What am I doing after my treatment? I'm glad you asked.
First, there was the all important recovery. I was pretty low on energy for a while.
Then I had to grow some hair back. I got Leukaemia in the winter over here and a bald head can make you shiver.
Regular blood tests were a must because I had to see if the Leukaemia was coming back.
The bad thing about chemo,(is there a good thing????) is that it knocks the marrow and immune system around a lot
and the blood levels are very unstable. Getting sick can be a scary thing. The flu can turn into pneumonia if I'm not careful
because the immune system can't do the job it is supposed to. But those of you who are reading this and are worried about this part of the after-treatment, don't worry about it.
Things get back to normal in about a year. If a Leukaemia patient can make it through 1 whole year without a relapse, then he/she has a 90% chance of a full recovery depending on their lifestyle
(read this for a more concise explanation of what I mean).
Let me tell you the best part of the recovery. I got to stay home for 4 months. I must admit
it did get a bit boring at first but then I went to the beach, the city, the Blue Mountains (that's a tourist area about 60 miles west of the city of Sydney),
I did it all and boy, did I have fun. The thing that made these trips so special was the fact I was around to enjoy them. This is the
period when I realised I shouldn't take life for granted. People say they're not afraid of death? Give me a break.
Let me tell you what I am up to know. Basically I am enjoying my life. I have wanted to be a pilot
for so long, I can't remember. Now, finally, I am going for my pilots license.
Since December 18th, 1999, I've been going to my local gym. It all started because I got to work on a TV show called Farscape (Channel 9-8:30pm Saturday nights) and the actor I stand in for, Ben Browder, is a little more muscular than me. The first thing I noticed about him were hie incredible triceps and shoulders. He blames it all on surfing. So one of the puppeteers suggested that I look a little more like him in the body department. So I joined my gym. Now I'm hooked. usually I go twice a day but sometimes once a day and I have made some pretty good progress. I was down to 75 kgs in the hospital and I'm 6' tall. Now I tip the scales at 95kgs. Currently I'm studying fitness instruction and nutrition because I'm really keen to be a personal trainer. So far, I'm going well in the course.
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