Thankyou All!!!

[PTCB]

On April the 27th. 2011 I was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

From this day my world turned upside down, 14 months in hospital, 7 in Tasmania for intensive Chemotherapy and another 7 in Melbourne for a Bone Marrow Transplant.
I was a very sick boy. I was given a 40 percent chance of making it through treatment.
You never think it's going to happen to you, I was very fit, I had just finished the Kokoda Track actually, very healthy and a very active bush walker here in Tasmania.
I regularly took my family walking in the remote areas I could get them to!!
After all this I nearly didn't make it and was told that the amount of treatment I had meant I probably wouldn't walk again. Well that was true for a very long time.

But I never gave up and I never gave up reading this forum!! You guys have helped keep me motivated for over 2 years. Sitting in hospital with my laptop listening to your
adventures and admiring your photo's. I just never gave up wanting to get back there. Most of you don't know me and never will. But I know you and I want to thank you for
helping me keep focussed all this time. You as Walkers are my extended family, likeminded people who enjoy the outdoors.

So to reward you I just want to say that on the 23rd to the 26th of June I took my family back to the Bush!!! We walked from Lake Dove Cradle Mountain on the Cradle Mtn Circuit
Staying at Scott-Kilvert Hut, then walking to Barn Bluff the next day and on the last day walked out via lake Rodway, Artists Pool, Twisted Lakes and Lake Hanson!!

It was just beautiful, not a cloud in the sky for three days!!. I wont say I'm back, but i'm slowly getting there!! Hows that for a comeback!!

Thankyou all and keep posting!!

[stepbystep]

That's beyond awesome mate.

Best of luck with your ongoing recovery, and I hope to bump into you out in the bush, in 20 years time!

[frenchy_84]

Wow that is really cool. From being so sick to be able to walk such a great circuit with your family must be a mind blowing experience.

[ofuros]

Glad you pulled through ok PTCB, and the long recovery process is going well.
Thanks for sharing something so painful & so personal.

[tibboh]

An awesome story which still has many chapters to come. I admire your strength and determination. The desire to bushwalk is strong in me so I can understand that having this as a goal would be a huge help in psycologically motivating you. Well done and keep enjoying the best pastime on earth

[peter-robinson]

Well done! Congrats on the walk and for your strength and perseverance. I look forward to your next trip report and to many more

[FatCanyoner]

Wonderful stuff. It turns out it takes more than Leukaemia to keep a good bushwalker down! Great to hear you're already back out there in our wonderful bush. All the best for the continued recovery!

[Giddy_up]

Thank you PTCB, you have just given me some serious motivation.


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[Moondog55]

Good to hear, keep on keeping on mate

[Snowzone]

Well done PTCB, thanks for sharing your inspirational story. I hope you enjoy many more walks with cloudless skies in the future.

[neilmny]

What they all said PTCB just wonderfull.

[Nuts]

Nice Comeback! Easy to take fitness and life for granted eh.

[Lindsay]

Great stuff mate! We'll see you out in the bush somewhere.

[stu]

Inspiration, you're the inspiration mate...thanks very much for sharing your battle. Hope you continue to make a full recovery and have many years of wilderness adventures ahead of you. Yes, so easy to take life and those around us for granted :-/

[Lizzy]

Good on you & awesome you are getting your family out & about with you. Wishing you all the best & many, many more wonderful bushwalks

[alanoutgear]

PTCB - I'm so humbled by your strength, positivity, and the eventual outcome of your journey.

[Chris]

That's wonderful PTCB. I've known many people with leukaemia through work, including a good friend of my husband's, so I know just how tough the process is. Hearing about or even meeting the successes later always delights me. You certainly picked a very special area for your walking come-back in fantastic weather. All the best, Chris.

[PTCB]

Thank you all for your kind words and support. It is indeed incredible what the human body can endure with a good attitude and a fair bit of luck.
If ever you do fall sick don't give up and never stop believing you will get better.
Good things do happen and dreams do come true.
I hope I do get to meet you on the track and look forward to sharing a story and recipie with you.

[tasadam]

Touched. Thank you for being so open.

I cannot imagine how much that walk would have meant to you as an individual, and to you all as a family.

Sometimes I think that one day I am going to be too old to get out there, or my knees will give up, or hips, or whatever. I do not look forward to that day, but none of us are getting any younger.
To have, or to potentially have had the opportunity of getting into the wilderness taken from you prematurely would, frankly, really suck!

So it's great to hear where you are at, and here's hoping things continue to improve!

[sim1oz]

PTCB, you really are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your journey. We've had a crap week with our grandmother dying and sister-in-law diagnosed with cancer. It's good to be reminded that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Keep looking after yourself and doing what you love!