Blog | frasergo.orghttps://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014-08-05T04:02:34+00:00BlogTribute to my father2014-08-05T04:02:34+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014/08/tribute-to-my-father/<p><em>Tribute to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/duncan.m.fraser">Duncan McKenzie Fraser</a> that I shared at his funeral along with those by my siblings, by mother, his friend Prof Eric Bateman and colleague Prof Jenni Case</em></p>
<p><strong><span>Gridlines<br></span></strong><span>I didn't often ask my dad for </span><span>advice</span><span> when I was younger, but had asked him about some significant decisions just before his stroke. I'll miss being able to do that. Growing up, my dad and mom were the relational </span><span>gridlines</span><span> that measured the world for me. It feels like all the horizontal lines have been suddenly pulled out and the vertical ones wobbled. I'm so proud of how my </span><span>mom</span><span> has reacted with faith and dignity in her unimaginable loss.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Mountains and perspective</strong><br><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M%C3%A4nnlichen.jpg"><img src="/static/media/uploads/galleries/family/800px-männlichen.jpg" alt="The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, view from Männlichen" height="275" title="The Eiger (3970m), Mönch (4107m) and Jungfrau (4158m), from left to right - note that the right-most peak is actually the highest..." width="800"></a><br>In Switzerland, when I was six years old, my dad pointed at a </span>mountain<span> and said “that's the tallest”. I objected because some closer mountains looked taller. He took me behind a car, knelt down with me, and showed me how from that angle it looked taller than the microbus behind it. That was my dad – willing to come down low, not just telling but showing us God's </span>perspective<span> on the world – that God is higher even if closer things seem more important. In our family the worship and prayer you've come to today was not a segment of life but permeated everything – I remember my dad's daily devotions in the lounge with his Bible and journal, and us singing and praying together at home as a family, and as we drove on family holidays. Even after his stroke he was writing down Scriptures that were his strength in suffering.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Books and integrity</strong><br>My parents read to us from C S Lewis and Tolkien from when we were tiny and I grew to love them and then the rest of my dad's books – Christian biographies, theology and philosophy. My dad's faith ran through his whole life – his heart and mind and strength – and was shown in his love and acceptance and care for everyone around him.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Running, walking and new paths</strong><br><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2901/14736505902_0d19c327dc_m_d.jpg" style="float: right;" title="My dad finishing a marathon" height="240" width="172" alt="My dad finishing a marathon">My dad was a runner. I started </span>running<span> only in my thirties and he was amazingly supportive – when I ran the <a href="http://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/events/half-marathon">Two Oceans Half Marathon</a> he would drop me off, then fetch Danielle and James and Charis and find three points along the way to meet and cheer me on. He also loved taking us on walks and especially discovering </span>new paths<span>. This week I tried to go on one of those walks, but the way was closed off. I respect my dad for how he was always openly growing and changing, even right until the end. Like him, we're going to need to keep on growing and finding new paths to walk on.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Haikus for changing seasons</strong><br>My aunt Lesley composed a beautiful haiku for my dad's sixtieth birthday looking at the </span>seasons<span> of his life</span></p>
<p><i>Summer time is over now<br></i><i>The autumn of your life is here<br></i><i>May harvest be good</i></p>
<p>It's been so hard seeing his life cut off when we still anticipated so much. But God turns all things round for good for those who love him. I'll close with my attempt to follow up with a haiku on the season that has come.</p>
<p><i>Autumn fruits were ripening<br></i><i>When winter's chills so swiftly fell<br></i><em><span>We'll use this fruit for seed</span></em></p>My dad's reached the finish line2014-07-23T07:03:01+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014/07/my-dads-race/<div>On Saturday night my dad, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/duncan.m.fraser">Duncan</a>, had a massive cardiac arrest in ICU and died after an intense 12-day battle following a major stroke, subsequent pneumonia and heart issues. The ICU staff tried to resuscitate him but could not.</div>
