Right now it seems that the horrible disease of cancer is dominating everything. The start of 2011 has been a nightmare and there are worrying signs for us ahead. As you will know we have 2 children with cancer and also Samuel is battling with a tumour as well.
After my trip back to the UK I came back to Kenya to find Peter, the 13 year old boy who has been battling with a tumour on his head, having arrived back at the same situation he was in 13 months previous. We were had reached the stage of Peter receiving his final chemo session at the start of January, but just as that was due, a smal bump came up in the same spot as before on his forehead. It was very hard to take and when I did return from my grans funeral the lump had really grown, chemo was halted and tests were done. It was now time to face the docs and get an update. So in the midddle of January we had a meeting and were told the surgeons said they could operate and try to remove the tumour, but there was no guarantee they could get it all. Peter woudl then need to go on chemo for another year or so with possible radiotherapy too. The complication with chemo though is that as he has had so much already the cancer will have started to evolve and build up some immunity so it woudl be tricky in choosing which chemo drugs to use. The prognosis wasn't good and the docs left it to us to decide whether we go ahead with surgery and treatment or call it a day on trying to cure Peter. We walked away from the meeting devastated, how on earth could we make such a decision on someones life?? either give him a chance or call it a day and bring a death sentance on him.
We met the next day to discuss but none of us could come to a conclusion. I was getting ready for the Mount Kenya trip and I knew I needed more time to think. Also I was hoping to talk about the caase with 2 people on our mount kenya trip who were senior and experienced hospice doctors. So for the next 2 weeks I was away on the expedition, thinking, questioning, and in all honesty was probably more worried about how I could live with myself if I decided not support more treatment, its something I am ashamed to say that in a way that worried me more than the choice for Peter, how could I play God???
So a few weeks went by and I got some good advice from the hospice guys, they said ask what his chances are of surviving beyond 5 years. I got back to Nairobi after the mount kenya trip and emailed the doc asking that very question. He came back to me saying that 'IF' surgery worked and he received more chemo etc, his chances of lasting more than 2 years was 2 in 10. As soon as I received this email it was now clear in my mind. We could not put Peter through such painful surgery, loads more chemo and pretty much end up in the same place. It was clear we had come to the end of treatment for cure but now focusing on making the best of the days he has left. Thankfully his legal guardian and extended relatives all came to the same conclusion and there was a great deal of reassurance in that we had reached the decision together and shared responsibility in it.
Peter still doesn;t know what is going on, but I have now registered him at Nairobi Hospice, a place I once went to as a school boy on my first trip to kenya, to help out for a week. How could I ever believe that 15 years later I would be back there with a boy I am caring for. Next week on thursday we will go to day care and with the help of the nurse, counsellor and doctor there we will break the news to Peter. I am dreading that day and just cannot imagine how Peter will take the news, a boy aged 13 knowing that his life is going to end soon. We don't have a time scale and no-one can predict, but with the location of the tumour and the rate it is growing it is not looking great.
In the coming months we are going to face some very diffficult times and some seriously heart breaking ones. It seems so unfair that after all this work, after taking him through so much we are now in this situation. But I am glad of the support of the hospice and I know we will be really relying on them for help. Their vision is "Putting life into their days" so not worrying about extending life, but making the most of the life we have. This has made me think about Peter and the time he has left. I want to do something special for him, while we still can. I remember in the UK that there are charities that organise special things for kids who have terminal illnesses, such as disney world trips etc. If I could I would take Peter to Old Trafford to see Man utd, the team he absolutely adores, or I would take him to disney land Paris. But I know this is not possible, too many complications, getting passports, money, and risks of taking someone in his state overseas. But what I can do is organise a trip to Mombasa, its not Old Trafford, or disnety worl, but ist the closest thing to ana amazing holiday for a kid from Cheryls. I have spoken to a resort called Turtle Bay, an all inclusive place in Watamu. Its not my ccup of tea, but they seem to do things for kids, its a safe place and they have a great swiming pool etc. They have agreed to help us out and are giving me resident rates, with a 20% discount on top, plus the childrens rates are really cheap. My plan is that 4 of us would go down. Myself and Peter, plus a best friend of Peter (someone he can choose) plus James, who helps me out with lookking after Peter, James is one of our older boys who has finished school and spent many a night in the hospital looking after Peter.
The cost of the trip for 5 days which includes petrol etc is roughly £1,000 for the 4 of us. Its not often I would use this blog to directly try and raise money, but in this case I must, because I don't have this kind of cash available. I would be hoping to do the trip at the start of April, I can't wait too long in case his health detriorates and we couldn't travel, but I also need time to get organised and raise some money. The hotel have also agreed I don't have to pay the 50% deposit until a week before so they have given me more time than usual. we cannot put this money through the CWK charity as it would not necessarily fit their Trust Deed, so in raising these funds I would just need to receive them in my UK bank account and then I can pay the hotel here in a bank in Nairobi.
