All that is left to be said from my crazy initiative of “raise $20k in a week for Leukaemia Foundation” is thank you.

I didn’t manage to raise $20k in a week, it’s true. But the team did raise a whopping $6,750!! with some money still in the “promised but not yet banked” category I reckon all up we’ll hit the $7k mark. Which is not a bad result for a week’s effort – so thanks for all your support.

Of course, everyone on the team has thanked their sponsors individually, as has the Leukaemia Foundation. But my appeals have been so public, it seems only right that my gratitude is public too. For privacy reasons, I can’t see the sponsors of other members of the team, but in our shave video, I have called out those who sponsored myself, Charis and Amanzi. Enjoy:

Over the week-end Amanzi and Charis joined the Virtual Shave team as well. They didn’t shave, as mentioned in the previous post, but coloured their hair instead. So it was only fair to join them to the Intro Video.

The girls have both all but made their targets of $250 and currently I’m a mere $68 away from my target of $2,000.

So thank you to everyone for your generous giving. If it’s slipped your mind, or you just haven’t got around to it yet, it’s not too late.

Well we had “The Big Shave” yesterday, and whilst I’m still collating all of the photos and editing the video(s) for everyone, I did throw this quick video together to introduce (most of) the team…

As you can probably tell from the brief snippets, the whole event in the office canteen, was a lot of fun. So much so that we had 4 “ring ins”

• John Kaleski – who joined at the request of his team. They promised to raise over $500 for him
• Paul Murray – who just wondered in and signed up (awesome) – and then another two -
• Boris…..
• ?????

I think these last two were influenced by “The Baldernator” and it all happened so quickly I didn’t get their details.

So, people are still joining and sponsoring the team, and you can do so up until Sunday midnight, so don’t be shy.

Thanks so much

I do need to give a special shout out to a couple of organisations, and people:

• Leopard Systems – who sponsored $1000 for Rick’s hair (you can see from the video why)
• Motorola – who sponsored in excess of $250 for the same
• Andre Bergman – who sponsored me $250

But whether you joined and went bald, gave $1000 or $2 at the coffee shop, I want to call you out and say thank you so much. As a team we appreciate your support of us, and more importantly, for this great cause.

But wait there’s more...

This adternoon Charis (currently on $155) and Amanzi (currently on $115) will both be colouring their hair. So there’s still time to sign up, and plenty of time to help us reach our (admittedly ambitious) target. So if you haven’t yet, please do give generously, head over to http://tinyurl.com/VirtualShave and this will redirect you to our World’s Greatest Shave Team page.

Amanzi cooked tonight – a Pad Thai – which was scrumptious. This was followed by jelly made by Charis. You ask why I share such inanities on the blog? Well it was my last supper! My last meal prior to shaving my hair to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation in tomorrow’s World’s Greatest Shave!!

I quizzed the family on their thoughts, and was surprised

Two new recruits. Who’d have thought? If you don’t want to sponsor me, please do sponsor the girls.

When you decide upon a course of action, I believe it’s best to put 100% into it. So every part of our shave effort should be just right. The environment, the equipment, the people. Which is why we’ve recruited the best shaver we know this side of the Nullabor…

…the “Baldernator”

Also, since this morning, we’ve had a couple more sponsors:

• Darryl L
• Kean M (yep – Kean sponsored twice)

Thank You

Has agreed to part with his shoulder length locks. He’s put his money where his mouth is and for the first time will take the plunge to bare his noggin for a good cause. Nay. A Great cause!

Fan of the Smackdown? Fan of Rick? Wanna see him bald? Help us by being the first to donate towards his $1000.

Also, I’d like to shout out my good friends:

• David B, Melbourne, Vic. Australia
• Phil W, Carlingford, NSW, Australia
• Lucy L, West Pennant Hills, NSW, Australia
• Karen Seargeant, Wentworthville, NSW, Australia

For being the first 4 people to sponsor the team. We’re at just over $200, so 1% of the way there. W00t. Thanks.

Need to mention that the Team is now 4 strong. Besides Rick, both:

• Andrew Parsons, Central Coast, NSW, Australia
• Aaron Saikovski, No idea, NSW, Australia

Have joined the team!!

