..and now twice in a row I have woken at 6am with a pulsing back-ache and a slight fever.
I've searched the Internet looking for a connection between steroids, Hodgkin's and a pulsing back ache. I can find none. The fever may provide the clue. Perhaps my nadir for the steroid effect is early morning and it's at that point that the fever builds and maybe this allows my old lower back injury to flare. It's all guesswork.
Previously when my Hodgkin's was active I would get a pulsing back-ache in the evening.
I could do nothing to ease the pain except take a panadol and wait. This time round it can be "turned off" if I can find the right "sweet spot" to position my back into. So it sounds like it may be a nerve that is being pinched or pushed against. The pulsing with the heart beat is weird though.
Well I'm hoping this is just a side effect from prednisone. It freaks me out when I get a symptom that is exactly the same as when I have had active Hodgkin's. Talk about paranoid. They say you can never relax after you have had cancer. Oh well the coming weeks will tell. It will either get better or worse.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
..and then back to normal
My temperature is back to a stable 36.5C today, so it was probably just a reaction to the couple of drinks and all the food I had on Christmas day. Add to that the extra few hours between doses and that probably caused it.
My face is already getting a bit puffy, which is a common side effect from steroids. Hope it doesn't get too big. I'll look like a cartoon character!!
My face is already getting a bit puffy, which is a common side effect from steroids. Hope it doesn't get too big. I'll look like a cartoon character!!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Fever this morning... and a hair-cut
I slept in quite late this morning and when I woke I had a back ache and felt slightly chilled.
I'd missed taking my prednisone by about three hours. I checked my temperature and it was a very high 38.5C, 2 degrees higher than my normal figure.
I took a single panadol for the back ache along with my 30mg prednisone. I've been sweating ever since as my temperature slowly normalises. It's got me a little worried. Maybe 30mg is not enough, maybe it was dropped from 40mg too soon?
It's not like you can just go back up to 40mg as when it comes to steroids to need to start high with a sledge hammer blow and drop down from there. So I may need to go back to 60mg again and then back to 40mg till I see the doctor in late January.
It may be nothing.. I'll see what happens tomorrow morning and monitor my temperature during the day. I really don't want to find myself back with a 24/7 fever again.
In hindsight I have been a bit hot and sweaty in the mornings since Tuesday when I dropped the steroid dose. I just put it all down to over-doing it on Monday but perhaps it's dose related.
If you wonder why I'm sharing this, it's mainly so I have a record for the future.
Lets see what tomorrow brings..
Meanwhile Sarah and I decided it was time to cut my hair short again. It just hasn't recovered from all the chemo and the passing of time.. Time to face facts ...I'll never have long thick hair again. So it's now short and a bit thin on top.. Oh well.
I'd missed taking my prednisone by about three hours. I checked my temperature and it was a very high 38.5C, 2 degrees higher than my normal figure.
I took a single panadol for the back ache along with my 30mg prednisone. I've been sweating ever since as my temperature slowly normalises. It's got me a little worried. Maybe 30mg is not enough, maybe it was dropped from 40mg too soon?
It's not like you can just go back up to 40mg as when it comes to steroids to need to start high with a sledge hammer blow and drop down from there. So I may need to go back to 60mg again and then back to 40mg till I see the doctor in late January.
It may be nothing.. I'll see what happens tomorrow morning and monitor my temperature during the day. I really don't want to find myself back with a 24/7 fever again.
In hindsight I have been a bit hot and sweaty in the mornings since Tuesday when I dropped the steroid dose. I just put it all down to over-doing it on Monday but perhaps it's dose related.
If you wonder why I'm sharing this, it's mainly so I have a record for the future.
Lets see what tomorrow brings..
Meanwhile Sarah and I decided it was time to cut my hair short again. It just hasn't recovered from all the chemo and the passing of time.. Time to face facts ...I'll never have long thick hair again. So it's now short and a bit thin on top.. Oh well.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Merry Christmas!!
Just a quick post to update you on my condition and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
My strength and stamina are building quite nicely, so much so that I spent a day helping the electrician wire the new house and workshop earlier this week. Unfortunately I over did things a bit and now every muscle in my body aches! Oh well no pain, no gain.. I must be building new muscle if it hurts this much!
My cough has gone completely, I might get the odd bit of asthma which has me coughing a little for a few minutes but that's always been the case since I was child.
One side effect I have from the steroids is my insatiable appetite, I just can't stop eating!
That's a complete turn-around from when I was sick and food was not even on my radar.
The solution is to exercise more of course. That way I can put on some healthy weight and get fit at the same time :)
Once again wishing everyone a great Christmas and a fantastic new year!! ..Ron
My strength and stamina are building quite nicely, so much so that I spent a day helping the electrician wire the new house and workshop earlier this week. Unfortunately I over did things a bit and now every muscle in my body aches! Oh well no pain, no gain.. I must be building new muscle if it hurts this much!
My cough has gone completely, I might get the odd bit of asthma which has me coughing a little for a few minutes but that's always been the case since I was child.
One side effect I have from the steroids is my insatiable appetite, I just can't stop eating!
That's a complete turn-around from when I was sick and food was not even on my radar.
The solution is to exercise more of course. That way I can put on some healthy weight and get fit at the same time :)
Once again wishing everyone a great Christmas and a fantastic new year!! ..Ron
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Where am I now?
Hmmm well looking pretty darn good actually!
Energy levels are climbing spectacularly, I can now function without fatigue.
Sure I haven't exactly tried running around the block, but I can walk around the new house section without breaking into cardiac and respiratory distress, which is kinda nice :)
I saw the respiratory doctor at the hospital today and he is convinced that we are on the right track, as am I. I can stop the antibiotics today and tomorrow I drop from 60mg to 40mg of prednisone. Then in five days we go down to 30mg until late january and then perhaps 20mg after that for the rest of the year.
I have no cough, I have no fever and I have three CT scans that say I am in remission!
The shadows that caused all the concern in previous scans have been moving around my lungs and growing then resolving with steroids exactly as would be expected with Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia (COP) which is not typical of Lymphoma.
So end result, I'm in remission and the treatment for the true cause of my illness is now under control. When Sarah and I think back just a few weeks/months to when we were sure I'd relapsed and didn't have a very good outlook for survival long term... Man what a turn around!!
Roll on 2010 and getting back to a normal life and all the cool things we have planned.
Tonight I'm celebrating with a glass of wine from my collection that has remained untouched for a very long time. (Sarah has her own stach!)
Cheers!
Energy levels are climbing spectacularly, I can now function without fatigue.
Sure I haven't exactly tried running around the block, but I can walk around the new house section without breaking into cardiac and respiratory distress, which is kinda nice :)
I saw the respiratory doctor at the hospital today and he is convinced that we are on the right track, as am I. I can stop the antibiotics today and tomorrow I drop from 60mg to 40mg of prednisone. Then in five days we go down to 30mg until late january and then perhaps 20mg after that for the rest of the year.
I have no cough, I have no fever and I have three CT scans that say I am in remission!
The shadows that caused all the concern in previous scans have been moving around my lungs and growing then resolving with steroids exactly as would be expected with Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia (COP) which is not typical of Lymphoma.
So end result, I'm in remission and the treatment for the true cause of my illness is now under control. When Sarah and I think back just a few weeks/months to when we were sure I'd relapsed and didn't have a very good outlook for survival long term... Man what a turn around!!
Roll on 2010 and getting back to a normal life and all the cool things we have planned.
Tonight I'm celebrating with a glass of wine from my collection that has remained untouched for a very long time. (Sarah has her own stach!)
Cheers!
Friday, December 11, 2009
No cough, No fever.
In just seven days I've gone from being a total invalid with a constant choking cough and a fever that ran 24/7 with extreme fatigue that left me hardly able to dress myself, To having no fever, a very mild cough and moderate/high fatigue.
I can now get even get out and about if I take it really easily. I still get really puffed from just walking but it's still a huge improvement.
On Friday I even managed to do some work of sorts. I supervised someone else as they did a wheel alignment for me. It was exhausting just telling them what to do, but it's all steps towards getting well again.
Today Sarah and I visited the new house and while I laid out a plan for the lighting and electrics she put down some lawn seed. We hope to be in the house late January or there abouts. We can hardly wait!
The mild cough I have feels like my lungs are sticky. I probably should avoid dairy products and I'd be fine. My appetite has returned and I'm now snacking non-stop. Great for putting on fat but until I have the energy to exercise it could be a while until I can rebuild lost muscle tone.
Gosh just twelve days till Christmas!! I may even be up to having a beer by then! :)
I can now get even get out and about if I take it really easily. I still get really puffed from just walking but it's still a huge improvement.
On Friday I even managed to do some work of sorts. I supervised someone else as they did a wheel alignment for me. It was exhausting just telling them what to do, but it's all steps towards getting well again.
Today Sarah and I visited the new house and while I laid out a plan for the lighting and electrics she put down some lawn seed. We hope to be in the house late January or there abouts. We can hardly wait!
The mild cough I have feels like my lungs are sticky. I probably should avoid dairy products and I'd be fine. My appetite has returned and I'm now snacking non-stop. Great for putting on fat but until I have the energy to exercise it could be a while until I can rebuild lost muscle tone.
Gosh just twelve days till Christmas!! I may even be up to having a beer by then! :)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Permission Granted !!
I just got the all clear to start on the prednisone as of today :)
So my preemptive taking of the medication was justified. YAY!!
The fevers have gone completely, but the choking cough is still with me, that should take two-three weeks to go.
I cannot wait to get well enough to start living life at 100% again..
I'm expecting to see a dramatic turn-around in my energy levels over the coming week.
With three clear CT scans under my belt as well, I'm expecting 2010 to be an awesome year.
New house and workshop, lots of fun projects on the horizon for both Sarah and I and the energy to do it all.
PS: Can you tell the steroids have kicked in ? ;)
So my preemptive taking of the medication was justified. YAY!!
The fevers have gone completely, but the choking cough is still with me, that should take two-three weeks to go.
I cannot wait to get well enough to start living life at 100% again..
I'm expecting to see a dramatic turn-around in my energy levels over the coming week.
With three clear CT scans under my belt as well, I'm expecting 2010 to be an awesome year.
New house and workshop, lots of fun projects on the horizon for both Sarah and I and the energy to do it all.
PS: Can you tell the steroids have kicked in ? ;)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
TV footage from Targa
We got excellant coverage on TV1's Fujitsu Motorsport last weekend. They really gave us some excellant TV time, great for the sponsors! Mind you Fujitsu does happen to be one of them! :)
Monday, December 7, 2009
Mondays are always a good jumping off point.
Yesterday (Sunday) was a low point for me. I've had all manner of medical procedures over the last five years and none of them have seen me this weak and reduced to such an invalid state. Never have I been left to get progressively worse while waiting for someone to get around to seeing me. If anyone else woke one morning that ill, they would call an ambulance. I coughed so hard as I lay in bed that started to vomit. The act of jumping out of bed and rushing to the bathroom almost made me pass out before I completed the five metre journey. From there it was a challenge as to what took priority. Breathing, coughing, vomiting or maintaining consciousness.
I'll move on...
The Moraxella Catarrhalis infection is gone. I still have several weeks worth of antibiotics to take so I don't believe there is a risk of it flaring up again. So there is nothing really stopping me from starting on Prednisone and kicking this pneumonitis in the butt other than the wait for the appointment on the 17th Dec, or if I'm lucky a phone call on Thursday to advise me I can start treatment.
I woke this morning feeling a heck of a lot better than yesterday. This is of course relative to me. Feeling better while laying flat on ones back in bed is nothing at all like the feeling better of a man that can actually get out of said bed, shower, dress himself and not collapse in a breathless, wheezing heap.
Anyway I lay there and stared at the ceiling for a while, and thought "damn it" I'm not going to let myself be pile-driven into the ground! I'm going to reclaim my life and my health! It's been six months that I've been cursed with these darn fevers, cough and fatigue. Today it ends. !
So I did some research on the net and found a medical study on Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia. The recommended starting dose is .75mg per kilogram of patient weight daily. That works out at 52mg of prednisone. 60mg is the figure I heard the doctor mention a couple of weeks ago, So that tallies up correctly.
I went into my medicine cabinet and counted out my remaining stockpile of prednisone, forty eight 20mg tablets. That's 16 days worth. I see the doctor in ten days so I have enough.
If he phones on Thursday and tells me I cannot start taking the steroid then I will have only taken four doses and I could stop taking them without the need for a long withdrawal period. If he says I can start, then I will be four days ahead and so much the better off for it.
Yeah I know, it's a very naughty thing to self medicate. But hey it was me that diagnosed my condition in the first place, it was me that correctly self prescribed the prednisone that worked so well, if only for the short courses that I took them.
So there, I done it, I've taken the tablets and life will get a whole lot better as from today.
If the doctors don't like it then I shall invite them to spend a day in my shoes and we see how long they last before they write their own script too! :)
As always I'll keep you updated on my progress.
I'll move on...
The Moraxella Catarrhalis infection is gone. I still have several weeks worth of antibiotics to take so I don't believe there is a risk of it flaring up again. So there is nothing really stopping me from starting on Prednisone and kicking this pneumonitis in the butt other than the wait for the appointment on the 17th Dec, or if I'm lucky a phone call on Thursday to advise me I can start treatment.
I woke this morning feeling a heck of a lot better than yesterday. This is of course relative to me. Feeling better while laying flat on ones back in bed is nothing at all like the feeling better of a man that can actually get out of said bed, shower, dress himself and not collapse in a breathless, wheezing heap.
Anyway I lay there and stared at the ceiling for a while, and thought "damn it" I'm not going to let myself be pile-driven into the ground! I'm going to reclaim my life and my health! It's been six months that I've been cursed with these darn fevers, cough and fatigue. Today it ends. !
So I did some research on the net and found a medical study on Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia. The recommended starting dose is .75mg per kilogram of patient weight daily. That works out at 52mg of prednisone. 60mg is the figure I heard the doctor mention a couple of weeks ago, So that tallies up correctly.
I went into my medicine cabinet and counted out my remaining stockpile of prednisone, forty eight 20mg tablets. That's 16 days worth. I see the doctor in ten days so I have enough.
If he phones on Thursday and tells me I cannot start taking the steroid then I will have only taken four doses and I could stop taking them without the need for a long withdrawal period. If he says I can start, then I will be four days ahead and so much the better off for it.
Yeah I know, it's a very naughty thing to self medicate. But hey it was me that diagnosed my condition in the first place, it was me that correctly self prescribed the prednisone that worked so well, if only for the short courses that I took them.
So there, I done it, I've taken the tablets and life will get a whole lot better as from today.
If the doctors don't like it then I shall invite them to spend a day in my shoes and we see how long they last before they write their own script too! :)
As always I'll keep you updated on my progress.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
and today's word is Dyspnea
Dyspnea is defined as shortness of breath. It is scaled from 1-5, five being so severe that even dressing oneself produces an uncomfortable increase in breathing and heart rate, with fatigue. That's where I am at right now.
It's a symptom of the pneumonitis and it's really getting me down!
If I sit still I can imagine I'm totally well and that I could just jump up and run around the house if I so desired. Bzzz wrong! If I stand up too fast I'm just as likely to fall down! and if I walk out to the letterbox and back I would need to sit down for at least five minutes to recover.
It's incredible just how quickly my health has deteriorated. The respiratory doctor has promised to phone me on Dec 10th and review where I am at. He still thinks that the antibiotics will fix everything. However I've told him that the lung infection is secondary to the COP. Things won't improve until they put me back on prednisone. I've received two appointment letters in the mail for Dec 17th, (a chest Xray and consultation) so I can see they are already trying to push out that Dec10th date.
I'm not sure I can mentally hold out that long. Right now I'm like a drug addict waiting for a fix. To wake up one morning with no fever and no cough and some degree of energy will be awesome, better than any drug!