As I say i don't often use this to appeal for money directly but in this case the blog seems the best tool. We will still be spending money on Peter's medical care and we do have some funds in the bank to keep going with this, hopefully we will have enough in the long term, but for now we are ok. So I need to raise £1,000 for this special trip for Peter, a final gift, pretty much the last thing I can do for him other than organise his care. If anyone can help please email me and let me know, small or large, anything would be really appreciated, I want this to happen for him, I want him to enjoy the time he has, I want him to get the chance to play in the ocean, mess around in a swimming pool, have some laughs with some friends on the beach, eat some yummy food and for a week just pretend like everything is ok and forget about all this cancer stuff, I want to put life into his days. my email address: kjbkenya@hotmail.co.uk
Finally I must say thank you for all the support so many have given towards Peter over the last 18 months. Your prayers, your financial support have been overwhelming. I am gutted the outcome is not different, but if it wasn't for so many people getting involved perhaps he wouldn't have made it this far. Please keep praying, there is always room left for a miracle.
Friday, 18 February 2011
Thursday, 10 February 2011
MOUNT KENYA - PHOTOS ALSO BELOW POST
ON TOP OF THE WORLD – After years of talking about it, it being a distance dream.. (of mine I’m not sure, but of somone’s, yes), the time finally arrived for our expedition up Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest peak after Kilimanjaro, only 900metres higher. Our expedition was to take 5 nights traversing and ascending into Mount Kenya’s peaks and valleys before climbing the to the summit (or Point Lenana, which is as high as you can walk). We set off, gear in hand to Old Moses camp. The pace is always slow at the start because the biggest fear is getting altitude sickness which at the least means you have to get off the mount, and at the worst means death. The slower you walk the better because it means you acclimatise quicker. Slow walking??? Thats my kind of mountain trip! First camp we were in tents, a little too short for me and David, windy and cold at night and arriving in the dark and trying to find all your stuff was no fun. Our porters carry our stuff, plus some plastic table and chairs for us to dine with, total extravagance. That night at Old Moses there was a hut so we ate sat in side, a delicious meal and then headed to bed. David and I both struggled to sleep and by 2 am, without any sleep we decided to pack up our stuff and head into the hut to sleep in one of the small dorm rooms, so for about 4 hours we slept. Next day we continued to climb, the vegetation changing around us, no more trees, mainly bush, heather and some very unusual looking plant life. We headed up to this beautiful valley which would be only ours for the night. IN the bottom we could see a tiny hut which would be the kitchen and bedroom for the porters, for us it was tents again. The valley was stunning and amazing it was only us there. Through the whole journey we could see some of the peaks of the mount, mainly covered in some snow and it was always drawing us and pulling us closer and closer.
That afternoon as we rested and recovered at camp we start to see what initially looked like cloud moving into the valley. After more inspection we realised it wasn’t cloud but smoke from a fire. Above a whirring noise kept coming and we watched as a helicopter kept going back and forth above us. We discovered through phone calls to basecamp that a fire had been started by Poachers on the Chegoria side of the mountain (supposedly a stunning landscape which we had been saving for our descent). People were being rescued from the fire and it soon became clear we would not be descending the mountain that way. This did bring some initial disappointment from the group but then relief we hadn’t come up that way and got caught in the fire.
The next day we packed up and I was ready early. Because of my bad asthma our expedition organiser had given us extra guides, so Paul one of the guides encouraged me to set off early ahead of the others so we could tackle the first initial climb which would be tough. It was much easier for me to walk at my own pace and control my breathing, my strategy was keep going slow and steady with stopping as little as possible. It was all about rhythm, breathing and walking in rhythm, that’s how I would control my breathing so everytime i stopped it was hard to get back into the rhythm, so me and Paul set off, at my pace, and before I knew it we were at the top of the first hard bit of the morning. I was so pleased and realised if I was going to get to the top the next day I would have to do it this way, on my own with Paul as my guide. The others caught up and we descended into another valley and slowly headed to Shiptons, our final Hut before the summit. The landscape continued to change and became more and more weird with what looked like alien plant life. The closest thing I could compare it to would be a Star Trek ‘set’ from the early episodes in the 60s or 70s, it was crazy.
Reaching Shiptons we felt the cold and could see the mighty task before us to reach point Lenana. It was standing there above us, proud and majestic, partly snow covered with an almighty steep scree just before it. All of us felt anxious, how was this going to be possible???? Even knowing that thousands had gone before us in time, it still seemed crazy and impossible. There was an air of anticipation in the camp that night, as we ate, read our books, talked with some crazy Israelis who were also climbing the next day. We kept going outside the hut to see the mountain, I guess hoping in some way it had changed shape and wasn’t quite as bad as the last time we looked, or perhaps maybe just we had missed looking for an easy route. It never changed, and remained the same shape all night funnily enough.
