Oxford Street Shopping!

My mom-in-law and I decided to take on Oxford Street for some high street wig shopping. Now let me just put it in perspective. If you want to go for extravagant shops with extravagant price tags Oxford and Bond streets are the places to go in London.

We started our search for wigs at a grand store with a nice wig studio, Selfridges. On entering the shop I immediately knew there would be a premium on the price. Therefore, I tried on a few and on hearing the price (equal to about five theatre tickets on the West End!) I very politely reply that I'll think about it, and thought by myself that I love the theatre much more...

From there we went on to House of Fraser. On entering the wig shop, we were met by a very friendly and helpful young woman. The best part - the wig shop is closing down on Sunday and EVERYTHING in store is less 50%. What a bargain!!

So, I left the shop with a short bob-style wig, wig shampoo, conditioner and a spray, for less than one West End theatre ticket. When showing off my new wig to my husband, he replied: "are you silly, at that price you should buy a blonde and red wig as well! This is the one time in your life you can really play around with your hair".

So, on that note I went back and got myself a wig with longer hair as well. And yes, I did try on the blonde wig - it really didn't suit me.

We are having lots of fun with the new hair styles. Come to think of it, there are lots of things we can laugh and have fun with during this cancer-road.

I hope you will be doing FUN things this coming weekend. Even silly things! Life is just to short and our loved ones just to precious to not have have fun, every day of the week and twice on Sundays!

Take my son...

Today was chemo day no. 3. All went very well - I just feel a bit tired and will go to bed early. I also bought a wig, actually two. On Oxford street, very larney, hey!

With the next blog-entry I will tell you all about the wigs and add pics to.

Today I want to share an e-mail from another breast cancer friend, Anette. (Please pray with me for her full recovery).

Here goes:
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas,

There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..

He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'

There was silence..

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'

But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'

Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the

Real bids!'

But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

'We have $10, who will bid $20?'

'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'

'What about the paintings?'

'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE !

XXXXXX

Long time, no blog.

Forgive me for only getting to the blog now! It has to be said - our little third world country's telephone service accomplish ten out of ten when compared to British Telecom. Even after Andries followed every rule and regulation, we still need to wait 14 days for the telephone line and another 14 for the broad band to be installed. So, we got wireless to help out in the mean time....

We are so blessed with our new house. The garden is wonderful and the boys are constantly outside - probably making up for nine months in a flat! They absolutely love their new trampoline and even Ivan can get himself in and out of the thing. He gets very sad if it rains outside and will be standing in front of the glass door saying "plies, plies" to go outside. He is to adorable for words!

Hugo is telling us every day that the new house is very nice and we don't miss the old flat. He is also very chuffed to be able to switch lights on and off via a little rope hanging from the roof.

Moving is always hard work, but nice when you can make a new place a home. For me personally it is nice to do things that are not related to my breast cancer. I think it is important to know that this sickness is not who I am, but only a part of my life.

We've received a wonderful gift in the form of a visit by a great friend. Bernard and his beautiful wife Cornelie and their son Ruben are on their way to Australia for a 12 month fellowship - he's an opthalmologist (eye surgeon), and still Bernard made the time to fly in for three quick days to spend with us before their move. It is wonderful to have him as a guest (of course we are missing Cornelie and Ruben like crazy!!) but feel so blessed by his words of wisdom and encouragement during a very difficult time. Thank you Bernard!

With Bernard's arrival came another gift. My mom made me a whole bunch of bandanas to wear. Even Springbok and Spiderman ones, also for the men in my life. Thank you so much Mamma, it is helping a lot to cover up the soon-to-be bald head. And no, I didn't get around to go and shave my head, so the hair is still falling out in their hundreds at a time (I really didn't realise that anyone had so much hair!!). I think I am going to start a new bandana craze here in London. The nice thing about it is that "in London, anything goes, so don't ever be surprised!" - wise words from my brother-in-law, James.