<div>My dad impacted so many people's lives. I have not yet read any of their tributes to him. For me, <a href="http://books.google.co.za/books?id=aWZzLPhY4o0C&lpg=PP1&dq=%22the%20grief%20is%20still%20too%20near%22%20Tolkien&pg=PA350#v=onepage&q=%22the%20grief%20was%20still%20too%20near%22&f=false" title="Legolas in the Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien">the grief is still too near</a>.</div>
<div>But one theme stands out to me from his life.</div>
<div>My dad's relationship with God - his trust in Jesus, his walking by the Holy Spirit - is what defined and shaped him. His love and concern for others, his selfless serving of those around him, his devotion to my mom and us children and our families, his decades-long <a href="http://www.academia.edu/7726195/Duncan_Fraser_ChE_educator_feature" title="Duncan Fraser, ChE Educator Feature article by Jenni Case">pioneering work in engineering education</a>, his cross-cultural instincts, his desire to repair the damage in our nation, his love of the beauty of creation, his love of walks and runs - these all flowed both consciously and unconsciously from his Saviour. The narrative of his life, told in many conversations, was about things God had shown him through the Bible in his daily devotions, how the Holy Spirit had touched his heart in worship times. He would write us incredibly vulnerable emails about his emotions, his challenges, areas he was changing in. He was transparently conscious of his weaknesses; he never settled down but kept seeking God and being open to change.</div>
<div><em>But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.</em></div>
<div>Well you're there now dad. You've run a good race, and you've got your prize. It's all God's grace.</div>
<div></div>
<div><em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/666088600151046/" title="Funeral for Duncan Fraser">My Dad's Funeral</a> will be on Saturday 26th of July 2014 at Jubilee Community Church</em></div>
<div><img src="http://www.frasergo.org/static/media/galeria/2014-family/two-oceans-with-dad-james-and-charis-2014-04-19-small2.jpg" alt="My dad and kids meeting me after the Two Oceans, April 2014" height="1032" title="Running the race" width="581"></div>On birthdays and grateful joy2014-06-03T16:11:06+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014/06/on-birthdays-and-grateful-joy/<p>When James was celebrating his eighth birthday, he made the following comment:</p>
<p><em>I want everybody to enjoy my birthday, because we're celebrating that God made me.</em></p>
<p>To me, this is profound. It's a way of thinking that recognizes the awe of being created with gratitude and joy, and wants to share that joy with others.</p>
<p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Great_pershing_balloon_derby_2005_09_04.jpg/639px-Great_pershing_balloon_derby_2005_09_04.jpg" title="Hot air balloons" height="480" width="640" alt="Balloon launch at the Great Pershing Balloon Derby near Brookfield, Missouri on September 4, 2005. Photo taken by Joe DeShon. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license." longdesc="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_pershing_balloon_derby_2005_09_04.jpg"></p>Not the One (Lego) Ring2014-01-14T12:09:31+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014/01/not-the-one-lego-ring/<p><img alt="Rings" height="187" src="http://thebricklife.com/wp-content/uploads/Lego-LOTR-One-Ring.jpg" style="float: right;" title="One Ring or Three" width="299">As a family, we love both the writings of <a href="http://www.tolkiensociety.org/">J. R. R. Tolkien</a> and <a href="http://www.lego.com/">Lego</a>, so we've really enjoyed the <a href="http://thelordoftherings.lego.com/">Lego Lord of the Rings</a> and <a href="http://thehobbit.lego.com/">Hobbit</a> range... however we were puzzled to obtain not just one, but many powerful magical rings with the various different Lego sets we bought ... What could be happening? Was the Lego company, to save costs, supplying other, less powerful, magical rings (having recovered some of the others mentioned in <a href="http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Ring_Verse">the ring verse</a> - presumably those given to the dwarves, or the elven rings), or had they managed to produce their own rings with identical properties to the original (since that was <a href="http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060310232855/lotr/images/8/8c/Mount_doom.png" title="it really doesn't look like it made it through intact">quite clearly destroyed</a>)?</p>
