The Start

Dear Bel, You asked if I remembered the time between my surgery and the results! It was double jeopardy - I had the surgery prior to Christmas, and every thing shut down for Christmas and New Year! I had to wait until the 4th of January for my results - it was like a bad dream and everything was quite surreal....I just don't know how I managed it, but I did.  One part of me wanted desperatley to know the results (hoping for the best) but the other half of me didn't want to know - expecting the worst.  That was a very long time to suffer that all out - I found the lump in late October, and then the stupid and most incompetant GP forgot to ring me about the results - because she didn't book me in for the mammogram, I didn't end up with surgery until the 21st of December - talk about a comedy of errors.

After that everything seems a blur, the chemo and radiotherapy - BUT, I got through it.  It certainly changed my whole outlook on life - If I get cranky now, I make sure it has purpose.  It was at this time I didcovered this website - this is what held it together for me - my poor hubby was by now quite used to the tears, I dont drive either, so I depended on him greatly for all those travels from one end of the state to the other, with all the tests and treatments - he never once complained.  He would go fishing out at the lakes, and it was a kind of quiet reprieve for both of us, the least I could do under the circumstances was to give him some time out on his own.

We never got to move to Tasmania as planned, but have no regrets with living here - but we went over to Tasmania in February - we took the car, we could only stay seven days as I was in the middle of treatments and the doctor wasn't happy about it....but I wasn't concerned with his happiness.  So we went anyway and had a ball - we did the East Coast, down to Hobart and back up to the North West where I spent a lot of my childhood.  It all went so fast time wise, but we are saving like crazy to do it again in 2014.

I have made some wonderful friends on here - some I email, others on Facebook and also on this site - but we are in the club that no-one wanted to join, but we are firm friends - you know, the kind of friends you get to keep and have a common bond with.  The kind of friends that allow you to vent, cry and share joy.  So you are as the ladies have said 'not alone'.  Thinking of you, hugs and love from Josie x x x