# 1: Caribbean here we come!

The year is 2014. Mary, my wife of 36 years has just endured 3 years of treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. It's been a hellish 3 years I can assure you of that!

After numerous treatment regimens including Chemotherapy and a Stem Cell transplant, she is finally heading into remission. We are very positive and confident people by nature so when my daughter Alana and her husband Dan suggested a Caribbean cruise with them, we jumped at the idea. The thought of relaxing on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world with tepid, crystal-clear water was an opportunity not to be missed, so the planning was underway!

Alana and Dan had cruised before, and we hadn't so we left the planning of the itinerary etc. up to them as Mary still had some health issues to overcome before we went anywhere, mainly her immune system and getting this back to a safe level to travel, we had a few months up our sleeve so were confident that this would be achieved.

We were presented with the planned itinerary which began with flying from Wellington to Auckland and then onto LA with Air NZ. From there it was over to Fort Lauderdale before boarding the Celebrity Eclipse for a magnificent 14-night cruise around the Caribbean.........no hesitation, let's do it!

Planning ahead for this was one of the most exciting times we'd had and a perfect fillip and a massive boost for Mary after what she had been through over the previous years!

Mary was slowly but surely getting better in herself, but we still had an issue with her immune system, it just wasn't improving a quick as we had hoped, or her doctors predicted. With only a few weeks to go I had a sneaky suspicion that this could cause a problem. No one would be more devastated than me if this was going to stop us going and mean cancelling the trip! By now she was having blood tests virtually every day and her GP would call her each night with the results. She was also giving herself daily injections to try to boost her immune system and they would have to be ongoing during the planned travels.

I had to keep planning as if the trip is going ahead and we had to be ready to be on the plane. Alana had advised us that they had friends of theirs, Adam and Jessie who were joining us for the cruise, we had met them many times, so it was all fine with us. One of my plans was to leave our car at my sister's place as she lived in close proximity to Wellington Airport. My sister Karen and her husband Dave had mentioned several times how jealous they were of the trip and wished they were coming to join us; they had said that it just couldn't work for them at that time though! I recall thinking that this was a real pity because they would be great company to tour with.

As the departure date neared, I got the impression that Mary wasn't too concerned about her blood levels and without her saying it I got the impression that she was not going to miss the chance for have the trip of a lifetime, I just stayed positive and continued with the planning. As it got down to days out her blood tests results were still not at level that the doctors were happy with, and certainly not at a level that they would tell her it was safe to travel that far from home. Mary though, just continued to pack and get everything she needed ready to depart.

Cometh the day! Mary started the day by going to have her last chance blood test and then home to pack the last items. I knew at this point that regardless of the results she was going to be on the plane out of Wellington.......and good on her I thought! It was mid-April, and we were experiencing the last nice days of our NZ summer. We headed into Wellington Airport via my siter Karens place as she was going to drop us at the airport then park our car up at their place till we returned. I recall when I saw Karen she was still saying how jealous they were for not been able to come on the trip, I also noticed that she had been and had her hair done and maybe even a tanning session??? I was a bit suspicious that they were planning to surprise us??

We left Karens place and just as we were entering the Airport Mary's phone went, it was Wellington hospital with her blood test results.......finally, her immune levels had reached a safe level to travel!

Let's get the hell out of here, Caribbean here we come!

Continued on 28th June!

Myself, Mary with our daughter Alana and son in law Dan.