<p>We were terribly disheartened to find that none of the tests conducted by Gandalf on the original ring produced the intended results on these Lego miniatures:</p>
<ul>
<li>Placing them onto the hand (they're too big for the finger) of the Lego characters does not cause them to disappear (or have any other apparent magical powers)</li>
<li>Placing them into a fire does not seem to cause fiery lettering to appear on them</li>
<li>Nor do they appear cool immediately after being placed in the fire</li>
<li>Indeed these rings melt quite readily even in a simple candle flame - forget withstandanding the <a href="http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ancalagon_The_Black" title="a winged dragon of the fierce and fiery variety">fires of Ancalagon the Black</a>!</li>
</ul>
<p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><img alt="Mount Doom blowing up with the ring" height="172" src="http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060310232855/lotr/images/thumb/8/8c/Mount_doom.png/320px-Mount_doom.png" style="float: right;" title="The One Ring got destroyed" width="320">We have not been able to take the rings to Orodruin to cast them into the fire for destruction, as we hoped, but we doubt that it would have the effect shown in the picture to the right!</p>
<p>Dear Lego ... we really think you should be working harder at this and not disappointing children around the world in search of such natural goals as obtaining magical powers and then giving them up for the good of the world.</p>Time in Nagoya2010-09-13T08:41:48+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2010/09/time-in-nagoya/<p>I've posted <a href="/photos/2010-08-nagoya/">photos of my time in Nagoya</a>. It was such a treat to visit friends, and the work arrangements there went well.</p>
<p>PS Just discovered that this blog has been having lots of spam posts ... time to move away from Drupal and admin it a bit better</p>
<br class="clear" />Work in Japan2010-08-20T17:43:18+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2010/08/work-in-japan/<p>A brief update ... I've had a <strong>fantastically successful</strong> week of work in Japan. We've been working with our partners here developing and configuring a system for a refinery, and today we had a meeting with them and got very positive feedback, which was very rewarding. I'm totally <strong>loving being in Japan</strong> again! So much seems so familiar even after a long absence. I've posted <a href="/photos/2010-08-tokyo/">photos of the trip so far</a> online.</p>
<p>Danielle has been doing a sterling job at home with <strong>Charis being sick</strong> with high temperatures - a bug that's going around Cape Town... Loving and missing the three of them loads!</p>
<p>Tomorrow I go down to Nagoya for a few days to see old friends for the first time in three years. It's quite amazing to think about it! On Monday I have a business meeting in Nagoya, then return to Tokyo on Tuesday to catch my flight back via Singapore and Joburg to Cape Town.</p>
<br class="clear" />News update, Japan trip and some photos2010-08-13T06:42:42+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2010/08/news-update-japan-trip-and-some-photos/<p>Some brief news updates after a long hiatus:</p>
<ul>
<li>Charis had an eye operation in July to correct a squint. She was very brave and the operation was successful! We're grateful. She still wears <a href="/photos/2010-08-anni-visit/299/img_0164/">very cute glasses</a></li>
<li>David's off to Japan on a work trip for 10 days. He will be in Tokyo for a week working with partners and clients there, and in Nagoya for a few days seeing friends and sorting out company business.</li>
<li>James is heading towards the end of his 3-year maintenance chemo treatment at the end of the year, and starting primary school (at Grove) next year.</li>
<li>Charis has been enjoying a playgroup four mornings a week and is going to the same wonderful preschool that James has been at next year.</li>
<li>I've posted <a href="/photos/2010-08-anni-visit/">some photos from David's sister Anni's visit last weekend</a></li>
</ul>
<br class="clear" />International Day at James's School2009-11-23T20:10:49+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/11/international-day-at-jamess-school/<p>I've posted some <a href="/photos/2009-11-international-day/">photos from James's International Day at school</a> that they had recently - he decided to dress up as someone from Afghanistan with a real Afghan hat that my uncle sent him - the rest was pure improvisation! We're off next week to Kwazulu/Natal for a holiday with Danielle's parents and sister to celebrate her mom's 70th birthday! Really looking forward to it. There's lots of chickenpox going round at the moment so trying to work out what to do about that... and then it's into the Christmas holidays!</p>