….Or the way the world views you.

We’ve all heard it, and know it to be true:

“Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity.”

And yet we all continue do the same thing again, and again. I think partly that’s because we don’t tie the intangible results to the repeat of our tangible actions. E.g. the tangible result of driving the same route to work every morning is getting there on time. But the intangible result is to become slowly bored over time, or to constantly arrive at work frustrated (with traffic). We know we’re bored, we just don’t tie it to the drive to work in the morning.

So the only way to get a different result is to change what we do. And everything is up for grabs. Maybe you “don’t” give to charity, or you only give a certain amount, or just to certain charities. Lord knows, there’s enough out there. Well, feel free to change that.

Maybe you use certain ‘product’ in your hair. Well, feel free to change that.

Maybe you feel that a huge change (like e.g. shaving or colouring your hair) will make people view you as a fanatic, an odd ball, somehow ‘less professional’ – yep, our concern for other’s perceptions is a huge driver in what we do.

So my challenge for tonight is to “Change the way you view the world, or maybe just the way the world views you.” Be brave and Shave Come and join the Virtual Shave Team You can do it from wherever you are in the world. Just:

• Commit to shaving or colouring your hair this week-end
• Join our team online
• Raise some sponsors

And if shaving your head is, well, a tad too much of a change – please sponsor us – any amount will do.

• Sponsor the team online
• Pay it forward – ask just 3 people to sponsor us as well

I went cycling yesterday, just 2 days after surgery, and upon reflection this week-end considered just how much technology has advanced. Not only in the last decade with micro-surgical techniques & non-invasive procedures; but over the last 3 decades; the last 10.

In 1909 both of the conditions I’ve suffered from: Ulcerative Colitis (which is what finally killed William Wilberforce of slavery abolition fame), and Renal Colic; would have been life threatening, if not debilitating. A kidney stone of the size that I had would just block the ureter, back up the waste and cause the kidney to fail. Even 20 years ago, I would’ve required an incision.

Yet, here I am, 3 operations within 3 months, up and about within 48 hours.

But what about those diseases that still have no cure? Those diseases where organ transplants offer some respite to some portion of the population, but in themselves are not a cure. What about Leukaemia?

Even here we’ve seen great strides in treatment, early diagnosis, and far better prognosis for patients. But there’s more to be done. Much more. If we could just raise the funds and get it to the research organisations.

It’s a cause which is close to my heart. Partly because I’ve experienced the impact of phenomenal change in medical technology myself. I certainly wouldn’t be biking, waterskiing, scuba diving, travelling, even living in Australia, without the intervention of technologies and smart doctors over the last decade. But also because people close to my family didn’t get that opportunity. My biological father, Tom, died of cancer just 3 months before his only son got married. His wife, Jenny, died some 4 years later, of cancer. Lucy’s sister Penny, died of Leukaemia at the age of 6, when Lu was 2.

Even now, a cousin and good friend, Ian, and my father-in-law, David, live with cancer.

I do understand in the current environment, with the bushfires in Victoria, the floods in Queensland, and other causes, (many of which I donate to myself): CanToo, Starlight, World Vision, BeyondBlue, OxFam, Salvo’s, Movember, etc. that people have given so much. Often beyond their means.

So I’d like to propose a fun week. Just one week. No lengthy training, or recruitment drive. No repeats. Just a week where I invite you, my friends and family, colleagues, and complete strangers (aka Internet Friends) to do one of two things:

1. Sign up to the VST (Virtual Shave Team) – and commit to shaving or colouring your head, and raising as much money as you can in a week.
2. Sponsor the VST – give what you can of course. I’d love it if everyone sponsored just $10.

I commit to tweeting, commenting on Facebook, my blog, and creating a daily video to let everyone know how we’re doing.

If you do join the team, please take photos and videos of your progress. We’ll co-ordinate the shave next week-end.

C’mon join us – let’s see if we can create the world’s biggest virtual bald community – Be Brave and Shave!

