Cycle 4 Leukaemia

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I

FOR THE BRAVE - NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT !

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On the 17th March 2004 my whole world came crashing down !!!
I was diagnosed ( by pure chance ) as having Chronic Myloid Leukaemia and if left undiagnosed or untreated I was given between 3 - 6 months left to live :-o . I was only 31 years old !!! .....
....... Life as I knew it ended in that split second .

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The whole experience has , without doubt , changed me . To stare into the heart of fear isn`t the worst thing in the world , to be scared is an invaluable education . Once you have been that scared you know more about your own frailty than anyone and that`s what changes you ! For the better I hope , but you can bet on the fact that Cancer will change you .
When a doctor came and sat down in my house at 7pm on  St. Patricks Day and  told me that I had Leukaemia I wondered if i`d live .... Now to almost have my life taken away makes me look at things with different eyes .  

Cancer made me want to do more than just live . I live life facing forward at a 100mph with a constant sense of being pressed for time - I have to do everything, NOW . To almost have your life taken away , makes you look at things in a different perspective. Everyone keeps telling me to slow down but I don`t know how to anymore .

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NO GUTS !           NO GLORY !
 
 
Carpe Diem !

# 1 ...

When I was diagnosed I decided to be the ruler of my own destiny . I was going to lose my hair anyway , so I thought I`d cut it myself - a grade a month until it was all gone :-) You get a great sense of power wielding a pair of clipper`s and mowing your own locks off :D .

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Sailmaker - Team Shosholoza 32nd America`s Cup

I used to love going to the pub and having a beer with my mates ...  but since diagnosis I haven`t touched a drop of alcohol in 9 years ! So much so that I think I`m beginning to rust because of the copious amounts of water I have to gorge my way through everyday ...... 4 litres , every single day :-)

Having grown up in Durban , South Africa , the sun and the sea were my 2nd family but since my transplant I have to be so careful about going out in the sun because any over-exposure to the suns UV rays could put my whole transplant in jeopardy as the chances of developing Graft Versus Host Disease is greatly increased , meaning my body will start rejecting my donor`s bone marrow .

I don`t think I have returned to the life I know yet , hopefully I can one day but when I do I know I will be a different person . Leukaemia is the best thing to ever happen to me , I don`t know why I got sick but I know I wouldn`t want to change it for the world or walk away from it .


I`m a prisoner of HOPE . I want to show that Cancer CAN be beaten and if we all stand together , united against this disease , we CAN all win .
 
This is my chance to make a difference !

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Hobie - my constant companion and source of encouragement

A chance to make a difference