Following on from our last blog I thought it was time to post another short update.
We actually have no real health news to give you at this stage. Our next appointment and blood test are not due until January, so for the time being we can carry on our life as normally as possible.
I did have a minor scare a few weeks ago, which started with a new pain on my right side in my ribs. Prostate cancer spreads to the bones as the disease progresses, so I was naturally concerned that this was a sign of the current treatment failing. The cancer is already in my left hip, but gives me no trouble at this stage. This new pain appeared just over a week before we were due to fly to Maui, so we decided it would be best to check with our GP to make sure it was still safe to travel. I received an examination from a newly qualified doctor. I was impressed with her very thorough and caring approach and pleased that she went to ask a senior GP for a second opinion. The resulting diagnosis was that I had Shingles, which while painful, was understandably quite a relief. I was put on a short course of anti-viral medication which cleared it up in a week. So, we were all set for our holiday to Hawaii.
So, you guessed it, the rest of this post is another travel blog!
To start with, I will explain the title. ‘Maui Bethams’, refers to both my brothers, Bill and Jamie who have lived on Maui with their families for many years. This was our first visit and was actually long overdue. Before my diagnosis, we had always found it difficult with our full time jobs to find enough holiday time to get away. We have certainly put that right since I have taken early retirement. We were delighted to stay with Bill and Emmanuelle in their beautiful home near Paia, which is where they have their Maui restaurant, Cafe Des Amis.
The first thing to say is that Maui is a long way away! Over 7,300 miles. We flew with West Jet via Vancouver, which was cheap, but very basic. It did take us a few days to recover from the flights, especially on the way home.
We had a fantastic time in Maui and visited some amazing places. Apart from the scuba diving which I will tell you about later, one of the most impressive sights was driving to the top of Haleakala volcano. The view from the top was completely breathtaking, although at over 10,000 feet that may have been down to the thinning air! It was incredible being above the clouds. We could see the Big Island 100 miles away clearly. As a comparison, the highest mountain in the UK is Ben Nevis which is less than half the height at 4,400 feet.
We hired an open top Jeep for a drive around the island, which starts with the road to Hana. This was a truly scenic drive which takes you through a wide range of environments, including a stunning coast road, waterfalls, even jungle where it seems to rain all the time. We stopped at Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread shack, which is world famous for a reason. Delicious. After Hana, the road starts to deteriorate and in some parts was no more than just a dirt track. It was great fun in the Jeep, which handled all the different terrain with no problem.
It was so good to catch up with family and to meet my new sister in law for the first time. Jamie married Juliette earlier this year. Welcome to the family, Juliette. I have included a few photos below from some happy family gatherings.
We mentioned in our last blog that we had started our open water scuba diving training, and we were very excited to have booked the final part of the course at the Maui Dreams Dive Shop. We had two days completing our training. The first included two shore dives from Ulua beach which were fun. We had to demonstrate that we could complete various safety tasks, such as removing and replacing your mask underwater.
The second day was diving from a boat at Molokini Crater and Stone Wall. The moment we stepped off the dive platform with a ‘giant stride’ we were in a different world. The water was crystal clear, and it made all the training up to that point worth it. We dived to 19 metres and spent about an hour exploring the floor of the ancient volcano. This part was over all too quickly and we can’t wait to book some more dives next year. We were very lucky to have such an enthusiastic dive instructor, Kelly Coppock. She was really patient with us and obviously loves the job she does.
After we had finished our training dives and were back in the shop completing our paperwork, I tried to explain to Kelly something of the ‘journey’ we have been on. Three years ago, when we received my diagnosis, we both believed that my life was pretty much over. They were very bleak times and we struggled to see how there could ever be good times again. The contrast between then and how we feel now couldn’t be greater. I know we both feel that we have achieved something special, learning to dive, and we are now looking forward to practicing our new hobby. It probably means we will have to book more holidays! I wonder where we should go next?
If anyone reading this has the chance to visit Maui in the future, we thoroughly recommend paying Maui Dreams a call and booking some diving with them. It will be an ‘awesome experience’.