<br class="clear" />Last few months2009-09-10T10:03:32+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/09/last-few-months/<p>Since our holiday it's been the flu season in Cape Town - swine flu, other flu, and serious pneumonia going around. We've all been sick in turns and James has spent quite a while off school - two weeks a few weeks ago, and then the first three days this week. He could have gone back earlier the first time but we didn't want to risk him getting a more serious infection. He's back to school today. Tomorrow is their dress-up-as-a-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterland">Letterland</a>-character day which he's really excited about (yes, he's going to be Jumping Jim).</p>
<p>We had lots of fun celebrating Charis's birthday although she was sick around it. One of the highlights was that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International Space Station">International Space Station</a> was <a href="http://www.heavens-above.com/gtrack.asp?date=40055.7046875&lat=-33.98579&lng=18.48441&alt=0&loc=Kenilworth&TZ=SAST&satid=35811">flying directly over Cape Town</a> <a href="http://www.heavens-above.com/PassDetails.asp?lat=-33.98579&lng=18.48441&loc=Garfield+Road&alt=0&tz=SAST&satid=35811&date=40055.7046875">just around sunset</a> - Danielle and I spotted it the night before (when it came past a bit later) and then on the day we all went outside and saw this yellow "star" moving rapidly across the sky until it disappeared in the Earth's shadow. The next day I found out that the space shuttle <a href="http://www.heavens-above.com/PassDetails.asp?lat=-33.98579&lng=18.48441&loc=Garfield+Road&alt=0&tz=SAST&satid=35811&date=40055.7046875">came past 5 minutes later</a> and that night they <a href="http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/08/31/space-shuttle-station.html">docked</a>. It's fantastic thinking "there are people on that thing whizzing round way up there!"</p>
<p>I've put up some photos mostly from <a href="/photos/2009-06-joy/">Joy's visit in June</a> but also of <a href="/photos/2009-06-joy/252/p1220362/">us being silly</a> - hopefully more will follow soon.</p>
<br class="clear" />Back from holiday2009-07-21T05:49:11+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/07/back-from-holiday/<p>We got back on Saturday from a wonderful holiday in the Eastern Cape. We really benefited from having a concentrated chunk of time together as a family... and we got to see lots of animals, which we loved!</p>
<p>We had been praying particularly that James would be able to see some cheetah as they are his favourite animal ... one evening just before sunset we saw another family who said they had seen some cheetah nearby - we raced off to where they had seen them, and drove along the road but couldn't see them at all! I thought I should turn around to drive back and try find them again, and just as I was doing a U-turn they popped up over the horizon - really special. We also got to go to a <a href="http://www.daniellcheetahbreeding.co.za/">cheetah breeding farm</a> where we were all able to stroke a tame cheetah and play with some lion cubs! (Pictures to follow...) Charis's chest cleared up fairly well, but she was fairly distressed by seeing a half-eaten buffalo in Addo (<i>"I don't think it was very good for him..."</i>).</p>
<p>Yesterday James had his next bone marrow test (which he wasn't not looking forward to but went fine! results should be back next week some time) and amazingly his great-grandfather was in the same ward for a scheduled check-up at the same time, so we shared a room! Then he started school this morning, and also really enjoyed it - a great relief!</p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />Off to the Eastern Cape2009-07-09T11:21:46+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/07/off-to-the-eastern-cape/<p>We're just sitting at the airport about to go to PE for an amazing treat - a holiday in the Eastern Cape, going to the Mountain Zebra National Park and Addo Elephant National Park for 9 days!</p>
<p>The last few weeks have been busy in a good way with people and work. We're looking forward to a time of relaxing.</p>
<p>James has been enjoying having some time off school, and it's been nice for him and Charis to see each other more. We've all had colds the last few weeks and it seems like Charis may have asthma - she's started on a pump but we'll review it when we get back. Hoping we'll all be healthy while we're away...</p>
