The nature of the beast.




Yesterday,18th July I had my annual appointment with my neurologist. Very well aware that my condition has deteriorated, that visit held no surprises for me. I am finding it increasingly difficult to walk these days, and so when he told my my front line medication if now failing, he simply confirmed what I already knew. I have been on it for twelve years, not a bad run.

He wants me to discontinue the Avonex...duh! He wants me to go on the relatively new treatment,Tysabrl. It is a monthly infusion. That means 2 – 3 hours in hospital once a month. He suggested it a year ago and I declined. Now he tells me that if I do not accept this treatment,I will be in a wheel chair in five years or less. I believe him, it is getting hard to walk. The writing is on the wall so to speak, and it is the nature of the beast after all.

The only problem is that I may has a virus lurking in my body. It occurs with M.S. sometimes, If I have this virus I cannot go on Tysbrl. To do so could have catastrophic consequences, not the least of which is possible brain damage or even death. I had to had a blood test to determine if I have this virus or not. My blood is being sent to Denmark in Europe for testing. It cannot be tested in Australia. My neurologist says if the virus is present I could still go on Tsabrl for twelve months maximum. Sounds like Russian roulette to me. If I have the virus I will reject this treatment. A wheel chair has got to be better than a coffin!

Tysabrl is no cure for M.S. though it is proving effective in slowing the disease somewhat. There are other treatments available so all is not lost if the virus is present. My excellent but scary neurologist will just have to come up with one of them. I am not a damn guinea pig!

My am enigma and I was born in Ashford, Kent England way back in 1950. While I missed world war two, I certainly saw plenty evidence of it! My playgrounds were the bomb sites and air raid shelters left behind. And there were what we kids used to call “Tank stops.” They were like little flat topped pyramids,made of concrete they dotted the countryside. Never did know what they really were. The air raid shelters were dank, gloomy places. It must have been terrible to sit in them while the German bombers tried to flatten the town. A lot of Europe was little more than a pile of rubble by the end of the war.




My first school, the Newtown primary school was anything but new! In fact it was well over a hundred years old,. The playground was asphalt and enclosed by a high brick wall. On the other side of the wall was the railway line. If a ball happened to go over the wall it was never seen again.

The village green was a fun place though and all us kids used it to the full! There was a farm close by and a friend and I used to make a bit of pocket money by collecting food scraps around the neighbourhood and taking them to the farmer in a wheel barrow. He would feed his pigs this “pigswill.” Or we would roam around looking for bits of scrap metal which we would sell to the Ironmonger for a few pennies. We looked forward to the bakers van coming round because we could buy a large finger bun with a strip of icing and a sprinkle of coconut for a farthing.(quarter of a penny)

My Grandparents lived in Dover so I got to go to the seaside quite often, though there was no sand to speak of, as the beach is all pebbles, some quite large. I was often treated to a paper bag of winkles at the beach. (small sea snails) They were cooked of course and you dug them out of their shell with a pin. My other grandparents lived in Scotland and we would travel there by train every year. They were pretty scary to be honest but I had lots of cousins to play with. One year my family went to France and Italy for a holiday. I don’t remember much about that. I do remember the border guards coming on the coach with their guns at the Italian border. (I think they were just checking passports)

When I was eleven my family emigrated to Australia. We sailed from South Hampton docks. (Where the Titanic sailed from) It was February 1962 and it was snowing. There was also thin layer of ice on the water too. I remember that.

 have never liked my own sex much and from early childhood rig up to the present, most of my friends have been of the fairer sex. I was sad to leave one particular girl behind (she was about eight at the time, I was eleven) here name was Caroline. Funny thing is, eight years later I went on a blind date (as a favour to my sister) My date turned out to be the Caroline I had left behind in England! True!! We dated for a little while but it didn’t come to anything.

I have now been in Australia for 50 years and have never returned to the “old country.” I have been married twice, to the second wife for 27 years (so far!) I have two sons,one step son and three grand kids. They are now successful young adults and visit us often.My second wife and I have also raised two foster daughters (sisters) Some years ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, not a very aggressive form but it is making inroads and I am now on an invalid support pension. I can still walk, though my balance is a bit shaky. Still, I have plenty of time for my family and my writing now, so it is all good.

It has been said that each day of life is a gift from God. That is why it is called the present. Might sound like a corny play on words but it is a truism and we should be grateful for what he have.

Well the sun looks pretty insipid today. It is sitting up there in a clear pale blue sky. Not a hint of cloud anywhere. That generally means a cold night. In fact at three in the afternoon it is already quite cold. For winter it is good really. This is pretty muck as cold as it gets. It is currently 64F dropping to 40F tonight. I should not complain. Hey this is winter!


Last Sunday I went for my annual M.R.I. Scan. 70 minutes laying inside that noisy “torpedo tube” is not my favorite pass time. Lol Wednesday the 18th I see my Neurologist for my assessment. He will have the results. It won't surprise me, I know I have gotten worse. Don't need an M.R.I. To tell me that! I am finding it increasingly difficult to stand up. When I do get up I am pretty wobbly on my feet. He will notice the difference for sure,he watches me like a hawk! Hope he doesn't try and talking me into going for a monthly infusion instead of my current weekly injection. I don't want the infusion, even if the injection is not helping much anymore.


Normally my wife and I fly over to Adelaide August – September. This year we want to pay for my son,his partner and our granddaughter to come to Perth. I know they can't afford it and that they would like to come. Have to put it to them soon. Trouble is, I can't afford to pay for my other son and his partner as well. I am afraid he will spit the dummy! I'm afraid he has a chip bigger than Texas on his shoulder! He lived here with me and Jenny years ago. We paid for him to come and five years later we paid for him to go back as well. I hope he remembers that.


We have the grandkids for the day and I better go spend some time with them, I think they are wearing my Jenny out! We are not so young anymore and the pair of them are a hell of a handful. (We love them though and don't see too much of them, as they live quite a distance away.

Illegals