Last update: May 2023.
Technically I'm in remission for the next 18 months, but as of October 2022 and after almost a year of tests, chemo, the lot, PET scans showed nothing left.
It was discovered after I broke my Ankle in 2021. The swelling wasn't subsiding still months-later; the opposite, in fact. I didn't know it was broken (it was at the base of the smaller fibula, so I could still walk), but I'd gone to the doctors a few times and left repeatedly with instructions to self-refer to Physiotherapy and a diagnosis it was a bad sprain. An additional fall on the same ankle over Christmas in 2021 led to a hospital visit in Finland where X-Rays discovered the months-old break and bone deterioration that needed further investigation.
My GP back in the UK still resisted sending me for additional tests. At that point the pain was becoming too much to deal with daily and I took myself to the hospital to do the waiting needed there to be (re)X-rayed, before I was then referred for MRI and additional tests.
The MRI showed the ankle was being attacked by a tumour, which led to a biopsy and diagnosis of Stage 1E Lymphoma.
It took 4 months of chemo and a sense of humour, but here we are.. my ankle is slowly regenerating also, though it'll not be the same.
Between a few years of non-stop, unhealthy work habits, and having to write off most of 2022 to beating Lymphoma, the site content and resources aren't where I want them to be. I'm working on resolving that with new content, collaborations, potentially a couple of partnerships and engagements also.
I by no means went silent, I've achieved Platinum GPE status with Google and remained active on LinkedIn, etc, but more recently a Google search will pick up content I write on other outlets, and not so much here. I'm actively trying to rebalance this.
I've spent almost a decade helping organisations with Android Enterprise and enterprise mobility, and have enjoyed every moment of it. From the questions I get emailed to topics on the AE help community, from LinkedIn messages to DMs, to random [insert messenger of choice here] pings, I rarely see a week without something pop through.
The help I can offer is generally what you might consider superficial though. I rarely know much about the organisation/person behind the question, and I only know of the issue presented the information I'm given. I take what I'm asked, request more information as needed, and suggest a path towards a solution or objective. Sometimes it's simple and often resolved quite quickly, sometimes the help needed goes deeper than I can offer on the end of a message thread or DM, so I can't always assist as well as I'd like to.
I've had opportunities pop up recently to do some consulting work for folks in the ecosystem, and it's motivated me to more officially offer my time for dedicated engagements. I knocked up a support page to centralise types of support I can offer, and having taken more active control of my free time this year, have more time to allocate to consulting.
Just recently I've -
If you're interested in the same, my rates align with SME/MSPs and I'm available several hours a month at the moment.
What was intended to be an April Fool's joke turned into one of the most enjoyable projects I've worked on in forever, and allows me technically to say I'm an author now, even if it is a 16 page ebook for children. Check it out, and enjoy! - Daddy's Phone Can't Do That!
Given the absolute carnage that is Twitter at the moment, and the realisation that all content is generally vendor-locked to whatever platform it's shared to, I've decided to start using this website as a broadcast hub for notes I'd normally share on social media.
I've no desire to stop engaging on socials, I recently dusted off my Mastodon account to the contrary, but going forward the short-(but sometimes long-)form texts I typically send out to LinkedIn will originate and be forever indexed and presented here on this website first.
Check out notes.
Between '21 and '22 I'd lost 15KG and felt pretty fantastic. All things considered.
The chemo, steroids, and immobility had me put most of that back on, but now I'm back on another kick to get down to a target weight of <100KG in my current form, after which I'll look to put some of that back on in muscle.
It's a regime of 5k running, 20k cycling per week at the moment, and hiding the Doritos of course :). It worked last time, and so far I've dropped 2.5KG this time.
Wish me luck!
Inspired by Derek Sivers.