Last Sunday, I had a great opportunity to get wet again. Only 2 of us, as Amanzi went with a friend to Jambaroo (a Water Theme Park) and Lu looked after Charis.

As Em hadn’t dived for 5 years, since she qualified, she was naturally a little apprehensive. So we jumped in the pool on Saturday and ran through her Basic OW skills again.

Then Saturday morning, we were the first ones at the beach. Walked into the water and had a brilliant dive. We came out at breakfast time to see about 3 groups of divers descending on the beach. Bliss.

R42

View Full Album

That’s high on drugs.

I decided to do a quick vidblog of how I ended up today. The operation went very well, thanks for asking (by proxy of reading this :-)). Although they found more stone in there, forming around the end of the Stent, they blasted it and removed everything.

So tomorrow I’ll sleep in, connect to the office peripherally through technology and ease my way back into full activity.

R42

Tomorrow I’m heading into hospital for the 3rd time since late November, and I thought it probably fair to explain what’s happening with me. Whilst I do want to explain everything that’s happening, I don’t want to sound like a victim or hard done by.

So here’s my poor attempt.

First, we’ll go the kidneys. This has had the biggest impact:

As many readers will know, last year about this time I kicked off a “Biggest Loser” weight loss competition. In my eagerness to win the comp, I started a life-changing course of exercise, which involved high impact Boxercise some 3+ times per week. The Boxercise I love. Absolutely and unequivocally. Every part, besides the improvement in my health and fitness, I enjoy the release of stress, the friends and social aspect. There’s just something really satisfying about smacking the crap out of something.

In July I started feeling abdominal pain, which increased enough for me to visit the doctor late September. Initial diagnosis was an abdominal strain due to the Boxercise. But no amount of reduction in ab-work reduced the ever increasing pain. This all came to a head one fateful Saturday in November, when I felt that “oh so familiar” nausea inducing pain in my back. Kidney Stone! Renal Colic! Acute Discomfort!

I should know, it’s my tenth over 15 years. Of the ten, only 3 have required hospitalisation, and only 1 other needed removal surgery.

This time, however, I didn’t go through the usual “lie on the floor and throw up for 3 hours” pain whilst I passed the stone. I was in ‘discomfort’ but not debilitatingly so. An x-ray identified the culprit: a 15mm Calculus lodged at the base of the left ureter (that’s the tube which feeds the bladder from the kidney).

Given the ureter is a couple of mm’s in diameter at best, you’re really ‘fortunate’ to pass anything up to about 8mm. But you’re just not going to pass a stone that size. So given the stone is just sitting there and growing, what’s causing the pain is the backing up of urine putting pressure on the kidney. Simply put, someone with great skill, not to mention credentials, has to use some pretty cool technology to remove the stone.

Right about the time I was diagnosed, was Lu and my wedding anniversary, which we celebrated by diving over in Vanuatu (very cool). The urologist didn’t want to risk the trauma of the surgery to remove the stone a week before the flights, or impact on a romantic week-end. But he did need to do something to stop the pain. So the 1st op was scheduled in mid-November to place a J-stent. As the name implies, this is a J-shaped tube, which hooks in behind the calculus, and allows the fluid to drain away. No fluid build up, no pressure, no pain. (Well almost).

When he went in, the Dr discovered that the type of stone I make (or at least this one) is one of the soluble sort. This is good news, and he prescribed a course of Sodibic (Bicarbonate of Soda) to dissolve said stone. The next x-ray was scheduled for late January and as you can see, the medication had minimal effect on the stone.

Actually, that’s not quite accurate, as little bits of stone were coming off, resulting in an abrasive gravel in my bladder, causing a mild UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) and some discomfort.

Anywhoo, we scheduled the “big op” for the 9th of Feb.

This was a roaring success. Well, mostly. Total success would be: Shatter the stone with a laser, remove the large part, remove the stent, allow the rest to flush away. What actually happened was: Discover the stent was too small (despite being a universal length – apparently I have a longer Ureter than most. Not intentionally bragging or anything.) So this had shifted below the stone. The stone had then shifted further down, bending the end of the stent. This in turn meant the scope hit the end of the stent and could get to the stone.