<br class="clear" />Time to recoup2009-05-25T21:41:19+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/05/time-to-recoup/<p>We've just come back from a wonderful four days in <a href="http://www.volmoed.co.za" title="An amazing Christian retreat center">Volmoed</a>, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermanus" title="A small town two hours drive from Cape Town">Hermanus</a> (where we've <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/106">been before</a> a few times). We caught up on sleep (David has only struggled with sleep for one night out of the last two weeks!), had good time with God, praying and reading <a href="http://www.ivpbooks.com/9780851115535">Tested by Fire</a> by John Piper (available online as <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/2423_The_Hidden_Smile_Of_God/">The Hidden Smile of God</a>), which gave us fresh encouragement about God's sovereign purpose... cried, played with James and Charis, made spiders, went for walks, went for a family picnic at a beautiful waterfall, collected fir cones, made a braai and some roaring fires to keep us warm in the evenings, watched movies, looked at the stars (and Venus and Jupiter) and felt very very grateful! We've uploaded <a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/">some photos of the holiday</a>.</p>
<p>
<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/226/p1220057/"><img alt="At the start of our adventure walk to the waterfall" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/P1220057.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>At the start of our adventure walk to the waterfall</i><br />
<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/219/p1220007/"><img alt="Peeking through the giraffe tree" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/P1220007.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>Peeking through the giraffe tree</i><br />
<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/223/p1220126/"><img alt="Content" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/P1220126.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>Content</i><br />
(<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/">more photos here</a>...)</p>
<p>On the way we were listening to a recording of the story of David and Goliath, which asked the question "David didn't want any armour to protect him. What was David trusting to protect him?" Charis answered "God", and then a few seconds later, "And maybe his monster suit". Both James and Charis have a wonderful sense of humour which really makes us laugh! (Although I think she was serious this time!) When we asked them what they enjoyed most about the holiday, James said "Playing with Charis" and Charis said "The tablecloth"...</p>
<p>James was nervous again going back to school, so we are trying to help him with this...</p>
<p>And we have even more to look forward to because this coming week Joy (Danielle's sister) is coming to visit, which is so exciting!</p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />More details from Prof2009-05-14T21:50:47+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/05/more-details-from-prof/<p>After <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/131">yesterday's good news</a> that James's bone marrow has been given the all clear, we had an appointment with the Prof who is in charge of James's treatment where we were able to hear more fully about the bone marrow test and analysis. We appreciated that both Prof and James's pediatrician seem to understand how difficult this is for parents emotionally!</p>
<p>He explained to us that although chemotherapy for children with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_lymphoblastic_leukemia" title="Acute lymphoblastic leukemia">ALL (the kind of leukemia James has)</a>, the main remaining problem is that even after years of treatment, some still relapse... this is because even after the treatment, some residual diseased cells can still remain, which can then multiply... a lot of research is currently going into trying to distinguish these cells before a relapse occurs, but this has not yet been successful.</p>
<p>So when they saw these strange cells in James's bone marrow they wanted to check as much as possible to see if there was any evidence that they could be diseased. They consulted with colleagues at Red Cross Hospital as well (they see a lot more paediatric cases), and concluded that the evidence all points towards them being normal cells. Importantly, they look different to the original leukemic cells that James had, and they show no signs of abnormality.</p>
<p>So the conclusion is that James is doing as well as he possibly could be under the circumstances. The risk of relapse remains, and the next expected high risk period is when he finishes his maintenance chemo in just over 18 months time... it was a bit disconcerting discussing this possibility again, but that's the reality!</p>