I woke at 1am, knowing that in an hour we were to get up, so I put my ipod on and watched the minutes tick by. At 2am we rose, started packing our things in the dark, (having all pretty much slept in the clothes we were to climb in that day). Tea and biscuits for breakfast and then back packs on and for the first time, really warm clothes, rain coats, gaiters, waterproof trousers, basically the works. My day pack was filled with snacks and energy stuff to keep me going. As usual I was ready before everyone else so Paul grabbed me and said lets go. We set off, the first to ascend the final stage. I had my head torch on, walking poles at the ready and set off in the pitch black. My plan was clear, using my head start, stay as long as you can infront of the others, so then when they catch up and go past hopefully there would not be as far to go so I could reach them and join them at the top so they wouldn’t have to be hanging around for me. So head down, breathing kept in control and realise its just going to be uphill for the next 3 – 4 hours in the dark. As we set off my head was down with the torch just lighting the way in front of me, the ground sparkled like it was covered in thousands of diamonds, the gravel, the grass, the plants, the rocks, the sand, everything sparkled, it was magical. But soon this began to end and we got to the scree, climbing each step but occasionally the feet slipping back. I tried to just look forward and not think of the others behind me, but after not long I could see the torches below getting closer and closer and then I heard talking. As we stopped to breathe I looked behind and realised it was the Israelis, who had set off the same time as the rest of my crew behind me, but seemed to be powering on hard. We let them pass, and began to walk again, my crew still a fair way behind, mayb 15 minutes gap. We carried on at the pace of my choosing, slow and steady, one foot at a time in front of the other, breathing in breathing out hard, breathing in, breathing out hard, we just kept walking and to my shock somehow we seemed to have caught up with the Israelis, they had slowed right down and were struggling. We passed them but they kept up and then they passed me, it was like playing tag for about 20 minutes, until I was ahead and had created a gap between me and them. I wasn’t trying to race them, I was trying to concentrate on my own pace, but secretly inside I was pleased to be back in the lead again. My own group seemed far away but I knew the higher we got the slower I would become and I was sure they would catch me anyways. We stopped to rest by a Tarn, still in the dark, we sat myself and paul, rested and he told me the next step is the last stage, 1 hours climb. I looked down and couldn;t see any lights, we sat for 10 minutes eating and resting. My eyes were adjusting to the light and I could see the peak looming ominously above me, a large black rock shape that was obviously bigger than a single rock, but there it was. I began to see how steep it was around us and that the scree just ran straight down, if you got dizzy and fell it would be a long way rolling down the mountain at this stage. One Israeli met us and sat down, but we had rested enough and set off again. At this stage it began to dawn on me that perhaps if I could keep going maybe I could get to the top first... me the asthma boy, overweight and unfit might just make it there for the sunrise and the honour of being first (although I did have a head start so it wouldn’t be that amazing).
We set off and boy did it get hard, then harder and even harder still. Soon we were scrambling over rocks and the steps up and over rocks grew bigger and harder, harder to control breathing, legs aching, oxygen getting lower and weather getting colder. The closer we got to the top the more I could see and the more it felt it was getting further and further away. I began to stop more and more to breathe, the torches below getting closer and closer, I knew the Israelis were picking up the pace and I had resolved to myself I had got this far being in the lead I must get to the top first, I was not going to let the Israelis snatch victory in the final stages. We kept pushing, higher and higher, the top getting closer but the climb getting harder. I could see the last stretch, I dug in deep pushed hard, threw caution to the wind and worked my way up to the final moment, a large rock to climb up, Paul gave me his hand but I was determined to do it myself, I pulled my way up and there we were, on top of the world... well the small bit of world around me. I could see the flag on the final few rocks, Paul waited and let me rush to it, I hugged it and leaned on it, breathing and seeing the sun just start to peak above the horizon. I had made it, I made it first, I was at the top, in time for sunrise.... I could not believe it. For a few minutes I had the place to myself, it was mine, my flag, my summit, my view, I had done the impossible. What relief and what joy. The Israelis soon joined me and I shook their hands (with a little smugness inside, but really just happy, and pleased for them too). About 10 minutes later the rest of the gang joined. I think we timed it perfectly, I had left maybe 15 mins before them and so it was perfect we were all at the top at the same time.
We spent 20 – 30 mins at the top, watching the sunrise, taking photos and trying to take it all in. BUT it was freezing... I was struggling to control my breathing and soon it was time to go down. This was the hardest bit, we had to cross a very steep rocky and snowy and icy section which at times meant being on all fours holding on to the mountain. One bad slip and you would be sliding down to major injury if not death! This threw me, it wasn’t the height or danger but in concentrating so much on climbing down I forgot to control the breathing and I lost it, and for an asthmatic thats a big deal. We got to the point of being able to walk a bit easy down but my breathing had gone, my body was devoid of energy and I trudged down, the back of our group, defeated by my inability to breathe. There is a small hut on the other side which we were not using and I just got there, lay on the gravel slope on my side curled up, I was done, I was spent, I didn’t want to go any further. I was sad at that point, I thought of my grandmother who had just passed and sat their slowly attempting to eat a pop tart but each chew required too much strength, tears rolling down my cheeks through my glasses. It was my lowest moment. I gone from total joy and jubilation from being at the top to being lost, sad, grieving and drained of energy. Everyone was ready to press on down. I picked myself up, wiped my cheeks, Paul who had come to know me very well came over as I set off down he just took my day bag off me, he knew I was spent and had little energy and was struggling to breathe. He took my back pack and we headed down, past the glacier down another scree, past the most beautiful pool at the bottom of the glacier and by 11:30am we reached the next hut. I was done, I was wrecked, we had breakfast and I went to lay down. I was worried my breathing was still not right.
