OK, so it’s been way too long since the last update and a lot has happened. The extremely abridged version is that all is well.
Immediately after the last update, I left the country for 9 days to head to Christchurch and celebrate my mate’s 30th Birthday with him. Took off at stupid O’clock from Adelaide Airport, but it meant that I wasn’t landing in NZ at some silly hour of the night. While I missed my family really badly at times, particularly as the holiday was coming to an end, I had an amazing time over there and saw some incredible sites.
Here’s a quick snapshot of a few of the photos I took while over there:
One of the most exciting things happened while I was in New Zealand, Alex started pre-kindy. It’s a really small step, but such a major thing given the year we’ve endured and when Jo confirmed for me on the phone that he had gone and more importantly he had a great time; I may have shed a few tears of pure joy.
I landed back in Adelaide in time to celebrate my own birthday and spend some very special time with the whole family, it was truly wonderful. In the weeks that followed I was lucky enough to be a finalist in the Community Achievement Awards for Leadership and Innovation which was a very humbling moment to be considered in the same company as some truly amazing and inspiring people.
Then after the frivolity of my birthday and awards dinner it was back to reality…
Another MRI, after so long with so much stress it felt like “just another” day in hospital. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite that simple, we knew that if this MRI was good that we were looking good for a long term result with Alex. There’s still no promises or guarantees, but looking good. I got a phone call on Wednesday morning with the results and there was basically no change (similar to the last MRI) but the really good news was that the tumour they were a bit concerned about that previously showed “some change” but was within margin of error on MRI scanning showed some reduction in size this time around which added some weight to the premise it was margin of error that displayed the growth last time.
And with that, life could return to something resembling normality. I’ve been back at SES for a while and with our unit manager stepping aside I decided to throw my hat in the ring for the role. I think I’m probably a pretty good fit and will do a great job of it, I was endorsed by the unit, District Officer, Regional commander and Chief Officer of the service; so I’m in!
The other (most important) piece of news out of the last 7 or so weeks is that Jo and I have celebrated our 8th Wedding anniversary. I can’t believe we’ve been married for 8 years already and together for over 10… it’s a real treat to go home daily and know that my best friend will be there waiting for me. I love her with all my heart.
As always, I’ll sign off with a huge thank you to our friends, family, colleagues and general well wishers who have made contact with messages of love and support. Without the strength that we’ve been afforded through all of you this year, while we’d certainly have made it; it wouldn’t have been as well as we have. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to you all.
Take care everyone.