Emotionally I feel very good. It does help that I have people around me that is constantly encouraging and supporting me every step of the way. All the e-mails and text messages that keeps pouring in warms my heart every time I read them. Yes, there are moments when I still feel overwhelmed by what is happening. Moments where I just can't believe that I have breast cancer at the age of 33. And yet, there are so many woman and men (yes, men can also get breast cancer) who are in the same position that I am. So my situation is not unique and as weird as that may sound, that gives me hope. I can clearly remember the moment when I decided to do my first Argus cycle race in 2000. It was the year 1999, supporting Andries, when a (very overweight) old lady passed me on her bicycle - there and then I decided that if she can complete this race, then surely I can complete it too. So, if other people can beat this "cancer-cycle-race", then surely I must be able to beat it too. (By the way, I also completed the Argus in 2001, but we won't talk about the amount of hours it took to do so...).

When situations of great sadness crosses our life-path then a lot of things are seen in a new light. You learn that the great things in life are the simple things. One of the highlights of my week was when little Hugo came to lie next to me to take a nap. I was listening to music with the help of my iPod. I asked him if he wanted to share, he said yes, put his little arm around my neck and fell asleep, almost protecting me from the world. That moment is so much more precious than diamonds or gold and I wouldn't exchange that heart-warming feeling for ANYTHING in this world! When I look at his angel-face I get completely overwhelmed by God's goodness, grace and blessings in my life. That He loves me so much to allow me one more day with my precious children, my amazing husband and just with the people I love. I hope that you allowed someone, just for today, to love you.

D-day no. 2

D-day no. 2 came and went without much ho-ha. And up until now I just feel a bit tired and not in the mood for food. I assume, as with the previous session, the side effects will only kick in over / after the weekend. The doctor reduced one part of the chemo drugs and hopefully that will help with side effects as well. My hair also started falling out yesterday. And I have to say, I am not feeling as emotional about it as I thought I would. I think it is because the biggest part of me wants to get well and healthy, never mind no hair - it will all grow back and apparently even thicker and nicer than before.... And today there are such nice scarves and beanies not to mention wigs! Maybe I should get a different colour and style for each day of the week.

But I want to go back a few days. I went with Hugo to Paradise Park. A nice place for young and old with lions, tigers, farm animals, owls and a lot more to see not even to mention all the things to do! The highlight of my toddler's day? A ride on Thomas the Tank Engine through the "jungle", with man-made animals that make (or rather trying to..) scary sounds over loudspeakers. That is all he is talking about... But, it was a great trip and one I especially found worth our while.

In the meantime we are packing and getting ready for the move to the new house. I am very excited - four bedrooms and a nice garden. Then I will feel much better for finally giving Ouma Ronel her own bedroom instead of a sleeping spot on the living room floor!

This weekend there is also a South African festival, Immergroen, typically like Aardklop. There is a bunch of South African artists and melktert, koeksisters and biltong on sale. If I feel well enough, we will definitely showing our faces there!

A wonderful friend, Géne (a fantastic English teacher at Affies!), wrote me this poem:

LOURIKA
Passionate, Devoted
Laughing, Chattering, Caring
Her eyes sparkles when she shares her dreams
Inspirational!!!!!!!! (This type of poem is called a Cinquin)

Thank you Géne, is it a great gift and one I carry in my heart every day!

I want to end of by sharing a beautiful verse I found in Rom 8:18 (forgive me for the free translation) - "I know for certain that our current suffering can not even be compared to the glory with which God is going to surprise us". Isn't that such a special promise?

PS. The photos are of our precious boys, Ivan (no. 1&3) and Hugo (no. 2&4) taken by my wonderful friend Anne-Marié on our resent visit to SA.

Christmas in July

Today feels like Christmas day! Christmas father is sending us another miracle worker - my mom-in-law. I feel so privileged to have her in my life. She is a never ending source of kindness, love and motivation. She is wonderful with the children and cooks the most amazing food. Her coming to help us is really a great gift!

