Ok, so its been a very long time since I wrote on this blog, and I had intended to never write in this part of it again, but a little too much stress and a lot of bad luck I am writing here again.
After 2 years I was finally going to be on my way to sunny Greece. I needed to get there, away from the rain and to get perspective on the stress of the last 9 months.
But alas I have had to unpack the bags and prepare for what some people call “the fight” against cancer again. It of course it is not a fight but a ride that you must go on and your just a passenger.
Now the positive is that my prognosis is good, I have the best Surgeon in Richard Gallagher and a team around him that could not be better. They are amazing and I am very very lucky to have them in my corner.
So what’s happening
I have a cancer in my throat and the ugly is that I have a big operation in front of me to get rid of it. Unlike last time when they got it from the inside, they have to come in from the outside this time. This means all the goodies of a good surgery.
The way I understand it is 8+ hours of surgery, a feed tube to feed me for the next 6 weeks, a tracheostomy that stays in place for a few days so I can continue to breath while things heal, a cut out of the cancer at the back of my throat and a little more off my Epiglottis, a skin graft from my wrist to the inside of my neck to cover it up, some time in intensive care and then 1 – 2 weeks in hospital before going home to recover.
The sad thing about a journey like this is I have to drag the closest people to me through it especially my beautiful wife and the best two girls in the world Zoe and Lexi. I am extremely lucky to have them and my dad close at hand to go through this, I cannot help feel so bad for putting them through this again (yes I know its not my fault etc… ) . Some have asked how they can help and the only answer is anything you can think of to help Kirsten, Zoe and Lexi with your support and the occasional gesture to brighten up their day (Zoe and Lexi love books :-, Kirsten loves flowers and champagne)
Some answers to questions that I have been asked.
- No radiation, you can’t have radiation in the same place twice (bummer)
- No – to chemo
- HPV is the type of cancer, you can read about it and have a chuckle https://www.richardgallagher.com.au/news/hpv-oropharyngeal-cancer/
- No I have never smoked, and I have never taken drugs.
Now a little about my work and DiMO.
One of the things that has been so painful over the past few weeks is thinking about my work. Many understandably tell me don’t worry about work, and believe me if I was working a salary I wouldn’t care. Its hard for people to understand that DiMO is so much more for me than a vehicle to make money, it is a vision, a passion, a challenge to really make something that makes a difference.
I know that’s a bit weird and all but that’s the way it is. We have been doing really well and this cancer could not come at a more inconvenient time, we have built a great team, have been growing and going from strength to strength and were starting to look for investors.
I know the business will continue to run well and I am very lucky to have a great team with Grace, Amy, Alex, Arshpreet, Manpreet, Sharma and Kamal who work tirelessly to make DiMO work. It is my baby and it really matters to me and I kind of want to say just that, next to bringing up the two best girls in the world it is what I want to achieve and I am dedicated to it, and to me work really matters.
Where from here.
Today I will enjoy a beautiful Steak and at least 1/2 bottle of Felton Road (thanks G) and then I will go in to hospital on Wednesday 13th July and we will see what happens from there. I will update here when I can.
If you want to visit to see what a Spiros who is not talking looks like or to get a word in for a change, then contact Kirsten or send me a message on Facebook or whatsapp. If I don’t reply immediately hope you understand.
Thanks and your support means the world.
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