<p>We also discussed James's liver - his liver enzymes keep on fluctuating; while they aren't at a dangerous level, they're not going to increase his methotrexate dose unless they normalise more. This explains why James seems to not want food at some times but not others.</p>
<p>We are so grateful to God for sustaining us through the past few weeks, and we're trying to take a deep breath to gather our strength for the reality of the road ahead. Next week we're going away for a long weekend which we're really looking forward to!</p>
<br class="clear" />Relief - James is still clear2009-05-13T19:39:59+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/05/relief-james-is-still-clear/<div class="image-attach-body" style="width: 100px;"><a href="http://frasergo.jackdaw.local/node/131"><img alt="James the superhero" class="image thumbnail" height="75" src="http://frasergo.jackdaw.local/files/images/P1210829.thumbnail.JPG" title="James the superhero" width="100" /></a></div>
<p>Today we heard from James's paediatrician that she got the final report on his bone marrow test - and he's totally clear! The <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/129">cells that they saw</a> on the previous test turn out under closer scrutiny to be <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/hematogone">Haematagones</a>, apparently also known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemocytoblast">Haemocytoblasts</a> - basically they're immature cells, but they're not cancerous, so he's officially still 100% in remission! They're also not caused by a virus. What a relief it was to hear that news! We'll have our appointment with the Prof tomorrow where we'll be able to discover for more details, but it was nice not to have to wait till then!</p>
<p>We went out to the Spur afterwards to celebrate... thank you everyone who's been praying and writing and sending messages, it's been quite a crazy 3 weeks of waiting! We are feeling exhausted, but very very grateful!</p>
<p>PS - just to clarify, he does still need to carry on with his chemo as planned, but this now means everything is going according to plan, and he hasn't relapsed, which was the big worry.</p>
<br class="clear" />Bone Marrow test yesterday2009-05-06T07:52:14+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/05/bone-marrow-test-yesterday/<div class="image-attach-body" style="width: 100px;"><a href="http://frasergo.jackdaw.local/node/129"><img alt="Getting ready for bone marrow test..." class="image thumbnail" height="75" src="http://frasergo.jackdaw.local/files/images/P1210865.thumbnail.JPG" title="Getting ready for bone marrow test..." width="100" /></a></div>
<p>James had his bone marrow test yesterday. He was incredible bouncy just before hand, but got knocked out pretty quickly by the anaesthetic!</p>
<p>It was really nice that there was another family sharing the room with us. Their daughter was having her last check-up bone marrow test five years after finishing her chemo for leukemia! Her parents told us that they also found "funny cells" in her bone marrow a few times during her treatment, but that they gave extra treatment and they went away (although it prolonged the treatment)... That was encouraging.</p>
<p>James's pediatrician explained a bit more: in the last test they found some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphoblast">blasts</a> - abnormal cells - in his bone marrow. As I understand, they can't necessarily tell from that whether they're cancerous or not - but they regard them as a relapse if they reach a certain proportion (above 3%) of the bone marrow. They're wanting to investigate more to work out what they are, and this bone marrow biopsy will enable them to to a lot more detailed tests.</p>
<p>James's white blood cell counts and platelets were normal, which seems to indicate that this is probably not a full-blown relapse (they would expect them to be affected if it was).</p>
<p>We're going to see the Prof next week Thursday to hear what they find, but we'll probably hear before that if there's a serious problem ...</p>
<br class="clear" />Extra Bone Marrow Test for James tomorrow2009-05-04T22:35:57+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/05/extra-bone-marrow-test-for-james-tomorrow/<div class="image-attach-body" style="width: 75px;"><a href="http://frasergo.jackdaw.local/node/126"><img alt="Picture of James and Charis with Granny and Granddad and the boats he made" class="image thumbnail" height="100" src="http://frasergo.jackdaw.local/files/images/james_and_Charis_with_granny_granddad_and_boats.thumbnail.jpg" title="Picture of James and Charis with Granny and Granddad and the boats he made" width="75" /></a></div>
