Blog 20-April/May 2013

Yikes! I haven't blogged for a while so here I am, ready and raring to give you a little insight into our goings on in Oz for this year.

After our initial concerns regarding Charlie starting Kindy,he is loving it! He is having the best time and making lots of new friends and having heaps of fun. They go at his pace and don't rush him to do anything which is so reassuring.It's such a positive,nurturing environment where he is so happy. Today we popped by,it wasn't his usual Kindy day, but the teachers had asked the police to come in to chat to the children.I was just praying he didn't mention all the cussing me and Paul do about the cops hiding behind trees to catch you speeding! I made it out alive and no secrets revealed,phew!

Thomas is really happy at school and managed to get himself a Merit Award last week for all his hard work. He's as helpful (and excitable) as ever and Charlie and him seem to continue to be the best of buddies which we love to watch and see their relationship flourish.

Easter proved to be a tricky time this year as my good friend Kate (who's also from the UK) had the sad news that her husband had blacked out and lost his memory.Andrew was taken to hospital and underwent various tests to establish what had happened. During this unbelievably scary time,we 'pinched' her 8 year old son Che, and added him to our brood until Andrew was able to return home to be cared for. Andrews diagnosis was Encephalitis and Kate is doing a fantastic job of juggling hospital appointments,school runs and her own sanity, with the tricky job of supporting her husband in his recovery!We do joke that we could write a book about the dangers of moving to Australia and how bad it is for your health. We try to keep each other positive in such surreal circumstances and it seems to be working!

Thomas,Charlie & Che on egg hunt

Things both here and back home are a little full on at times. On top of the Charlie saga we also are trying to sell our home in order to keep afloat during this tricky period in out life. My grandad has just taken a turn for the worse and is currently in hospital after being diagnosed with Lung and Liver Cancer so things are still very much up and down for us. It was extremely hard for me last week finding out about him, as in any normal situation,I would have boarded a plane to be there with him and my family at such a sad time. The decision was finally made though and I wont be coming back as its just not feasible to leave Charlie here with Paul, in case he becomes ill too (then where would we be)!

On the whole,Charlie is doing remarkably well in dealing with the Cancer and all the horrible procedures that go hand-in-hand with fighting it. He is continuing to have his daily Chemo and regular steroids,bloods taken, hospital visits for more chemo and after 2 years, it is becoming the norm-though he still gets distressed at the thought of the visits but who can blame him? He has been experiencing headaches lately which the Consultant is concerned about so this will be monitored at home and fingers crossed, he'll be fine. Here's a snapshot of Charlie's daily medication,him in hospital having his port accessed for the chemo and a must do shopping trip the day after chemo which I felt so guilty about as he was so weak but we needed food!

It was Anzac Day on Thursday and the boys have been learning about this important occasion at school/Kindy and showed their respect to the fallen soldiers and those still fighting to keep us safe. Later that same day, we took off for a little break which was relaxing,refreshing and lots of fun.

Our adventures took us to Noosa which is a beautiful coastal area approx 2 hours drive from Brisbane. We went with our friends Kevin,Lori and their son Ben and met up with Kate,Andy and Che whilst up there. We all had a great time and Paul did a spot of fishing (and he won a fishing rod in a raffle on his birthday!)whilst I snook off and went to the famous Eumundi markets with Lori-no kids!! We all hired a boat later in the day, and dreamt about the million dollar mansions we'd purchase along the Noosa river,if won the lottery. They were breathtaking properties and not bad as a second home!

Tom & Ben sailing

Paul and Kevin did an 85km cycle in preparation for the big Ride to Conquer Cancer cycle they embark on in August. They did really well, although they were understandably shattered afterwards.



 Paul enjoyed his birthday celebrations and as you can see,loved his Leeds Utd top! You can take the boy out of Leeds,but not Leeds out of the boy!

I'll leave you with a few chosen pictures from our past few outings and hopefully you'll come back to read the next installment of Barratts in Oz!

As a bit of a cheeky reminder,Paul needs to raise $2500 in order to compete in the Ride to Conquer Cancer cycle in August and he isn't doing well with sponsors so far (partly because we hate asking for money)! If we can be cheeky and ask if you can put the word around via email about the cycle,we'd be so grateful. If he doesn't reach the target,he can't take part.

Thanks so much xxx

This is the address for any donations/sharing of the event.
http://br13.conquercancer.org.au/site/TR/Events/Brisbane2013?px=1077539&pg=personal&fr_id=1110