An hour later they called us for lunch I began to eat a sandwhich when suddenly I realised the sandwich had peanut butter in it, i couldn’t believe it, it was the last thing I needed. My lips swelled a little, there was an itch in my throat and a pain in my chest and started to feel sick. I tried to blank it out but I couldn’t. I went to lay down, I slept, relaxed and in time it faded away. By evening I had regained some strength, the breathing was better. Next day we continued down Naramora side, at pace, the plan to reach the hut and then next day walk to the gate. Word came though that there was a problem at our last hut etc and so perhaps we would be picked up there and go stay at someones house. In a way I was sad we wouldn’t walk to the gate but as time pressed on and the first rain set in I decided, we had done it, we had done the mountain and it was time to go. The final 9 kms on the last day would have been on a dirt road, we would not have seen much so I was happy we were leaving, I was stinking, I was ready for warm weather and a shower.
So we had done it... in fact the hardest bit of the whole trip was sleeping at night, it was horrible, but the climbing, when I was able to do my own thing was fine and despite a rubbish descent I had made it and done it well. We were slow, but that was to our advantage as none of us had issues with altitude sickness and hadn’t taken any tablets to prevent this. I loved the top and I am so glad I did it. I joked with my friends and people who had organised the trip beforehand, trying to show I was forced into the trip and didn’t really want to go and well if you asked me a week before I really wasn’t interested in the trip, i had so much going on at work and in my life I was struggling to face the thought of doing the mountain. But having done it, it was fantastic, hard, fun, tiring but great. Don’t think I would be going to the top again, but maybe the next challenge is Killimanjaro... we will see.
That afternoon as we rested and recovered at camp we start to see what initially looked like cloud moving into the valley. After more inspection we realised it wasn’t cloud but smoke from a fire. Above a whirring noise kept coming and we watched as a helicopter kept going back and forth above us. We discovered through phone calls to basecamp that a fire had been started by Poachers on the Chegoria side of the mountain (supposedly a stunning landscape which we had been saving for our descent). People were being rescued from the fire and it soon became clear we would not be descending the mountain that way. This did bring some initial disappointment from the group but then relief we hadn’t come up that way and got caught in the fire.
The next day we packed up and I was ready early. Because of my bad asthma our expedition organiser had given us extra guides, so Paul one of the guides encouraged me to set off early ahead of the others so we could tackle the first initial climb which would be tough. It was much easier for me to walk at my own pace and control my breathing, my strategy was keep going slow and steady with stopping as little as possible. It was all about rhythm, breathing and walking in rhythm, that’s how I would control my breathing so everytime i stopped it was hard to get back into the rhythm, so me and Paul set off, at my pace, and before I knew it we were at the top of the first hard bit of the morning. I was so pleased and realised if I was going to get to the top the next day I would have to do it this way, on my own with Paul as my guide. The others caught up and we descended into another valley and slowly headed to Shiptons, our final Hut before the summit. The landscape continued to change and became more and more weird with what looked like alien plant life. The closest thing I could compare it to would be a Star Trek ‘set’ from the early episodes in the 60s or 70s, it was crazy.
Reaching Shiptons we felt the cold and could see the mighty task before us to reach point Lenana. It was standing there above us, proud and majestic, partly snow covered with an almighty steep scree just before it. All of us felt anxious, how was this going to be possible???? Even knowing that thousands had gone before us in time, it still seemed crazy and impossible. There was an air of anticipation in the camp that night, as we ate, read our books, talked with some crazy Israelis who were also climbing the next day. We kept going outside the hut to see the mountain, I guess hoping in some way it had changed shape and wasn’t quite as bad as the last time we looked, or perhaps maybe just we had missed looking for an easy route. It never changed, and remained the same shape all night funnily enough.
