[Lifeguard]

Hi Chirley,

Great to hear you had a wonderful time on your cruise. I tried to convince my husband what a great idea it would be to go cruising but alas I have not yet succeeded. Where did the cruise take you to?Did you stay out of Cyclone Pam's way?

I too have come down with a nasty viral infection, and after a week of having a constant sore throat, sinus and respiratory issues I am now on two antibiotics to get it under control. This is the first time in years I have been so unwell. There has been a warning that the flu experienced in the Northern Hemisphere countries is now in Australia and is pretty nasty. I should of been extra vigilant because I recently asked for my blood results ( 3 months worth) and even my WBC went down to 2.6 and it usually averages around 3.9. My Neutrophils have been under 1 for a while now.

I have been training for the last six months to do a race called the Adventurethon (12km paddle, 23km bike and a 12km run)but with still experiencing low grade temperatures I had to pull out today. The race was this weekend. I'm dissapointed but there's not much I can do about it now. I also missed out on attending my first Leukaemia Foundation patient morning tea because of this infection.

I have been on Lenalidomide for four and half years and have now developed neuropathy in my feet. If it gets any worse I'll be sent to a specialist. It was so bad one night I stuck my feet in a bucket of ice water and my feet still felt like they were burning! When do you think I should start taking my neuropathy symptoms more seriously?

It's good that you know what treatment you want or don't want. Independence and knowledge is key to being happy and knowing what quality of life you want.

I'm so glad you had a great holiday.

Cheers
Rachael