DAD'S BEEN DECOMMISSIONED

George is out of Darwin Private Hospital and home with us, as we were packing up at the hospital he made one of those famous 'Dad comments' about life, work and family, I laughed and said that he was now decommissioned and life had changed for him and us.This provoked funny comments from daughter Sam, dad and myself about his decommissioning and images of Naval docklands with rotting hulks. This morning he said his brain was now a 2.5 cc whipper snipper and that produced sound effects from Sam and a wry comment from me of did he really think  he went as high as 2.5?
The Shaw sense of humour an outlook on life is alive and kicking back in the face of a serious situation. As son Kieran said "I don't do sad unless I'm drunk" or his football team losers the final game to Melbourne AFL Club.
George has been diagnosed with a glioma tumor on his parietal lobe with a secondary one closer to the top of his head. We see the neurosurgeon this coming Thursday 10th at 6pm. The treating doctor at the hospital said that he would require a biopsy which will be carried out in Adelaide, South Australia. Further treatment will depend on the biopsy results but may include radiation treatment here in Darwin NT. More information will come to us at the next doctors appointment on Thursday.

As Sam and son Jacob are here with us at present we have them in our bedroom and George and I are in my office, me in the single bed and father on a two layer futon mattress beside me, the first night when I stood up to head out to the bathroom at about 2am I forgot about the futon and nearly toppled over onto George, though asleep he twitched and moved in his sleep showing his sense of survival was awake and looking after him, 'old soldiers never sleep properly' as a friend once told me. I must admit the NT News headline of elderly man with brain tumor killed in sleep by wife falling on him did have me giggling in the bathroom for some time.
DAD and SAM