Bob I hope all goes well for you. Please keep us updated.
In regards to my own health, my remission is holding and I hope it continues to do so.
Unfortunately my health has caused me problems in other areas.
I sought the regulatory authority's view on me renewing my pilot's licence. Specifically I enquired regarding a private VFR ticket as I already knew my medical position and age meant it unlikely I would be granted a commercial IFR ticket.
After reviewing my medical reports the decision is that I will not be issued with any licence due to blood pressure and tachycardia. Both are due to the unusually high doses of chemo back in 2019 and neither is likely to resolve to their satisfacton. Bugger!
The second problem is temporary but very vexing. A couple of weeks after we returned from our Cape York trip I set out to ride to Brisbane. At the time I had a painful spot in the middle of my back - but there was nothing to see.
Two days later I awoke to a large painful rash with hundreds of little blisters. I didn't know what it was but I knew it wasn't good, so I turned for home, arriving late on a Friday.
I tried to see a Doctor over the weekend. It that proved impossible and I didn't really think my problems warranted a visit to the local ED. So, on Monday I saw my normal Dr who confirmed Dr Google's diagnosis of shingles. He also mentioned that had I got to see him 3 or 4 days earlier they could have stopped it in its tracks but that time had passed and it would have to run its course.
14 days of narcotic pain killers later the rash, which covered 75 percent of the RHS of my back and curled round under my arm to my chest started to heal and the blisters began to dry up. Then the itching started.
My point in all of this is that there is a vaccine for shingles (Shingrix). As many of us here are of an age where we likely had chickenpox in childhood - go get the vaccine. If you were immunised with a non live virus derivitave you are probably OK.
Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus, it is not nice and believe me, you don't want it.