I woke at 1am, knowing that in an hour we were to get up, so I put my ipod on and watched the minutes tick by. At 2am we rose, started packing our things in the dark, (having all pretty much slept in the clothes we were to climb in that day). Tea and biscuits for breakfast and then back packs on and for the first time, really warm clothes, rain coats, gaiters, waterproof trousers, basically the works. My day pack was filled with snacks and energy stuff to keep me going. As usual I was ready before everyone else so Paul grabbed me and said lets go. We set off, the first to ascend the final stage. I had my head torch on, walking poles at the ready and set off in the pitch black. My plan was clear, using my head start, stay as long as you can infront of the others, so then when they catch up and go past hopefully there would not be as far to go so I could reach them and join them at the top so they wouldn’t have to be hanging around for me. So head down, breathing kept in control and realise its just going to be uphill for the next 3 – 4 hours in the dark. As we set off my head was down with the torch just lighting the way in front of me, the ground sparkled like it was covered in thousands of diamonds, the gravel, the grass, the plants, the rocks, the sand, everything sparkled, it was magical. But soon this began to end and we got to the scree, climbing each step but occasionally the feet slipping back. I tried to just look forward and not think of the others behind me, but after not long I could see the torches below getting closer and closer and then I heard talking. As we stopped to breathe I looked behind and realised it was the Israelis, who had set off the same time as the rest of my crew behind me, but seemed to be powering on hard. We let them pass, and began to walk again, my crew still a fair way behind, mayb 15 minutes gap. We carried on at the pace of my choosing, slow and steady, one foot at a time in front of the other, breathing in breathing out hard, breathing in, breathing out hard, we just kept walking and to my shock somehow we seemed to have caught up with the Israelis, they had slowed right down and were struggling. We passed them but they kept up and then they passed me, it was like playing tag for about 20 minutes, until I was ahead and had created a gap between me and them. I wasn’t trying to race them, I was trying to concentrate on my own pace, but secretly inside I was pleased to be back in the lead again. My own group seemed far away but I knew the higher we got the slower I would become and I was sure they would catch me anyways. We stopped to rest by a Tarn, still in the dark, we sat myself and paul, rested and he told me the next step is the last stage, 1 hours climb. I looked down and couldn;t see any lights, we sat for 10 minutes eating and resting. My eyes were adjusting to the light and I could see the peak looming ominously above me, a large black rock shape that was obviously bigger than a single rock, but there it was. I began to see how steep it was around us and that the scree just ran straight down, if you got dizzy and fell it would be a long way rolling down the mountain at this stage. One Israeli met us and sat down, but we had rested enough and set off again. At this stage it began to dawn on me that perhaps if I could keep going maybe I could get to the top first... me the asthma boy, overweight and unfit might just make it there for the sunrise and the honour of being first (although I did have a head start so it wouldn’t be that amazing).
We set off and boy did it get hard, then harder and even harder still. Soon we were scrambling over rocks and the steps up and over rocks grew bigger and harder, harder to control breathing, legs aching, oxygen getting lower and weather getting colder. The closer we got to the top the more I could see and the more it felt it was getting further and further away. I began to stop more and more to breathe, the torches below getting closer and closer, I knew the Israelis were picking up the pace and I had resolved to myself I had got this far being in the lead I must get to the top first, I was not going to let the Israelis snatch victory in the final stages. We kept pushing, higher and higher, the top getting closer but the climb getting harder. I could see the last stretch, I dug in deep pushed hard, threw caution to the wind and worked my way up to the final moment, a large rock to climb up, Paul gave me his hand but I was determined to do it myself, I pulled my way up and there we were, on top of the world... well the small bit of world around me. I could see the flag on the final few rocks, Paul waited and let me rush to it, I hugged it and leaned on it, breathing and seeing the sun just start to peak above the horizon. I had made it, I made it first, I was at the top, in time for sunrise.... I could not believe it. For a few minutes I had the place to myself, it was mine, my flag, my summit, my view, I had done the impossible. What relief and what joy. The Israelis soon joined me and I shook their hands (with a little smugness inside, but really just happy, and pleased for them too). About 10 minutes later the rest of the gang joined. I think we timed it perfectly, I had left maybe 15 mins before them and so it was perfect we were all at the top at the same time.
We spent 20 – 30 mins at the top, watching the sunrise, taking photos and trying to take it all in. BUT it was freezing... I was struggling to control my breathing and soon it was time to go down. This was the hardest bit, we had to cross a very steep rocky and snowy and icy section which at times meant being on all fours holding on to the mountain. One bad slip and you would be sliding down to major injury if not death! This threw me, it wasn’t the height or danger but in concentrating so much on climbing down I forgot to control the breathing and I lost it, and for an asthmatic thats a big deal. We got to the point of being able to walk a bit easy down but my breathing had gone, my body was devoid of energy and I trudged down, the back of our group, defeated by my inability to breathe. There is a small hut on the other side which we were not using and I just got there, lay on the gravel slope on my side curled up, I was done, I was spent, I didn’t want to go any further. I was sad at that point, I thought of my grandmother who had just passed and sat their slowly attempting to eat a pop tart but each chew required too much strength, tears rolling down my cheeks through my glasses. It was my lowest moment. I gone from total joy and jubilation from being at the top to being lost, sad, grieving and drained of energy. Everyone was ready to press on down. I picked myself up, wiped my cheeks, Paul who had come to know me very well came over as I set off down he just took my day bag off me, he knew I was spent and had little energy and was struggling to breathe. He took my back pack and we headed down, past the glacier down another scree, past the most beautiful pool at the bottom of the glacier and by 11:30am we reached the next hut. I was done, I was wrecked, we had breakfast and I went to lay down. I was worried my breathing was still not right.
An hour later they called us for lunch I began to eat a sandwhich when suddenly I realised the sandwich had peanut butter in it, i couldn’t believe it, it was the last thing I needed. My lips swelled a little, there was an itch in my throat and a pain in my chest and started to feel sick. I tried to blank it out but I couldn’t. I went to lay down, I slept, relaxed and in time it faded away. By evening I had regained some strength, the breathing was better. Next day we continued down Naramora side, at pace, the plan to reach the hut and then next day walk to the gate. Word came though that there was a problem at our last hut etc and so perhaps we would be picked up there and go stay at someones house. In a way I was sad we wouldn’t walk to the gate but as time pressed on and the first rain set in I decided, we had done it, we had done the mountain and it was time to go. The final 9 kms on the last day would have been on a dirt road, we would not have seen much so I was happy we were leaving, I was stinking, I was ready for warm weather and a shower.