What really bugs me is that I advised them on June 8th that I believed I had radiation Pneumonitis, some six months ago, and they did not act on that at that point in time. How much damage has been done to my lungs in the months that have passed is anyone's guess. They told me at the time that both radiation pneumonitis and Hodgkins Lymphoma looked the same on CT and so therefore they took a "wait and see" approach. However had they just asked the respiratory doctors to review the scans and take a simple X Ray it would have become obvious. Grrrrrrr!!!!!!
Well it's time to drag my butt back to the couch and watch some TV. It's either that or sleep, I'm not good for much else. However I have no doubt that once back on the steroids my health will recover in leaps and bounds...
It's a symptom of the pneumonitis and it's really getting me down!
If I sit still I can imagine I'm totally well and that I could just jump up and run around the house if I so desired. Bzzz wrong! If I stand up too fast I'm just as likely to fall down! and if I walk out to the letterbox and back I would need to sit down for at least five minutes to recover.
It's incredible just how quickly my health has deteriorated. The respiratory doctor has promised to phone me on Dec 10th and review where I am at. He still thinks that the antibiotics will fix everything. However I've told him that the lung infection is secondary to the COP. Things won't improve until they put me back on prednisone. I've received two appointment letters in the mail for Dec 17th, (a chest Xray and consultation) so I can see they are already trying to push out that Dec10th date.
I'm not sure I can mentally hold out that long. Right now I'm like a drug addict waiting for a fix. To wake up one morning with no fever and no cough and some degree of energy will be awesome, better than any drug!
What really bugs me is that I advised them on June 8th that I believed I had radiation Pneumonitis, some six months ago, and they did not act on that at that point in time. How much damage has been done to my lungs in the months that have passed is anyone's guess. They told me at the time that both radiation pneumonitis and Hodgkins Lymphoma looked the same on CT and so therefore they took a "wait and see" approach. However had they just asked the respiratory doctors to review the scans and take a simple X Ray it would have become obvious. Grrrrrrr!!!!!!
Well it's time to drag my butt back to the couch and watch some TV. It's either that or sleep, I'm not good for much else. However I have no doubt that once back on the steroids my health will recover in leaps and bounds...
Thursday, November 26, 2009
We have a name..
The current lung infection is from a bug known as Moraxella Catarrhalis. It's fairly common but can cause major problems if it gets into the lungs of people that suffer from obstructive lung diseases. The treatment is Amoxycillin in relatively high dose.
So that should fix my short term illness, the breathlessness and extreme fatigue, the flu-like symptoms.
The doctors thought it might even relieve my fever, however I said I doubted it. That's from the next level of illness...
They believe I have Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia (COP) an obstructive lung disease!. It fits with all my symptoms, the cough and the fever. It also has another name, one I came up with a long time ago, but was told I was wrong, Radiation Pneumonitis. The treatment is a course of prednisone, which is why I would improve so dramatically when I took the steroid in the past. However instead of the 2-3 week course I was self prescribing, it's a year long course!
I can't start the prednisone until the lung infection has gone. The doctor wanted me to wait a month. I told him that I wasn't going to be in any fit state if I ran this fever for another month! (new record today! 39.7C) So he reduced the stand down period to two weeks at which point he will phone me to see if the antibiotics have made any improvement to my state of health.
I suggested that the 50mg fluconazole (anti-fungal) tablets I was taking was too low, especially in light of the prescribed high dose antibiotics. The doctor actually asked me what dose I thought would be best! I suggested doubling it to 100mg but told him he was the doctor, we agreed on 100mg. This is becoming a common scenario these days as I become more and more familiar with both my treatment and the drugs used that the doctor will ask my opinion.
Well I'm looking forward to not having this darn lung infection, and then hopefully a year off at least from the fevers. Fingers crossed that we have got it right this time ! :)
So that should fix my short term illness, the breathlessness and extreme fatigue, the flu-like symptoms.
The doctors thought it might even relieve my fever, however I said I doubted it. That's from the next level of illness...
They believe I have Cryptogenic Organising Pneumonia (COP) an obstructive lung disease!. It fits with all my symptoms, the cough and the fever. It also has another name, one I came up with a long time ago, but was told I was wrong, Radiation Pneumonitis. The treatment is a course of prednisone, which is why I would improve so dramatically when I took the steroid in the past. However instead of the 2-3 week course I was self prescribing, it's a year long course!
I can't start the prednisone until the lung infection has gone. The doctor wanted me to wait a month. I told him that I wasn't going to be in any fit state if I ran this fever for another month! (new record today! 39.7C) So he reduced the stand down period to two weeks at which point he will phone me to see if the antibiotics have made any improvement to my state of health.
I suggested that the 50mg fluconazole (anti-fungal) tablets I was taking was too low, especially in light of the prescribed high dose antibiotics. The doctor actually asked me what dose I thought would be best! I suggested doubling it to 100mg but told him he was the doctor, we agreed on 100mg. This is becoming a common scenario these days as I become more and more familiar with both my treatment and the drugs used that the doctor will ask my opinion.
Well I'm looking forward to not having this darn lung infection, and then hopefully a year off at least from the fevers. Fingers crossed that we have got it right this time ! :)
Monday, November 23, 2009
A poke in the lungs with a pointed stick.
I've just returned home from my bronchoscopy procedure.
It wasn't much fun. I was told to have "nil by mouth" from 12pm last night. This I took to mean absolutely nothing by mouth including anything for my fever.
By the time I got to the admissions desk I was a shivering mess. The lady behind the counter had absolutely no record of my appointment and I was not in the surgery schedule for today. Oh hooray!
After a few phone calls someone finally took responsibility for me and I was wheeled off for the procedure. Not before I'd had a coughing fit and thrown up in a paper cup mind you!.
This held up the surgery team for a while as you can imagine they weren't too keen on sticking a camera up my nose and down my throat only to have me vomiting all over their equipment.
Luckily I soon recovered and they got under way.
They didn't find anything obvious today which is a little disappointing, however I was told that they had managed to grow a bug from the sputum sample I had provided last week. Whether that bug is a new one that caused my current chest infection or it's been around for months causing the fevers remains to be seen. I have my doubts.
There were supposed to be more tests today, but it would appear nobody bothered to actually book them. So now I'm to return on Thursday for a lung function test and a meeting with the Doctor that heads the respiratory team. What has happened to the planned CT and advanced blood tests is anyone's guess? I shall have to push them along myself no doubt.
I had a resting heart rate of 147 this morning, that's insane! most people's heart rate wouldn't get that high even during exercise. The sooner they get to the bottom of this the better! I'm sick of being sick!
It wasn't much fun. I was told to have "nil by mouth" from 12pm last night. This I took to mean absolutely nothing by mouth including anything for my fever.
By the time I got to the admissions desk I was a shivering mess. The lady behind the counter had absolutely no record of my appointment and I was not in the surgery schedule for today. Oh hooray!
After a few phone calls someone finally took responsibility for me and I was wheeled off for the procedure. Not before I'd had a coughing fit and thrown up in a paper cup mind you!.
This held up the surgery team for a while as you can imagine they weren't too keen on sticking a camera up my nose and down my throat only to have me vomiting all over their equipment.
Luckily I soon recovered and they got under way.
They didn't find anything obvious today which is a little disappointing, however I was told that they had managed to grow a bug from the sputum sample I had provided last week. Whether that bug is a new one that caused my current chest infection or it's been around for months causing the fevers remains to be seen. I have my doubts.
There were supposed to be more tests today, but it would appear nobody bothered to actually book them. So now I'm to return on Thursday for a lung function test and a meeting with the Doctor that heads the respiratory team. What has happened to the planned CT and advanced blood tests is anyone's guess? I shall have to push them along myself no doubt.
I had a resting heart rate of 147 this morning, that's insane! most people's heart rate wouldn't get that high even during exercise. The sooner they get to the bottom of this the better! I'm sick of being sick!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
A Tale of two Ronnies and a night in Geppetto's workshop.
Thursday evening, and the madness continues well into the night.
I find myself alone again in the large open five bed annex that has become my home for the next few days.
From the room next to me I can hear the cries and wailing from the unstable women housed within.
Having watched a movie on my DVR, (as there is no TV) I decided to try and get some sleep.
I received some more panadol from the nurse and worked out that I needed to wake at around 2am to take some more before the fever started to build. As I got myself as comfortable as one can in a hospital bed and prepared to sleep, another patient arrived. We shall call him patient A. A man in his 70's who looks to be in fairly good health and going by his conversation with the nurses, of sound mind too. (Something that you just can't take for granted in hospital).
He settled in and once again I endeavoured to go to sleep. Then at around 11pm another patient arrived and started to rather noisily unpack his belongings. This seemed to take an inordinately long time and I started to get a little peeved. Then just as the banging of draws and the rustling through bags stopped another sound started. A sort of sanding noise. I thought maybe he was cleaning something and it wouldn't take too long. But no this constant sound that reminded me of sandpaper on wood went on for over forty five minutes before finally I snapped.
Separated by just a thin curtain the noise was driving me crazy. I spoke out in a loud voice and asked if he wouldn't mind stop making that noise as it was making it difficult to sleep.
Still the noise continued without a word of acknowledgement from the patient in the next bed.
Finally I called for the nurse and asked if she could check what he was up to. "He's just un-packing his stuff" she replied. "No he's not, it sound's like Geppetto's workshop in here" I replied. "I'm expecting a small wooden boy to appears at any minute!"
The sanding noise stopped, she shrugged her shoulders and left. The scratch, scratch, scratch soon returned and was occasionally punctuated with the odd puff as he (from what I imagined) blew the sawdust from his workings.
Then as midnight approached and I contemplated a full on confrontation with Geppetto, but not really sure if I could pull it off in my weakened state, a woman vistor entered the room and proceeded to have a very loud conversation with him. Now visiting hours are strictly over at 8:30pm on this ward, so how she got in I don't know. However the sanding noise had now stopped and I found it easier to relax to the sounds of people talking than the mechanical noise of pseudo toy-making.
Then just as I was about to dose off, patient A, who had said nothing all night suddenly exploded and demanded that they shut-up and that visiting time was well and truly over.
Instantly a nurse appeared and offered us earplugs. "NO! I do not want earplugs, I want peace and quiet" demanded patient A. All went quiet and the nurse scurried away. Geppetto and his visitor reduced to barely audible whispers.
Within a minute or two a security orderly appeared and told Geppetto that he was being moved, That they had found him a room to himself. And then he was gone. I asked the nurse what it was that he was sanding, she once again shrugged, turned away closing the curtain behind her and all was peaceful.
Sleep came quickly and it was not long before I realised from within my sleep state that I was cold. It was at this point I should have woken and taken more panadol. However I was past the point of no return and my brain had come up with another plan. There were two of me, one was cold from fever and the other was just cold. It was not until both of me equalised that I was allowed to wake and obtain more medication from the nurse.
This surreal dream state went on for hours, meanwhile I was knotted in a shivering delirious ball at the bottom of my bed. Finally around 4am I broke free of my self induced madness and called the nurse. By 5am I was drenched in sweat between soaking wet sheets wondering if things could get any worse. I changed my clothes and spent the next few hours on top of my bed wondering what Geppetto had been making.. Pinocchio? a small wooden bird? or did he just have incredibly long toe nails and only a very small file? I'll guess the two of me will never know. ;)
I find myself alone again in the large open five bed annex that has become my home for the next few days.
From the room next to me I can hear the cries and wailing from the unstable women housed within.
Having watched a movie on my DVR, (as there is no TV) I decided to try and get some sleep.
I received some more panadol from the nurse and worked out that I needed to wake at around 2am to take some more before the fever started to build. As I got myself as comfortable as one can in a hospital bed and prepared to sleep, another patient arrived. We shall call him patient A. A man in his 70's who looks to be in fairly good health and going by his conversation with the nurses, of sound mind too. (Something that you just can't take for granted in hospital).
He settled in and once again I endeavoured to go to sleep. Then at around 11pm another patient arrived and started to rather noisily unpack his belongings. This seemed to take an inordinately long time and I started to get a little peeved. Then just as the banging of draws and the rustling through bags stopped another sound started. A sort of sanding noise. I thought maybe he was cleaning something and it wouldn't take too long. But no this constant sound that reminded me of sandpaper on wood went on for over forty five minutes before finally I snapped.
Separated by just a thin curtain the noise was driving me crazy. I spoke out in a loud voice and asked if he wouldn't mind stop making that noise as it was making it difficult to sleep.
Still the noise continued without a word of acknowledgement from the patient in the next bed.
Finally I called for the nurse and asked if she could check what he was up to. "He's just un-packing his stuff" she replied. "No he's not, it sound's like Geppetto's workshop in here" I replied. "I'm expecting a small wooden boy to appears at any minute!"
The sanding noise stopped, she shrugged her shoulders and left. The scratch, scratch, scratch soon returned and was occasionally punctuated with the odd puff as he (from what I imagined) blew the sawdust from his workings.
Then as midnight approached and I contemplated a full on confrontation with Geppetto, but not really sure if I could pull it off in my weakened state, a woman vistor entered the room and proceeded to have a very loud conversation with him. Now visiting hours are strictly over at 8:30pm on this ward, so how she got in I don't know. However the sanding noise had now stopped and I found it easier to relax to the sounds of people talking than the mechanical noise of pseudo toy-making.
Then just as I was about to dose off, patient A, who had said nothing all night suddenly exploded and demanded that they shut-up and that visiting time was well and truly over.
Instantly a nurse appeared and offered us earplugs. "NO! I do not want earplugs, I want peace and quiet" demanded patient A. All went quiet and the nurse scurried away. Geppetto and his visitor reduced to barely audible whispers.
Within a minute or two a security orderly appeared and told Geppetto that he was being moved, That they had found him a room to himself. And then he was gone. I asked the nurse what it was that he was sanding, she once again shrugged, turned away closing the curtain behind her and all was peaceful.
Sleep came quickly and it was not long before I realised from within my sleep state that I was cold. It was at this point I should have woken and taken more panadol. However I was past the point of no return and my brain had come up with another plan. There were two of me, one was cold from fever and the other was just cold. It was not until both of me equalised that I was allowed to wake and obtain more medication from the nurse.
This surreal dream state went on for hours, meanwhile I was knotted in a shivering delirious ball at the bottom of my bed. Finally around 4am I broke free of my self induced madness and called the nurse. By 5am I was drenched in sweat between soaking wet sheets wondering if things could get any worse. I changed my clothes and spent the next few hours on top of my bed wondering what Geppetto had been making.. Pinocchio? a small wooden bird? or did he just have incredibly long toe nails and only a very small file? I'll guess the two of me will never know. ;)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Day 2 in the land of the sick and the crazy.
When I was admitted yesterday they struggled to find a free bed in the whole hospital.
Then one came free in the "short stay unit" and that is where I have been since.
Originally I was sharing a space with five other patients. All elderly men. Today they have all been discharged and I am now sitting on my bed in this large open space alone.
This area isn't really a room, it's an open space at the end of the corridor. However there are other single rooms not far from me and I'm guessing that's where the rest of the patients are. I've not really seen many on my trips to the bathroom. I have however heard one of them on a regular basis. There is a woman in a room not 5 metres from me who is clearly suffering from some sort of mental health issues. She is prone to out-bursts of hysteria, yelling and ranting complete nonsense. They have posted a security guard outside her door, I'm not sure if it's for her protection or ours.
I've seen both the Haematology and Infectious diseases teams today and both appear to be stumped. All they can do is await the blood cultures and run more tests. I did mention that I had a theory several months ago that it could have been radiation induced pneumonitis and that other doctors had discounted it especially after the bronchoscopy. However the doctor I was talking to said that it was still a possibility and that it would not necessarily have shown up on the bronchoscopy (camera inserted into lungs).