So, remove the scope; remove the stent; reinsert the scope; chisel away at the larger than estimated stone with a laser (look at your thumbnail here for a more accurate estimate); until it’s a size that can be removed. By now the ureter is a touch on the inflamed side from all the to-ing and fro-ing in there, so insert a new (longer than universal) J-stent to allow the inflammation to abate and the debris to flush away. The planned 45 min procedure saw me on the table for a healthy 2 hours.

Interestingly (at least to this geek) the surgeon didn’t use Sonic Therapy (ultrasound) to shatter the stone, but a laser. I mean, really cool tech. They also didn’t use keyhole surgery, or any form of incision, but used naturally placed entry points. By now the men reading this are crossing their legs and sharing “tears of solidarity” – I’m just glad I was asleep.

I’m also glad that Lucy forced me to stay overnight rather than come home. Her logic?

“They can give you morphine in there. At home we have Ibuprofen”

Good logic I thought – and yes, they did need to give me a shot of morphine over night.

The impact of replacing a J-stent, however, means that there is still a foreign body inside my urinary system that needs removing. Hence tomorrow’s procedure. Am I looking forward to that? Nope. Am I glad that in 24 hours this should all be over? Resoundingly so!!

The biggest impact of this is I’m that I’m not able to fly this week. Which in turn means that I’m not able to go to South Africa for my little brother’s wedding. As it turns out, my other little brother (but the older of the two) is getting married in South Africa next week, and I’m missing that wedding too.

But it’s not only the kidneys that have affected my exercise routine. After all, I should be able to run and hit punch-mats, even with a stent in. Enter the Ankle:

After a much needed break from training over the summer holidays, not to mention the Christmas stuffing, we decided that January was going to be our “Month of Power” with training 5 days per week. A time to start the year strong, and kick metabolisms into gear.

As part of that, we decided to mix up the training. Inject some fun, and keep our bodies from adapting to routine. So, 2 weeks in someone came up with the hare-brained scheme to have Bacon sandwiches on the BBQ and play a game of 3-on-3 on the Basketball Court. Some of you will know my friend Rohan, aka “Slam TAM,” who used to weigh almost 140kg’s! He’s much less than that now, but still an immovable object to the irresistible force that was me coming in for a tackle.

My ankle was in the middle, made a horrifying “snap” sound, and I collapsed in a heap of curses. In the picture I look somewhat relaxed with my ankle on a bag of ice, and smothered under a towel filled with ice.

Six weeks of physio, and I’m still experiencing pain. Although not too much anymore. I’m certainly not up for running, or anything high impact. But as the physio did use the exercise bike as part of the rehab, so I figured cycling to work was probably not going to harm the ankle anymore, and would give me some exercise.

Hence starting that crazy scheme yesterday.

Still, considering the total lack of improvement after 6 weeks, I ha an x-ray on Monday, and should see the results tomorrow morning.

Finally, there’s the shoulder:

Slowly, since about the beginning of December, my right shoulder has been gradually getting more and more painful, to the point that for the last month or so I haven’t been able to lift my arm much above shoulder height.

For someone who hasn’t lost more than about 2 days of sleep in my life, I’ve been kept awake by both the ankle and shoulder.

Ultra-sound, interferential, exercise, nothing seems to work. And to top it all, I don’t know whether it was doing 50 push-ups, or RSI from my seating position in the office. Or perhaps something else (arthritis, gout, cartilage damage?)

So, from my right shoulder, through my midriff, to my left ankle, I’ve been a ball of pain for the first couple of months this year!! It’s stopped me exercising, and I’ve noticed how that has flowed through into every other area of my life – my work, church-life, family, relationships, overall happiness.

I refuse to let it stop me from doing what I love and enjoying life. But, if I’m honest, it has constrained camping (0 times in 2009 to date), boating (1ce this year), waterskiing (not since October), even diving (only 3 times this year so far). Grrr….

So there you have it. Medically, I’ve taken a bit of strain in 2009. I’m looking forward to the removal of the J-Stent, getting back into “light duties” at boxercise next week, and increasing my cycle to work regime.

R42