So we had done it... in fact the hardest bit of the whole trip was sleeping at night, it was horrible, but the climbing, when I was able to do my own thing was fine and despite a rubbish descent I had made it and done it well. We were slow, but that was to our advantage as none of us had issues with altitude sickness and hadn’t taken any tablets to prevent this. I loved the top and I am so glad I did it. I joked with my friends and people who had organised the trip beforehand, trying to show I was forced into the trip and didn’t really want to go and well if you asked me a week before I really wasn’t interested in the trip, i had so much going on at work and in my life I was struggling to face the thought of doing the mountain. But having done it, it was fantastic, hard, fun, tiring but great. Don’t think I would be going to the top again, but maybe the next challenge is Killimanjaro... we will see.
Thursday, 20 January 2011
MORE CHRISTMAS PHOTOS BELOW
IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME... – So the Christmas season has ended and now we are all into the gloomy January days... unless you live in Nairobi where it’s bright sunshine and the hottest month of the year! The Christmas period has been an eventful one for me and not the best, in a way I am glad it’s all over, but there were some good times had with kids. Below this post you will see some photos from our Christmas celebrations with the kids. About a week before Christmas we put up a Christmas tree and decorated it as well as doing some homemade decorations for the hall. On Christmas day I made my way into the home mid morning, and then headed off to the Police station to report the robbery from the day before to get the police report. Back at the home around lunchtime we started to cook something a bit different for the kids, bacon, eggs and beans. It was a bit tricky cooking outside on the charcoal fires, getting the timing right was the biggest challenge but we managed to get everyone fed and there was a mixed reaction to how good the food was... interesting the baked beans didn’t go down too well, which surprised me as they eat beans all the time with rice, but perhaps it was that Baked Beans are sweeter, but the scrambled egg was a big hit! In the afternoon various visitors came and spent time with the kids, this is one of the interesting things about Kenya, on Christmas day many families do their own celebrations and then head out in the afternoon to spend time with the less fortunate. In the evening we played some games outside while the volunteers moved a huge mound of presents, that had been stored in the library, down into the hall under the tree. After the games the kids came into the hall with tables set for dinner with Christmas crackers and seeing all the presents, they were sooooo excited! I had brought 2 large stockings from the UK which were then stuffed with toys. Each child came up about 3 times to get something from the stocking just before we ate. Dinner consisted of beef stew and chapatti, that day I decided to get a higher grade of beef and so the kids loved it! After dinner we handed out the presents and that’s when the real excitement came. Last year each child managed to get some small toy and a second hand book. This year most kids had at least 2 presents and many had 3 or 4 (especially the little kids). It did feel like we had stepped up a bit there. A big thanks to all those that contributed to presents and Christmas which covered wrapping paper, decorations, presents, crackers and decent food! Of course we topped the evening off with a showing of HOME ALONE, the kids favourite, it never seems to fail. Overall a great day, I made it home about 11:30pm after dropping off volunteers, legs, eyes and well the whole body was pretty weary so my bed was like heaven when I got back.
BOXING IN THE SUN – The next morning after Christmas I was up at 7:15am, heading off to church to lead worship for the first time at KVC. It seemed to go well but to be honest I was struggling to keep my eyes open and have the energy to play and sing. After church I whizzed up the road to David and Juliets. The whole armed robbery was starting now to play on my mind as I knew it would come up in conversation over lunch. David and Juliet had invited about 15 people I think round to theirs for lunch. Some people I knew, others it was a first time. There were a few kids playing around, drinks in the garden, and they had put up some dining tables in the garden too, decorated really well and then it was time to eat. We had such a lovely time and for the first time I actually liked Christmas in the sun because it was such a nice day and wonderful to be sat at this elaborate table outside in the sun eating a gorgeous lunch, fantastic. There were the inevitable conversations about what happened on Christmas eve and this was the first point I guess it sunk in that I could have actually been shot and either wounded or dead at this point. Pretty hard to take. But the day was good and I met some new people and made new friends which was nice.
DOUBLE BLOW – Monday I thought I would pop into Cheryls and see how everyone was. I was greeted by an undercover policeman who was talking about the robbery. He was pretty sure that within a couple of weeks they would have the guys responsible. I was sceptical, but entertain his discussion anyway. Tuesday came and I headed into work feeling very low, I guess everything had caught up on me. I headed into hospital with Peter who was getting checked up after his last chemo. He had a slight bump on his head from banging it on a bunk bed and we wanted to get it checked. In the hospital the docs were concerned and decided he needed an xray, our big concern was the cancer was back. I started to walk him to X-ray, wondering what his meant, if his cancer is back what does that all mean. My phone rang and it was my sister with bad news, my Grandmother had just passed away in the night. Trying to concentrate on the phone call in the busy hospital it felt like my world was just turning upside down. The conversation ended and we headed to x-ray. Back at the docs reviewing the x-ray I told the doc what I had just heard, it was all hard to take in. The decision then was to get a CT scan... but all I wanted to do was get out of the hospital and go think about my gran, but I had to persevere for Peter. We did the X-ray and scan and sorted out a few things for Rukia as well. Eventually I left something like 4:30pm. I was exhausted, confused, upset, relieved that Peter seemed to be fine in the end. I dropped him off, gathered my stuff and headed to David and Juliets to stay with them. Walking in the door it all hit me and I burst into tears. Later that evening I spoke to my parents and arranged flights etc to come back to UK for the funeral.