The last couple of days went well. On Wednesday I had to go for blood tests (which I failed) and again on Friday (which I passed!! Yippee!!). So, for now we are on track to do the second chemo session this coming Wednesday. I feel good and healthy, except for a nagging throat and a runny nose.

But before we book in for the chemo session we need to look at our jam-packed week ahead. Hugo and I are going to the Wild Animal Park with the school on Monday, Tuesday it is picnic time in the park, Wednesday a class party and Thursday a play session at the local soft play area. And in between we need to pack and then the move to the new house on Friday - boy will our minds be taken off the chemo session!

The Lord is blessing us every single day with angles at work on earth. Last night new friends (a co-worker of Andries) bought us the most delicious meal and we had such a nice evening. For all of us there are "miracle-workers". We just need to allow them to do their work in our lives in peace.....

Breast Cancer 101

A lot of people are asking me about the cancer and I have realised that I haven’t explained properly (the teacher in me….)

I have what they would like to call Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC). It is a very common type of breast cancer. It starts developing in the milk ducts of your breast, but breaks out of the duct tubes, and invades, or infiltrates, surrounding tissues. IDC is not a well-contained cancer. IDC has the potential to invade your lymph and blood systems, spreading cancer cells to other parts of your body. If IDC spreads beyond its original site, we say it has metastasized. IDC is the most commonly diagnosed breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma accounts for about 8 out of 10 of all invasive breast cancers.

I work with a “treatment team”. A bunch of very clever people that decides on the best route to recovery. As a team they decided to first do chemo, then the mastectomy and reconstruction and if necessary radio therapy.

What is chemo? It is a form of treatment that uses anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs. It destroys any cancer cells that may have spread from the original tumour to other parts of the body. Also known as systemic treatment because the whole body is exposed to the drugs. With routine scans cancer in other body parts may be identified, but not the nitty gritty ones on a micro scale.

Why not the mastectomy first? The breast specialist likes to get the “cancer under control” and also to prevent the risk of infection after the operation. On a psychological level I also think (for me anyway) the chemo-first approach is the best.

At this point in time we are going to opt for a mastectomy and reconstruction in the same operation after completing the chemo treatment. The specialist will perform a LD flap. This operation involves moving a large muscle (latissimus dorsi) from your back. The flap and its blood supply are tunnelled under the skin just below the armpit. It is then put into position to make a new breast shape. The operation is referred to as a latissimus dorsi flap (LD flap).
I went for some blood work today to see if the chemo drugs are doing their job. Everyday there are different symptoms – from feeling like I have a hangover to food tasting differently. Even chocolates are not the same….. Hopefully signs that I am passing the blood tests!
Thank you for reading my blog. I appreciate all the support, love and prayers SO MUCH!! Even if I don’t even know you.

A Grey day

Today the weather in London is grey - and my heart feels the same. Today I feel and look grey. It's a bad hair day, a bad outfit day, a bad emotional day!

I think the first chemo session went well, although I have nothing to compare it with. I have a massive headache the whole time, I feel exhausted after going to buy bread and milk and I want to sleep all day. Yet, I feel so lucky..... Lucky for finding the lump "in time", lucky to have beautiful children, lucky to have friends and family that are looking after me and our household, lucky to have one more day.....

I know I am just a bit emotional today and usually I get over it quickly. I just can't help to wonder where this road is leading? I hear and read so many success stories, but also hear of very brave woman that needed to conquer this dreadful decease three times. Three times, can you imagine that!! I know I shouldn't get ahead of myself - one day at a time. That is what I promised myself - one day at a time. And also to enjoy what that day is holding. Some days it is going to be high tea at The Ritz in London with a fantastic friend, or it might just be to be able to build blocks with my one year old and watch his new teeth or listening to him singing "row, row, row, row" (that is for row, row, row your boat...).

Life is made up of so many precious moments, we must never be willing to give up on any. And sometimes, the harder times makes the better times so much sweeter.