Things are actually a bit of a mess, but I’ll push through. I think I’ve reached a new level of resilience, although honestly these past few days have rattled me a little.

My troubles all started with the first COVID Vaccination.

The second night, I had intense, cycling leg cramps, lasting the whole night, and three nights to follow. Not like normal muscular cramps, it was like my legs were caught in the mouth of an angry octopus or something, just a relentless, stinging attack. I had to have a thing called a “Doppler Scan” to exclude DVT.

The second jab didn’t cause the same effect, although I was braced for it. I did get some minor leg swelling and cramps, but the difficulty was more generalised. Two weeks of diarrhea, general sickness, and suddenly on the third morning, I woke up deaf in my right ear.

My doctor ordered a CT Scan, and diagnosed “vaccine induced multisystem inflammatory syndrome”, which is basically where the body overproduces antibodies and they start attacking healthy tissue. He said the hearing loss is ‘most probably’ temporary and prescribed steroids, and ordered the scan to exclude anything more serious/sinister.

So I saw him again on tuesday and explained the scan revealed a 3x3x3mm mass in the lining of the sac that surrounds my brain, suspected as a (benign?) meningioma. I mean .. c’mon. So just wednesday I get the all clear on the stage 4 head and neck cancer. Just last week !

And now, the doctor says I may have a cancer in my brain, likely a mutation triggered by all the radiation (I would have taken exit doses to the back of my skull, brain, jawline, I had pretty high intensity radiation treatment.

So NOW I need to wait for an MRI. I could get it done privately, but with the border closures forcing the collapse of my travel insurance company, I just don’t have the means (they want $580) so I’m getting it done in the hospital system (hopefully they’ll schedule it for next week, fingers crossed, as I’m a bit anxious about it).

Anyway, every liklihood that it’s a benign growth, and I’ll be referred to a neurosurgeon who can give an opinion on whether it should be surgically excised, or left ‘under surveillance’ (like a 6 monthly or annual CT scan).

What a mess, haha !

And CAPTAIN AUSTRALIA’S BIG WALK is looming ever closer. It’s like 5 weeks now (ish). It’s not a good time to take a break — but my eldest son brought a cold/flu situation home from school, and I’ve picked it up – so even though the steroids were helping reverse the deafness, now that I have all this fluid and congestion, I’ve gone deaf in my right ear AGAIN!

So the universe is conspiring against our bold hero, Captain Australia !

But I won’t let it grind me down.

Tomorrow is my wife’s birthday – and as they say, “happy wife, happy life”, so I’m going to give her a pleasant day, take her to a movie (unless I’m still coughing/infectious), and the boys have made her some nice birthday cards & stuff.

Hoping to get out and about dressed up as Captain Australia on the weekend.

CHARITY PAGE (donate!): https://captain-australias-big-walk.raisely.com/
PERSONAL BLOG (rabbit hole!): https://atomic-temporary-196781785.wpcomstaging.com
FACEBOOK (live streams!): https://www.facebook.com/CapsBIGWALK
The Project Story (best re-telling): https://youtu.be/kYXUAa3E4lk
TODAY Show story (funniest re-telling): https://youtu.be/M5bVYzNtLSo