January 2011

My hope of being able to write on my blog every week is proving to be somewhat of a challenge! Like all families, we lead a busy life, squeezing everything possible into each day, but I just can't seem to get to the old blog!
We were so looking forward to chilling at home after the busy festive season and we have enjoyed it so much. Time together at home without golf clubs is like gold for us and I have seen how Archie has loved every minute of it.
But now, it should be time to get back in the swing of things, pack the bags and get on the road again. But unfortunately, we have hit a big wall. Poor Marcus been diagnosed with a degenerated/bulged disc (C5-C6). It initially caused some grief back at the Aussie Open in Sydney in early December. Since then, it has really gone down hill and he is in excruciating pain- wearing a neck brace, taking many pain killers and in general, not able to do a lot. He was hoping that with rest and drugs, it would heal, but the last week it has got even worse. It breaks my heart to see him in so much pain and a little worried about his career and the near future. He has been seeing specialists and having treatment (call me the taxi driver!) and they have now decided that he needs to be operated on to replace the disc. The surgeon is very hard to get into, so at this stage, all we can do is wait. He has an appointment on the 1st of Feb, so hopefully soon after, they will operate. There is risk involved and I know this is in the back of his mind, but recovery is surprisingly quite quick, approximately 4 weeks. So although it means he will miss several months of crucial tournaments, he really has no choice for his health and future career but to operate now.
There are plenty of people in harder situations than us- the recent floods have caused so much grief and we also have a friend who, in his early 30's is having intense chemo therapy. Life definitely hands out some cruel cards and ours is not that bad when one puts it into perspective.
But for someone who is always on the go and such a positive person, dedicating himself tirelessly to a sport that he loves, he has found it really hard to deal with. Thank goodness for Archie in our lives- the forever smiling happy go lucky boy that he is :)
So today, as I sat back watching Archie play outside, I tried to capture the endless smiles he brings to us and for a moment, life's pressures were forgotten about.

Words can't describe how much happiness you bring to us Archie John, we can't wait 'til your little sibling arrives in July for you to play with.