I tell you..I have come so close to giving up. Thoughts of ending it all seemed so much easier than going on and fighting until I drop dead anyway!  But...(yes there is a but!) I have managed to fight and kick and scream and swear and finally....get some treatment!!! The first part was a steroid injection - right into that very, very soft bit in the middle of the groin!!  That was hard to do. I had 3 weeks of painless bliss. I was much slower with my walking, but I did not have the pain I had become accustomed to over the past 2 years...then it wore off. Oh ok... what can I do now. My GP kept suggesting physio, I had been knocked back on physio before because Drs had presumed my pain was the result of an injured back (I kept telling them..my back does not bloody hurt! It was only after 9 or 10 mths of pure anxiety and pushing and pushing, that got my the MRI I had been asking for, was finally granted and they established that my back was fine!!!!) Physio gives me hope. Physio gives me a chance. If the Drs had been allowed to test me as requested, they would have found that 2 years ago!!! and..my treatment would have been simple and effective. Now.. I am looking at enjoying my life again, but not working. It fills my heart with despair to actually sat that.

"BUT".... I am still here!

Earlier this year fires in Australia, snuffed out 200 lives and left thousands injured and homeless - that is the human statistics!! The wildlife left in the same predicament are left even more devastated and more ongoing care is needed. I am donating 3 paintings, from which ALL proceeds shall be collectively given to this appeal. Bidding starts at $100 and starts today! Bidding closes on the 30th April 2009. To make a bid please leave as a comment on the selected paintings and I shall get back to you!!  Paintings donated are: "Like watching grass grow" - 60cm x 60cm Acrylic on canvas. "Hibiscus" - 120cm x 100 cm Acrylic on canvas and "Still" -  60cm x 60cm Acrylic on canvas. These paintings are displayed in "My photos".