So, people wonder what's keeping me busy. Well I keep replying, Kiara's musical, Amandla! Mandela. After a long series of tryouts the show is ready for it's première tomorrow in Holland's renowned theater Carré. To give you a small impression, I have uploaded a beautiful series of photo's by Bob Huitink. Enjoy!
Kiara had gone to Martin for mid-term. This gave Marcus and I a chance to get away for a few odd days. We took the ferry-boat Ameland one of the Dutch Wadden islands. We relaxed alot taking sauna's and dining, but the very most exciting thing that happened was that I actually cycled about 4km on a large tricycle, with a little tugging and pushing on Marcus' part every now and then. This newfound ability allowed us to view the lighthouse from up close, rather than from our hotel window. I was totally exhausted but I managed to get up the next day without feeling too sore. We got home wednesday after a lovely wok meal. Despite the many interruptions on my cellphone, it was wonderful to have some time together.
The short break allowed me to feel a little bit better. I took Kiara to her show on Saturday. She is getting better all the time. It is nice to focus on something that refreshing. Kiara is loving her role in Amandla Mandela. I am very happy that she has been able to do this, it has proven to be a dream come true.
Kiara and Derick before the show.
So, I've been a little out of touch the past two weeks. Rehab continues. I didn't know what I was setting myself up for when I prolonged my stay.
As you already know, I started my Sorafenib cure. It is extremely tough. As usual my reaction to the medication is way over the top. Here's what's happening to my body:
His advice is stick with the programme.
Sticking with the programme is proving to be a real problem for me. Trying to combine this with rehab is almost impossible.
The side effect of my treatment are keeping me from sleeping. And yesterday the pain and itch was so bad that I decided to take a break today.
They say that if you stick to the poison long enough your body adjusts. I bet they never tried it! It is particularily difficult doing these as there was no acute reason to start this. However, this drug might give me back my future, who knows. I don't have much to go by, and I am trying to find out how other people within a range of 35- 45 do. 
This led to me contacting Dr. Marcia Brose of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania who led the first trials on Thyroid cancer. Ms. Brose gave me a rapid response, but I seem to be ahead of the business.
She was able to tell me about taking little breaks when the side effects get unbearable. I suppose my hunch was right. We will see how it goes. For now, I seem to be stuck at the bottom of the valley. This is one of the hardest battles so far.
One more thing that I really have to get off my chest: Bayer has a monopoly with this drug. They have their own farmacy which provides the pills, with suplementary nurses who visit your home to inform you about the drug. The price for 112 tablets is a shocking 3768,90 euro's. And my own farmacy cannot order it! I refused the nurse. I wish I could have refused the pills.
"Ohh you want to talk around them, talk about me, talk about what this that and everything Every way I been f***in you but you don't have a clue How while you sit there pointin' fingers at, imagine that, I'm the real vision of the person that you want to be It's never been you it's always been me
Isn't it funny? When every money's What you're trippin' over, leaving a paper trail ".
Tantric, Monopoly
Back from Stockholm it has been pretty chaotic. Monday morning I was right back at the Trappenberg. A little while ago I was mentioning that the doctor at the Trappenberg was getting ready to release me and that I was against it....well, ...my original goal was to be able to walk without crutches. They said that was an unrealistic goal in the beginning. Now that I've gotten past the arm/shoulder problem, they have focussed on relaxing my muscles in my back, the bone in my hipjoint is healing, I am feeling much stronger. My physical therapist decided to put my goal to the test. The good news is that she has applied for an extension of my stay as she believes that my goal can be achieved! Yes! I will remain at the Trappenberg until at least mid November. It was a busy week and I did not get much time to rest from Stockholm. Kiara had practice sessions that week and I had to get her there. I also had a meeting with Dr. Lips who was able to tell me that the last head and torso scans were excellent, showing no decline in my status. 
Saturday I took a tiny break from things that I have to do and had lunch in Laren with my friends Tineke and Kirsten. It was a formal lunch with formidable weather. I had to dash away as I had to make my way over to Kiara's first try-out.
I met my mother and father in Zwolle (More than 1 hour from Hilversum). We had a lovely dinner in a very nice restaurant which we thought was the theater. There appeared to be 2 theaters, so we ended up arriving there in the nick of time. Kiara did a wonderful job on stage, playing Justice, Nelson Mandela's cousin.(The child version). She will be playing all over the country on various stage. She sang beautifully and made almost no mistakes. Not bad at all for a first time on stage in front of 900 pe
ople. She really seemed to be enjoying it, which she later confirmed. Kiara also played the role of a little boy in the mob. My instinct got to my sentiment when I saw her being shot dead with a riffle. I wish she had told me in advance! It totally shocked me. She played a very convincing dead person. A little musical star is born. I must say....the other kid were fantastic too. But permit me to dote a little!
We got to know each other in Tunisia in Ms. Brown's 3rd grade class. Helena was the one with the beautiful handwriting which I tried to copy, but never, ever succeeded. The Stockholm area resembles Holland but is much more spacious. Stockholm is a beautiful, modern and elegant city. The art deco buildings adorn the alleyways with lush-green and old trees forming a canopy above the pedestrian paths. Design is a 
big thing in Sweden, and so is food. Helena lives in the town center with everything close at hand, including a brother and a sister, both of whom I also still knew from Tunis. Johan came in every day and was so kind to push me around a large part of the town center on Saturday, while Goran and Helena dashed around town to get their 3 kids, Alexander, Anton and Anna to each of their soccer games, whilst Clara, the youngest of the 4 had to go to a birthday party. Running such a large family is like a military operation. Having known that from my own family it was really fun to watch in a contemporary setting. Later on Helena joined us for a 2 hour boat trip which gave a really good idea of what Stockholm was like. 
Saturday night Charlotta and Johan 
also joined us for dinner. I was making long days so I did not get to bed too late. 
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