Dear friends and family, Christmas is here!
Santa Claus' arrival is imminent and the excitement is palpable and growing! Memories of happy childhood Christmases flood back. Presents, good food, family, spiritual observations ( probably in that order!) - the essential ingredients. Peace and love, hopefully even forgiveness, permeate the atmosphere.
This has been a wonderful year. I found myself in Canada in January, not my favourite month to be home. In February I had two romantic weeks in Puerto Vallarta with my friend. The weather was glorious and there is lots to see and do there. I had one nice trip out of town, with relatives of my friend, to a beautiful beach north of Puerto Vallarta and I did think how nice it might be to have a holiday there as Puerto Vallarta has become very urban and busy.
In April I attended an ocular melanoma conference in Denver, Colorado to reconnect with my many new friends and keep up with the science of, and research into, the disease. I spent a few days afterwards with very special friends who live just north of Denver.
We had a perfect summer in Victoria, starting in April. The weather was so dry that we had very serious problems with forest fires throughout the province. Climate change is trying so hard to get our attention. Will we listen? Do people care?
I spent lots of time on the mainland as my friend lives over there and this gave me many opportunities to spend time with Geoff and his partner Aileen. They are just home from a very exciting trip to Nepal and Bhutan where they did some serious trekking in the Himalayas.
In August I returned to Africa, always a very meaningful event for me. I travelled through many countries, several of which I had never visited before. Highlights were a visit with some of our closest relatives, the mountain gorillas, a visit deep into the Okavango Delta, climbing up the sand dunes on the Namibian coast, seeing the remains of our illustrious earliest forbears in both South Africa and Ethiopia, and spending lots of time with the animals and birds that make Africa by far the most beautiful continent.
I have close family in South Africa and it is always a special pleasure to spend time with them. I also rediscovered a first cousin in Uganda whom I had not seen for perhaps thirty years.
The most exciting project of the year though for me has been the formation of a national advocacy body for ocular melanoma, to support patients and caregivers and encourage progress in the care of those who find themselves living with this rare and dangerous disease. I was diagnosed with it in 2010 and developed metastasis in 2012 so I consider myself very lucky indeed to be alive. The official launch of Ocumel Canada will take place at the beginning of January. Now the hard work begins in earnest.
And so I find myself yet again eager to embrace the mystery and excitement of another year of living with passion. What a privilege to be alive and well! Best wishes for a happy festive season. Peace and love, Nigel