NEW YEAR – The week progressed, flights were booked for the following week and I wanted to get as much work done before I left. New years eve I finished work at 7pm exhausted again and headed over to David and Juliets, there was big group of folks from South Africa staying with them and we had a nice meal, although I have to confess I could have easily gone to bed at 8pm. We ate, we laughed and then headed to Peter Toners house for midnight. Peter is from Scotland and so had organised Haggis and a piper. It was a fantastic night and for a few hours I laughed and joked and forgot about everything that had happened. We left not too late hoping that the new year would bring more joy than sadness!
BACK IN THE COLD – So last week I was in the UK for my grandmothers funeral. Everything went as well as a funeral can, it was difficult saying goodbye, but I was relieved that I had managed to see my gran on my last trip in November and that was a nice memory to have. I just caught up with a few friends and family and didn’t do too much work apart from dealing with a few emails. It was kind of tiring changing beds every few nights and living out of a bag but nice to get a break from Kenya.
BACK IN THE HEAT – So back in Kenya now and it seems the joys of 2011 are not quite here with us yet. Peter, the boy with cancer it turns out now does have big problems, the lump on his head has started to grow again and in the 2 weeks I have not seen him it has progressed at a rapid rate. I know the docs are confused and it seems unusual what has happened. I am yet to speak to them directly but its worrying times. I have heard words about surgery and all sorts but I don’t know for sure yet. It’s all up in the air. Also adding to this, before Christmas I spoke to the docs about Rukia, the other girl we have with cancer, they have told me she has only 30% chance of coming through this too. It’s not looking good. Last week she was in hospital with pneumonia and on oxygen. Thankfully she came home yesterday but her future is up in the air. Both these events are devastating and worrying, I’m not sure what is going to happen but we are in a serious situation with them both now and I know in the next few days we will have to make a very tough decision about Peter.
FINDING SNOW IN KENYA – Now if I asked you where can you find snow in Kenya, you might probably say on Mount Kilimanjaro, but of course you would be wrong, because Kili is actually in Tanzania. So where else would you find snow??? Up mount Kenya of course! It’s the second highest peak in Africa, I think only 1000ft lower than Kili so it’s still pretty high. I think there might be some snow on top, but just depends on the time of year. Anyways next week on Thursday 27th January, 5 of us are heading up mount Kenya. This trip has been on the cards for over a year or so, and it is finally here. We will take 5 nights and 6 days to do the whole trek. It’s going to be huge, sleeping in tents and huts, freezing cold, battling with altitude sickness etc but I do hear it’s well worth it, well that’s what I hear, I’ll let you know what I think when we get down! Only 1 week to go now!
CRIMEWATCH – So since the whole Christmas eve robbery things heated up around the Cheryls area. This one gang has basically moved in and been doing car jacking and mugging people at gun point. Sadly a child was shot nearby and other vehicles have been car jacked. However it seems things have now calmed down. The police did stick to their word about dealing with it. They moved in a big unit of under cover police and have been tracking down the gang. The easiest way for them to solve this problem is simply to shoot the gang and execute them, much easier than bothering with prisons and trials. It’s an interesting tactical approach one of which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand it feels good that this gang will have gone, but at the same time just killing them off feels a bit wierd. They have chosen that life though and they know this is how the police react. So it seems things are quietening down again and hopefully back to normal. We are looking at improving our own security at the home, but I am hoping and do expect things will be back to normal. This kind of pattern happens all over Nairobi, a gang moves in, cause problems, police move in and kill them off, a new gang sets up somewhere else where the police are not around. So please don’t let any of this stuff worry potential visitors, you probably stand more chance of being run over by a car in the UK than anything happening to you here, so I reckon that’s the best way to look at it!
BOXING IN THE SUN – The next morning after Christmas I was up at 7:15am, heading off to church to lead worship for the first time at KVC. It seemed to go well but to be honest I was struggling to keep my eyes open and have the energy to play and sing. After church I whizzed up the road to David and Juliets. The whole armed robbery was starting now to play on my mind as I knew it would come up in conversation over lunch. David and Juliet had invited about 15 people I think round to theirs for lunch. Some people I knew, others it was a first time. There were a few kids playing around, drinks in the garden, and they had put up some dining tables in the garden too, decorated really well and then it was time to eat. We had such a lovely time and for the first time I actually liked Christmas in the sun because it was such a nice day and wonderful to be sat at this elaborate table outside in the sun eating a gorgeous lunch, fantastic. There were the inevitable conversations about what happened on Christmas eve and this was the first point I guess it sunk in that I could have actually been shot and either wounded or dead at this point. Pretty hard to take. But the day was good and I met some new people and made new friends which was nice.
