Help Heather and Tony

To say it the last four months have been a challenge would be an understatement. I don’t know how either Tony or myself have made it at times, particularly Tony. He has had to endure three months of intensive chemo treatment that has left him very tired and very weak. In the middle of treatment he suffered a brain bleed, which was very scary as we did not know if he would recover from that, but he thankfully he did and continued with treatment.

During that time so many people – family, friends, my boss, angels and even some wonderful people we don’t know personally – have helped us either financially or just with their never-failing support. Without either we could not have got this far on our own. Thank you seems so inadequate, but we both do thank you so very much from the bottom of our hearts.

Our journey is not over. The tumour has been shrunk by the chemo but it has not resolved it completely. Tony has reached the end of traditional medical options for his CNS Lymphoma. But he is so much better mentally than he was four months ago; his thinking and short term memory has improved. We are grateful for the extra time the chemo has given us to be together and now look for other options that may work for him.

All we can do is go with the flow, be there for each other and make the most of our time together. Our current goal is to see what we can find as an alternative. We also hope to complete the trip we missed for our wedding anniversary to the Waitaki at Christmas or sooner. And get Tony fit enough for him to be able go for a walk in his beloved bush.

Some have said it is hard to know what to say. I know, sometimes I don’t know what to say either. So just know that we understand and are forever grateful for your love and support.