I'm a lot better today than I was yesterday. I've been allowed paracetamol to break the fever and I almost feel normal again. Yesterday I was pretty sick I can tell you!
Last night I decided to let the fever run it's course through the night. My thinking was that if I took anything for it I would soak the bed and have a miserable night between wet sheets.
The first hour I shook uncontrollably with the "chills" and then I fell asleep where upon I became delirious and had this weird recurring theme running through my sleep that somehow the number of my coughs had to add up to an even number or they would not stop. This surreal dream-state was punctuated with severe coughing fits that had me throwing up twice. Fun! Fun!
Finally around 6am the fever broke all by itself and I ended up having to get up and change my shorts and tee-shirt for dry items anyway, then return back to cold clammy wet bedclothes.
Tonight I think I'll try taking something for the fever even if it's just to avoid the crazy dreams.
Then one came free in the "short stay unit" and that is where I have been since.
Originally I was sharing a space with five other patients. All elderly men. Today they have all been discharged and I am now sitting on my bed in this large open space alone.
This area isn't really a room, it's an open space at the end of the corridor. However there are other single rooms not far from me and I'm guessing that's where the rest of the patients are. I've not really seen many on my trips to the bathroom. I have however heard one of them on a regular basis. There is a woman in a room not 5 metres from me who is clearly suffering from some sort of mental health issues. She is prone to out-bursts of hysteria, yelling and ranting complete nonsense. They have posted a security guard outside her door, I'm not sure if it's for her protection or ours.
I've seen both the Haematology and Infectious diseases teams today and both appear to be stumped. All they can do is await the blood cultures and run more tests. I did mention that I had a theory several months ago that it could have been radiation induced pneumonitis and that other doctors had discounted it especially after the bronchoscopy. However the doctor I was talking to said that it was still a possibility and that it would not necessarily have shown up on the bronchoscopy (camera inserted into lungs).
I'm a lot better today than I was yesterday. I've been allowed paracetamol to break the fever and I almost feel normal again. Yesterday I was pretty sick I can tell you!
Last night I decided to let the fever run it's course through the night. My thinking was that if I took anything for it I would soak the bed and have a miserable night between wet sheets.
The first hour I shook uncontrollably with the "chills" and then I fell asleep where upon I became delirious and had this weird recurring theme running through my sleep that somehow the number of my coughs had to add up to an even number or they would not stop. This surreal dream-state was punctuated with severe coughing fits that had me throwing up twice. Fun! Fun!
Finally around 6am the fever broke all by itself and I ended up having to get up and change my shorts and tee-shirt for dry items anyway, then return back to cold clammy wet bedclothes.
Tonight I think I'll try taking something for the fever even if it's just to avoid the crazy dreams.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Didn't realise how sick I am.
I've been propping myself up for months, either with prednisone or paracetamol. I knew that I was scraping the bottom of the barrel taking steroids to get me through Targa, but it was something I just had to do. However there's just nothing left in the tank right now and even breathing is difficult. I'm not kidding!
Today was the first time I've gone through a day with no medication. The doctors wanted to let my fever run so that they could get blood samples at a time they knew I was febrile.
I don't remember a time when I have been so weak. When I got here the lift was not working so I climbed the two flights of stairs to the Blood and Cancer day ward. I could hardly breath when I got there and my heart was racing at an incredible rate.
Later on I started to cough from the air-conditioning and the act of coughing left me breathless and again my heart was racing. The whole day has been like this. This is the state of my body, I've been holding back the dam with little pink and white pills for nearly six months and there's just nothing left. Right now I feel OK because they have finally given me some paracetamol to break the fever. They took three large blood samples during the day, and it is hoped that something will grow from the blood cultures. If it does we will have the reason for my fever and illness. If nothing grows or shows up in the lab tests..? Hmm I don't know where that leaves me and to be honest the doctors don't seem to know either.
Tomorrow I have an Immunologist coming to see me, hopefully he will have some ideas.
Till tomorrow...
Today was the first time I've gone through a day with no medication. The doctors wanted to let my fever run so that they could get blood samples at a time they knew I was febrile.
I don't remember a time when I have been so weak. When I got here the lift was not working so I climbed the two flights of stairs to the Blood and Cancer day ward. I could hardly breath when I got there and my heart was racing at an incredible rate.
Later on I started to cough from the air-conditioning and the act of coughing left me breathless and again my heart was racing. The whole day has been like this. This is the state of my body, I've been holding back the dam with little pink and white pills for nearly six months and there's just nothing left. Right now I feel OK because they have finally given me some paracetamol to break the fever. They took three large blood samples during the day, and it is hoped that something will grow from the blood cultures. If it does we will have the reason for my fever and illness. If nothing grows or shows up in the lab tests..? Hmm I don't know where that leaves me and to be honest the doctors don't seem to know either.
Tomorrow I have an Immunologist coming to see me, hopefully he will have some ideas.
Till tomorrow...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Where is Dr House when you need him ??
Well the CT scan was clear, again. This is good as it means that more and more time is passing between now and when I had my stem cell transplant. If I were to relapse, and I hope I never do, it needs to be over a year after the SCT otherwise they will not consider me for another transplant. But that's academic.. right now I have just had my third CT scan that shows no discernible activity. Fantastic!!
However that still leaves me with this cursed fever! and the doctors are completely stumped by it and have even said so. Today was the first time ever I have had the reply "I don't know" to several of my questions. After doing his usual checks of my lymph nodes and listening to my chest, the doctor seemed quite concerned at my resting heart rate which was 116. I told him that it's been like that for months. He said he was very concerned and that he would like to admit me straight away for tests and observation. I laughed and said this is how I've been for nearly six months, another couple of days wouldn't hurt, as I have my niece's wedding to attend this weekend where I am to be the Master of Ceremonies. It now looks like I won't make the wedding. :(
He said that he would rather I didn't hold off till next week but that he couldn't stop me. I realised at that point that he concidered it was serious and holding off for a week would be fool-hardy. I told him I needed to spend the afternoon clearing my week of appointments and getting ready. The plan is to have an "appointment" with him tomorrow morning and for him to decide on the spot to have me admitted through the emergency dept. There's more chance of getting a bed that way apparently.
My blood counts are OKish for me, so no concerns there, which is good. However some of my immune cells are severely depleted, possibly as a result of the poor harvest we had for the stem cell transplant. This leaves me right on the cusp of being susceptible to opportunist infection, much like an AIDS patient. (In fact a lot of my symptoms are similar to someone with HIV, however I've had many HIV tests and all have been clear). All these years of chemo have battered my immune system to the point that it's barely up to the job.
One theory which we hope to look at this week is that I do have an opportunist infection hiding somewhere and that it's just a case of finding it and administering the right drugs. That would be a good outcome. I won't hold my breath.
One thing that does point to a severely compromised immune system being the culprit is that I have now been on an anti-fungal drug for most of the year. When ever I try to ween off it I get mouth ulcers and a sore throat, a sure sign of oral thrush. Perhaps I have another fungal infection elsewhere in my body that is resistant to the drug I'm taking. Then again it could just as easily be a virus or bacterial infection.
Yeah wouldn't it be great if TVs Gregory House was a reality!
However that still leaves me with this cursed fever! and the doctors are completely stumped by it and have even said so. Today was the first time ever I have had the reply "I don't know" to several of my questions. After doing his usual checks of my lymph nodes and listening to my chest, the doctor seemed quite concerned at my resting heart rate which was 116. I told him that it's been like that for months. He said he was very concerned and that he would like to admit me straight away for tests and observation. I laughed and said this is how I've been for nearly six months, another couple of days wouldn't hurt, as I have my niece's wedding to attend this weekend where I am to be the Master of Ceremonies. It now looks like I won't make the wedding. :(
He said that he would rather I didn't hold off till next week but that he couldn't stop me. I realised at that point that he concidered it was serious and holding off for a week would be fool-hardy. I told him I needed to spend the afternoon clearing my week of appointments and getting ready. The plan is to have an "appointment" with him tomorrow morning and for him to decide on the spot to have me admitted through the emergency dept. There's more chance of getting a bed that way apparently.
My blood counts are OKish for me, so no concerns there, which is good. However some of my immune cells are severely depleted, possibly as a result of the poor harvest we had for the stem cell transplant. This leaves me right on the cusp of being susceptible to opportunist infection, much like an AIDS patient. (In fact a lot of my symptoms are similar to someone with HIV, however I've had many HIV tests and all have been clear). All these years of chemo have battered my immune system to the point that it's barely up to the job.
One theory which we hope to look at this week is that I do have an opportunist infection hiding somewhere and that it's just a case of finding it and administering the right drugs. That would be a good outcome. I won't hold my breath.
One thing that does point to a severely compromised immune system being the culprit is that I have now been on an anti-fungal drug for most of the year. When ever I try to ween off it I get mouth ulcers and a sore throat, a sure sign of oral thrush. Perhaps I have another fungal infection elsewhere in my body that is resistant to the drug I'm taking. Then again it could just as easily be a virus or bacterial infection.
Yeah wouldn't it be great if TVs Gregory House was a reality!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Running hot.
It's only been two weeks and I'm so over these fevers already!
I'm rotating paracetamol and Ibuprofen on four hourly doses and it still won't keep the fever and chills completely away.
I've been lucky the last two nights in that I've only had one incidence of being chilled on each night and I've not soaked the bed in sweat like all previous nights. I sleep on a really soft towel I found that is made of some type of synthetic fibre, even when it's wet it's still soft and dry to the touch.
It took a week to get over the prednisone, doing it cold-turkey is no fun at all! like having a really bad flu, racing heart-beat, joint aches, headaches etc. On top of that I'm still not over this cold/chest infection and I cough so much that I gag (and sometimes throw up:( ). The injury to my ribs has nearly healed, they ache but not so much that it bothers me. I can cough without pain now, so that's another plus!
Tuesday is the follow-up meeting with the hematologist where hopefully we shall discuss the latest CT scan results. I'm quite puzzled myself by my current state of health and for the first time in years I won't go out on a limb and offer a theory. However, it's interesting that a constant high fever has never been a symptom of Hodgkins for me (though it is in some people) as I usually just get the occasional fever at night, the constant cough has always been a symptom of relapse, but could also be lung damage. The two symptoms that I have always had are not present, that is a pulsing back-ache and itchy skin. So who knows? It will be a lottery.
If the scan is clear (hopefully not a false negative because I've been on steroids) then I'll try and push for further tests. I can't go on running such a high fever and popping pills for the rest of my life. It's completely debilitating. Today I had promised to go out for a walk in the hills with my brother (first exercise in weeks) but for the last two hours I've been curled up on the couch in a knotted ball shivering. The fever has broken now and I'm soaked in sweat. But I'm hardly fit to step outside.
I'm still slowly getting through my post-Targa work-list. Returning borrowed equipment and parts. It's been embarrassingly slow with being so sick and I've had to phone a number of the kind people that have helped out with gear and apologise for taking so long. Nick Buck kindly lent us his rally service truck during Targa and it's taken me two weeks to return it! How awful is that! I phoned him and he didn't seem to be bothered, Nick is one of life's true gentlemen. Thanks Nick for all you have done for us.
That just reminded myself to phone Deane McMillan and apologise for not dropping my race car off to him last week, I was just too sick to get it ready for him. Deane is going to return the car to it's former glory for me. I've told him I don't need it back till early next year sometime. Again Deane said not to stress about it and to drop it to him when I'm well enough. I can't wait to see it all fixed again, no dents and scrapes!
OK, must go and remove more clothing before I start dripping... Will report on hospital results Tuesday night.
Cheers! ...Ron
I'm rotating paracetamol and Ibuprofen on four hourly doses and it still won't keep the fever and chills completely away.
I've been lucky the last two nights in that I've only had one incidence of being chilled on each night and I've not soaked the bed in sweat like all previous nights. I sleep on a really soft towel I found that is made of some type of synthetic fibre, even when it's wet it's still soft and dry to the touch.
It took a week to get over the prednisone, doing it cold-turkey is no fun at all! like having a really bad flu, racing heart-beat, joint aches, headaches etc. On top of that I'm still not over this cold/chest infection and I cough so much that I gag (and sometimes throw up:( ). The injury to my ribs has nearly healed, they ache but not so much that it bothers me. I can cough without pain now, so that's another plus!
Tuesday is the follow-up meeting with the hematologist where hopefully we shall discuss the latest CT scan results. I'm quite puzzled myself by my current state of health and for the first time in years I won't go out on a limb and offer a theory. However, it's interesting that a constant high fever has never been a symptom of Hodgkins for me (though it is in some people) as I usually just get the occasional fever at night, the constant cough has always been a symptom of relapse, but could also be lung damage. The two symptoms that I have always had are not present, that is a pulsing back-ache and itchy skin. So who knows? It will be a lottery.
If the scan is clear (hopefully not a false negative because I've been on steroids) then I'll try and push for further tests. I can't go on running such a high fever and popping pills for the rest of my life. It's completely debilitating. Today I had promised to go out for a walk in the hills with my brother (first exercise in weeks) but for the last two hours I've been curled up on the couch in a knotted ball shivering. The fever has broken now and I'm soaked in sweat. But I'm hardly fit to step outside.
I'm still slowly getting through my post-Targa work-list. Returning borrowed equipment and parts. It's been embarrassingly slow with being so sick and I've had to phone a number of the kind people that have helped out with gear and apologise for taking so long. Nick Buck kindly lent us his rally service truck during Targa and it's taken me two weeks to return it! How awful is that! I phoned him and he didn't seem to be bothered, Nick is one of life's true gentlemen. Thanks Nick for all you have done for us.
That just reminded myself to phone Deane McMillan and apologise for not dropping my race car off to him last week, I was just too sick to get it ready for him. Deane is going to return the car to it's former glory for me. I've told him I don't need it back till early next year sometime. Again Deane said not to stress about it and to drop it to him when I'm well enough. I can't wait to see it all fixed again, no dents and scrapes!
OK, must go and remove more clothing before I start dripping... Will report on hospital results Tuesday night.
Cheers! ...Ron
Friday, November 6, 2009
Physical Wreck!
Now that I'm off the prednisone my body has just collapsed. The horrible chest infection/cold that was making me so sick last week on Targa is now running rampant and is not showing any sign of diminishing. The ribs still hurt and a coughing fit leaves me completely fatigued as if I'd just run a mile dash. Oh and I'm running a constant fever again. Other than that... I'm fine!
I've decided not to enter the Admiral road Hillclimb this weekend, I'm just too sick to be pedalling a bent race car up a hill at stupid speeds. I'll be away the weekend of the Shelly Bay Sprint and I've missed two rounds of the Duncan McKenzie series already due to the conflict with Targa. The Duncan McKenzie series is about consistency, you need to enter every event and the points build from there. So I won't be in the running for the trophy again this year, but hey.. I have my Targa Trophy and there's always next year! :)
I have a CT scan next Tuesday, I'm not sure that it will show much. Then again it may show a few surprises.. it's a lottery. I'll find out the results on the 17th when I meet with Dr D'Souza again.
..Ron
I've decided not to enter the Admiral road Hillclimb this weekend, I'm just too sick to be pedalling a bent race car up a hill at stupid speeds. I'll be away the weekend of the Shelly Bay Sprint and I've missed two rounds of the Duncan McKenzie series already due to the conflict with Targa. The Duncan McKenzie series is about consistency, you need to enter every event and the points build from there. So I won't be in the running for the trophy again this year, but hey.. I have my Targa Trophy and there's always next year! :)
I have a CT scan next Tuesday, I'm not sure that it will show much. Then again it may show a few surprises.. it's a lottery. I'll find out the results on the 17th when I meet with Dr D'Souza again.
..Ron
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The crash Video's up!
I couldn't get out of bed yesterday morning until nearly midday.
