Thursday 29 January 2009

It's not about the bike

No it sure isn't. It's about courage, an unwavering determination and a fighting spirit.

Lance Armstrong grew up in a rugged town in Texas, without the love of a father or the comfort of a stable income. But he was surrounded by his mother's tireless caring which instilled in him the confidence and the fighting spirit that saw him through not just the record breaking 7 Tour de Frances' but also through the even more difficult cancer treatments.

I've spent my life racing my bike, from the back roads of Austin, Texas to the Champs-Elysees, and I always figured if I died an untimely death, it would be because some rancher in his Dodge 4x4 ran me head first into a ditch. Believe me, it could happen. Cyclists fight an ongoing war with guys in big trucks, and so many vehicles have hit me, so many times, in so many countries, I've lost count.

At the age of 25 Lance was the picture of health, and begining to look the picture of wealth. All troubles seemed to be behind him, but the feeling was short-lived for fate had other plans. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had already spread into his lungs, he was in stage 3, and there were only 3 stages.

I thought I knew what fear was, Until I heard the words 'You have cancer'. Real fear came with an unmistakable sensation: it was as though all my blood started flowing in the wrong direction. My previous fears, fear of not being liked, fear of being laughed at, fear of losing my money, suddenly seemed like small cowardices. Everything now stacked up differently: the anxieties of life- a flat tire, losing my career, a traffic jam- were reprioritized into need versus want, real problem as opposed to minor scare. A bumpy plane ride was a bumpy plane ride, it wasn't cancer.

Immediate surgery was needed followed by an intensive chemotherapy, but the tale took another twist, the cancer had spread to his brain, his chances were slim, as slim as 3%, this information was somehow withheld from him, and he believed he had a 20% chance, whereby he started researching the disease, trying to strategise how to beat it. The game plan!

Brain surgery was called for to remove the malignant tissue. Followed by months long Chemotherapy.

The question was, which would the chemo kill first: the cancer, or me? My life became one long IV drip, a sickening routine: If I wasn't in pain I was vomiting, and if I wasn't vomiting, I was thinking about what I had, and if I wasn't thinking about what I had, I was wondering when it was going to be over. That's chemo for you.

The sickness was in the details, in the nasty asides of the treatment. Cancer was a vague sense of unwellness, but chemo was an endless series of specific horrors, until I began to think the cure was as bad as or worse than, the disease. What a casual bystander associates with cancer- loss of hair, sickly pallor, a wasting away- are actually the side effects of the treatment. Chemo was a burning in my veins, a matter of being slowly eaten from the inside out by a destroying river of pollutants until I didn't have an eyelash to bat. Chemo was a continuous cough, hacking up black mysterious, tar like matter from deep in my chest. Chemo was a constant, doubling-over need to go to the bathroom.

Despite the odds stacked up against him, he made it. And the cancer made him a different man.

People think my comeback as a triumph, but in the begining, it was a disaster. When you have lived for an entire year terrified of dying, you feel like you deserve to spend the rest of your days on a permanent vacation. You can't, of course; you have to return to your family, your peers, and your profession. But a part of me didn't want my old life back

With the help of his friends and newly found wife, he fought the depression and did get back on the bike. His previous contract with the professional cycling team "Cofidis" was withdrawn while he was in hospital. They didn't beleive he was going to make any more money for them. As Lance puts it, "The rug was pulled from beneath my feet" ,and "they let me there to die"

They searched for months for a team who would be willing to risk signing in a weakened ex-biker, until a new organization, the US postal services team decided to sign him up. And he didn't let them down.

Lance Armstrong went on to win 7 Tour de la France Tournaments, considered one of the toughest sporting events in the world. He established the "Lance Armostrong Foundation" which continues to raise funds for cancer to date.

Monday 19 January 2009

Udawalawe Elephant Sanctuary

The first in line!
Glub....glub.....a bucket load of milk
"Next!!"
"ooh...me me me!"
"Hey you, the one with the inconspicuous look, you already had your turn!...cheeky!"


A happy looking mob :)
Place: Udawalawe National Park
Time: 3:00 pm daily
Free entrance, but any donations for milk is gratefully accepted.
Until the babies are old enough to be released in to the wild, they need gallons of milk a day.....literally.

Wednesday 14 January 2009

The Ancient city of Anu


The great Stupa from afar

Anuradhapura, affectionately (or conveniently) referred to as "Anu" in the book "The Winds of Sinhala" by Colin De Silva is one of my favourite places on earth, as is the book a favourite book of all time of mine.

If you haven't read "The Winds of Sinhala" already........!?! What the hell have you been doing all this time???!!@!#!#


Ruwenweli Dagoba
Anuradhapura doesn't possess the cool climate of the hill country nor its natural beauty, yet there's some magical force that continues to mesmerize the visitor.

"Eth Pokuna"
A hub for the water channel-tank network in ancient Anu, with underground water tunnels running in and out to tanks many kilometers away, ensuring flow control and minimising waste.

Isurumuniya


Tissa Wewa


The Citadel Sigiriya, "Lions Rock"
Sitting there looking pretty
David Attenborough once narrated the complex social structure and behavioural patterns of these fellows in Anuradhapura/ Pollonnaru areas
View from atop Dambulla temple

Monday 12 January 2009

Recovering from....

A blissful five week holiday in the land of serendipity....... more on that later

winding up with long boring flights in the middle of the night......ad hoc sleeps.....transits.....flight delays....security checks....more awkward sleeps

Back at my desk early on a gloomy Monday morning, sooo out of touch......now what was it that I was doing here? and what are all these stacks of samples on my desk?

Half the people still on holiday.....

C-C-Cold!!!!! and it's supposed to be summer!

Sleeeeeeeeepy......
With images of the verrry comfy bed and cozy blankets flashing through my head........

mwwaaahh..... I want to go home!!!