It is with much heartache I share with you that Pat died in the early hours of Saturday, 5th November. We have reached this journey's end far sooner than expected, yet with relief for Pat. Pat was home two days from hospital, after having had surgery to bypass

We are at the stage of dealing with the spreading cancer. Our world is honing in on care for Pat. I have pulled back from most of my volunteering and I am mostly on leave from my work. Pat focuses on eating right, getting exercise and resting. Gratefully, he manages

This is truly a journey. One with ups, downs, twists and turns. I thought that the first few weeks of our journey back in February were the hardest part. Last week, we had to cover some more rough ground. The operation was scheduled for last Monday... and then cancelled. Pat

The rollercoaster ride of life intensified these past few weeks. There have been some very cloudy days interspersed with moments of glorious sunshine, literally and figuratively. The world lost some very precious people recently. The news is full of bereavement for the more famous but for us it was the

The spring sun angles through our kitchen window onto where I sip my morning cup of tea. Pat is enjoying the rays from his favourite chair, reading a book. We are not at the hospital and that is a good thing. The meeting with oncology took an unexpected turn. Pat

Spring is here! From our own garden, I'm making bouquets of daffodils and irises to give to the Oncology nurses. The trees are budding, birds are making nests and our ewes are heavily pregnant (lambs due next weekend). It gives us great joy and wonder to witness mother

We recently watched Leigh Sales' interview with Blanche d’Alpuget back in 2019 where she recalled the final year of her husband’s (Bob Hawke's) life. Ms d'Alpuget shared: It was both difficult and it was also one of the best times of our lives,

We've had some beautiful sunny winter's days recently here in the Yarra Valley. Although there has been frost the last two nights (so subzero temperatures), during the day the sun has warmed us to the core. This beautiful weather has enabled us to spend some time

The last two missives sound very sad, so today I want to share our happy moments... and there are many.  When the sun breaks through the clouds, we are truly joyous. I tell people that we are very lucky. However, the expression on their faces tell me that they think

Our society is lacking in preparing people for end of life. It's such a taboo subject and so difficult to broach. Although Pat and I have talked frankly about "the end", we do so cautiously. We both need to be in the same frame of mind,

Hope is a risky thing. They say we should have hope. But when hopes are dashed, you can plummet into a dark place. We were in that dark place last week. The week started badly with my dad getting Covid and me having to isolate from Pat because I was

This morning we waved Pat's son Jamie good bye and then came to hospital for Pat's 6th dose of chemo. His stay with us has been a whirlwind of conversations, good food and trips out. It's been wonderful and just what we needed, stirring

We weren't given much hope by the first Oncologist we saw back on 10th March. His prognosis was 9 months to a year. Our review meeting last Wednesday with the Oncologist (a different doctor each time) was a little more uplifting. Pat is handling the chemo medicine quite

Pat had lymphoma cancer a few years ago. He was treated at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac). The people and the facilities were outstanding. We felt fortunate to be in such good care. Now we are in the Eastern Health system and the experience is very different.

It's Day 1 of Cycle 2. Pat is in the chair again, receiving his chemo doses, and I'm back in the cafeteria. I grab a window seat so that I can stare outside and pretend to not be here. Pat's not so lucky. No

Pat is currently receiving his second dose of chemotherapy. They call this Day 15 of Cycle 1. Two weeks ago, he received his Day 1 dose. Due to the danger of COVID, I can’t sit with him in the Oncology room, so I’m waiting in the hospital cafeteria.