Best wishes to all for the new year. 2013 has been quite the year for us, starting with Oscar’s broken leg at Easter and two surgeries for him to try and pin the leg back in place. He is only just starting to put his foot down now after Paul’s valiant attempts to exercise and swim him each day. He has had to be lifted in and out of the cruiser each time which has been hard on Paul’s back.
It has been a difficult time health wise for both of us. Firstly Paul underwent 6 weeks of radiotherapy as a precaution against the return of any prostate cancer which he had surgery for 12 years ago.
It was optional for him to do and I think if he had the time again he wouldn’t have done it as it has knocked his body around quite a lot. Anyway the results have been good so that is the main thing. They say it will take 6 to 12 months to get over it.
After this we treated ourselves to a little holiday in the caravan at Tin Can Bay, mainly so we could swim Oscar, but it was a lovely time. We fed and talked to the dolphins and just enjoyed being away in the van, but alas, I became unwell and after a CT scan which showed, not only gall stones in the neck of the gallbladder, but also a huge mass in my tummy as big as a football.
After surgery at Greenslopes Hospital in Brisbane it was revealed that I had a Stage 1 ovarian cancer in one ovary. The good news is that all relevant parts have been removed and I am now recovered and getting back to normal.
Of course Paul has had to put off his usual trip to Hartwood in the Spring so it’s going to be all go now to get everything ready for this coming Easter (which comes up too quickly after Christmas!)
I came across a fantastic article on Hartwood written by Barbera and Kevin Weimer which appeared in the Aug/Sept issue of Go Camping Australia.
This is the link to go to, to read the story: www.gocampingaustralia.com.au/new_south_wales/hartwood-campfires-country-music/
Lots of filming of the Hartwood Festival was carried out last Easter which amounted to 8 hours of filming. The expertise of cameraman/editor, Trevor Chalk has captured the real essence of the festival. It has been edited down to 2 disks and we are hoping to have it available for Easter this year.
As this goes on the website, we are on our way to Hartwood to finalize a bit of filming and start getting into festival mode. Rodney Vincent has recorded his Hartwood song and this should also be available at Easter.
Happy and safe travels to all,
Hele & Paul