A Time To Say Thank You



Taken at Papamoa Hills 1.1.11

It's March 2nd and the one-year anniversary of my leukaemia diagnosis.

Here I am today, still alive and creating, and growing a fine crop of curls, too! :)

Thank you to all who have supported me through my journey, especially my fiance, who I couldn't imagine doing this without, and my family, near and far, young and old.

Thank you to those who visited and telephoned; sent emails, texts and letters; gifted cards, books and magazines; left messages of support on facebook and here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku.

Thank you to the absolutely fabulous can't-say-enough-good-things-about-you staff of Ward 25 at Waikato Hospital who cared for me for about 14 weeks with not only competence and kindness but with so many smiles and so much laughter too. May I never have to come back again! :)

As part of Leukaemia Appeal Week 2010 I shared my story on the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation website, along with this haiku:

last day in hospital
my cheeks sore
from smiling

If you haven't already read it then please do go and take a look here.


One of my favourite photos of me with my fiance taken during
my time in hospital, cicra May 2010, third cycle of chemo.

I continue to work on my collection of haiku, tanka and haiga exploring my experience of this journey. It's been a highly therapeutic way for me to process the events, some of which remain a part of my life with a further 18 months of maintenance therapy ahead of me. Some haiga will be up soon on my website.