Connie's Diary: Soundtrack and T-Shirts

Soundtrack

In the background we are working on something really exciting. We are trying to release a Love Your Sister Soundtrack. It has been so amazing, it started when Brock Mathers, country music star, came forward and offered proceeds of his single sales on I-tunes towards our fundraising efforts. Then Shadow Game, a Melbourne rock band offered us a track called unicycle heart, and it got us thinking, perhaps we could have our own soundtrack? Sam and I have been talking to everyone we know in music and we now have 9 songs for our soundtrack including 4 that have been written just for us! It is one of the most exciting things we are working on, I can’t believe we get our own soundtrack! It is amazing. The generosity of the talented musicians who have contributed their artistic talents and hard work to Love Your Sister has really taken my breath away. I am constantly surprised by the myriad of ways that people come to us and help, this is another example of people opening their hearts and giving their expertise and hard work to the cause.

It is so exciting, I can’t wait til we release it and everyone can have a listenJ

T-shirts

Love Your Sister T-shirts are finally on the way! I am excited to announce that they will be available by the end of May! We will be selling them roadside when Sam stops, and Em and Tony Hayes at Cleverbits are working on an online shop so soon you will be able to buy them online too. It’s all very exciting.

We literally have stacks of T-shirts! Yay J

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Connie's Diary: Ord River and Chemo Holiday

Ord River

Before this epic odyssey began I set Sam a number of challenges to complete along the way. One of them was to cross the Ord River dam at night. Apparently if you shine a flashlight up the river you see hundreds of red eyes looking back at you in the night. I have read books and seen documentaries on the Ord River and it sounds amazing, something I would really love to see.

Sam is there now, and I am not well enough to join him there. It is a sad moment for me, because the Ord was part of this journey that I didn’t want to miss out on. He went out on the Ord today and the photos look magnificent. At the moment I will have to enjoy it vicariously and be thankful that at least one of us got to see it. I look forward to seeing him again and hearing all about it.

Disappointed about chemo holiday

At about this time last year I was feeling really tired and worn out and I had a break from the chemo for about a month. It really refreshed me and had me walking with a spring in my step. I didn’t realise it, but I was expecting a similar effect from this chemo holiday. I am disappointed that I don’t feel better, it hasn’t really done anything to rejuvenate me or recharge my batteries so far, here’s hoping I get some results as time goes by. Maybe I will be feeling better by the time I start chemo again, who knows, it’s possible.

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Connie's Diary: Home and Thank You NT!

Home to boys

After an eventful and action packed trip to Darwin Love Your Sister went on their way, on to the next town to spread the word and raise money, and I went home to my boys. I miss them terribly when I go away and it is always lovely to see them all when I get home. Hammy ran up to me and jumped on my lap (in the wheelchair at the airport) and asked ‘Where is my present mummy?’ They get a little gift every time I go away for Love Your Sister because I feel guilty for deserting them, especially when I know my time is limited. This time I got them little pewter animals, a frilled neck lizard and a crocodile which started lots of lovely conversation bout native animals. It’s great to be home.

Thanks Darwin and all the Territorians who supported LYS Darwin

I find myself overwhelmed once more by the generosity and community mindedness of people and businesses who give what they can, think of ways to raise money, and spread the word far and wide, for women not to fall into the booby trap, to be breast aware.

Express Signs did vehicle wrapping advertising that Love Your Sister was coming to town. They were eye catching and effective and donated totally free of charge. 

Yamaha Darwin provided discounted service and tyres so the Love Your Sister could keep going on the journey, Thanks for helping us out at late notice and much discounted rates. This sort of help keeps the wheels turning on the whole event and doesn’t go unnoticed by us.

Campari paid for meals and provided great prizes for raffles and auctions, and the delightful Jennifer helped us organise events and made things run smoothly.

The media in Darwin have been so helpful, helping us get the word out to people that we were in town, without them we wouldn’t have had so many people turning up knowing about the Love Your Sister cause so a huge thanks to the following media for all of your support.

Hot 100 Radio – Tom & Courts

Mix 104.9 - Mel Little

ABC Radio

NT News

Channel 9

Channel 10

And check out this extensive list of businesses who contributed prizes for the raffles and auctions that all helped in raising the huge amounts that we raised at all of the events here.

Viva La Vida

Territory Sports Medicine

Sculpt Hair & Beauty

Darwin Airport Shuttle

Springfield Butchers

KTM Massage

Mary River Wilderness Retreat

Happy 2 B Home Pet Minding

Arafura Blue Water Charters

Parap Day Spa

Equinox Fishing Charters

Ooolala Beauty

Flight Path

Deckchair Cinema

Chic Signs

Dominoes Pizza

Adelaide River Queen

Bewitched Jewellry

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Connie's Diary: Stay with Steve and Michelle

Today was a day to say goodbye to Sam (and Jonno and Ley Ley) again. I said good bye from Fed Square, and then again from Adelaide, but this time it crippled me. I just didn’t want to say good bye, perhaps it’s because I don’t know when I’ll see him again. Perhaps it’s because I have ended up in hospital this trip and it reminded me that I am unwell, that all this is uncertain and that I am terminal. I was a blithering wreck, hardly able to stand up I didn’t want to say goodbye so badly. After a very emotional good bye I spent the day resting. Then, after being ferried around Darwin and taken to the emergency ward by our beautiful hosts, Michelle Teather and Steve Ellis, I finally got to stop and have a chat with them tonight. It was great to sit, eat together, and chat. We talked, we laughed, we cried and then we laughed some more. It was great to have some time to sit down and get to know each other and we had such a good night that I was so glad I stayed longer.

