It was a good year

Aside from my chemo treatments every 3 weeks, anytime I don't have to be admitted to hospital for any reason...........is good. Anytime I have to visit few doctors throughout the year.............is good. Anytime I celebrate another new year..........is very good.

To all of my family and friends out there, I want to say 2 things. Firstly, thank you all for your incredible ongoing support. Secondly, I wish you all a very happy and healthy new year.

To all those I knew who passed away in 2010. A heartfelt rest in peace. To all those family, friends and acquaintances who are dealing with tough medical issues. I wish you courage, strength and a speedy recovery.

Carpe Diem.

I just don't get it

Why is it that some people succumb to diseases quicker than others ? Is it bad luck, lousy genes, misfortune ? Is it being in the wrong place at the wrong time ? What the hell is it ? Would someone please tell me.

I'm so tired of hearing about people "losing their battle". That's the pessimist in me.

The optimist in me says "carpe diem", "every day is a gift" blah blah blah.

The realist in me says "shit, what's going on" ?

I'm sorry to rant. Fuuuuuuuccccckkkkk.

Carpe Diem.

It's really starting to hurt

No, I don't mean with me physically. But mentally. I befriended a friend of a friend in Cape Town who is also dealing with lung cancer and was told today that she has taken a turn for the worse. I can't help thinking at times why I'm doing ok right now and all these wonderful people around me are not. It's not that I feel guilty but more sad and at times, afraid ! There is simply no way to explain any of this. I really hope to see her when I'm in Cape Town in early February.

Sue, be strong. Stare this shit disease in the eyes and tell it to FUCK OFF !

Carpe Diem.

Max and I watching NatGeo TV

 

Carpe Diem

Dodged the bullet

More like dodged the snow storm. We hardly had any snow. Maybe 1 inch and everyone around us was clobbered. Just a lot of wind and cold for us but at least you don't have to shovel wind and cold.

Florida soon and then on to Southern Africa for a bit of sun and heat.

Carpe Diem.

Merry Christmas

To all my friends and their families celebrating Christmas. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.

Carpe Diem.

The MouseSkin update

Or lack of. I just had a phone conversation with Dr. Sidransky of MouseSkin and genetic testing fame. We were supposed to meet tomorrow but have put off the appointment until the middle of January.

Basically, the MouseSkin family is no more. Alas, they succumbed to the lack of tumor growth. Yes that's right. The lack of tumor growth. Sometimes the tumor implants do not grow or take. It happens and in my case they were so slow growing that they did not take. I guess in some ways it bodes well for me as I am fortunate enough to not have an aggressively growing and spreading cancer at this time. The Company still has frozen samples of my tumor that they may be able to use and/or test at a later date.

What seems like a good possibility is that some time in 2011 I may have a complete genetic sequence done that looks for mutations. That combined with my previous testing will give the Doctors a very good idea as to which drug(s) to use on me. There are so many new drugs in various stages of approval (as well as testing) that hopefully they will find a "good" one for me. It all sounds very futuristic but certainly not implausible as it seems like this is the way future treatments will be administered. At the moment things are still extremely expensive but I defy anyone to put a price on life. You have to remain optimistic when dealing with this disease. 

Carpe Diem.

My jobs

Going well. But, unfortunately, I had to resign from the fire station job. I could not be on call and do the volunteer driving without there being a possible conflict. I also could not be in the middle of a treatment and get called out. Being on call was just not feasible.

As I said, the volunteer driving is going really well. I have transported a number of people to various treatments as well as medical appointments. It's very rewarding and satisfying to be able to give back this way. Besides, how the hell do I pay for all my travelling ? Just kidding. Of course I don't get paid. It's volunteering !

Carpe Diem.

My next Southern Africa visit

Towards the end of January I will be heading back to Southern Africa with 2 guests. I have a fantastic trip planned that will include Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. I told you that I would fit my chemotherapy sessions in between my getting away and that's exactly what I'm doing. It actually works out quite well.

We will be visiting Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Zafara Camp in Botswana and Cape Town. The idea with these trips is for my guests to see just enough to want to come back. It also needs to be somewhat slow paced enough so as not to feel like we are always rushed. I think this has been accomplished. I look forward to going.

Carpe Diem.

Zimkids Project Update November/December, 2010

From Dennis:

Dear friends of Zimkids,

              I returned to Zimbabwe December 2 made a beeline to Pumula North to see all the kids.  Tinashe Basa, Sipho Nyoni, Prosper Mhodi and our Council of Elders have done an amazing job keeping Zimkids thriving and moving forward. 

              As you may know, the City granted Zimkids a large plot of land in October. The site was littered with heaps of detritus: needles, broken glass and cement, rusted metal, plastic bags, feces and more.  There is no trash pickup so people have to have somewhere to throw it and the nearest open spaces generally gets the worst of it.  So the Council of Elders set to work cleaning it. The first step was to clean the trash on the surface then to dig and dig and dig to get the buried trash out.  Then we are collecting all the scattered glass shards and rusty cans.  So far we’ve removed 15 bucket-loads. That was a must do before our barefooted little ones can use the land. This week all our kids age 15 on up chipped in and got to work.  It will take a good month before we are done cleaning. Next we will be planting our garden with hardy protein-rich plants like chimulia (a kind of kale) and spinach, secure the property with donated fencing, and get our building plans drawn and approved by the City Council.

            We are trying to put together a video to compete in the Ford Focus Global Test Drive “Start Something More Than a Car” competition.  The award is $10,000. Once the video is done and submitted I’ll let you know the site where you can see it and ask that you click the “Love it” button that will help push up our chances of winning.

Tinashe and Sipho like to save surprises for me. The first was how much they had accomplished cleaning the land. And the second was when Sithibisiwe, Mbuso and Nqabutho’s’s mother died in September all our caregivers decided to chip in 5 rand (about 75 cents) each to help pay the cost of the funeral.   Considering they are all poor our message of volunteerism is seeping into the Zimkids Community. They are also providing us with tools to clean the land.

On the school front, Kudzai Sithole who lost his caregiver last year scored at the very top in his seventh grade exams. Bravo Kudzai! Pauline Mhendo, Ayanda Nkala, Thandiwe Mlotshwa, and Mqondisi Ngwenya took their O level exams in November and we are awaiting the results. Pauline has been consistently at the top of her class.  Janice Mabudah continues her A level schooling but wasn’t doing as well as she should so we are giving her one more term to improve. We pay the cost of their O level tests as well as school fees at a top A level school so long as they do well.

Tinashe began teaching the children about computers.  His enthusiasm is contagious! 

Our thanks go to all our individual donors for your continued support.  A special thanks goes to the Independent Pilots Association Foundation for their grant and to Global Giving who make so many dreams come true. Also, a special thanks to the Ross School in East Hampton NY, Ramaz School and the Friends Giving Circle in New York City and the Town School in San Francisco for their continued and enthusiastic support and to all our friends and supporters in the Catskill Mountains in NY.

Best wishes for the Holiday season from all of us at Zimkids.