New Year, New Mojo

With no exaggeration, 2012 turned out to be the WORST year in my life. It has been such as a difficult year, that I would really like to just write it off, but in between all the dramatic events has been a few but very sparse good moments.

My family entered 2012 with negotiations well under way for the sale of our house in Newcastle, after having rented it out for the last 4.5 years after moving away from Newcastle in 2007 for hubby's work and living in an employer supplied house. Late 2011 we moved to our current town for a promotion for hubby, where we moved into a (very small) rental house while we waited for our house to sell. We were sad to be selling the house that held so many memories for us, but excited about being able to purchase our own house again. 

Ethan in his pavlik harness

 

We had also just discovered that our baby, Ethan, had DDH (hip dysplasia/clicky hips) and had just had a Pavlik harness fitted which kept his hips in the correct position for them to develop. This turned our already unsettled baby into an extremely unsetlled baby who would only go to sleep, being breastfed, for about 20-45 minutes during the day and then at night-time, doing a 4 hour stint, then every 2 hours. Needless to say, it didnt take long for this to do my head in, but it wouldnt be until he was over 12 months old for his sleep to become better. 

Barely a few days into 2012, we discovered that my beloved mother-in-law Valerie, had a blocked bile duct. Further investigations discovered that it was a pancreatic tumour causing the blockage. Valerie underwent one operation straightaway to put in a shunt to reopen the bile duct, and then had to build up her strength for a huge 10 hour operation a few weeks later, to remove the tumour and to basically re-jig her digestive system. The day of her operation, was also the day our house settled, so we were on tenderhooks all day until we finally had the (separate) phone calls to say that a) our house had finally sold and b) Valerie had come through the sugery really well and that the surgeon was quite confident that he had removed it all.

A week after Valerie's operation was the 25th anniversary of the passing of my mum, Deanne, so it was a very difficult and emotional week for me, in remembering my mum's passing and also having Valerie, who has been like a 2nd (or should that be 3rd, with my step-mother for the past 22 years as 2nd) mother to me for the last 17 years facing such a large operation. It also made me think a lot about the situation surrounding my mum's passing and that led to a lot of soul-searching and very negative memories.

Our new house, not much to look at, but it is ours!

Once the sale of our house was completed, we begun looking at houses to purchase, having a big list of not only the items that was essential, but also the things that we would like to have, in a house. After discounting quite a few, we eventually found our house. One look through it, and we made an offer on the spot. The only thing the house didn't have that we really wanted, was a second bathroom, but the laundry was large enough that we could easily fit a second toilet, as being the only female in a family of 6 there is a lot of mis-aiming that occurs. I really dont understand how it can be so hard to aim. but apparently it is. Enough said on that subject I think.

In March, my Dad was also diagnosed with cancer, multiple myeloma, which is a cancer of the blood, where too much plasma is produced and it attacks the bones, causing them to soften and weaken. A few weeks after beginning chemotherapy, Dad had an episode where he was unable to speak and had a few seizures. He was flown to Melbourne by air ambulance and spent a couple of days in ICU. It was a very emotional time, seeing my father who to me, has always been as strong as an ox, laid up in hospital with tubes and wires coming out everywhere, and coming on top of Valerie's prognosis and the significant anniversary of my mum's passing. Thankfully, Dad recovered very well and there has been no more seizures since. He has recently undergone a stem cell transplant and although recovery from that is slow (as we were warned it would be) his prognosis is great. We were told he would still need neuro-surgery at some this year to have a metal plate inserted where there is a defect in his skull, but this may actually not be needed as the bone has just started to regrow and is covering the hole.

With my precious MIL Valerie, at Disney on Ice, 2011

In July, on our way back home from a holiday, we spent a few days at Bendigo with hubby's parents. Valerie had been unwell for a few weeks, with constant nausea and vomiting, and had been admitted to hospital. They were unable to discover the cause of it and after a few weeks, referred her back to her specialist in Melbourne. There, her doctor discovered that the tumour had returned and was blocking her bowel, causing her to be so unwell. Although his team was willing to operate and attempt to remove it, both Valerie, her husband (hubby's dad) Geoff and the doctor felt that it was best not to proceed with the operation, but to spend her remaining time which was only a few days/weeks at most, not recovering from such a major procedure which may have given her at best a few more weeks. We raced down to base ourselves in Bendigo to spend time with Valerie in hospital in Melbourne. It was such a sad time knowing that we were losing her, but it was joyous in knowing that the pain and suffering of the majority of this year would soon be ended and that she would be going to meet her God and eternal home. On the Thursday, we spent the majority of the day with Valerie where she was able to tell us all that she wanted to, and how proud she was of each of us, and us telling her everything we wanted to. On the Friday, hubby, his sister Karen (who had also arrived the day before) and Geoff were able to spend time with Valerie, reminiscing over all their family memories, and Valerie was also able to plan her Thanksgiving Service with them. Plans were also made for Valerie to be transferred back to Bendigoto the hospice the following day. We were again able to spend some time with Valerie on the Saturday before she was sedated. On Sunday afternoon, we returned home as Valerie was going to be kept highly medicated and would only have brief periods of wakefulness. In the early morning hours, of Tuesday August 21st, Valerie peacefully passed away in her sleep and went to meet God who she had so faithfully served all these years. We still miss her, each and every day, but are slowly adjusting to life without her.

In September, just after Ethan's first birthday, he had his two-monthly appointment with his specialist and the x-ray showed that after only 10 months in his brace, his hips had developed absolutely perfectly and had finally turned to bone, meaning that he no longer needed his brace. While Ethan had learned to cope with his brace and had learned to sit, crawl, stand and even walk while holding onto things in his brace, it was such a relief to get rid of it. The specialist is confident that he will not need any further treatment and is not at any increased risk than the normal public of needing a hip replacement later in life. He has since become a lot more settled and happier which is also a great relief, especially as he is now sleeping a lot better at night time.

So there we are, 2012 in a nutshell. With everything that has happened, my crafts have really taken a back seat, so my New Years Resolution is to get back into scrapping and cardmaking and all my other crafts. Of course, to effectively do that, I really need to find the motivation to clear out our garage, so that my dreams of a "Craft Cave" (as our whole house seems to be a Man Cave) can come to fruition. Here's to a great 2013 with plenty of craft!