June marked my 49th birthday—one I felt deeply grateful to celebrate. True to form, the path wasn’t exactly smooth. I spent the day recovering from an unexpected surgery the day before, but in spite of it all, I was still glad to be here and was able to make the most of it.

Health Update

Although I’d been feeling relatively well, on 10 June I  coughed and prodiced a bit of blood. That led to an appointment with my surgeon on the 12th and an endoscopy that raised enough questions to warrant a minor operation. So on Friday the 13th, I went in for a biopsy to remove suspicious tissue.

The procedure went well, and we’re feeling cautiously optimistic that it’s not cancer. Still, we’re holding off on full confidence until we get the final results, expected on Wednesday 25 June.

That week will be a big one as on the 24th I’ve got a PET scan, followed by immunotherapy the same day. I expect to be feeling a little worse for wear, but I’m bracing for it and focusing on the milestones ahead.

Life Lately

Adjusting to winter has been rough this year, I’ve been more tired but I’ve managed to stay active. That said, I’ll be easing off a little over the next few weeks to give my body some space to catch up.

Highlights from the past month include some phenomenal live music: Ezra Collective lit up the Opera House, Kamasi Washington delivered hands-down the best double bass solo I’ve ever witnessed at Carriageworks, some family concert fun at Katy Perry and I even caught Black Star with a mate for some old-school hip-hop—good fun for something different.

With the family we spent a morning at the World Press Photography Exhibition at the State Library, and I had some lovely one-on-one time with the girls exploring Vivid, cameras in hand, taking in the lights on different nights.

The Photography Bug

Photography has become a huge focus lately. I’ve been taking a course and practicing as much as possible. Street photography has always interested me, and rediscovering it has been a real gift.

It ticks so many boxes:

• It gets me out of the house and offers quality time with the girls.
• It gives me something to focus on when I’m not able to eat or drink like those around me.
• It lets me document moments for myself and my family.
• It gives me uplifting material to edit and work-on on during bed-bound days.
• It gives me something I would be able to-do if I lose the ability to talk easily
• It helps me express myself without words.

Birthday Feels

As for the birthday itself, painkillers and sleep deprivation aside it was lovely. The girls made me feel incredibly special that morning with an array of thoughtful gifts. We’d planned a big celebration, but my health called for a scaled-down version: cake (candles blown out by me, cake consumed by everyone else) and a family outing to the Sydney Observatory that we’d booked ages ago. It was just right.

Now my Birthday is out of the way it is time to focus on Kirsten’s milestone birthday on the 24th.

Thanks for reading through this long an update. Until next time… stay warm, stay well.