When I cried I went and got a roll of toilet paper, to use as tissues, and Michelle exclaimed ‘We do have tissues here you know!’ She had been finding rolls of toilet paper around the house the whole time we had been there, ‘cos Sam and I, and the crew were all grabbing a roll whenever anyone teared up. We joked that I was crying so much that I needed a string around my neck to hang the roll on, and Steve, low and behold produced a camping toilet roll holder, on a string for me to carry around when I am teary. It was so funny I cried tears of laughter, and needed the toilet roll again.

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Connie's Diary: Monsoons & Ducks Nuts Farewell

Monsoons

Thanks again goes out to Jennifer Kollman for giving the boys the opportunity to strip for a room full of lovely ladies, it will go down in the Love Your Sister History as one of the most interesting dares of all.

There are some things a sister never needs to be privy to -  and a strip show is one of them, so even if I had been feeling well, I obviously would have avoided this one. I will leave it up to your imagination and the memories of the ladies who attended and comment no further on this fundraiser!

Ducks Nuts Farewell

The lovely folk at Duck’s Nuts gave Sam and the crew a farewell breakfast today. I stayed back and slept and to be honest wallowed in my misery about saying goodbye. It was lovely for the crew to have a send off from Darwin, as the territorians have stolen our hearts by being so supportive and enthusiastic, not to mention generous. Thanks Duck’s Nuts.

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Connie's Diary: Project Cross & Hibiscus

Project Cross

Channel Ten’s The Project have been big Love Your Sister Supporters since the beginning. Today we did another cross. It just doesn’t get any less nerve wracking, even after practice. I truly don’t know how Carrie and the team do it, AND make it look so easy. It was great to chat to the guys on the desk again, they are so lovely and down to earth and their support for LYS is really heartwarming. I was glad that I didn’t miss this cross as well, after the disappointment of missing the Today Show cross I couldn’t have missed another thing.

Hibiscus

Carmel Kennedy organised an event at The Hibiscus Bar, which does a topless night. Who would be more concerned about breast cancer than women who need them for their work, and the men who enjoy it from the other side of the bar? I think this fundraiser was a stroke of genius because it is such a poignant message when you are at a topless bar! I thought I would be uncomfortable seeing breasts everywhere, when I don’t have any anymore, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all, just part of the night. There was a huge raffle and auction and so many people came along to support the cause. In one night, they raised over $7000! Although I left not long into the event to go back to the hotel and get some rest I got to meet some people and got the vibe that it was going to shape up into a big night and a good fundraiser.

I went back to the Vibe/Adina and had dinner in bed and a big rest. I think that the chips were the best chips I have ever had, and I am somewhat of a hot sip fanatic, so that is really saying something. After my yummy vegies and delicious chips with aioli I put my feet up and had a big rest. I am starting to get my strength back, but have delayed my flight home for a couple of days in the hope that I will feel stronger soon and more confident to fly in a few days.

There was a delivery from The Silver Grevillea at the hotel. They delivered a lovely basket of goodies and some beautiful flowers for us to enjoy. I am constantly surprised by people generosity and love, this is yet another example of people giving what they can and sharing in the Love Your Sister experience.

Me and Michelle Teather with the lovely flowers from The Silver Grevillea.

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Connie's Diary: Bendigo Bank & Scott & Liam by the Pool

Bendigo Bank

Bendigo Bank community branches and the Community Enterprise Foundation have been getting behind Love Your Sister all along the way, and today in Raintree Park, they presented us with 2 fat cheques from their fundraising efforts in the Northern Territory. They really do give back to the communities that support them, and get involved to make a difference. Thanks Bendigo Darwin, for this mammoth effort!

Scott and Liam by the pool

In between fundraisers today Sam went and had a dip in the pool at the luxurious Vibe/Adina hotel that put the boys up for the Darwin stay. Sam and I were having a chat, we had the pool to ourselves. It was serene and peaceful, I was sitting on the edge dangling my feet in the pool when 2 guys came along for a swim. They were young, probably in their twenties, maybe early thirties. I don’t know why, but I was surprised when one of them recognised Sam and said ‘aren’t you that guy on the unicycle?’ This started a lovely conversation, they were so interested in Love Your Sister, so nice to Sam and me, just all round nice guys, and it was so good to see that men are interested in Love Your Sister as well. Before we left they gave us a huge donation, I think they gave us everything in their wallets, it was so touching, they gave all they had in support of Sam and Love Your Sister. I was reflecting on it later with Sam and he said that it is very moving, and that I would be surprised by how often this sort of thing happens on the road, where people give donations, small and large. He calls them doughies, short for donations, and there are various types, mostly roadside doughies, but Scott and Liam’s was a poolside doughie. I felt privileged to witness this poolside doughie.

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