Christmas and New Year Greetings

Well, what a year it was, we guess for you as well as ourselves ? But, we’ve all survived and it is a pleasure to greet you at this time of year and to eagerly anticipate your news.

Surgery for son Craig, brother Tony and Brian has been successful and I am pleased to say that all the family are now well. The recession has hit hard at our two self employed sons Mark & Craig but they have come through it by hard work and innovation. Myles changed jobs so is also settling into new routines. Their families have been great support.

Grandchildren continue to be a source of sheer delight and at 12,12,10,4,3 and 3 have given us countless hours of challenge but mostly pleasure. All are achieving well so we can ask for no more. How bright they all seem and so advanced. Conversations are a joy.

So many of you have been kind enough to enquire about Brian’s dementia and I’m happy to report that he is doing well on his medication.

Following Brian’s fairly routine surgery on 19 June, we learned on 21 July that he has an aggressive Prostrate Cancer. Hormone Therapy to shrink the tumour started immediately and caused deterioration in the effectiveness of the dementia drugs. We coped. Daily radiotherapy will commence on 5 January and last for 7 weeks. Roll on March 2012. We’ll get through.

A shock… yes, but why should we have expected dementia to be our only demon ? Together our two diagnoses would try a saint….. and saints we certainly aren’t ! A trip to Italy had to be cancelled but we did go to Croatia for a week with David & Margery and that was superb.

Encouraged by cancer specialists and realising that 2011 may well be our last opportunity to leave the UK, we continued with plans to take a four week trip starting 21 October. We were so pleased to meet up with special people. We are so grateful for and absolutely loved :-

· wonderful days in Hong Kong courtesy of Patrick, Teresa and Wilson. Thank you so much once again to you all. Time with you was so enjoyable.
· 20 days being tourists in Australia. We made some new friends amongst the travellers and shared good times. We especially loved red rock country.
· great days in Bangkok with Took, Warong, Aom & Eve. How charming, kind and generous they were. What fun and variety we had in the hands of these experts.
· a super time spent at Fongchan’s new home in Chiangmai. We did so much to appreciate beautiful Thailand. Thank you Fongchan for all the excitement.

It is always very humbling meeting up and spending times with old friends. How lucky are we. We now await the pleasure of welcoming you to our home.. do come when you can.

Our media work continues with speaking engagements, newspaper and radio interviews, training DVDs for NHS staff, articles in books and magazines and Brian was even invited to read a poem I wrote at Gloucester Cathedral for World Alzheimers’ Day. We have to refuse as many engagements as we accept for sheer volume. Isn’t that amazing ?

This weekend is a good example. As I write we plan to travel to London on Friday for a planning meeting with The National Council for Palliative Care. On Sunday evening we’ll attend a rock concert at the O2 Arena… Status Quo, Kim Wilde & Roy Wood. Our children have banned us dancing in the aisles in case we get caught on camera. How embarrassing parents can be. On Monday we shall then attend the 6th. Annual National Conference on Dementia & End of Life Care. This will lead to government information and, we hope, reform.

We send good wishes to each one of you. 2012 will bring challenges for all, friendship helps. Let’s continue to share that precious gift we have….. hope to hear from you or see you soon !