This chest infection is hitting me hard. To add to that the injury to my ribs seems to be getting worse painwise now that I'm weaning off the steroids. I'm guessing I probably cracked one or two ribs and the constant coughing is just making it worse. The fevers have returned too, but hey! It was worth it and I had a feeling my body would collaspe once I got home. Even I was surprised I got through each day without complete physical collaspe.
I've uploaded the crash footage to you-tube here..
I've got a lot of work to do over the next few days, two service vehicles to unpack and lots of borrowed gear to return around the country. I'm also going to try and straighten up the car a little more before the weekend so I can enter the Admiral road hillclimb in the Wairarapa on Sunday. I need the points for the Duncan McKenzie series if I'm going to hold onto that trophy for a fifth year. The bad news guys is that I will not be entering the Shelly Bay sprint this year as I will be returning from a wedding in Auckland on the day of competiton.
I've been told that I "own" that piece of road, well I guess I'll be renting it out on the 22nd ;)
Please if you have enjoyed following our journey and can spare $10-20 for our cause please donate to the Cancer Society by following this link..
http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/TargaLifeChallenge/
Thank's for sharing our adventure! ...Ron
This chest infection is hitting me hard. To add to that the injury to my ribs seems to be getting worse painwise now that I'm weaning off the steroids. I'm guessing I probably cracked one or two ribs and the constant coughing is just making it worse. The fevers have returned too, but hey! It was worth it and I had a feeling my body would collaspe once I got home. Even I was surprised I got through each day without complete physical collaspe.
I've uploaded the crash footage to you-tube here..
I've got a lot of work to do over the next few days, two service vehicles to unpack and lots of borrowed gear to return around the country. I'm also going to try and straighten up the car a little more before the weekend so I can enter the Admiral road hillclimb in the Wairarapa on Sunday. I need the points for the Duncan McKenzie series if I'm going to hold onto that trophy for a fifth year. The bad news guys is that I will not be entering the Shelly Bay sprint this year as I will be returning from a wedding in Auckland on the day of competiton.
I've been told that I "own" that piece of road, well I guess I'll be renting it out on the 22nd ;)
Please if you have enjoyed following our journey and can spare $10-20 for our cause please donate to the Cancer Society by following this link..
http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/TargaLifeChallenge/
Thank's for sharing our adventure! ...Ron
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Results!!
Day 6 of Targa saw us back on the familiar roads of Wellington, the sun was shining and we had a plan to get us across the final finish line that involved taking no risks, running low boost and keeping the engine revs low to avoid anymore engine valve problems.
Stage one was Shelly Bay, a piece of road around the Harbour that included in it's 5.44Km's all of the road that is used for the Wellington Car Club's sprint of the same name. An event I have won for the last five years in a row and hold the record for fastest time ever. However the local sprint only covers around 2.5km's of the road and I've not driven over the rest of it in years, let alone at speed. It came as a total surprise to us (however not to others I'm told) that we posted the fastest time dead equal with V8 Touring Car drivers Clark Proctor and Paul Manual !!
Oh to have been running full power and going for it! However we just couldn't risk breaking another gearbox and not finishing.
From there we drove to Whitemans Valley and once more along with some twisty bits we were confronted by those long, long straight bits of road where the top cars just sit on 200kph from start to finish. However we still managed 10th place. I cannot describe what it's like to drive a bent Evo over some of those bumps at 198kph but "Scary" does not do it justice. (It never made it to a wheel alignment machine after the crash and the rear wheels are pointing in all directions!)
Next up was Moonshine road, I haven't driven over this in years and never at speed. The first couple of corners caught me completely by surprise as my tyres were stone cold having just been fitted at the Maidstone service stop. The car slid around like it had two flat tyres on the rear! I carried on at a reduced speed until they warmed up a little and started to provide some grip. From there it was a succession of super-tight 15kph signposted corners that seemed to just keep coming forever. The road eventually opens up a little towards the end and again 180kph came up on the speedo as the finish line appeared at the end of a straight.
We posted the fourth fastest time for this stage and then sixth when we repeated it again in the afternoon as we were held up by a Porsche that we caught and passed mid-stage.
Next up was Paekakariki Hill road. A piece of road that I know well but have never raced over.
I realised at the start that it would be very easy to feel over confidant on this road and that could be dangerous. There's a big difference between driving over that road quickly on a saturday afternoon and driving flat out in competition. There are several straights on that road where 200Kph is possible but there are bumps and changing road surfaces that will bite you hard.
Again I underdrove the car and brought it across the finish line in one piece fifth fastest. Just one second slower than overall Targa winner Tony Quinn in the GTR Nissan. We repeated the stage again in the afternoon and again posted the fifth fastest time.
Next up was Makara a road I do not know at all, having driven it just once or twice in the last 30 years. Again a mix of tight twisty corners, some taken dead slow in second gear, and faster open corners taken at speed in fourth. It finished with a hillclimb towards Karori on off-camber corners that had us pushing wide if I used too much throttle. We posted 9th fastest on this stage.
From there we drove back to Shelly Bay and did the morning stage in the opposite direction.
It was the last stage and we weren't going to try for a good time, we were just 5.44km's from the finish line after 900km's of competition. I drove qucikly but smoothly to the end and posted the 4th fastest time.
Our combined times made us the 7th fastest car on the day, and we knew we could have gone a lot faster, especially if we used all the power available. This was the sort of result we had aimed for when we dreamed of entering Targa and you cannot believe how fulfilling it is to know that although we couldn't do it every day, it was possible to run with the top five at this event.
All credit to those that can do it stage after stage,day after day. I can't !
The icing on the cake came at today's prize giving. Back in the weeks leading up to Targa I was approached by fellow Wellington competitor Richard Skilton and asked if I would like to be the fourth member of "Team Tarmac" that comprised the crews of himself, Gary Morgan and Tony Quinn. Of course I said "yes" as there was no downside, just the opportunity to win a trophy for the team with the best average finishing time. Well with Tony Quinn on the team we couldn't loose! (even though I seemed to be the one trying the hardest to earlier in the week)
So the Targa Life Challenge team came away with a win at the Dunlop Targa 2009 even if it meant we did it by hanging onto the coat tails of our fellow team members. We shall take our trophies with open arms and enjoy the result.
I have not been able to log on to the Targa results website to look at other stage times from earlier in the week, in particular the ones where we weren't crashed out or running on three cylinders or without a working gearbox, but when I do I'll post anything worth bragging about here.
Till then, on behalf of myself and rest of the Targa Life Challenge team I thank you all for the support you have all shown, both individuals and companies, without which this dream could not have come true.
I'd also like to thank our service crew, Murray O'Neil, Mark Kibble and John Raptis. These guys are without a doubt the most professional, hard-working car ferries I've ever seen. No matter how hard I tried there was nothing I could break that they could not fix! To wake each morning to a fully functioning race car that I was sure was beyond repair each day is a fantastic thing. Thanks guys, you are the best!
...Ron
Don't forget to support our cause! To donate to the Cancer Society via our donation page follow this link... http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/TargaLifeChallenge/
Stage one was Shelly Bay, a piece of road around the Harbour that included in it's 5.44Km's all of the road that is used for the Wellington Car Club's sprint of the same name. An event I have won for the last five years in a row and hold the record for fastest time ever. However the local sprint only covers around 2.5km's of the road and I've not driven over the rest of it in years, let alone at speed. It came as a total surprise to us (however not to others I'm told) that we posted the fastest time dead equal with V8 Touring Car drivers Clark Proctor and Paul Manual !!
Oh to have been running full power and going for it! However we just couldn't risk breaking another gearbox and not finishing.
From there we drove to Whitemans Valley and once more along with some twisty bits we were confronted by those long, long straight bits of road where the top cars just sit on 200kph from start to finish. However we still managed 10th place. I cannot describe what it's like to drive a bent Evo over some of those bumps at 198kph but "Scary" does not do it justice. (It never made it to a wheel alignment machine after the crash and the rear wheels are pointing in all directions!)
Next up was Moonshine road, I haven't driven over this in years and never at speed. The first couple of corners caught me completely by surprise as my tyres were stone cold having just been fitted at the Maidstone service stop. The car slid around like it had two flat tyres on the rear! I carried on at a reduced speed until they warmed up a little and started to provide some grip. From there it was a succession of super-tight 15kph signposted corners that seemed to just keep coming forever. The road eventually opens up a little towards the end and again 180kph came up on the speedo as the finish line appeared at the end of a straight.
We posted the fourth fastest time for this stage and then sixth when we repeated it again in the afternoon as we were held up by a Porsche that we caught and passed mid-stage.
Next up was Paekakariki Hill road. A piece of road that I know well but have never raced over.
I realised at the start that it would be very easy to feel over confidant on this road and that could be dangerous. There's a big difference between driving over that road quickly on a saturday afternoon and driving flat out in competition. There are several straights on that road where 200Kph is possible but there are bumps and changing road surfaces that will bite you hard.
Again I underdrove the car and brought it across the finish line in one piece fifth fastest. Just one second slower than overall Targa winner Tony Quinn in the GTR Nissan. We repeated the stage again in the afternoon and again posted the fifth fastest time.
Next up was Makara a road I do not know at all, having driven it just once or twice in the last 30 years. Again a mix of tight twisty corners, some taken dead slow in second gear, and faster open corners taken at speed in fourth. It finished with a hillclimb towards Karori on off-camber corners that had us pushing wide if I used too much throttle. We posted 9th fastest on this stage.
From there we drove back to Shelly Bay and did the morning stage in the opposite direction.
It was the last stage and we weren't going to try for a good time, we were just 5.44km's from the finish line after 900km's of competition. I drove qucikly but smoothly to the end and posted the 4th fastest time.
Our combined times made us the 7th fastest car on the day, and we knew we could have gone a lot faster, especially if we used all the power available. This was the sort of result we had aimed for when we dreamed of entering Targa and you cannot believe how fulfilling it is to know that although we couldn't do it every day, it was possible to run with the top five at this event.
All credit to those that can do it stage after stage,day after day. I can't !
The icing on the cake came at today's prize giving. Back in the weeks leading up to Targa I was approached by fellow Wellington competitor Richard Skilton and asked if I would like to be the fourth member of "Team Tarmac" that comprised the crews of himself, Gary Morgan and Tony Quinn. Of course I said "yes" as there was no downside, just the opportunity to win a trophy for the team with the best average finishing time. Well with Tony Quinn on the team we couldn't loose! (even though I seemed to be the one trying the hardest to earlier in the week)
So the Targa Life Challenge team came away with a win at the Dunlop Targa 2009 even if it meant we did it by hanging onto the coat tails of our fellow team members. We shall take our trophies with open arms and enjoy the result.
I have not been able to log on to the Targa results website to look at other stage times from earlier in the week, in particular the ones where we weren't crashed out or running on three cylinders or without a working gearbox, but when I do I'll post anything worth bragging about here.
Till then, on behalf of myself and rest of the Targa Life Challenge team I thank you all for the support you have all shown, both individuals and companies, without which this dream could not have come true.
I'd also like to thank our service crew, Murray O'Neil, Mark Kibble and John Raptis. These guys are without a doubt the most professional, hard-working car ferries I've ever seen. No matter how hard I tried there was nothing I could break that they could not fix! To wake each morning to a fully functioning race car that I was sure was beyond repair each day is a fantastic thing. Thanks guys, you are the best!
...Ron
Don't forget to support our cause! To donate to the Cancer Society via our donation page follow this link... http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/TargaLifeChallenge/
Friday, October 30, 2009
Running out of things to go wrong..
After spending much of yesterday running on three cylinders, we were looking forward to getting back into some good pace today in the Wairarapa stages.
We made some changes to the brake pads and although the violent shake went away, I just never felt confidant about the way the car would stop. The brakes I use for sprint events work brilliantly from cold and will stop the car in an amazingly short distance. It was this sort of braking that I'm used to and want for the car and my drive style. Unfortunately we have not managed to achieve it during the event. It's just too much to ask with the system we have.
Multiple hard applications of the brakes at 180+kph for long periods of time demands a more expensive system that is beyond my budget.
Anyway, that really wasn't a factor today as most of the stages were in the wet anyway.
Today's challenges were loosing another rocker arm in the engine and doing one stage on three cylinders until we could fix it during service. Then breaking another gearbox on the third to last stage just a few hundred metres from the finish. Luckily we had enough speed to coast to the end and post a time.
We missed the last two stages and had to settle for times that reflect the slowest car in our class plus 1 minute. This was the same for when we crashed and missed four stages on Wednesday.
Now you might think that we are disappointed with the way things have gone. This isn't the case at all. Targa is 900kms of flat out rallying with no pace notes and no way of knowing what is over every blind brow or corner. It's extremely hard on cars and the teams. I have lost count of the number of crashed cars we have passed on the 30+ stages we have completed. Our five man team has over-come each and every challenge thrown at them and we are still there every morning on the start line. Tomorrow there will be nothing sweeter than to cross the final finish line.
See you there! ...Ron
Home sweet home! Back in home and sleeping in my own bed never felt so good.. We have had another day full of patchy rough weather with some downpours at times that seemed like somebody was spraying us with a firehose. Another steady day was the plan and we got through unscathed until the gearbox failure in the afternoon.
I've caught the cold carried from Ron so we're both feeling groggy now. Not exactly the best situation to be in for the final day of Targa however I'll make sure my head is screwed on straight for the final leg. It'll be interesting racing along more familiar roads and touring back and forth across Wellington.
The weather looks like it'll hold out so it should make for a good day of racing. I've had enough of the cold.
Hopefully we'll see you out there.Victor.
We made some changes to the brake pads and although the violent shake went away, I just never felt confidant about the way the car would stop. The brakes I use for sprint events work brilliantly from cold and will stop the car in an amazingly short distance. It was this sort of braking that I'm used to and want for the car and my drive style. Unfortunately we have not managed to achieve it during the event. It's just too much to ask with the system we have.
Multiple hard applications of the brakes at 180+kph for long periods of time demands a more expensive system that is beyond my budget.
Anyway, that really wasn't a factor today as most of the stages were in the wet anyway.
Today's challenges were loosing another rocker arm in the engine and doing one stage on three cylinders until we could fix it during service. Then breaking another gearbox on the third to last stage just a few hundred metres from the finish. Luckily we had enough speed to coast to the end and post a time.
We missed the last two stages and had to settle for times that reflect the slowest car in our class plus 1 minute. This was the same for when we crashed and missed four stages on Wednesday.
Now you might think that we are disappointed with the way things have gone. This isn't the case at all. Targa is 900kms of flat out rallying with no pace notes and no way of knowing what is over every blind brow or corner. It's extremely hard on cars and the teams. I have lost count of the number of crashed cars we have passed on the 30+ stages we have completed. Our five man team has over-come each and every challenge thrown at them and we are still there every morning on the start line. Tomorrow there will be nothing sweeter than to cross the final finish line.
See you there! ...Ron
Home sweet home! Back in home and sleeping in my own bed never felt so good.. We have had another day full of patchy rough weather with some downpours at times that seemed like somebody was spraying us with a firehose. Another steady day was the plan and we got through unscathed until the gearbox failure in the afternoon.
I've caught the cold carried from Ron so we're both feeling groggy now. Not exactly the best situation to be in for the final day of Targa however I'll make sure my head is screwed on straight for the final leg. It'll be interesting racing along more familiar roads and touring back and forth across Wellington.
The weather looks like it'll hold out so it should make for a good day of racing. I've had enough of the cold.
Hopefully we'll see you out there.Victor.
Sick, sick, sick!
This cold/chest infection is getting worse. I've just woken after a night of painful coughing (the injury to my ribs isn't helping) and a fever of 38.5C.
Like yesterday all I can do is ignore it and get on with the task.
Today's goal like yesterday is to bring the car home in one piece. We have changed to less aggressive brakes in the hope that the violent shaking that prevents me from steering at high speed goes away. The risk is that we loose braking effectiveness if they over-heat.
