Wednesday 22nd December 2010

Well 3 sleeps till Christmas and we're looking forward to having a bit of a break from work and hospital and most importantly spending time with the family.
It's hard to imagine it's already nearly 11 months since Luke was first diagnosed with leukaemia. As a quick update on Luke’s journey - he has endured 5 cycles of intensive chemotherapy lasting about 8 weeks each. He has one more intensive cycle starting 3 January and this will take us through till the end of February. We can see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel; however he still has a long way to go with maintenance chemo till around May 2013. So far so good as Luke has been achieving remission at the end of each cycle, so that’s all we can ask. Even though he’s had lots of lows, he has had some good times during the year, such as getting his drivers licence, being able to drive his sporty Nissan 300ZX, turning 18, and getting through Year 12 successfully.

It was great to see Luke graduate last Wednesday. He put in a lot of effort to do the work set for him. As mentioned earlier in the year, Luke was unable to sit the AST tests at school as he was neutropenic, so he was given an exemption. His ATAR score (or university entrance score) was worked out pro-rata based on the work he did in Year 11 and 12. He achieved an ATAR of 87.95, so that was an amazing effort and we are really proud of him.

He has just heard that he's been accepted into the University of Canberra to undertake a Bachelor of Information Technology. So that's really exciting to know what the future holds for him. This was an early round placement due to the Principal's recommendation application that was submitted by his college. However, given Luke's ATAR score he would have gotten into university based on his own work. Luke and I went to the university today to talk to the course convener to get an idea about whether he would be able to manage full time study and discuss the possibility that he would be neutropenic during the first few weeks of uni. He was very helpful and we've devised a plan for first semester that should see him having easier units that he can manage without having to go into uni for lectures and tutorials. So hopefully all goes well.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and understanding throughout the year. We really appreciate it.
If there’s anything this journey has taught me it’s not to take anything for granted and to treasure every moment with your family. So on that note – I wish you and your family a very safe and happy Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year.
I'll be in touch in the New Year.