<p>Last week, James had a bone marrow biopsy, which he has every three months. The hospital called us last Friday to say that they had seen something funny in his bone marrow, from the biopsy and they would like to do more tests. So, on Tuesday he had tests on him for TB of the Bone Marrow, CMV virus and Glandular Fever. The tests have all come back negative and so the doctors have said that they want to do a bigger bone marrow biopsy than usual on James to see what is going on with him. It is tomorrow morning at 8am. We would love some prayer - for peace and grace and healing. We have been trying not to react too much until we know for sure what is going on.</p>
<p>Some other news...</p>
<p>James loved school last term but coming back after the Easter break he has been incredibly anxious about it. It hasn't helped to have lots of public holidays and some time off for medical things which have made it very stop-start and not given him a chance to get used to it again. We've found this very emotional - his teacher has been fantastically helpful.</p>
<p>We have had my parents here this week and we have had a lovely time together. It has been such a blessing to us (Grandad did his famous making of the boats for the kids! Charis is very proud of her pink boat!!) We all felt so sad dropping them off at the airport this evening!</p>
<br class="clear" />Carrying on with chemo2009-03-12T20:03:32+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/03/carrying-on-with-chemo/<p>After <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/123">last week's liver troubles</a> there's been a lot of <b>emotional up and down</b> - waiting to hear whether James could still have the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methotrexate">Methotrexate</a>, and pondering the consequences of stopping it (with a risk of relapse) or the potential damage to his liver of continuing it.</p>
<p>Today we had a <b>very helpful appointment</b> with the Prof in charge of his treatment. He has spoken to his colleagues overseas who deal a lot with paediatric leukemia, and gone through James's case with them. They said that their practice is to <b>continue the Methotrexate</b> in spite of the raised <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver function tests">liver function tests</a>, but to keep monitoring the liver closely. They would only consider stopping if the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilirubin">Bilirubin</a> levels go up (James's have never been a problem) or if the liver becomes enlarged (James has so far had no sign of this). In their experience, in every patient they've had with these liver symptoms, after the treatment is finished the tests go back to normal.</p>
<p>In the near future this means James will:
<ul>
<li>have his liver tests monitored every second week (along with his normal blood tests)</li>
<li>see his paediatrician every two weeks instead of once a month
<li>have an ultrasound every two months or so</li>
<li>go back onto Methotrexate, and they will gradually increase the dose to the normal levels</li>
</ul></p>
<p>This is good news for us because the alternative of dropping the Methotrexate would have definitely increased James's risk of relapsing. So we are grateful. However, it is likely that James will have to deal with <b>ongoing nausea and tiredness</b> if his liver keeps on as it has been, which has been very difficult to deal with. His eating has improved considerably with being off the Methotrexate this last few weeks. The prospect of him being nauseous and struggling to eat for the next two years is quite scary!</p>
<p>Last month James also went to see a specialist at the <a href="http://www.ssisa.com/">Sports Science Institute</a> on Prof's recommendation, to see if there's anything more to be done about his <b>leg pains and falling</b> which continues to happen intermittently. He was incredibly excited because he met someone who trains with the <a href="http://www.thestormers.co.za/">Stormers rugby team</a>. This doctor in turn referred us to a <b>physio</b> who happens to be a friend of ours from hospital! She and her colleague assessed James and said that he has good co-ordination and muscles except that he has low <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_tone">muscle tone</a> in the core (trunk, shoulders and thighs). So her colleague's going to come to our house and help us with exercises etc that could help him.</p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />More liver troubles2009-03-06T22:15:27+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/03/more-liver-troubles/<p>Last week James started feeling a bit nauseous around food again, and so we asked them to test his <b>liver condition</b>.