Don't expect to see us posting any sort of super-fast times at this stage in the rally as there is no longer anything to be gained as to overall position, however we are out to have fun and that we shall!
See you in Wellington tonight! ....Ron
Like yesterday all I can do is ignore it and get on with the task.
Today's goal like yesterday is to bring the car home in one piece. We have changed to less aggressive brakes in the hope that the violent shaking that prevents me from steering at high speed goes away. The risk is that we loose braking effectiveness if they over-heat.
Don't expect to see us posting any sort of super-fast times at this stage in the rally as there is no longer anything to be gained as to overall position, however we are out to have fun and that we shall!
See you in Wellington tonight! ....Ron
Thursday, October 29, 2009
...and a Challenge it's been
I was woken this morning by the familiar sound of the Evo's exhaust note, I peered out the window and there it was, good as new! The crew has done a fantastic job of getting the car back on the road.
Unfortunately I myself am a little worse for wear. I'm not too concerned about the pain in my ribs from where my race seat impacted with them when we came to the final sudden stop during the crash, I can handle that as long as I don't laugh or cough.
But there's been plenty of both today, so I don't know whether to continue to laugh or cry.
I have a terrible cold, it's been building for several days now and when I woke this morning I was very sick. Even though I'm on steroids that are supposed to suppress fever, I still soaked my clothes with seat before we even got to the first stage. And it was snowing outside!
Fortunately I've improved as the day progressed and other than the painful cough and the usual symptoms one gets with a cold, I'm feeling a lot better.
We eased into the days rallying, coming to grips with the way the slightly bent car now handles. I'm not sure which was more nervous, me or the car! The rear wheel alignment has been set by eye, by the boys at 1am so it's possibly less than perfect.
Ultimately the car is drivable and feels pretty good considering. The wet first stage didn't help get me back into the swing of things though as the level of grip was almost nothing and the last thing I want to do now is fall off again and not bring the car home in one piece. By stage two I was getting back into the groove when the engine developed a misfire. Straight away I knew we had lost a valve rocker and with some luck the guys could repair it at the next service.
Unfortunately we discovered the problem was more serious than first thought and that the problem could not be fixed until the end of the day. So the we have driven all today's stages with only 3 cylinders and a severe misfire. If you are looking at our stage times and wondering why they are so average, there's your reason. The service crew are again burning the midnight oil and hopefully we should be back on all four cylinders again tomorrow. (just got a call from the guys, it's all fixed)
The brake problems have continued and I've made the decision to return to my normal brake pad and rotor setup that I use for sprints. Today while racing at Manfield the high speed shake was so violent that we actually thought the car was going to shake itself to pieces at 180KPH.
Originally the plan was to start cranking up the wick yesterday and making our way to the pointy end of the feild timewise. However falling off put paid to that plan and now with posting a day of mediocre times due to the engine problems our challenge is to complete the rally and bring it home. We never said that this was going to be easy, hence the name "Targa Life Challenge". When you count the number of crashed cars we drive past in each stage you begin to realise just how much of a challenge driving 900+Km's at insane speed on roads in which you never know what's around the corner or over that blind brow is.
Ok that's all for today.. Let's see what tomorrow brings us! ...Ron
Still going... Somehow the team managed to put the car back together last night with the help of a friendly Wanganui panelbeater and today we were back on the road tearing it up. The crash yesterday gave us a shake up and today I found myself often looking over the edge out the side window and tensing up as we approach tight corners with drops on the otherside.
Over the last few days I've really picked up some experience in the co-drivers seat, getting thrown into the deep end. I'm now confidently giving road notes as we travel at a rapid rate of knots through a stage, mostly without missing a beat. It humbles me to think about the amount of work a co-driver needs to do at the national level, giving pace notes and still managing everything else. I'm having enough trouble as it is!
Today was a four seasons in one day. Cold wind, hot sun, we had the whole spectrum. Not to mention, we also had snow close to the desert road and thankfully we didn't have to race through the stuff. Combine semi-slicks with snow and you don't get a very pretty cocktail. Overall, we kept a steady pace through the day and we made it through.
We've got two days left to go now. We leave from Palmerston North in the morning and make our way over to the Wairarapa. Two more days to go and we're going to complete this Targa. This is our focus now, wish us all the best! See you in Wellington!
Updated pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&savedVideo of snow in Waiouru, complete with my hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHJa6xN1klc
Unfortunately I myself am a little worse for wear. I'm not too concerned about the pain in my ribs from where my race seat impacted with them when we came to the final sudden stop during the crash, I can handle that as long as I don't laugh or cough.
But there's been plenty of both today, so I don't know whether to continue to laugh or cry.
I have a terrible cold, it's been building for several days now and when I woke this morning I was very sick. Even though I'm on steroids that are supposed to suppress fever, I still soaked my clothes with seat before we even got to the first stage. And it was snowing outside!
Fortunately I've improved as the day progressed and other than the painful cough and the usual symptoms one gets with a cold, I'm feeling a lot better.
We eased into the days rallying, coming to grips with the way the slightly bent car now handles. I'm not sure which was more nervous, me or the car! The rear wheel alignment has been set by eye, by the boys at 1am so it's possibly less than perfect.
Ultimately the car is drivable and feels pretty good considering. The wet first stage didn't help get me back into the swing of things though as the level of grip was almost nothing and the last thing I want to do now is fall off again and not bring the car home in one piece. By stage two I was getting back into the groove when the engine developed a misfire. Straight away I knew we had lost a valve rocker and with some luck the guys could repair it at the next service.
Unfortunately we discovered the problem was more serious than first thought and that the problem could not be fixed until the end of the day. So the we have driven all today's stages with only 3 cylinders and a severe misfire. If you are looking at our stage times and wondering why they are so average, there's your reason. The service crew are again burning the midnight oil and hopefully we should be back on all four cylinders again tomorrow. (just got a call from the guys, it's all fixed)
The brake problems have continued and I've made the decision to return to my normal brake pad and rotor setup that I use for sprints. Today while racing at Manfield the high speed shake was so violent that we actually thought the car was going to shake itself to pieces at 180KPH.
Originally the plan was to start cranking up the wick yesterday and making our way to the pointy end of the feild timewise. However falling off put paid to that plan and now with posting a day of mediocre times due to the engine problems our challenge is to complete the rally and bring it home. We never said that this was going to be easy, hence the name "Targa Life Challenge". When you count the number of crashed cars we drive past in each stage you begin to realise just how much of a challenge driving 900+Km's at insane speed on roads in which you never know what's around the corner or over that blind brow is.
Ok that's all for today.. Let's see what tomorrow brings us! ...Ron
Still going... Somehow the team managed to put the car back together last night with the help of a friendly Wanganui panelbeater and today we were back on the road tearing it up. The crash yesterday gave us a shake up and today I found myself often looking over the edge out the side window and tensing up as we approach tight corners with drops on the otherside.
Over the last few days I've really picked up some experience in the co-drivers seat, getting thrown into the deep end. I'm now confidently giving road notes as we travel at a rapid rate of knots through a stage, mostly without missing a beat. It humbles me to think about the amount of work a co-driver needs to do at the national level, giving pace notes and still managing everything else. I'm having enough trouble as it is!
Today was a four seasons in one day. Cold wind, hot sun, we had the whole spectrum. Not to mention, we also had snow close to the desert road and thankfully we didn't have to race through the stuff. Combine semi-slicks with snow and you don't get a very pretty cocktail. Overall, we kept a steady pace through the day and we made it through.
We've got two days left to go now. We leave from Palmerston North in the morning and make our way over to the Wairarapa. Two more days to go and we're going to complete this Targa. This is our focus now, wish us all the best! See you in Wellington!
Updated pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&savedVideo of snow in Waiouru, complete with my hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHJa6xN1klc
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
It's just a scratch... It'll buff out.
The stages today were extremely demanding and tested both the driver and car to the limit.
Based on roads around the Taranaki region we were treated to a mix of high speed open roads, tight twisty country lanes and tortuous hillclimbs.
Stage four was a 41km drive out the republic of Whangamomona that seemed to provide us with a mix of everything. We were really happy with the way the car is now going and decided that on the return trip we'd use high boost and start really posting some good times.
Within just a few short minutes we had already passed another competitor in a Porsche that had started 30 seconds before us.
The Evo was fair flying up the steep hills on the road back to Stratford. Unfortunately as we approached a tight uphill hairpin corner wound out in third gear at 145kph, a front wheel locked as I left-foot braked into the tight turn. This meant I lost all steering and shot straight ahead through the fence. Unfortunately the fence was at the top of a 50metre drop!
Ultimately the reason for the crash was that I came into the corner too hot, a costly mistake.
.JPG)
The car by some miracle dropped off the steep bank and slid and bounced it's way down to the bottom without rolling. Not one of the many officials, farmers, onlookers, ambulance crews (we were fine) or recovery crews could believe that a car could travel so far sideways down a near vertical slope without rolling. I fired up the car and drove it over a goat track through farmland and out out through a gate onto the main road.
As I write this a small team of ants is working through the night to repair the car ready to rejoin Targa in the morning. We drove the car to.JPG)
Wanganui and located a panelbeater who was prepared to help out. Huge thanks to Aaron Larsen of Larsen collision repairs.
Well I'd best get some sleep, huge day tomorrow.
...Ron
Well, wasn't that an exciting day... We started the day reasonably well, setting respectable times and with a better bed-in of the brakes, the brake shudder was much reduced. We then arrived at Whangamomona. What a fantastic stage! The start began at the base of one of the three saddles and the views were just spectacular. Rolling green hills and smooth winding roads. Amazingly picturesque and I took some snaps to keep in my scrapbook..
The stage started with a twisty uphill and downhill section over the saddle, an opportunity to make the car dance left and right up and down the hill. It then opened up into smooth cambered corners that at times had tricks that could catch one out if they weren't careful. An absolutely stunner of a stage and it had very minimal road notes for a 40km stage making it a scenic trip for the co-driver.
As we approached the final section of the stage, we found a number of cars off the road, including one unfortunate official's beamer that thought its nose was best planted in the bank. Whangamomona township is a quaint little place just before the 'Forgotten Highway' that travels towards Taumaranui. I made a mental note to go back there and tour through the place. Beautiful place to visit for those looking for a drive somewhere.
It's from here on in that things started getting a little more exciting. It's absolutely amazing that we didn't roll on the way down and this saving grace will probably allow us to continue competing tomorrow. Incredible considering the distance that we fell off the road! When people walked up to the edge and looked down, nobody could believe how lucky we were. To be honest, nor could I. I went for the brace position as soon as I knew we were going off and when we got to the bottom I couldn't believe we hadn't rolled.Kudos to the service crew and Larsons Collision Repairs in W(h)anganui who are currently beavering away to allow us to compete tomorrow. Good stuff guys!Pics: http://www.facebook.com/home..php#/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&ref=mf
Cheers,Victor.
Based on roads around the Taranaki region we were treated to a mix of high speed open roads, tight twisty country lanes and tortuous hillclimbs.
Stage four was a 41km drive out the republic of Whangamomona that seemed to provide us with a mix of everything. We were really happy with the way the car is now going and decided that on the return trip we'd use high boost and start really posting some good times.
Within just a few short minutes we had already passed another competitor in a Porsche that had started 30 seconds before us.
The Evo was fair flying up the steep hills on the road back to Stratford. Unfortunately as we approached a tight uphill hairpin corner wound out in third gear at 145kph, a front wheel locked as I left-foot braked into the tight turn. This meant I lost all steering and shot straight ahead through the fence. Unfortunately the fence was at the top of a 50metre drop!
Ultimately the reason for the crash was that I came into the corner too hot, a costly mistake.
.JPG)
The car by some miracle dropped off the steep bank and slid and bounced it's way down to the bottom without rolling. Not one of the many officials, farmers, onlookers, ambulance crews (we were fine) or recovery crews could believe that a car could travel so far sideways down a near vertical slope without rolling. I fired up the car and drove it over a goat track through farmland and out out through a gate onto the main road.As I write this a small team of ants is working through the night to repair the car ready to rejoin Targa in the morning. We drove the car to
.JPG)
Wanganui and located a panelbeater who was prepared to help out. Huge thanks to Aaron Larsen of Larsen collision repairs.Well I'd best get some sleep, huge day tomorrow.
...Ron
Well, wasn't that an exciting day... We started the day reasonably well, setting respectable times and with a better bed-in of the brakes, the brake shudder was much reduced. We then arrived at Whangamomona. What a fantastic stage! The start began at the base of one of the three saddles and the views were just spectacular. Rolling green hills and smooth winding roads. Amazingly picturesque and I took some snaps to keep in my scrapbook..
The stage started with a twisty uphill and downhill section over the saddle, an opportunity to make the car dance left and right up and down the hill. It then opened up into smooth cambered corners that at times had tricks that could catch one out if they weren't careful. An absolutely stunner of a stage and it had very minimal road notes for a 40km stage making it a scenic trip for the co-driver.
As we approached the final section of the stage, we found a number of cars off the road, including one unfortunate official's beamer that thought its nose was best planted in the bank. Whangamomona township is a quaint little place just before the 'Forgotten Highway' that travels towards Taumaranui. I made a mental note to go back there and tour through the place. Beautiful place to visit for those looking for a drive somewhere.
It's from here on in that things started getting a little more exciting. It's absolutely amazing that we didn't roll on the way down and this saving grace will probably allow us to continue competing tomorrow. Incredible considering the distance that we fell off the road! When people walked up to the edge and looked down, nobody could believe how lucky we were. To be honest, nor could I. I went for the brace position as soon as I knew we were going off and when we got to the bottom I couldn't believe we hadn't rolled.Kudos to the service crew and Larsons Collision Repairs in W(h)anganui who are currently beavering away to allow us to compete tomorrow. Good stuff guys!Pics: http://www.facebook.com/home..php#/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792&ref=mf
Cheers,Victor.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday.
It's midnight Tuesday and once again I'm at the ragged end of a day that's been full on since 6:30am.
I know we had promised to upload video each day but in reality the demands of keeping the car race ready has meant that there is just no time to edit and upload what we have. It will, I promise, be uploaded once we get a breather.
The plan for today as discussed by the team was to take it easy and find my comfort level, drive within it and take the day as it came.
Yesterday was a real hash and we were lucky to get through the day without serious incident. I didn't really have my head in the right place and never felt comfortable at all behind the wheel.
Stage one today was supposed to have me relaxing and getting my head straight.
I found my groove within minutes and Victor and I had our best run so far, overtaking two cars on the one short stage. That set the tone for the rest of the day and although some stages I took a lot easier than others, we were both in a good place mentally and that really made the difference.
The car ran faultlessly all day with the slight exception of the brakes. There's a violent shudder under high speed braking that is so bad that it's impossible to steer the car and brake at the same time. It's an interesting situation you find yourself in when at 180kph you need to slow down for a tightening corner and you can only brake for as long as it takes to get to the turn in point. After that you need to turn the steering wheel so it's foot off the brakes even if you are still going too fast!! To be honest it probably helped with the stage times! :)
The service crew once again have been brilliant. Not only have they driven hundreds of k's into the middle of nowhere just to top my fuel, but tonight they worked tirelessly to remedy the brake shudder too. It looks like my brakes didn't bed in properly and only half the disc rotor was bedded. This meant that the pads grabbed the rotor for only half of each revolution of the wheel.. hence the violent shake.
Tomorrow morning on the way to the first stage I have to re-bed the new brakes until they are almost on fire. I'm told that should fix it!
A lot of people have been texting and calling us with stage results, but at this point in time we aren't making too much of it as it's very early days yet and our goal is to complete the whole event in one piece. Our result will be what it is.
