Can you help?

In a few weeks Alan needs to start a course of radiotherapy that will see him visit the hospital five days a week for six weeks! We are looking for house sitting or house swapping opportunities to make this process as easy as possible on Alan and Helen.

Ideally, we are looking for accommodation with easy access to the T1 North shore, Northern and Western Line. Their destination is the Macquarie University train station, so anywhere within a reasonable amount of stops from there would be perfect.

For potential swappers, Alan & Helen live on a small hobby farm in Northern NSW in a beautiful area. Easy driving distance from Byron Bay, Nimbin and the Gold Coast. We are happy to forward photos on request.

If you know anybody who may be interested in swapping, or anybody who needs their house sitting from roughly the middle of August to the end of September, then please contact David (0417479100) or Jill (0478494349).

If you're reading this post via Facebook, perhaps you could re-share this post to your wider group of friends to help with the search.

Recovery..Day 2

Alan hasn't been great since he left ICU. He is irritated by headaches and lack of sleep. He did manage to have a sleep at lunchtime and with some assistance, have a much needed shower and shave!

Out of ICU

Alan is out of the ICU and has been moved to the general ward 3 room 38.

Recovery..Day 1

It was good to see Alan almost back to his normal self this morning. Still a little groggy, but in good spirits and almost no memory of his comical behaviour the previous day. Alan is very impressed with the quality of care and professional staff at the hospital.

Good News

Alan is out of theatre and the five hour operation went well. The doctor was pleased with the procedure and was confident they had removed all of the visible tumour. He commented that, to the naked eye, their suspicions of the tumour type were validated, but we need to wait for the biopsy result in five working days. Alan will have another MRI scan this week which will form the basis of the radiotherapy strategy.

We were allowed to see Alan after another torturous thirty minutes. He was awake but drowsy and in very high spirits making embarrassing jokes to the nurse. He asked if he still had his accent! He is likely to stay in ICU tomorrow - I will advise when he returns to the general ward.

Thanks for everyone's support and good wishes. A battle won. A step forward.

No news yet

Still waiting, will post as soon as we hear something.

Seconds away..Round 1..

Alan's about to have some pre-op scans - the surgeons capture a 3D model of the brain to assist them during the surgery.

Operation scheduled for 8:30am. Will post another update on the other side. Go Alan!!

Second Diagnosis

This morning we visited Doctor Andrew S. Davidson a neurosurgeon based in the Macquarie University Hospital.

Incidentally, this is the same neurosurgeon who removed a brain tumour from Alan's grandson Michael Connell last year.

Dr. Davidson explained that Alan is likely to have primary glioma tumour. They can't confirm the tumour type until they have studied a biopsy, but, the tumour has already damaged Alan's vision and needs to be removed.

The neurosurgeons will attempt to remove as much of the tumour mass as possible. They cannot remove the tumour completely as the cells at the end of the tumour are indistinguishable from normal brain cells.

Alan will be admitted to hospital this evening with his operation to start at 8:00am Tuesday morning. We understand the operation can take up to five hours. After this, Alan will be admitted to intensive care (normally a day, maybe two), then moved to the general ward. It is likely that Alan will be in hospital for up to a week.

I understand that intensive care visiting is for immediate family only. The general visiting hours on the wards are between 11am and 8pm, though some wards encourage patients to rest between 1pm and 2pm. If in doubt about visiting arrangements, please contact the hospital on 02 9812 3000.

Once Alan's scarring has healed, he will commence a combined treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The chemotherapy in the form a tablet, the radiotherapy will involve 6 weeks of daily visits to the hospital for a fifteen minute dose!

Thats about all we know for now. Watch this space for daily posts on Alan's progress.

First Diagnosis

Over the last few months Alan has been experiencing some problems with his eyes. He initially attributed this to cataracts.

His first doctor was initially dismissive, and suggested Alan maybe depressed! The combination of a second opinion and the insistence that something was wrong from Helen resulted in a referral to a neurosurgeon at the Gold Coast.

It was here where Alan was first told he had a brain tumour.

Alan's daughter, Jill, convinced them to return to Sydney for treatment and allow themselves to be surrounded with support from family and friends.