(This is after his liver <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/121">apparently recovering</a> from his <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/120">two</a> <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/119">episodes</a> last year). The results showed that his liver is struggling again - this time, only one of the four <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver function tests">tests</a> was abnormal, but it was 10 times the normal level. This was apparently a fairly clear indication of drug-related liver problems, and so we were told to not give James his weekly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methotrexate">Methotrexate</a> this week and then to test again. Today he was tested and the level that was high has dropped significantly, which seems to strongly indicate that his liver is <b>not handling the Methotrexate</b>.</p>
<p>This is (as his pediatrician said) "<b>unfortunate</b>", as that is one of the three regular chemo drugs that James gets and an important part of his treatment. We don't really know what the options are from here and are waiting to hear more from the doctors - basically whether they have to discontinue the Methotrexate permanently, whether there are any alternative drugs, and how likely this is to affect the success of the chemotherapy. We'll discuss this with the doctors over the next few weeks...</p>
<p>In other news, we're getting used to the new daily routine of James going to school and he's doing well there. David and James had a great time at the <a href="http://www.jubilee.org.za/">Jubilee</a> Fathers and Sons camp (they just went through to Palmiet for the day and swam in the lagoon - both James and Charis are getting to be real lovers of swimming!) All four of us went away as a treat to a <a href="http://www.rietvlei.co.za/eng/home.htm">farm</a> outside Montagu for the weekend (and saw the most incredible starlit night with no light pollution - the kids had a fantastic time playing with the animals and we came back with huge butternuts and vegetables etc) and we're keeping on rethinking priorities in life!</p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />First day at school2009-01-22T20:06:33+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/01/first-day-at-school/<p>James had a fantastic first day at school today. A bit nervous (the butterflies in his tummy meant he didn't eat much breakfast), but when we went to fetch him he came running out saying "I love school!" It's the honeymoon phase but it's great to start off so well.</p>
<p>Charis had a fun time with Danielle at Rhodes Memorial while he was there which was great; before she left Mama Mavis got a fright from a gecko in the bathroom; Charis and I went to rescue it and in the end she caught it (by accident I think) in the bath mat and was very proud of herself.</p>
<p>We've uploaded <a href="/photos/2009-01-starting-school-etc/">photos from the first day</a> (as well as a few from saying goodbye to Andy and Louise and Mia at the airport)</p>
<p><a href="/photos/2009-01-starting-school-etc/214/p1200603/"><img alt="The world awaits" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-01-starting-school-etc/P1200603.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>The world awaits</i> (<a href="/photos/2009-01-starting-school-etc/">more photos here</a>...)</p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />Settling and School2009-01-21T20:46:09+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/01/settling-and-school/<p>It's been a month of refocusing and recovery...</p>
<p>Danielle and I have still felt lots of <b>residual stress</b> from November and December ... I've been <b>struggling to sleep</b> very often and we've both been tired ... Positively we feel like this whole period has pushed us to think through what's important in life and again, and actually <b>prioritize</b> what we need to like never before. Putting the <a href="http://www.kmol.online.pt/humor/200105/jarro_e.html">big stones</a> in first - for us that means <i style="color: #000050;">time with God</i> in prayer and the Bible and worship, <i style="color: #000050;">quality time</i> with each other and the kids, and having time set aside to <i style="color: #000050;">planning</i> and <i style="color: #000050;">decision making</i> and <i style="color: #000050;">sorting out finances</i> (the things we naturally avoid), as well as good time with friends and family. This has been an encouraging process - we're engaging with life in a new way, and we know that in the long term it'll make a great difference to how we live. One step at a time.</p>
<p><b>James</b> is <b>starting preschool</b> tomorrow - five mornings a week! It's a wonderful place run by an amazing woman - just 2 classes of 8 kids each, and she has a special place for children going through health issues so she has some understanding of the kinds of challenges he has been facing... He's a bit nervous but mostly excited (when we visited the school with him he was surprised that there were no desks to write exams - in his head school was school and he's heard about exams from our matric friends...) This is going to be a big adjustment to the <b>daily schedule</b>. One implication is that hopefully <b>Charis</b> will have good quality time with Danielle in the mornings - something she's lacked.</p>
<p><b>James's liver</b> has been a lot better over the last two weeks - there's still discussion about whether it was caused by his drugs or a virus - he's stayed off his anti-convulsant and they've adjusted his chemo slightly, and are investigating what they would need to do if it turns out to be the chemo that's the problem (this could be fairly serious if it developed).</p>
<p>It was also sad to say <b>goodbye</b> to Anni and Richard, Debbie and Jonny and Sammy (going back to Joburg and Bedford), and then Andy and Louise and Mia (moving to the UK). James and Charis really bonded with Sammy and love Mia (as well as the grownups!) so this was hard for them. (We're buying Andy and Louise's <b>car</b> through a deal with my work, which is great, but no compensation!)</p>
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