DOUBLE BLOW – Monday I thought I would pop into Cheryls and see how everyone was. I was greeted by an undercover policeman who was talking about the robbery. He was pretty sure that within a couple of weeks they would have the guys responsible. I was sceptical, but entertain his discussion anyway. Tuesday came and I headed into work feeling very low, I guess everything had caught up on me. I headed into hospital with Peter who was getting checked up after his last chemo. He had a slight bump on his head from banging it on a bunk bed and we wanted to get it checked. In the hospital the docs were concerned and decided he needed an xray, our big concern was the cancer was back. I started to walk him to X-ray, wondering what his meant, if his cancer is back what does that all mean. My phone rang and it was my sister with bad news, my Grandmother had just passed away in the night. Trying to concentrate on the phone call in the busy hospital it felt like my world was just turning upside down. The conversation ended and we headed to x-ray. Back at the docs reviewing the x-ray I told the doc what I had just heard, it was all hard to take in. The decision then was to get a CT scan... but all I wanted to do was get out of the hospital and go think about my gran, but I had to persevere for Peter. We did the X-ray and scan and sorted out a few things for Rukia as well. Eventually I left something like 4:30pm. I was exhausted, confused, upset, relieved that Peter seemed to be fine in the end. I dropped him off, gathered my stuff and headed to David and Juliets to stay with them. Walking in the door it all hit me and I burst into tears. Later that evening I spoke to my parents and arranged flights etc to come back to UK for the funeral.
NEW YEAR – The week progressed, flights were booked for the following week and I wanted to get as much work done before I left. New years eve I finished work at 7pm exhausted again and headed over to David and Juliets, there was big group of folks from South Africa staying with them and we had a nice meal, although I have to confess I could have easily gone to bed at 8pm. We ate, we laughed and then headed to Peter Toners house for midnight. Peter is from Scotland and so had organised Haggis and a piper. It was a fantastic night and for a few hours I laughed and joked and forgot about everything that had happened. We left not too late hoping that the new year would bring more joy than sadness!
BACK IN THE COLD – So last week I was in the UK for my grandmothers funeral. Everything went as well as a funeral can, it was difficult saying goodbye, but I was relieved that I had managed to see my gran on my last trip in November and that was a nice memory to have. I just caught up with a few friends and family and didn’t do too much work apart from dealing with a few emails. It was kind of tiring changing beds every few nights and living out of a bag but nice to get a break from Kenya.
BACK IN THE HEAT – So back in Kenya now and it seems the joys of 2011 are not quite here with us yet. Peter, the boy with cancer it turns out now does have big problems, the lump on his head has started to grow again and in the 2 weeks I have not seen him it has progressed at a rapid rate. I know the docs are confused and it seems unusual what has happened. I am yet to speak to them directly but its worrying times. I have heard words about surgery and all sorts but I don’t know for sure yet. It’s all up in the air. Also adding to this, before Christmas I spoke to the docs about Rukia, the other girl we have with cancer, they have told me she has only 30% chance of coming through this too. It’s not looking good. Last week she was in hospital with pneumonia and on oxygen. Thankfully she came home yesterday but her future is up in the air. Both these events are devastating and worrying, I’m not sure what is going to happen but we are in a serious situation with them both now and I know in the next few days we will have to make a very tough decision about Peter.
FINDING SNOW IN KENYA – Now if I asked you where can you find snow in Kenya, you might probably say on Mount Kilimanjaro, but of course you would be wrong, because Kili is actually in Tanzania. So where else would you find snow??? Up mount Kenya of course! It’s the second highest peak in Africa, I think only 1000ft lower than Kili so it’s still pretty high. I think there might be some snow on top, but just depends on the time of year. Anyways next week on Thursday 27th January, 5 of us are heading up mount Kenya. This trip has been on the cards for over a year or so, and it is finally here. We will take 5 nights and 6 days to do the whole trek. It’s going to be huge, sleeping in tents and huts, freezing cold, battling with altitude sickness etc but I do hear it’s well worth it, well that’s what I hear, I’ll let you know what I think when we get down! Only 1 week to go now!
CRIMEWATCH – So since the whole Christmas eve robbery things heated up around the Cheryls area. This one gang has basically moved in and been doing car jacking and mugging people at gun point. Sadly a child was shot nearby and other vehicles have been car jacked. However it seems things have now calmed down. The police did stick to their word about dealing with it. They moved in a big unit of under cover police and have been tracking down the gang. The easiest way for them to solve this problem is simply to shoot the gang and execute them, much easier than bothering with prisons and trials. It’s an interesting tactical approach one of which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand it feels good that this gang will have gone, but at the same time just killing them off feels a bit wierd. They have chosen that life though and they know this is how the police react. So it seems things are quietening down again and hopefully back to normal. We are looking at improving our own security at the home, but I am hoping and do expect things will be back to normal. This kind of pattern happens all over Nairobi, a gang moves in, cause problems, police move in and kill them off, a new gang sets up somewhere else where the police are not around. So please don’t let any of this stuff worry potential visitors, you probably stand more chance of being run over by a car in the UK than anything happening to you here, so I reckon that’s the best way to look at it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)