Staying in the top ten would be good. The competition is far superior in terms of car specs, budget and experience. Our car is under-tyred which means we are eating the eight tyres we are allowed for the week at an alarming rate. Tomorrow in the Taranaki stages we are going to take it easy, coast through the day and save the tyres for later in the week on roads closer to home.
Oh just one thing before I sign off.. I used high boost for the first time today. Just five minutes at the end of a stage. A tight uphill section that typified what my car is built for. I've got the in-car footage and it's a wild ride! Victor couldn't stop grinning! We caught up to another car even though we had been taking it easy earlier in the stage. Fun fun fun!!
Till tomorrow.... Ron
Well, what a day. Such a big change from yesterday. The roads were fantastic and the weather held out providing a very enjoyable day of racing. Today my co-driving went much smoother without hesitation on the notes that I was giving. After a whole day of giving notes on Monday, I got more comfortable with the procedure and what works for Ron and what doesn't. Also, Ron found his groove today and the ride definitely became more exciting. It's quite an experience rocketing through tight roads at lightning speeds.
Another thing to note is the friendly atmosphere around. The event is quite laid back and everybody is very approachable making it a fun sociable event. I've met a number of new people now and also seen some pretty amazing cars. People from all walks of life come together to partake in this madness and brings everyone together to share their interest.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Six long stages which will give the car a bit more of a stress test. We did well today and hopefully we can keep things going through the rest of the week!
Cheers,
Victor.
I know we had promised to upload video each day but in reality the demands of keeping the car race ready has meant that there is just no time to edit and upload what we have. It will, I promise, be uploaded once we get a breather.
The plan for today as discussed by the team was to take it easy and find my comfort level, drive within it and take the day as it came.
Yesterday was a real hash and we were lucky to get through the day without serious incident. I didn't really have my head in the right place and never felt comfortable at all behind the wheel.
Stage one today was supposed to have me relaxing and getting my head straight.
I found my groove within minutes and Victor and I had our best run so far, overtaking two cars on the one short stage. That set the tone for the rest of the day and although some stages I took a lot easier than others, we were both in a good place mentally and that really made the difference.
The car ran faultlessly all day with the slight exception of the brakes. There's a violent shudder under high speed braking that is so bad that it's impossible to steer the car and brake at the same time. It's an interesting situation you find yourself in when at 180kph you need to slow down for a tightening corner and you can only brake for as long as it takes to get to the turn in point. After that you need to turn the steering wheel so it's foot off the brakes even if you are still going too fast!! To be honest it probably helped with the stage times! :)
The service crew once again have been brilliant. Not only have they driven hundreds of k's into the middle of nowhere just to top my fuel, but tonight they worked tirelessly to remedy the brake shudder too. It looks like my brakes didn't bed in properly and only half the disc rotor was bedded. This meant that the pads grabbed the rotor for only half of each revolution of the wheel.. hence the violent shake.
Tomorrow morning on the way to the first stage I have to re-bed the new brakes until they are almost on fire. I'm told that should fix it!
A lot of people have been texting and calling us with stage results, but at this point in time we aren't making too much of it as it's very early days yet and our goal is to complete the whole event in one piece. Our result will be what it is.
Staying in the top ten would be good. The competition is far superior in terms of car specs, budget and experience. Our car is under-tyred which means we are eating the eight tyres we are allowed for the week at an alarming rate. Tomorrow in the Taranaki stages we are going to take it easy, coast through the day and save the tyres for later in the week on roads closer to home.
Oh just one thing before I sign off.. I used high boost for the first time today. Just five minutes at the end of a stage. A tight uphill section that typified what my car is built for. I've got the in-car footage and it's a wild ride! Victor couldn't stop grinning! We caught up to another car even though we had been taking it easy earlier in the stage. Fun fun fun!!
Till tomorrow.... Ron
Well, what a day. Such a big change from yesterday. The roads were fantastic and the weather held out providing a very enjoyable day of racing. Today my co-driving went much smoother without hesitation on the notes that I was giving. After a whole day of giving notes on Monday, I got more comfortable with the procedure and what works for Ron and what doesn't. Also, Ron found his groove today and the ride definitely became more exciting. It's quite an experience rocketing through tight roads at lightning speeds.
Another thing to note is the friendly atmosphere around. The event is quite laid back and everybody is very approachable making it a fun sociable event. I've met a number of new people now and also seen some pretty amazing cars. People from all walks of life come together to partake in this madness and brings everyone together to share their interest.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day. Six long stages which will give the car a bit more of a stress test. We did well today and hopefully we can keep things going through the rest of the week!
Cheers,
Victor.
Monday, October 26, 2009
On a day when anything could go wrong...
I'm shattered. I need to sleep and tomorrow is another early start for us.
But I need to just briefly cover the days happenings on the first day of Targa.
My mind is a little too rattled to remember each stage but on nearly everyone we had some sort of problem. We lost all turbo boost on one stage when a hose came loose. We still managed to post a fairly respectable time though. We had endless problems with the brakes shaking at high speed as they were getting so hot. This meant I couldn't brake as late as I wanted to and I approached corners a bit slower than I would have otherwise.'
In another stage I over-revved the engine and a rocker arm came dislodged in the engine, causing a misfire and loss of power. Again we had to tour with greatly reduced power to the finish, however I did maintain a high constant speed where I could so again we posted a respectable time anyway.
I really hate driving on race tracks!! and today we drove four stages on three different race tracks. Most of the week is now back on sealed back country roads. Something I really love. We are thinking it might be a good bet to back off the speed a little for the next couple of days as the car is really taking a pounding and we have not even used the high boost setting!
I have to thank the service crew for a excellent effort. Everything that has broken has been fixed in no time at all. I'm shouting the pizza tonight!
Ok must go eat then sleep!! ...Ron
But I need to just briefly cover the days happenings on the first day of Targa.
My mind is a little too rattled to remember each stage but on nearly everyone we had some sort of problem. We lost all turbo boost on one stage when a hose came loose. We still managed to post a fairly respectable time though. We had endless problems with the brakes shaking at high speed as they were getting so hot. This meant I couldn't brake as late as I wanted to and I approached corners a bit slower than I would have otherwise.'
In another stage I over-revved the engine and a rocker arm came dislodged in the engine, causing a misfire and loss of power. Again we had to tour with greatly reduced power to the finish, however I did maintain a high constant speed where I could so again we posted a respectable time anyway.
I really hate driving on race tracks!! and today we drove four stages on three different race tracks. Most of the week is now back on sealed back country roads. Something I really love. We are thinking it might be a good bet to back off the speed a little for the next couple of days as the car is really taking a pounding and we have not even used the high boost setting!
I have to thank the service crew for a excellent effort. Everything that has broken has been fixed in no time at all. I'm shouting the pizza tonight!
Ok must go eat then sleep!! ...Ron
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Prologue Day
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Well we made it through Prologue!
The team plan for today was to take it very, very easy and just cruise through the prologue stage. There was nothing to be gained by driving hard today, just seeding position for tomorrow and even that was not a definite thing. The overall seeding (order in which cars start) is fairly random.
We arrived at the start of the stage to be told that there was gravel on the road for the first 4km's. In fact it was all gravel. There was no grip at all and it was like driving in marbles for the whole 7+k's. That didn't stop us from catching a Maserati just 3 minutes into the stage!
He then held us up till the end, there was just too much gravel on the road to pass without both of us loosing a windscreen so we stayed back and just toured behind them. This unfortunately means we posted a time about 30 seconds slower than we should have.
The main thing was that we completed the day without mishap. Just a few minor problems were found by the service crew upon our return and they sorted them out. Mind you had they not found the problems there certainly would have been major trouble tomorrow. Good work guys!
The car is now safely stored away in Parc Ferme for the night awaiting tomorrow official start.
I'm not looking forward to the race track stages, they are very hard on the car and tyres so I'm planning to take it easy on these stages and make up my time on the twisty back roads where I am more comfortable. We are the first cars to race on the new Hampton Downs race track, so that in itself is something to look forward to.
Till tomorrow... Ron
Great atmosphere at the Telstra Clear Events centre with over 90 cars entered complete with service crews. There were displays from car clubs, the police and also good to see was an autocross demo setup by the local escort club. Not to mention, a 4WD club was also doing some demos over dirt mounds and obstacles.
We started by driving on the weigh station and finding ourselves rather overweight and so removed the 27kg ballast weight from Ron’s side of the car. We then made our way to the documentation tables, logging ourselves in relatively easily. I must say, I am pretty happy with how the event has been organised.. Considering the number of competitors, they have done well in keeping everything running smoothly.
After the driver’s briefing, we were out and getting ready for beginning in an hour’s time. Not before lunch though, man they had nice mussel fritters there. A gigantic thing for $6 that was larger than the piece of white sliced bread it was on.
Off we went to SS1, Prologue. A roughly 7.8km stage full of gravel, we had a bit of early excitement with Ron sliding on some of those marbles and running a little sideways. He must have been distracted by the set of tyre marks that went straight ahead off the road… sounds like that car made it back onto the road without too much issue though.
Well, a great way to start the event. We got through prologue without major issues and catching the Maserati is a good confidence boost. Once we get further into the event and start going a bit faster, it’ll sure be a hell of a ride.
Photos and videos in addition to Ron’s:
http://www.facebook.com/vkhyuen?ref=name#/album.php?aid=126990&id=565455792
Walking around the event centre: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2gUWxagWG4
Removing weight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Myej6HyqU
Victor
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Day 0: The day before Prologue
.JPG)
Well we made it to Manukau safely and with no real problems with the car.
We stayed with the Kibble family last night at their Taupo home. Huge thank you to Harvey and Sherry Kibble for their hospitality.
We arrived here at the Silver Oaks, Quality Inn Manukau mid afternoon and set about doing final preparation. We set up the HD video system (Huge thanks to Dave Davenport for lending us his system) fitted the Dunlop race tyres, radio system and tried to setup some type of speed control system. The computer that's fitted to the car can control so many functions it's scary. But it seemed to stump us when it came to limiting speed. We just couldn't find the right settings.
The Evo will accelerate to 200kph in a very short time and if we go over this speed we will be penalised severely. The car is fitted with a GPS system by Targa control and they can monitor our speed and position at all times. It's vital that we do not exceed the imposed limit, but at the same time we need to get as close to it as possible.
The final seeding list has been set, We are 18th car on the road in the Modern class. This will change each day depending on our results.
Check out http://www.targa.co.nz/ for details of positions etc during the event. http://targa.co.nz/Results_937.aspx should give you live results.
Meanwhile I've published some pics of the team on day zero on facebook. Follow this link to view them.
Tomorrow we have documentation and Prologue. Prologue is a single stage of approx 10km's. It doesn't count towards the final results, but it helps with seeding. Monday is the first day of proper competition.
Hopefully I'll be able to upload some video of our prologue stage tomorrow.
Till then... Ron
We stayed with the Kibble family last night at their Taupo home. Huge thank you to Harvey and Sherry Kibble for their hospitality.
We arrived here at the Silver Oaks, Quality Inn Manukau mid afternoon and set about doing final preparation. We set up the HD video system (Huge thanks to Dave Davenport for lending us his system) fitted the Dunlop race tyres, radio system and tried to setup some type of speed control system. The computer that's fitted to the car can control so many functions it's scary. But it seemed to stump us when it came to limiting speed. We just couldn't find the right settings.
The Evo will accelerate to 200kph in a very short time and if we go over this speed we will be penalised severely. The car is fitted with a GPS system by Targa control and they can monitor our speed and position at all times. It's vital that we do not exceed the imposed limit, but at the same time we need to get as close to it as possible.
The final seeding list has been set, We are 18th car on the road in the Modern class. This will change each day depending on our results.
Check out http://www.targa.co.nz/ for details of positions etc during the event. http://targa.co.nz/Results_937.aspx should give you live results.
Meanwhile I've published some pics of the team on day zero on facebook. Follow this link to view them.
Tomorrow we have documentation and Prologue. Prologue is a single stage of approx 10km's. It doesn't count towards the final results, but it helps with seeding. Monday is the first day of proper competition.
Hopefully I'll be able to upload some video of our prologue stage tomorrow.
Till then... Ron
What a stunning day of weather. We drove up on Friday night to Taupo and this morning we were greeted by a chilly sunbathed morning. The ride up to Auckland was straightforward and the Labour weekend traffic didn’t hold us up.
I’m looking forward to getting into the first special stage. Still yet to have a full speed ride in Ron’s Evo but from what I’ve seen of his driving, I have no doubt I’ll be in for an exciting ride.
We’re just settling down for the evening now with a bit of beer induced relaxation. Well, the others are anyway. The car and service vehicles are just sitting outside all locked up and I’m happy we’re heading into the Targa without any stressful issues.
Victor
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Just 4 short days till Targa
So much to do so little time!!
Well actually that should have been my post title last weekend, things are a lot less hectic now.
I'm really sorry for not doing more blog updates but as you can imagine the team and I have been working flat stick on getting the car and all the necessary service equipment ready to race.
We had a devastating test day at Manfield last Sunday. After loosing an engine last month, which set us back by three weeks, the gearbox decided to retire in sympathy after just three gentle warm-up laps of the track.
A tooth had broken off a gear and exited the gearbox casing leaving a hole and a cracked housing.
We loaded up the truck again and returned home to replace the gearbox with the one from Murray O'Neil's rally car. Ray Yee from STM is rebuilding my gearbox to be used as a spare in case we suffer a similar problem again on Targa.
So we lost any opportunity to test the car, bed in brakes and get used to the new setup of the suspension. I guess we will just have to get the feel for things on the first couple of stages of competition.
The steroids have done their job and my energy levels are very good. A huge improvement over two weeks ago when I could hardly function at all. I've certainly been under a huge amount of stress this last week and seem to be getting through OK. I'd have liked a few days to really relax before we go, but we have decided to take two days to transport the car and gear to Auckland and that will allow some cooling off period where I can clear my head and re-focus.
There is still a huge amount of goodwill and support pouring in. It really is appreciated. Today for instance Joe McAndrew visited the workshop and shared his experience as a Targa winning driver over a bite to eat. Others have phoned or emailed in their good luck wishes. Thanks guys it really does inspire us to do well.
The car is now totally sign-written thanks to the team at Martin Signs/PT RaceGear. The car looks totally different now, gone is the old FlexTech livery. Replaced with Fujitsu Heat Pumps, Gaskin Ford & Mazda and numerous other sponsors.
Healthwise.. well who knows? I always end up feeling like there's nothing wrong with me at all once the prednisone starts to work. The lymph nodes in my neck are now almost undetectable, the fever has gone but I still have a persistent cough. I'm scheduled for another CT scan on November 11th, so I'll have to stop the steroids as soon as I return from Targa otherwise there will be nothing to see on the scan, which will only delay any treatment plans should they be required (note the steroid inspired optimism).
Then I have a week of jury duty at the end of that month. I could get out of it by playing the sick card... but hey it might be an interesting case and a learning experience.. who knows?
OK, must go. Have to rise early tomorrow to repair the car trailer we have borrowed to transport the race car.
Well actually that should have been my post title last weekend, things are a lot less hectic now.
I'm really sorry for not doing more blog updates but as you can imagine the team and I have been working flat stick on getting the car and all the necessary service equipment ready to race.
We had a devastating test day at Manfield last Sunday. After loosing an engine last month, which set us back by three weeks, the gearbox decided to retire in sympathy after just three gentle warm-up laps of the track.
A tooth had broken off a gear and exited the gearbox casing leaving a hole and a cracked housing.
We loaded up the truck again and returned home to replace the gearbox with the one from Murray O'Neil's rally car. Ray Yee from STM is rebuilding my gearbox to be used as a spare in case we suffer a similar problem again on Targa.
So we lost any opportunity to test the car, bed in brakes and get used to the new setup of the suspension. I guess we will just have to get the feel for things on the first couple of stages of competition.
