Monday, May 13, 2013

The End...& New Beginnings

No hair yet but it's coming!

Well, a long delay for a new blog post but since my preference is to discuss topics related to my life in Peru, I’ve not had much too say while I’m here in Perth. However, to update my followers, I have completed my four cycles of chemotherapy and slowly recovering from the side effects. Overall I’m feeling really good, doing a lot more exercise to work out the bugs, and eating regularly.  Yesterday I started a six-week course of radiation that I’ll complete at the end of June.  For now, it is the end of my initial treatment but, I suppose, the beginning of the rest of my life--which will now be colored with the knowledge that cancer has visited me and will be a constant companion.  Most days I feel confident and consider this a one-off event with an excellent prognosis.  Other days, I wonder/worry about the future but all the more reason to get on with life, do the things I want to do now, and fully enjoy each day as it comes.

Thank you for your support
On July 11th, James and I arrive in Iquitos.  I am very excited to get back to work and my life in the jungle.  So much has happened while I was gone, including the 2013 Adopt-A-School deliveries, teacher workshops, a new computer lab for the library, and the implementation of this year’s pilot project using the Sawyer water filter system in three communities.  The largest number of volunteers ever came to the Amazon to help with the deliveries and the Sawyer project.  Many arrived early and stayed late to help with all the preparations that I would normally have handled. Despite my absence, volunteers, CONAPAC staff and Explorama employees all came together to make it an overwhelming success.  I will be hard-pressed to top it next year!

Regular readers may remember an earlier post or two where I lament the crazy level of paperwork and bureaucracy that awaits anyone trying to do business in Peru. Just before my trip here in December, I had a large number of hoops to jump through for my immigration status but once this was completed, I figured I was in good shape for awhile.  Then I came to Australia and my cancer journey began.  It became clear that I needed to extend the terms of my visa bought here and in Peru if I was going to receive my full level of treatment and return to Peru in the near future.  

The process for this extension in Australia was as simple as filling out a form on-line, faxing over supporting medical records and writing a check—done!  Peru? Well, quite another matter.  I won’t go through all the steps but suffice to say more emails between my boss, Pam, and our Peruvian attorney with more twists and turns were exchanged than even the best convoluted novel could conjure up.  I simply could not have made up all the steps and stamps and fees and copies and signatures that had to be completed before I could “express mail” my paperwork back to Iquitos.  My express mail was to take three days—it took 15 to arrive in the jungle.  Now, after all these steps, in reality I really don’t know if all's well and approved or not?  No one can quite tell me anything for sure, so I’ll return on a tourist visa in July and hope for the best.  Whether I can return to work in January 2014 full-time and with my work contract intact remains to be seen.  

As I’ve said before, there certainly is bureaucracy in the West but at least it’s transparent. You can figure it out, with a high degree of certainly and confidence, that if you fill out the right paperwork and pay the right fees, all will be well. Not so in Peru-- but you know what? I still love the crazy place and can’t wait to return. After a trip to the US in the fall to see family and friends and a quick return to Australia in December for a one-year check-up with the docs, I travel back to Peru to live and work through 2014 and likely beyond.  I will hope for continued good health and a return to the work I love so much!


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