Holy shit, what a year!! Here is a summary:

• We went on a house boat trip along the Waikato river (my 40^th birthday present).
• I was re-elected onto the board of trustees at Deanwell primary school, this time as Chairman.
• Helena was elected on the board of trustees at Melville Intermediate School.
• I was re-elected as secretary for the Central North Island region of Karate New Zealand.
• We graded 4-more black-belts at our club.
• I graduated with a Post Graduate Diploma in Management Systems from the University of Waikato.
• I was offered an accepted a position as Senior Lecturer at The Waikato Institute of Technology and quit my job at Mighty River Power.
• My father went through and survived a quintuple by-pass operation.
• My mother was appointed a New Zealand Justice of the Peace.
• We took a 6-week trip with our two boys back to Sweden and the UK (first time I have been back in nearly 8-years).
• I am well into my final dissertation for my Masters in Management Studies.
• I underwent and recovered from a moderately invasive operation (a fistulotomy) – ouch!
• We ran a very successful summer camp for our karate students at the beach at Pukehina
• I have completed and passed the Certificate in Adult Teaching.
• I have completed two modules towards my Certificate of Tertiary Education (4-modules left).

All this despite being the sickest I have ever been in my life, feeling on many occasions as if I would not survive the Sarc. It has been a year of sheer hell, health-wise.

This is why it is so sweet to be able to announce that I now believe that I have beaten this horrible illness:

• No debilitating cough
• No breathing difficulties
• No continuous flu symptoms
• No choking on my own phlegm
• No memory problems
• No kidney stones
• No insomnia
• No sweaty nights
• No joint pain
• No debilitating fatigue
• No migraine
• No concentration problems
• No high blood pressure
• No high cholesterol

After three months on Phase III of the protocol, I am just about symptom free.

And guess what - the psoriasis that I have always suffered badly from is all but gone. That has never happened to me before and is a real unexpected bonus!

I have heaps of energy and I realise now that I haven’t felt this good in way over a decade. Not only am I grateful; my wife, children, family, friends, karate students and WINTEC students & colleagues are also extremely grateful…

…Grateful to the genius and determination of Dr Trevor Marshall and his team at SarcInfo. The only appropriate recognition for you people is a Nobel Prize!!! May it happen sooner rather than later!

…Also grateful to my wife and family whose unfailing support has kept me from giving up in despair – it is a shame there is no Nobel category for this – you so deserve it!!

Looking at all the treatment alternatives, you have nothing to lose to give it a shot – and everything to lose by walking away from this opportunity.

You are welcome to contact me if you want to probe more into my experiences.  

My next physician visit is in Jan 2005. Boy is he going to be surprised. It is a year since my last visit and I almost had to be stretchered in to that one.

One proviso though, just because I am symptom free, does not mean that the disease is gone. Trevor suggests at least a further year of treatment after all symptoms are gone. Herx may re-occur from time to time as new colonies become exposed to the treatment. And, as we have a genetic pre-disposition for this crap, a yearly maintenance dose is recommended to prevent relapse.

I shall keep you informed.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!