Keith Livingstone - Staring Down the Beast: How I Enjoyed Myself Well from a Brain Tumour Death Sentence

STARING DOWN THE
BEAST

How I Enjoyed Myself Well from a
Brain Tumour Death Sentence

KEITH LIVINGSTONE

Copyright 2017 Keith James Livingstone.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-1522-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-1523-4 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 11/28/2018

CONTENTS

On the 16 th day of February each year, a large group of surfers gather together in the constant grey swell off Muriwai Beach, northwest of Auckland in New Zealand, for a sunset surf the last surf of the day. They are occasionally watched by a very old lady.

They paddle out into the surf, and gather in a large circle, in remembrance of one of their own whose life was tragically cut short in 2003, by a silent assassin; the lethal brain tumour glioblastoma multiforme.

This book is dedicated to the memory of Grant Vesey, a great bloke who was once a surf-lifesaving champion with Muriwai Surf Lifesaving Club, and an extremely popular Props-Master with Television New Zealand.

Grants mother, Rose Vesey, passed on recently at 102 years old, and to this day Grants loss cuts deeply for the whole clan.

DEDICATION
Kerrie Walker, Champion Lady, 1 2t h May 1965 - 3 1s t October 2017.

Kerrie, younger sister of my friend and university mate Doctor Michael Troy, passed after an extremely determined battle with glioblastoma multiforme over several years.

Right to the very end, she was willing herself to get back, and took to conversing by facebook when her speech was struck down early on: nevertheless; she painstakingly touch-typed notes as her condition deteriorated around her.

Kerrie passed peacefully, leaving her former husband Andrew, brothers Michael and Simon, and parents Tommy and Gloria, as well as her children Amanda, Daniel, and Andrew.

DEDICATION
Rose Vesey, Champion blokes Mum, 1916-2018

In 1930, when she was only 14 years old, Roseanna Fitzpatrick left her family home in Bunnahow, County Clare, to escape depression-era Ireland for London, where she soon got a job in a hotel as a maid. She followed older siblings to London. Her sheltered upbringing in a large Catholic family didnt prepare her for the seedy side of life in London- especially when she had to prepare a double bed for two gentlemen guests, one of whom she found murdered in the same bed the next morning. Within a few days of moving to London, Rose had been interviewed as a witness in a murder case by detectives from Scotland Yard!

Roseanna later emigrated to New Zealand, marrying Doug Vesey, a nuggety tradesman and bushman who had survived polio as a youngster, and had a wicked sense of humour. Together, they had four children; Greg, Anne, Grant and Michele. Grant was our childhood friend, who unfortunately passed on with the same type of tumour that I eventually had, in 2003.

Aunty Rose was a mainstay in my childhood in New Zealand, and weve always kept in contact over the years.

Until her last few weeks, Rose was a regular at Sky City Casino in Auckland, where she played Bingo with her girlfriends (all about 50 years younger!). Her hundredth birthday made national television news in New Zealand as the Casino gave her a free birthday reception.

Reflecting on a friendship that has spanned more than fifty years, and sharing the many trials, tribulations and triumphs, the simplest way to describe Dr Keith Livingstone is this: Tenacity, determination and an unswerving belief in himself. All the reserves that Keith could muster and then a whole reservoir I suspect even he didnt know he possessed, has enabled him to not only face death head on but smash through the limitations that many around him were placing on him.

Through sheer guts and a healthy dose of denial Keith has been able to not only beat the odds but recreate a life not only worth living but worth getting up for each and every day.

Surrounded by a young and growing family and with unwavering support from his loving wife Joanne (Jo), Keith is an inspiration to those who know him and have walked the journey with him.

Read, Reflect and Treasure every day.

Gavin Harris, Auckland.

FOREWORD

Writing an autobiography is a process of reflection. Like most reflections, when someone looks in a mirror, they see an inverted image of themselves from their own point of view. Arguably, this is not the whole perspective or the full picture. With the various blind spots we all have as human beings, it is a hard task to see ourselves without distortion from our own point of view, let alone how others see us. How much harder still, when you have barely survived the swirling blades of the Grim Reaper, several times in a lifetime?

The task is amplified when your cerebral cortex has been invaded by an alien impostor, then opened up in a series of traumatic yet delicate neurological operations. Reviewing your memories would be like trying to find documents in an upside down filing cabinet, in complete darkness, after an earthquake. Where does one start?

To my brother, holding on to life with the slightest ray of light has always been a far better option than dutifully following the script and quietly slipping away. Indeed, there has been nothing dutiful or quiet about Keith over a lifetime, which is probably why hes still here as I write.

Colin Livingstone,