The steroids have done their job and my energy levels are very good. A huge improvement over two weeks ago when I could hardly function at all. I've certainly been under a huge amount of stress this last week and seem to be getting through OK. I'd have liked a few days to really relax before we go, but we have decided to take two days to transport the car and gear to Auckland and that will allow some cooling off period where I can clear my head and re-focus.
There is still a huge amount of goodwill and support pouring in. It really is appreciated. Today for instance Joe McAndrew visited the workshop and shared his experience as a Targa winning driver over a bite to eat. Others have phoned or emailed in their good luck wishes. Thanks guys it really does inspire us to do well.
The car is now totally sign-written thanks to the team at Martin Signs/PT RaceGear. The car looks totally different now, gone is the old FlexTech livery. Replaced with Fujitsu Heat Pumps, Gaskin Ford & Mazda and numerous other sponsors.
Healthwise.. well who knows? I always end up feeling like there's nothing wrong with me at all once the prednisone starts to work. The lymph nodes in my neck are now almost undetectable, the fever has gone but I still have a persistent cough. I'm scheduled for another CT scan on November 11th, so I'll have to stop the steroids as soon as I return from Targa otherwise there will be nothing to see on the scan, which will only delay any treatment plans should they be required (note the steroid inspired optimism).
Then I have a week of jury duty at the end of that month. I could get out of it by playing the sick card... but hey it might be an interesting case and a learning experience.. who knows?
OK, must go. Have to rise early tomorrow to repair the car trailer we have borrowed to transport the race car.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Not long now!
Targa is now just thirteen short days away!
There are about forty small jobs to be done on the car, and most must be done before this coming weekend when we go testing at Manfeild racetrack.
Oddly enough the most time consuming task seems to be that of removing the old decals from the car. It's a painstaking job that looks like it will eat up around 6 hours all by itself. (To give you some idea, that's longer than it took to take the engine out and put it back in again!)
We have now got our major sponsor on-board "Fujitsu Heat Pumps". A huge thank you to Kim Naylor for supporting our cause and helping ensure this campaigns success.
Healthwise: Hmmm not too good on the stamina/energy levels unfortunately. I'm a mile away from how I was feeling last month. At that time, while on Prednisone my energy levels were excellent and I could run for long periods on the treadmill without any discomfort.
The low blood counts I'm currently suffering have robbed me of all my energy, there's just not enough oxygen getting to my muscles.
I'm really hoping that now I'm back on the steroids that things will improve over the next two weeks in time for the intense physical demands behind the wheel during Targa.
There are about forty small jobs to be done on the car, and most must be done before this coming weekend when we go testing at Manfeild racetrack.
Oddly enough the most time consuming task seems to be that of removing the old decals from the car. It's a painstaking job that looks like it will eat up around 6 hours all by itself. (To give you some idea, that's longer than it took to take the engine out and put it back in again!)
We have now got our major sponsor on-board "Fujitsu Heat Pumps". A huge thank you to Kim Naylor for supporting our cause and helping ensure this campaigns success.
Healthwise: Hmmm not too good on the stamina/energy levels unfortunately. I'm a mile away from how I was feeling last month. At that time, while on Prednisone my energy levels were excellent and I could run for long periods on the treadmill without any discomfort.
The low blood counts I'm currently suffering have robbed me of all my energy, there's just not enough oxygen getting to my muscles.
I'm really hoping that now I'm back on the steroids that things will improve over the next two weeks in time for the intense physical demands behind the wheel during Targa.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ooops!
I mentioned in the previous post that I went and saw my GP due to my failing state of health.
I thought I might have an infection and he said if I did it was probably viral. I definitely had something as I felt like I had the "flu" but without the outward symptoms. Just the body aches and general Malaise.
It seems to have passed but my energy levels have dropped considerably. The Doctor had ordered some blood tests to see if I had something else that might be causing the constant fever. (I think it's what ever it is that's showing on my liver on CT scan)
Today I got an email from my GP. Here's what the tests showed..
"Hi Ron
Your blood count has dropped a bit (haemoglobin 121 and platelets 51), and liver functions are a bit up as well. Not sure specifically how to interpret all that. ?back to the specialists?"
I was a little concerned to see the low platelet count so I did some research...
What I found surprised me. Here's the background first... I'd been told by the doctors in Germany that I could safely take Ginkgo Biloba for the ringing in my ears (tinnitus) even though my platelet count has never been great. Then when I started running a constant fever six months ago I started taking one Ibuprofen every six hours to reduce it. Lately I've had to take two to get any improvement.
Ginkgo should not be used in patients with low platelet counts and Ginkgo and Ibuprofen should never be used in conjunction because they can cause serious bleeding/bruising or even brain bleeds. (That would explain the large bruise on my knee that I have no idea how I got!)
So with that in mind and coupled with my failing over-all health I've decided to go back on the prednisone as of today. This will remove the need for Ibuprofen and I'll stop the Ginkgo as well.
I'll schedule a blood test next week to see if that has improved things.
I'm expecting to be back to feeling 100% in about two weeks. (Ignoring the Lymphoma and Liver problems)
On a more positive note, The rebuilt engine was installed back in the race car on Monday night and dyno tuned on Tuesday evening by Andre at Speedtech. The power output is huge to say the least at 315Kw to the wheels. We will be running a modest tune for Targa to reduce the change of breaking something. If we need to run the high horsepower setup it's just a case of flicking a switch on the dashboard.
There's just eighteen days to go until Targa begins but there's still time to join the team and sponsor both the car and the Cancer Society. We have set up an account (below) in which people can donate directly into. The funds being split equally between the entry costs and the Cancer Society.
The account is "TLC" 02-0610-0058277-003 (any special instructions can be put in the reference fields)
Your support is appreciated ...Ron
I thought I might have an infection and he said if I did it was probably viral. I definitely had something as I felt like I had the "flu" but without the outward symptoms. Just the body aches and general Malaise.
It seems to have passed but my energy levels have dropped considerably. The Doctor had ordered some blood tests to see if I had something else that might be causing the constant fever. (I think it's what ever it is that's showing on my liver on CT scan)
Today I got an email from my GP. Here's what the tests showed..
"Hi Ron
Your blood count has dropped a bit (haemoglobin 121 and platelets 51), and liver functions are a bit up as well. Not sure specifically how to interpret all that. ?back to the specialists?"
I was a little concerned to see the low platelet count so I did some research...
What I found surprised me. Here's the background first... I'd been told by the doctors in Germany that I could safely take Ginkgo Biloba for the ringing in my ears (tinnitus) even though my platelet count has never been great. Then when I started running a constant fever six months ago I started taking one Ibuprofen every six hours to reduce it. Lately I've had to take two to get any improvement.
Ginkgo should not be used in patients with low platelet counts and Ginkgo and Ibuprofen should never be used in conjunction because they can cause serious bleeding/bruising or even brain bleeds. (That would explain the large bruise on my knee that I have no idea how I got!)
So with that in mind and coupled with my failing over-all health I've decided to go back on the prednisone as of today. This will remove the need for Ibuprofen and I'll stop the Ginkgo as well.
I'll schedule a blood test next week to see if that has improved things.
I'm expecting to be back to feeling 100% in about two weeks. (Ignoring the Lymphoma and Liver problems)
On a more positive note, The rebuilt engine was installed back in the race car on Monday night and dyno tuned on Tuesday evening by Andre at Speedtech. The power output is huge to say the least at 315Kw to the wheels. We will be running a modest tune for Targa to reduce the change of breaking something. If we need to run the high horsepower setup it's just a case of flicking a switch on the dashboard.
There's just eighteen days to go until Targa begins but there's still time to join the team and sponsor both the car and the Cancer Society. We have set up an account (below) in which people can donate directly into. The funds being split equally between the entry costs and the Cancer Society.
The account is "TLC" 02-0610-0058277-003 (any special instructions can be put in the reference fields)
Your support is appreciated ...Ron
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Tired of being sick! Deja-vue
It's been a hell week healthwise, My fever which used to be controlled by taking just one Ibuprofen now barely reacts to two and is peaking a lot higher. I went and saw my GP about it during the week. My thinking was that I may have developed another cause for a fever such as an infection etc, and that maybe we should do some blood cultures just to be safe. He said "it's probably a virus" and left it at that. Bugger. However he did schedule a blood test for two weeks time to check for other possible causes of the underlying constant fever. Personally I'd say Lymphoma would be a safe bet!
Speaking of lymphoma..I've got a new lump ... well actually more of a swollen gland under the right side of my chin. It's the same lymph node that started it all off five years ago. I know this because it was cut in half when it was biopsied and the swollen "gland" is now inflated to an interesting half moon shape as a result.
I don't think I can stay off the steroids for too much longer without a significant reduction in my health. I'm soaking my bed covers at night with this fever and during the day I have no appetite and am constantly chilled to the bone. I think by next weekend I'll start back on the prednisone.
Once Targa is completed I'll stay on them until I see the haematologist on Nov 17th. Hopefully at that point we can start planning some more treatment. There goes my hair again!
Targa preparations are ramping up again after a lull while the engine was rebuilt, an exercise that cost a lot of money even with all the generous support of my sponsors. It may be time to have a clean out of my garage and sell some stuff I think!
Speaking of lymphoma..I've got a new lump ... well actually more of a swollen gland under the right side of my chin. It's the same lymph node that started it all off five years ago. I know this because it was cut in half when it was biopsied and the swollen "gland" is now inflated to an interesting half moon shape as a result.
I don't think I can stay off the steroids for too much longer without a significant reduction in my health. I'm soaking my bed covers at night with this fever and during the day I have no appetite and am constantly chilled to the bone. I think by next weekend I'll start back on the prednisone.
Once Targa is completed I'll stay on them until I see the haematologist on Nov 17th. Hopefully at that point we can start planning some more treatment. There goes my hair again!
Targa preparations are ramping up again after a lull while the engine was rebuilt, an exercise that cost a lot of money even with all the generous support of my sponsors. It may be time to have a clean out of my garage and sell some stuff I think!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Gosh another week gone by!
To think that this time last year I was posting twice a day from Germany. I'd spend hours writing my posts, because, face it, at the time there wasn't much else to do.
These days I'm flat out balancing my priorities between building a house, earning an income and getting everything ready for Targa.
The engine for the race car is being put back together this weekend and all going well should be back in the car and running by mid next week. The engine required a new crankshaft and some specialised machining work to bring it back from the dead. I'm very grateful for the support of Kerry Lyndsay Engine reconditioning for their machining and supplying the new racing crankshaft, Collier Motor Engineers in Levin for re-balancing the engine internals, and Pete Zivkovic for rebuilding the engine to his exacting standards.
The race tyres arrived this week too. It's like Christmas! Dunlop race tyres have supplied us with one free set of tyres and another at a heavily discounted price. Then Targa organisers sent me a GPS unit to install so they can keep tabs on the car during the rally. We are not allowed to go over 200kph at any time and in the Evo 200K comes up on the speedo very quickly. I've told Victor to punch me on the arm if he see's me going over this speed. Hmm.. on second thoughts being punched on the arm while steering a race car on twisty roads at 200+k's probably isn't a good idea!! ;)
We (the team) are still looking for a couple of big sponsors for the car/entry in Targa. We have secured a full page spread in the official program that is part of next months Classic Car magazine thanks to the generosity of the good people at Parkside Publishing. This ensures exposure to over 200,000 readers. If you want to be a part of this and get your company name out there as well as supporting our campaign and the Cancer Society, please drop me an email before next weeks publishing deadline.
Health-wise I finished my two week course of prednisone earlier this week and my fever returned yesterday.
I'm back to night sweats, fever and chills until I restart on the steroids again the week before Targa. It's amazing though just how quickly I gain fitness and weight when on them. I'm just hoping I can stay relatively well in the interim.
...Ron
These days I'm flat out balancing my priorities between building a house, earning an income and getting everything ready for Targa.
The engine for the race car is being put back together this weekend and all going well should be back in the car and running by mid next week. The engine required a new crankshaft and some specialised machining work to bring it back from the dead. I'm very grateful for the support of Kerry Lyndsay Engine reconditioning for their machining and supplying the new racing crankshaft, Collier Motor Engineers in Levin for re-balancing the engine internals, and Pete Zivkovic for rebuilding the engine to his exacting standards.
The race tyres arrived this week too. It's like Christmas! Dunlop race tyres have supplied us with one free set of tyres and another at a heavily discounted price. Then Targa organisers sent me a GPS unit to install so they can keep tabs on the car during the rally. We are not allowed to go over 200kph at any time and in the Evo 200K comes up on the speedo very quickly. I've told Victor to punch me on the arm if he see's me going over this speed. Hmm.. on second thoughts being punched on the arm while steering a race car on twisty roads at 200+k's probably isn't a good idea!! ;)
We (the team) are still looking for a couple of big sponsors for the car/entry in Targa. We have secured a full page spread in the official program that is part of next months Classic Car magazine thanks to the generosity of the good people at Parkside Publishing. This ensures exposure to over 200,000 readers. If you want to be a part of this and get your company name out there as well as supporting our campaign and the Cancer Society, please drop me an email before next weeks publishing deadline.
Health-wise I finished my two week course of prednisone earlier this week and my fever returned yesterday.
I'm back to night sweats, fever and chills until I restart on the steroids again the week before Targa. It's amazing though just how quickly I gain fitness and weight when on them. I'm just hoping I can stay relatively well in the interim.
...Ron
Thursday, September 17, 2009
a busy week..
It's been a week since I last posted, There's so much happening lately I hardly manage to keep track of the days.
I've been doing a bit of a trial run with the prednisone. Yeah I know the doc said I could have it next month while on Targa but I wanted to do a test run and see what days I feel best and over how long to take it. I started on 40mg a day for 4 days last week and then dropped to 20mg a day since Sunday. I shall finish the course this weekend. That will give me a full month before I restart again.
The results: The fever stopped within twelve hours. By the next day my temp had started to climb slightly in the morning but dropped again once the steroid had kicked in (I take them at breakfast). It now never moves much from a normal 36.5C at any time.
The 40mg dose leaves me feeling a bit "wired" but by the time I started on the lower 20mg dose I felt completely normal and well. My cough has completely disappeared too. The small nodes on my neck have shrunk down to around half their previous size.
I feel so good, one has to wonder why I can't just take these things forever.... sigh .You can't imagine what it's like to be sick and feverish for six months non-stop and then suddenly become normal again. It's certainly makes you appreciate every waking second of your day.
Workwise, the week started with an interesting job. A Rolls Royce hearse that I had been commissioned to engineer new rear shock absorber mounts on. It took a whole day just to remove the old brackets from someone else's previous efforts some thirty years ago. Then the next day was spent repairing the cracked chassis and making the new mounts. Working on a hearse was certainly a bit different than the race cars I'm used to working on..
Things are still moving along at great speed with regards to Targa. There has been one major hiccup though. The engine in the race car has worn out it's crankshaft and requires a rebuild. Luckily this was found now and not on day one of the event! I have had a small team of helpers dive in and save the day. Big thanks to Mark from STM for helping me pull the engine out and also to Pete Zivkovic who is doing the rebuild.
We have had a raft of new sponsors come on board, mostly relating to help with accommodation costs. You'd need to visit http://www.targalifechallenge.co.nz/ to view them all.
Cheers! ...Ron
I've been doing a bit of a trial run with the prednisone. Yeah I know the doc said I could have it next month while on Targa but I wanted to do a test run and see what days I feel best and over how long to take it. I started on 40mg a day for 4 days last week and then dropped to 20mg a day since Sunday. I shall finish the course this weekend. That will give me a full month before I restart again.
The results: The fever stopped within twelve hours. By the next day my temp had started to climb slightly in the morning but dropped again once the steroid had kicked in (I take them at breakfast). It now never moves much from a normal 36.5C at any time.
The 40mg dose leaves me feeling a bit "wired" but by the time I started on the lower 20mg dose I felt completely normal and well. My cough has completely disappeared too. The small nodes on my neck have shrunk down to around half their previous size.
