March 17th, 2008 - Bouncing back
Another day another blood test. Thankfully today’s results were very good. I’m not at all surprised, between his visit to the healing rooms at the church on Saturday and a rampaging appetite all weekend a bounce back was on the cards. He is no longer neutropenic. His counts were not ideal, but good enough for school tomorrow, which will be a welcome departure from Runescape… If he goes to school tomorrow it will be his last visit for a couple of weeks as he’s in Brisbane for tests and maintenance stuff this coming Wednesday and Tuesday, then it’s Easter and the following Tuesday his third cycle of chemotherapy commences.Â
So far the fund raising drive for the Leukaemia Foundation has arrived at a grand total of just under AU$400. Not sure if we’re going to achieve that magic target of AU$ 1000, vut it was worth a try, since the big ‘Shave for a Cure’ event finished this weekend. Thanks everyone who gave. The Leukaemia Foundation are very grateful. I know that because someone from there actually called me this afternoon to say they had seen the article that appeared in the local newspaper last week and to ask after Cameron – although I think the real agenda for the call was to check if I had actually shaved my hair… tee hee.. Luckily I was able to confirm that I had done so!
This brings me back to the point I was trying to make about the the fund raising target… I still have the video footage just waiting to be uploaded… I have to say that we tend to be the kind of those people who get a bit turned off when people hassle us for charitable donations. That’s not because we don’t like to give, but we like to choose who we support, based on the matters that are closest to our hearts. No doubt, most of you out there feel the same. And if the truth be known, until a less than 6 weeks ago I don’t think I would have given a second thought to shaving my hair off to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. We never even knew anyone who had ever had chemotherapy… much less one of our own kids.
Since then the true nature and scale of the challenge has descended on our family. Countless friends have told us about their family members who have had or who have cancer, but nothing comes close to the experience of seeing wards filled with bald little kids and counting one of yours among them. It wasn’t that long ago that being diagnosed with Leukaemia or Lymphoma amounted to a death sentence. Today, thanks to the work and generosity of people I have never before recognised, much less appreciated, Cameron will one day be well again. Sure, there is a succinct explanation: “medical and technological advancement”. However, that is only partly true. Beating cancer demands more. Much more. Sufferers require a certain level of emotional well-being in order to have any hope of regaining their physical health. For the most part however, medical science doesn’t service that. People like the Leukaemia Foundation do. Think about it.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Hi Cameron! It’s me, Alex Ford.
Im SO glad that your back home. The video was great ( those hospital corridors looked massive..), and it sounds like you had fun with that razor!
Q. What medicine do you give to a sick lemon?
A. Lemonade
March 18th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Nice one Cam. Hope you get a chance to see the Reds soon. Seem you are well connected with all the sportsmen. Pretty awesome to think that you and the other kids are probably a source of inspiration for them when they run on their respective playing fields. Good speaking to you. Couldn’t you get old Carlton to shave that mop?
March 21st, 2008 at 3:25 am
Cam,
Happy easter to you and the family. We’ll be thinking of you guys over the weekend. Weeman is going to be really happy. He is a choco-holic.
Take care and God Bless. We continue to pray for you and look forward to seeing all your positive results.
Kenneth, Shaz, Jade and Joel.