* * *
hi vern I lost my telephone, but I have bought a new one and re-established my old no… New number is OK to call now. Physically i am coming out of the post-chemo dip and feeling a lot better. It is my intention to make another krabi visit, maybe on tuesday, after my blood test. So it will be an afternoon flight.

Well now I am just past the halfway mark of my treatment. If all continues to go well, the end of APRIL is the finishing time. But wait and see.

I hope you and yours are all well, hope to see you soon

Best wishes,

Alfred

* * *

I spoke to Alfred tonight (1/17/13) and he told me he had another chemo treatment yesterday. He said today was OK, and so this is the first of the 3rd cycle. The next one to be next Wednesday. I think he said he had 4 more cycles to go – a cycle is comprised of 2 treatments. Let me know if that’s the wrong info Alfred!

Alfred’s son will be joining him in Thailand any day now – so that’s great news!

Here’s a link to a site talking about what exactly remission means –

Cancer in Remission –

http://www.everydayhealth.com/blog/zimney-health-and-medical-news-you-can-use/cancer-cure-vs-remission/

Oh! I forgot to mention, a while back, that Alfred said something I did want to pass on.

We were talking about life, and he started to talk about his family… He said he really did have an amazing family. He was at a loss for words to describe to me what they meant to him. He didn’t use the word amazing… that was my word, but his words never really came, he choked up… overwhelmed and the words never came. It was obvious that no words do justice to the feelings he has about his siblings and children… he couldn’t really find the words to say how much he loved them all. It was a great moment.

He hoped to get down to Krabi in February, so that will be something for me to look forward to.

Hope everyone has a great 2013 – better than 2012 in every way.

Vern

hi ,well i’m o.k. after a few days feeling,exhausted and generally unwell.

like a switch being thrown ‘on’,i suddenly felt that my strength was back and my body is o.k.but i cannot do too much before i start to feel tired again.i take half hour complete rest an i’m back on the road again.the pattern that is emerging is that the second week after chemo i’m almost up to strength.let’s hope that is the case for next week.

today we went to a nice restaurant a wooden construction blending with the trees overlooking the sea and koh lan in the distance.i was with my daughter adele a friend from canada ,bob,and a friend from australia,basil.they are really good guys. it was really nice to share very nice organic thai food with them at christmas. by 4pm my energy had discharged,so i drove back to diana garden resort with my daughter adele.once there i had a nice sleep and i am now feeling good.

my next chemo is on new years eve..

i hope you have a very happy and health new year. all the best………..alfred

Here is what I think is, the next update from Alfred…

Another good day. I woke up hungry. For breakfast I had 4 eggs mixed veg, 4 slices of brown bread. I had a relaxing stroll,then watched people practicing golf while I sipped a bottle of water. I then went for my wheat grass shots for today and tomorrow. I also bought some fresh fruit and veg from a  local market. I cooked some fish and the veg in my rice steamer, ate some of it, and blended enough for soup at a later date. It was really nice  and a healthy meal. I then lay down for an hour of sleep. I woke up feeling great. Tomorrow if I am o.k. I may play some par three golf. I am watching football and newcastle is getting a lesson in skill. Never mind. Second half starts so cheerio for now…. Alfred

yesterday i had my second chemo session lasting about 4hrs.the most uncomfortable experience was when the nurse tore the paster off the hairs on my ares.today i was hungry for breakfast,and again at lunch time.i felt tired today as i had not slept too well due to hic – ups.after lunch i slept and feel a lot better.but i have rested to allow the chemicals to be assimilated by the body.i feel good and look forward to what tomorrow brings……..all the best alfred

After Alfred’s climb of the mountain, the next day he felt it quite a bit. He said he was stiff. Then he came down with some sort of cold bug – but, it was clearing up he thought on Thursday, so I’m not sure what the result is today – it’s Saturday here in Laos.

Alfred is supposed to travel back to Bangkok / Pattaya today – and get his blood checked Monday I think it is – and they’ll let him know if it’s OK to get Round #2 of Chemo. He did hear that if he had a cold, he wouldn’t be getting Round 2 yet because it knocks out the body’s defenses and they don’t want to risk that.

That’s all I know!

Alfred, if you have an update, just send it to my email and I”ll put it up here as soon as I can.

Cheers, Vern

***

Update – oops, he sent me email 45 minutes ago and I hadn’t checked it. Here it is in Alfred’s words:

Hi Vern,  All is well. I just travelled up from Krabi,today. I really enjoyed the visit. Although the climb was easy at the time, my legs were very (stiff) sore due to the lactic acid. Maybe my little run was a bit excessive for my body, and perhaps i should have rested-up later. The net result was that i picked up a throat infection, so i went straight-away to the doctors and he gave me some heavy duty antibiotics to zap it. I feel ok now so I am hoping to get the next chemo treatment out of the way on Monday as scheduled. Hope your visa trip was good. Best wishes, Alfred.

I picked him up at the airport and we bee-lined for Wat Tum Sua to climb the stairs up the 900+ foot high mountain. It was the most perfect day in at least a year, and probably a couple years. Really – it wasn’t hot. There was cool and semi-dry wind. There we lots of cool people on the steps. And, I had my camera to record a lot of it. Video will be posted here in a couple days, it’s a giant video – and will take hours to upload.

So, we climbed slowly – until he realized how good he felt at step 740 – and ran up the next 85 steps! Those are the group of steps he usually runs up – so, it was business as usual. There is no doubt in my mind, seeing him at the top – he could have made it in 20 minutes today, and possibly less. He said he felt great. How does he feel THAT GOOD only 8 days after his first chemotherapy treatment???

Anyway, I dropped him off in Ao Nang near the beach at his favorite Scandanavian Hotel – they have a pool, and he’s living the life. The life of a pauper, but the life, nonetheless.

So more updates to follow. There is a chance we’ll be up the mountain again on Thursday, or perhaps another mountain trail over in Tub Kaek, also an incredible trail and with multiple amazing views.

Cheers,

Vern

OK, Well, it’s my first check-up after Chemo started last monday – 7 days ago.

Results: Blood cell levels + all tests normal.

Lymph gland swelling – almost disappeared.

Some minor feelings of discomfort arthritis. If that’s what it is – I may be on the plane tomorrow for a sentimental journey to wat tham suea. I need the view at the top, and the air up there. I want to take a few photos with your “posh hi tech”camera. Time to eat. See you soon…

‘the old lag ‘…alfred

*****

Ha, I KNEW he’d be back for a slow climb up the mountain if he felt decent. Good to know he’s doing so well. Will pick him up at the airport tomorrow and make sure he does a slow one. I did a couple recently, so I’m rather beat. Better we both go slowly up and enjoy the view (for once!).

- Vern