teeym

Nah - shouldn't hit me too hard. I've just had a single shot of Carboplatin; I think it's only when you start getting the nasty combinations of drugs over a period of time that it knocks it out of you in a bad way. Been instructed that ginger biscuits for breakfast are a good thing which is great as I really like them with my coffee - top dunkers!!! That in combination with the old lunchtime porridge should keep me tickety-boo!

To be honest, I'm really only recording all of this because when we started with this whole malarkey, I couldn't find anything on t'internet where anyone had been in the same position. Therefore should anyone be trying the same thing in future, they will be able to see what I've had to do (although for the sake of NZ Immigration, this is in no way offering guidance or information, merely the experiences of one individual being provided as a little light reading for whomsoever may be interested ).

BEVS

Fair play mate. We are all free to share are we not.

teeym

Well, the bullet has been bit and I've booked self and SWMBO in for our medicals a week on Saturday. Hopefully my nice Consultant who I'm going to see on Thursday will be good enough to provide me with a letter stating both the liklihood that I am "cured" and the ongoing monitoring treatment I will need and that this will be enough along with my super-cool-cancer-free-3D-body scan to convince Immi NZ's medical board to let me in!

One thing I've found with the medicals is that it doesn't half pay to shop around. Time off work is a problem for me, but we were just going to chance it and skive off () up to the visa medicals place in Nottingham on a weekday afternoon. Thankfully, I decided to make a couple of calls and have found one of the London quacks will do it on a Saturday - even with the cost of the travel down to London village included - at a saving of near as damn it £100 each AND will turn it around in half the time!

We were desperately trying to get Immigration NZ to offer some advice on the chances of me getting the or but they have resolutely stuck to their guns about not being able to comment until they have cashed my cheq.....sorry, received a full application.

BEVS

Hey. I was wondering how you were getting on with everything.

for the medicals , the results and a positive outcome with NZIS & the MA.

Have some hopeful karma coz that is all I can offer.

Matewx

Have said it SO many times... shop around for your meds!

MnB

Def agree on this......I travelled 60miles but saved over £150, plus bonus of meeting up with another forum member for coffee

teeym

Cheers Bevs! I'd only gone quiet because I really had nothing of interest to say! Spent a couple of days feeling a smidge groggy after the chemo, but really nothing to write home about and since then all seems tickety-boo.

We've been given until the 10th November to get our application in so it's a bit of a case of do or die - I turn 30 just after that and the loss of 5 points would see us being lobbed out of the pool and having to start again, so we're just going to go with it and hope my blood count is back to its fighting best and the resident Kiwi medical assessor has got his happy hat on*.

Can't agree more with everyone about shopping around for the medical - I'm right in SWMBO's good books for putting 100 notes back into her pocket. We could have got them even more cheaply in the week, but to be honest getting them done on a Saturday is worth its weight in gold for the hassle it will save.

*unless my potentially over optimistic e-mail to the NZ Ministry of Health comes up with any useful information

MnB

good luck with every thing!!
Sure your positive approach will stand you in good stead and help you over come any more challenges that come your way.
B x

teeym

Over-optimism has it's advantages. A nice lady at the New Zealand ministry of health came back to me with some very encouraging news - the oncology follow ups that I will require on a quarterly basis (decreasing with time apparently) are costed by MOH NZ at $345 a go. Worst case scenario means that I should cost $5520, which leaves plenty of room for the odd CAT scan - good job as these are buttock-quiveringly expensive.

Have to admit, the old sense of fair play is now struggling a bit with this. Going to NZ with a known condition which will mean imposing myself on the resources of a country that - a few tourist dollars aside - I haven't made any contributions to isn't really cricket after all. Suppose I can always get scans/x-rays done privately?

MnB

Hey ...good news re future costs but dont let your 'sense of fair play' over come your dream!!

Do understand where you're coming from but IMO you are doing nothing bad......think of all the immigrants to this country (including kiwis ) who make use of the resources here without having contributed for very long or if at all!!.... FWIW some kiwi friends were over ( One was working F/T her OH not) OH needed surgery which was done on NHS..... no qualms there!

B x

willand tina_h

yep, I agree. you go all the way to have the dreams that you are holding, you will get through and one day soon will be there

Tina. x

Kija

Here's wishing you good luck! I hope it all goes well for you now you certainly deserve it!!! Keep us posted. Have to say you've been very courageous about it all, I hope all good things come your way.

luvwelly

Karma to you for your amazingly upbeat positive attitude. No need to feel guilty about using NZ NHS...you or your wife will soon be paying your fair share of NZ income tax.. The UK NHS never turns anyone away very much wherever they've come from, so I think British taxpayers are entitled to a bit of like for like.

frogeye

Hi Teeym

I have recently joined the forum and am slowly making my way through the posts.

I wish you well for the future. Keep up the great positive attitude, it will serve you well in all things

Lee

teeym

Thanks everyone for all the kind words - just had a call from the horsepickle and they have a full info pack on my condition and treatment that I can take to the medicals tomorrow ready and waiting. SWMBO is being despatched at lunchtime to go and collect it (couldn't send it out yesterday due to the communists at the post office ) and do some last minute photocopying!