I feel so good, one has to wonder why I can't just take these things forever.... sigh .You can't imagine what it's like to be sick and feverish for six months non-stop and then suddenly become normal again. It's certainly makes you appreciate every waking second of your day.
Workwise, the week started with an interesting job. A Rolls Royce hearse that I had been commissioned to engineer new rear shock absorber mounts on. It took a whole day just to remove the old brackets from someone else's previous efforts some thirty years ago. Then the next day was spent repairing the cracked chassis and making the new mounts. Working on a hearse was certainly a bit different than the race cars I'm used to working on..
Things are still moving along at great speed with regards to Targa. There has been one major hiccup though. The engine in the race car has worn out it's crankshaft and requires a rebuild. Luckily this was found now and not on day one of the event! I have had a small team of helpers dive in and save the day. Big thanks to Mark from STM for helping me pull the engine out and also to Pete Zivkovic who is doing the rebuild.
We have had a raft of new sponsors come on board, mostly relating to help with accommodation costs. You'd need to visit http://www.targalifechallenge.co.nz/ to view them all.
Cheers! ...Ron
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Long talk with the Haematologist
I just got off the phone with Dr D'Souza my haematologist. It was a long conversation about the results of Monday's CT scan and what it all means.
Basically the scan did not show anything too scary. There are still the two enlarged nodes in my upper abdomen. Stlil not large enough to absolutely declare a relapse based on that alone.
There appeared to be some abnormality with the liver but this too was not clear.
The nodes in my neck were not big enough to be considered a sign of relapse.
Sounds good doesn't it. It's not really. The liver may be the cause of my constant fever.. it may not. Basically what a recent study has shown is that if the patient believes they have relasped there's a good chance they have. I believe I have relapsed based on the symptoms I have. They are identical to what I have had on all previous relapses (and I've had a few!).
We talked about having a biopsy on the nodes in abdomen, however they are still small and there's no guarantee that they can be located and biopsied successfully. I mentioned about my plans for Targa and he was aware of them. I said that as I have had no significant change in my health in the last six months other than the fever and cough, and weighing that with the CT scan showing no real disease progress, I'd like to leave things until early November after Targa before proceeding. He agreed that there wasn't much we could gain in the interim anyway.
We talked about my wish to take prednisone to reduce my fever and he agreed I could start the the prescription the week before Targa and continue them until the week after. This should at least offer me some degree of comfort while competing in the gruelling event. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to race for a week while running a high fever!
We discussed possible treatment options as well. In January this year I had a chemotherapy regime called IVE which wiped out all the cancer load I had at that time. I wished we had run to two cycles because it really worked well. Dr D'Souza said that IVE may be a possible palliative treatment given it's previous effectiveness. I agreed. It's still something I would not consider until maybe early in the new year based on how the disease is progressing (or not).
Then he mentioned a new drug that has just come onto the scene: Gemcitabine appears to show promise on previously heavily treated patients with refractory Lymphoma. This drug is currently not funded by Pharmac and would have to be funded privately at around $4500 a cycle, but that may not be too much of a problem and I have health insurance which may help.
So where does this leave me? Hmmm not sure. Probably back where I was five years ago, only with a slightly more treatment battered body. As the doctor and I both agreed on before we ended the conversation, I could be around for a few more years yet if the disease stays at a passive level and we keep on top of it. And that new drug looks promising!
There's always hope. No scratch that! There is only hope. Without it there is nothing. Positivity isn't an attitude, it's my reality. I have no room for the negative.
Sorry for the long boring medical post, it's my way of documenting my journey. Thanks for coming along with me :)
http://www.targalifechallenge.co.nz/
Basically the scan did not show anything too scary. There are still the two enlarged nodes in my upper abdomen. Stlil not large enough to absolutely declare a relapse based on that alone.
There appeared to be some abnormality with the liver but this too was not clear.
The nodes in my neck were not big enough to be considered a sign of relapse.
Sounds good doesn't it. It's not really. The liver may be the cause of my constant fever.. it may not. Basically what a recent study has shown is that if the patient believes they have relasped there's a good chance they have. I believe I have relapsed based on the symptoms I have. They are identical to what I have had on all previous relapses (and I've had a few!).
We talked about having a biopsy on the nodes in abdomen, however they are still small and there's no guarantee that they can be located and biopsied successfully. I mentioned about my plans for Targa and he was aware of them. I said that as I have had no significant change in my health in the last six months other than the fever and cough, and weighing that with the CT scan showing no real disease progress, I'd like to leave things until early November after Targa before proceeding. He agreed that there wasn't much we could gain in the interim anyway.
We talked about my wish to take prednisone to reduce my fever and he agreed I could start the the prescription the week before Targa and continue them until the week after. This should at least offer me some degree of comfort while competing in the gruelling event. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to race for a week while running a high fever!
We discussed possible treatment options as well. In January this year I had a chemotherapy regime called IVE which wiped out all the cancer load I had at that time. I wished we had run to two cycles because it really worked well. Dr D'Souza said that IVE may be a possible palliative treatment given it's previous effectiveness. I agreed. It's still something I would not consider until maybe early in the new year based on how the disease is progressing (or not).
Then he mentioned a new drug that has just come onto the scene: Gemcitabine appears to show promise on previously heavily treated patients with refractory Lymphoma. This drug is currently not funded by Pharmac and would have to be funded privately at around $4500 a cycle, but that may not be too much of a problem and I have health insurance which may help.
So where does this leave me? Hmmm not sure. Probably back where I was five years ago, only with a slightly more treatment battered body. As the doctor and I both agreed on before we ended the conversation, I could be around for a few more years yet if the disease stays at a passive level and we keep on top of it. And that new drug looks promising!
There's always hope. No scratch that! There is only hope. Without it there is nothing. Positivity isn't an attitude, it's my reality. I have no room for the negative.
Sorry for the long boring medical post, it's my way of documenting my journey. Thanks for coming along with me :)
http://www.targalifechallenge.co.nz/
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Things just happen..
As I'd mentioned in one of last weeks posts, TePapa are currently running an exhibition on the history, evolution, technology and people of Formula 1. They had asked local motorsport people if they could display their cars out the front of the museum to help promote the exhibit for fathers day weekend.
One really cool spin off was the use of the large "Green Room" attached to the theatre up on the fourth floor. We were treated to an endless supply of food and tea and coffee, plus somewhere to unwind and relax. The very best thing about all this was that we shared the use of the room with Greg Murphy, Chris Amon, Bob McMurray (ex McLaren F1) and several other motorsport identities.
I got to have a short chat with the great Kiwi Formula 1 legend Chris Amon in which we talked about setting up the suspension on the first front wheel drive Corollas brought into NZ. He would advise Toyota on what suspension settings to use after testing at Manfield race circuit and then the car would be brought to my workshop where I would set the wheel alignment to Chris's specs. This was a relationship I had with Toyota all through the late 80's into mid 1990's and yet I never got to meet the man in person.
Fellow Rusty-Racer team member Murray O'Neil was thoroughly enjoying a chat with V8 Super Car racer and four times Bathurst winner Greg Murphy about the subtleties of single seater racing. Something I know nothing about, having never driven a single seater race car in my life.
However I was content to just stand in the group and nod occasionally, basking in the reflected glory. ;)
It's been a great week for fundraising towards Targa. The tally towards the Cancer Society has grown significantly with a large donation from Craig Sheppard of Harbour City Security.
Graeme Gaskin and the team at "Gaskin Ford and Mazda" have come on board and made a significant donation towards running costs for Targa as well as supplying us with the use of a service vehicle during the event.
One man that has really blown us away is local motorsport competitor Brendan Cantwell who challenged his workmates to get behind the Targa Life Challenge team. Brendan and his workmates at Provoke have raised over $1500 towards the running costs of the race car.
(That's nearly 10% of the total expected campaign costs raised due to the efforts of just one man!)
A huge "thank you" goes out to Brendan and his Motorsport mad workmates!
One really cool spin off was the use of the large "Green Room" attached to the theatre up on the fourth floor. We were treated to an endless supply of food and tea and coffee, plus somewhere to unwind and relax. The very best thing about all this was that we shared the use of the room with Greg Murphy, Chris Amon, Bob McMurray (ex McLaren F1) and several other motorsport identities.
I got to have a short chat with the great Kiwi Formula 1 legend Chris Amon in which we talked about setting up the suspension on the first front wheel drive Corollas brought into NZ. He would advise Toyota on what suspension settings to use after testing at Manfield race circuit and then the car would be brought to my workshop where I would set the wheel alignment to Chris's specs. This was a relationship I had with Toyota all through the late 80's into mid 1990's and yet I never got to meet the man in person.
Fellow Rusty-Racer team member Murray O'Neil was thoroughly enjoying a chat with V8 Super Car racer and four times Bathurst winner Greg Murphy about the subtleties of single seater racing. Something I know nothing about, having never driven a single seater race car in my life.However I was content to just stand in the group and nod occasionally, basking in the reflected glory. ;)
It's been a great week for fundraising towards Targa. The tally towards the Cancer Society has grown significantly with a large donation from Craig Sheppard of Harbour City Security.
Graeme Gaskin and the team at "Gaskin Ford and Mazda" have come on board and made a significant donation towards running costs for Targa as well as supplying us with the use of a service vehicle during the event.
One man that has really blown us away is local motorsport competitor Brendan Cantwell who challenged his workmates to get behind the Targa Life Challenge team. Brendan and his workmates at Provoke have raised over $1500 towards the running costs of the race car.
(That's nearly 10% of the total expected campaign costs raised due to the efforts of just one man!)
A huge "thank you" goes out to Brendan and his Motorsport mad workmates!
Friday, September 4, 2009
But weight there's more!
I emailed the Targa organisers earlier in the week to inform them of the correct weight of the race car. I had advised them previously that the factory weight was 1240kg but further research showed that to be wrong and it's actually 1170kg for the lighter rally version I own.
Targa regulations state that they calculate the race weight of an entered car as being the factory curb weight plus 160kg for the driver and co-driver. I was pleased that they accepted my new weight figure as it meant we would not have to carry any ballast to bring us up to minimum weight.
However I got a phone call from Targa HQ in the morning asking if my car ran a restricted turbo charger, which is doesn't. Later that day I got an email from the officials stating that because my car was un-restricted they were adding a 100kg weight penalty to my car. Bugger!
I'll need to bolt in either some lead blocks or some weight lifting bar-bells to the floor of the car. I'll also need to change my spring rates and shock settings to compensate.
Oh well, I do like a challenge. :)
On a more positive note.. I attended the AGM of the Hutt Valley Motorsport Club last night and was pleasantly surprised to be awarded Life Membership in recognition of my 25 years of contribution to the club.
Still lots happening with the Targa preparations. We are in negotiations with sponsors on several fronts. Still waiting for that big sponsor to come on board, but from the ground swell of interest we have generated so far I have a feeling it can't be too far away.
Targa regulations state that they calculate the race weight of an entered car as being the factory curb weight plus 160kg for the driver and co-driver. I was pleased that they accepted my new weight figure as it meant we would not have to carry any ballast to bring us up to minimum weight.
However I got a phone call from Targa HQ in the morning asking if my car ran a restricted turbo charger, which is doesn't. Later that day I got an email from the officials stating that because my car was un-restricted they were adding a 100kg weight penalty to my car. Bugger!
I'll need to bolt in either some lead blocks or some weight lifting bar-bells to the floor of the car. I'll also need to change my spring rates and shock settings to compensate.
Oh well, I do like a challenge. :)
On a more positive note.. I attended the AGM of the Hutt Valley Motorsport Club last night and was pleasantly surprised to be awarded Life Membership in recognition of my 25 years of contribution to the club.
Still lots happening with the Targa preparations. We are in negotiations with sponsors on several fronts. Still waiting for that big sponsor to come on board, but from the ground swell of interest we have generated so far I have a feeling it can't be too far away.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Mid week round up. Priorities?
Things are moving forward at a good clip. It's amazing how much work is involved in putting together websites, sponsor proposals, Targa entries, spares lists, accommodation, I would say that it would be a full time job if I didn't have the support of so many good people. People like Miles Udy.
I was woken yesterday morning by a phone call, the voice on the other end was Miles. Miles has been around the motorsport scene since I was a school boy. He's competed in Targa and in his work as a Gearbox specialist has had a hand in hundreds if not thousands of competition cars over the years.
He asked me what the race tyres for Targa were worth and I replied that I wasn't quite sure yet but they aren't cheap. Miles then offered to pay for one of the eight tyres needed to complete the event. The proviso being that I "went like hell" on that tyre. Rest assured it will be labelled with his name and given the treatment he has requested. :-)
Tatiana Massey has done a fantastic job of designing our website http://www.targalifechallenge.co.nz/ and I can't thank her enough for the great job she has done in such a short period of time.
There's still a bit more info to be put up over the coming days, but check it out, I think it's great!
This weekend we will have the race car on display at TePapa as part of their Formula 1 fathers day exhibition . TePapa have asked the local car clubs for cars to display out the front of the building over the weekend, so we thought it was a perfect opportunity to hand out some flyers promoting our fundraising for the cancer society.
I mentioned on Monday that I had a terrible night's sleep with running a fever and sweating.
Monday night I had the best nights sleep I've had in weeks, and then Tuesday night I was locked in frozen rigor all night as I burned up running another fever. The weird thing is during the day I feel 100% and feel perfectly well. I can't wait to start taking those steroids again to knock back my immune system from overdrive to something a little less full-on.!
I'm a little worried that the hospital will be too efficient once the CT scan results are back in, and there could be some big decisions to be made.
A biopsy to my neck would mean I was unable to wear a racing harness or Hans device, and if they schedule me for chemo prior to Targa I would have blood counts too low to race safely.
I may actually have to ask the doctors to schedule treatment to fit in with my motorsport! They are going to think I'm nuts, but I really feel that this Targa Life Challenge is just that: A life Challenge. Live for today as tomorrow may never come.
I was woken yesterday morning by a phone call, the voice on the other end was Miles. Miles has been around the motorsport scene since I was a school boy. He's competed in Targa and in his work as a Gearbox specialist has had a hand in hundreds if not thousands of competition cars over the years.
He asked me what the race tyres for Targa were worth and I replied that I wasn't quite sure yet but they aren't cheap. Miles then offered to pay for one of the eight tyres needed to complete the event. The proviso being that I "went like hell" on that tyre. Rest assured it will be labelled with his name and given the treatment he has requested. :-)
Tatiana Massey has done a fantastic job of designing our website http://www.targalifechallenge.co.nz/ and I can't thank her enough for the great job she has done in such a short period of time.
There's still a bit more info to be put up over the coming days, but check it out, I think it's great!
This weekend we will have the race car on display at TePapa as part of their Formula 1 fathers day exhibition . TePapa have asked the local car clubs for cars to display out the front of the building over the weekend, so we thought it was a perfect opportunity to hand out some flyers promoting our fundraising for the cancer society.
I mentioned on Monday that I had a terrible night's sleep with running a fever and sweating.
Monday night I had the best nights sleep I've had in weeks, and then Tuesday night I was locked in frozen rigor all night as I burned up running another fever. The weird thing is during the day I feel 100% and feel perfectly well. I can't wait to start taking those steroids again to knock back my immune system from overdrive to something a little less full-on.!
I'm a little worried that the hospital will be too efficient once the CT scan results are back in, and there could be some big decisions to be made.
A biopsy to my neck would mean I was unable to wear a racing harness or Hans device, and if they schedule me for chemo prior to Targa I would have blood counts too low to race safely.
I may actually have to ask the doctors to schedule treatment to fit in with my motorsport! They are going to think I'm nuts, but I really feel that this Targa Life Challenge is just that: A life Challenge. Live for today as tomorrow may never come.
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