Dear Family, Friends, and Followers,

Another year has passed, and we are back at the holiday season again. And as some of you already are aware, this has been a particularly interesting year for me.

The big news for me this year was all medical related. Back in April I had a sudden medical issue - I won't go into details but it was an issue that was supposed to be dealt with twenty years ago, and that my father knew about at the time, but chose to hide it from me for purely selfish reasons. Suffice it to say that his secrecy could have killed me if it wasn't for the skills of the paramedics who attended to me, the nurses who helped me through my recovery, and of course the surgeons and surgical team who were so adept at diagnosing and treating me. From the time the ambulance was called to the time I was out of surgery and recovering was under a day. And of course I want to give extra praise to the enterostomal nurses who have been continuing to provide care and treatment for me for the past eight months - they did an amazing job and deserve more gratitude than can be written. Now I just have to wait for the surgeon to schedule my follow up surgery in the new year, and I will be back to normal - or at least as close to normal as I would care to be :)

With so much time and energy spent on my medical issues this year, I don't have too much else to report on. I have now returned to working on my research, but I am several months behind where I expected to be by now. My time in the hospital has also inspired me to focus more of my research and career on medical imaging research, and so I have been taking courses in that field as well. I am not sure if they will lead me anywhere professionally, but for me the joy of learning new things has always been sufficient reward. 

Otherwise it has been a fairly quiet year. My rendering business is still active in theory, but between medical limitations and the webhost having ongoing technical problems for the past three months it has not been as lucrative as I would have preferred. I have also been offered a couple of university level teaching positions that include the opportunity to travel and see the world a bit more, so I will be looking to start on those when I have recovered in the new year. Of course I still have to deal with the other issues that prevent me from leaving Victoria, but my recent health issues and their response made it clear that I can no longer wait for a solution to my caregiving burdens. That may sound harsh to some, but it is an unfortunate reality now (although I should mention that I have been talking with some local agencies about some alternative options for getting them the care they require, so they won't be completely destitute in the new year). Sometimes there simply isn't a good solution, and we must choose from the least bad solution.

For me, the new year will bring a new enjoyment of life, and a renewed drive to regain the joys that were lost to me during my time as a family caregiver. I intend to make this the best year of my life yet!

And on that happy note I will close out this annual Christmas missive. I wish all of you a very merry Christmas, and hope you have a productive and rewarding new year. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!