hardtack

I hope you don’t object to me essentially documenting the process that I’m going through, the effects of that process, and their impact on me (it may be of interest to some, but if not, please just ignore). For me, expressing what I’m experiencing is kind of helpful, and I hope that an understanding of what I am going through, might in some way help anyone reading this, to understand, via my experience, what others they might know, are going through (not everyone, for whatever reason, likes to share or discuss such experiences). After a five week course of radiotherapy in 2023, in which I went through 25 sessions of radiation as well as oral chemotherapy, my first encounter with full on chemotherapy was a five and a half month stint of fortnightly cycles beginning in September 2023 and ending in February 2024. The following is also applicable to my current treatment regime, with only the toxic waste they pump into me being different (bottle is still the Irinotecan The cycle begins on a Monday and involves a 3 hour infusion of the chemo drug (Oxaliplatin in 23/24 now replaced with Irinotecan) at the hospital, after which I have an infusion pump bottle attached to me for the next two days (I have a permanent port in my chest through which they feed their toxic waste), which is full of a chemo ‘drug’ called Fluorouracil. Oxaliplatin is the devil’s own brew… it is nasty! Irinotecan is far more gentle, but still hard going with some different side effects (described below). On the third day (Wednesday) I return to the hospital, where they detach said bottle; a quick and painless procedure. On the Friday of the following week I attend the hospital for a blood test so they can keep track of the cancer’s veracity via what they call the CEA marker. On the following Monday I meet with my oncologist after which the whole cycle begins again later that morning. I am now in the middle of my second fortnightly cycle (I restarted chemotherapy in the last week of January) and have just started to get hit with the side effects… gastric issues which are controllable with medications, and, as of today, major hair loss. In my 2023/24 chemo, I managed to keep my hair, but it’s looking pretty certain that this time around, I’m going to be as bald as the proverbial badger; at least I’ll be able to finally put those MND beanies to good use! Anyway, that’s pretty much all I have to say today… if you’ve read this far, thank you! I hope you might have gained some insight into what is involved and what literally thousands of people are going through every day… as I mentioned in the original post, this is NOT about me seeking attention, or worse, sympathy, it is about building awareness and hopefully encouraging others to occasionally get check ups (colonoscopy, bowel cancer screening test you get in the post, chest x-ray, mammogram etc etc). I’m paying the price for my ambivalence… don’t you be like Tim (me 🤣). I might as well plug my band t-shirts again, as this is a way you can add to your wardrobe while donating to Cancer or MND research. Just follow, this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A17nCiLTy/?mibextid=wwXIfr And just for [censored] and giggles, here’s a clip of my UK based friend’s son’s composition in which he is sporting one of my shirts:

Yes, he was playing in the Eagles v Tigers match sim… and pretty involved.

Don’t you mean Casey?

I’m a fan of the ‘dreads’… get him in.

Late last year I started designing and selling t-shirts ‘promoting’ my band Los Romeos Oxidados. There were two things that drove me to do this, one being the obvious band promotion, but the other as a means to raise awareness of, as well as funds to donate into, the purchaser’s choice of either Cancer or MND research. As I made my first donation of funds raised by early shirt sales, to the Cancer Council of NSW, I responded to an accompanying question that was asking why I was donating; I explained how the donation had come about. A week or so later, I received an email asking whether I would mind being interviewed for a blog article on the Cancer Council of NSW’s website, and if you follow the link below, you can read the result of that call. This is not intended to be a ‘woe is me’ or an attention seeking post, but rather, it will hopefully alert you to the need to regularly check your health, something that if I’d done, I might not be in the position I am today. Of course, in the linked article/story, there’s a link to the t-shirt post on my band’s Facebook page and you’re more than welcome to order one if you feel cashed up and so inclined (every sale has $5 going to research and I make a small amount as well for my troubles). If you are interested, just leave a comment here and I’ll get back to you. All of the information you need is in the post I just mentioned. https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/news/tims-story-how-music-helped-him-navigate-his-cancer-experience/

“Yeah, we all love him and he’s contracted – I am keen to play with him this year and hopefully many more.” Oh no, it appears that ALL of our WA boys are planning a move back home 😱

No decision has been made as yet.

Agreed. These comments stating he (McAdam) is “a bust”, are so unnecessary and so insensitive. Yes, maybe he was a bust at the time he was recruited, but so what?? He had been working his [censored] off in an attempt to get his body right and, by all reports, appeared to be putting together good training sessions and getting himself into a position where he was a good chance to get the vacant Pickett spot for the beginning of the season. A little empathy does not go astray… just consider the fact that the players are quite likely to be aware of this forum, and that there’s a chance that they do occasionally read the comments. I really hope that the club get around him and give him the mental support that he will need… it must be utterly soul destroying!

We already lost one of our better track watchers under similar circumstances, in Saty…let’s not see history repeat itself.

Not really… more in the vein of the Celibate Rifles if any comparison could be made, I suppose:

I’m sorry to say that he is no relation. However, I think ‘Van Ruin’ could make a handy backup nickname; always good to have a little depth.

Did you get around to watching them yet? I’d be interested in your thoughts.

There’s a band here in Sydney who’s lead guitarist and vocalist’s name is Phil Van Rooyen; I should ask him if he is related as it’s not a particularly common name. Anyway, the name of the band is Van Ruin… hopefully that is what he will do to the opposition backs this year.

Sorry, but I really don’t understand your assessment… McVee was already proving himself last season against some of the best forwards in the competition, and with ANB no longer there across half forward with his pressure acts and tackling, Chandler becomes a more important part of the team.

He has an exoskeleton??

My brain doesn’t function well enough to remember the initials of every AFL player, and the only TDK that immediately springs to mind for me, is the old cassette tape brand. Who is it?

I must say I’m becoming a little dubious as to the veracity of Ralph’s claims in his post on X… as far as I can tell, nothing has yet appeared on the AFL site, and they’re usually all over this kind of thing in a flash. Could he have gone off a little too quickly on this one, or am I missing something?

That was the first thought that entered my mind, followed by Carlton with the Judd saga.

There are some superb photographs in the second collection (Nyirripi?)… particularly the image of Ricky holding up the young fella with the colours in his hair (pic #20), which is just a beautiful photo regardless of the footy connection. Also, I want that guy competing with Ricky in pic #37 on our list, purely for his hairstyle… best I’ve seen since Nathan Carroll.

How would it even be possible for Freo to come in under the salary cap and get both Kozzie and Warner? Both the Swans and the Dees would be remiss if they didn’t ask for two 2025 draft first rounders (and possibly a future 3rd rounder?), but even if Freo could somehow manage that, that doesn’t solve their salary cap conundrum, so, they would more than likely have to trade a top echelon player to one of the clubs; not only do they have a clutch of players on top dollar, they will have players like Amis (sp?) who will be demanding increases (can they afford to lose him, for example). Yes, Kozzie will depart, so it may as well be at the end of this season as at any other time, but we MUST demand a top deal either in multiple picks or a player swap that also includes a pick (current or future, I don’t care) from them. However it pans out though, both clubs must be absolutely ropable that this has been leaked. Who needs this kind of [censored] before the season has even kicked off… this can have such a big impact on team morale.

That’s the strangest pitch, it resembles concrete with hessian cloth laid over the top.

Wow, I’d never noticed that before! Well, at least I got to use one of my favourite scenes from that film.

What happened to the reaction buttons on my post immediately above this one? Is this censorship? EDIT: No, it’s just me at my dumbest 🤣

Fair enough