Health Update

The results of my PET scan on May 5 show stable disease - no growth of tumours and no new tumours. My immune system continues managing to contain the cancer. How perfect is that?! For 16 months now I have been enjoying this respite. Every good day is a bonus. I feel on top of the world and fully in it. On Tuesday I travel to Ireland, land of my birth. This will be such a happy visit! Peace and love, Nigel

Beautiful Bonaire!

After the rigours of the Boston Marathon, I headed straight for Bonaire, a small island in the Southern Caribbean and a diving Mecca, to recover from the excesses of marathon running. I have family there, with a beautiful, welcoming and comfortable home. I spent the week relaxing, walking, doing yoga, swimming, eating and drinking like a king and diving every day.

The extraordinary thing about Bonaire diving is that the entire shore is a reef so one just walks or jumps in, and the dive begins immediately. There is no need for unpleasant engines or boats. The pleasure begins as soon as one is in the beautiful clear and warm water. 

In addition the reef is one of the healthiest and best protected in the world. Coral, fish and all kinds of sea creatures are abundant. It is a veritable wonderland, filled with colour, intriguing shapes, varying light, endless variety and some of the strangest creatures that exist on the planet! Just as we exited from my final dive, we saw a large octopus, slithering about on the rocks in the shallows, almost too close to us, in search of its favourite molluscs. It is able to change colour to hide almost anywhere. It is definitely one of the stranger creatures on earth!

On the edge of the reef, where the deep water begins, one often sees very large fish hunting for prey. All over the reef live a cornucopia of fish and other creatures that co-exist in relative peace. Of course, all creatures eat other creatures or plants in order to survive, just as we do. Sometimes one can even glimpse these violent moments actually transpire, the chase and the swallow. Some fish merely graze on the algae that grows on the reef. The more one learns about underwater life, the more enjoyable diving becomes. 

Learning to become relaxed and comfortable underwater is a lengthy process and it helps to have expert guides as I do. I certainly reached new heights, (or depths!) this time and I spent several hours in bliss in this alternate world. I have now done 40 dives and spent more than 30 hours underwater. It takes that long to learn how to be competent, to control buoyancy and be able to move at will up and down and side to side, in and out, using just one's breath and legs.

On top of Brandaris, Bonaire's highest point......

There are many more levels of expertise available to the diver and if I am lucky, I may be able to enjoy more training in the future. For now, I am happy that this week was just perfect! And now, I am homeward bound. Victoria, and serious matters,  await! On May 5 I have my next PET scan in Vancouver to see what the monster inside is doing. I promise to let you know. Peace and love, Nigel

On friends

We are blessed to have friends. When I decided to run Boston one more time, I mentioned it to friends. Slowly, the group going to Boston swelled. Some were already qualified to enter while others had to struggle to run a good marathon in time to enter Boston. Some tried but did not make it. 

While I lived in South Surrey I joined a running group called Peninsula Runners. There I met an extraordinary group of people from all walks of life, drawn together in pursuit of fitness and wellness. Some came and some left over time but a core group remained, even as they went through major transitions in their personal and professional lives. Running was the thread that held us together, the glue that bound us together.

In tribute to those friends who travelled to Boston together, and to those we met there, here is a ridulous picture taken as we finally reached the start line! All the suffering lay ahead!

Thank you to all of my friends. I owe you an endless debt of gratitude. Thank you for the support and inspiration. Thank you for adjusting your speed so we could be together!  Peace and love, Nigel