Evil Oddie

I really have to put reminders somewhere so I can get on here more often.  A lot has happened in the past 6 months (yes it really has been that long).

So officially, I am a jobless bum and have  been since the end of May.  My story starts a couple of years ago, when my Dad had a heart attack and was flown to Brisbane by the Royal Flying Doctors.  Dad ended up needing 5 heart bypass grafts and was in the Wesley Hospital for quite a while.  In the months and check ups following the surgery, a specialist found some weird things on Dad’s lungs.  It turned out to be Asbestosis.

While Glen and I went to New Zealand for his sister’s 40th (and ended up being a surprise wedding), Dad went into hospital again.  When we got back, Dad called me to give me the bad news.  The asbestosis has developed into Mesothelioma.

Here is Wikipedia’s explanation: Mesothelioma, more precisely malignant mesothelioma, is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body’s internal organs, the mesothelium. It is usually caused by exposure to asbestos.

Of course, this was quite upsetting and I wanted to see Dad while he was still “good”.  So after much umming and ahhing, I’m now unemployed and I’m at my parents home at the moment spending time with the old man.

I have to say that Dad is tired a lot of the time and his pain varies at certain times of the day.  I don’t think that he has actually been pain free any of the time I’ve been here.

His next specialist appointment is on Thursday week and we should be getting a better idea of a timeline of how long we’ve got Dad for.   Apparently, no one has lived past the 12 month mark after being diagnosed with Mesothelioma.  Bummer