I. This week I... 2008-3-30T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#21887 I want to thank everyone for their support and kind comments. Some of them have made me laugh and one or two have me feel like crying. I have no doubt that I am going to get through all of this with the help of my friends and family. My friends from North America have told me to check that I am getting good medical advice. I am lucky enough to have private medicine insurance and am being treated by some of the top specialists in Harley Street. That said my consultant says that I would get the same treatment using the same machines and similar radiologists with the National Health Service. The difference is that I dont have to wait so long and I see the consultant more often. In his words when I do see him he spends more time with me and smiles at me more often The other comment was see you in Cervia. One of the more upsetting side effects of my treatment is that we will not be able to go to Cervia. So hopefully 2009. Natalie and I will miss Cervia and ... 2008-3-25T00:00:00Z http://www.kitecouple.com/page5.htm#21810 Where do I start One of the things I have learnt over the last three weeks is how to give individuals bad news. But here I am publishing my bad news to a wider audience. Possibly to people I dont know. So starting is harder than normal. It was about a month ago that I went into hospital for what I thought was a normal procedure. It was not supposed to be a drama. I walked to the operating theatre if that isnt too grand a description. As I was talking to the doctor I was given a sedative which knocked me out. Later on the doctor reappeared and told me that he had found a tumour and it was malignant. I had cancer. The next five days were definitely the worse of Natalies and my life. Five days later I had a MRI and CT scan. That afternoon I saw the doctor again and he confirmed that the cancer had not spread and was treatable. The same doctor has since told me that it is rare for him to find someone younger than him with bowel cancer and he will... 2008-3-24T00:00:00Z