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| 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.
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| 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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