The AFL Grand Final was held in Perth this year due to Covid-19 restrictions in Victoria and other states. “Great news!” I hear you say. Yes, it is for those lucky enough to secure a ticket. Gordon, my long suffering Dockers supporter mate and I, unfortunately weren’t part of the lucky 61,000 people to get a ticket. But we knew we had to watch it together, albeit on TV. Gordon suggested we travel to the South-west to watch it in the relaxing surroundings of Eight Willows Retreat. We had been to Eight Willows before and our mutual friend and resort owner, Mike was offering us a very nice discount. So why not!

We arranged to meet Friday night for dinner at the resort, have a nice lunch on Saturday and watch the game with a few bevvies back at the chalet. Nice a simple and relaxing. Probably not worth writing a blog entry.

Gordon, Cristy and their Granddaughter Catalina arrived early Friday afternoon and got settled in with a few beers – I assume Catalina just had milk. I left work around 2.30 and soon got a phone call from Gordon saying that he is getting pains in his back. We both laughed it off and diagnosed more beer was in order. I picked up Jane from her office and we excitedly made our way down the Forrest Highway for the three hour drive. Just outside of Perth we received a message from Gordon that the extra beers didn’t in fact relieve the pain and had gotten so much worse that Cristy was taking him to Margaret River Hospital Emergency Department. We were shocked.

Gordon has recently been diagnosed with Melanoma cancer in his brain and lung, with another cancer on the other lung. He has been receiving immunotherapy for the last month and a half. The side-effects of this treatment are quite horrendous. Having a nice relaxing weekend away was going to be a tonic for Gordon’s spirits. A visit to the ED was the last thing he needed right now!

We pressed on, anxious to find out more about the situation.

Another hour down the highway we got another call. Gordon was being transferred to Busselton Hospital for a CT Scan. “Oh dear, this is not looking great”, we were thinking. Gordon asked if we could pick him up from there on the way through to the resort. We arrived at Busselton Hospital at around 6.30pm. An hour later Gordon emerged from the ED, looking quite frustrated and said “let’s get out of here”. The results of the CT scan would be phoned through later that night. They had given him pain relievers and he was keen to get back to the resort for the barbeque and more beers (and wine).

After a nice meal of lamb chops, sausages and salad, the hospital did ring with the results of the CT scan. Gordon had a blood clot in his lung. They had prescribed blood thinning medication and it would be available at Margaret River hospital in the morning. The fact that they didn’t insist that he return to the hospital was a good sign, however.

Saturday morning were up about 8.30am for a “cook-up” breakfast at our chalet. Bacon, eggs, tomato and toast was just the ticket to get us going. After a quick shower Jane and I drove Gordon to Margaret River to pick up the prescription. On arrival at the ED, the triage nurse claimed to have no knowledge of the prescription. Another frustration that Gordon didn’t need. About 30 minutes later they managed to find a doctor that understood the situation and wrote the prescription. We filled the prescription, and had (the worst) coffee and (and best) hot chocolate in Margaret River. We then made out way back to Eight Willows to prepare for lunch.

We had lunch at Flutes Restaurant within the grounds of the Brookland Valley winery. This is a long-time favourite of Gordon’s but Jane and I haven’t had the pleasure. We all decided to dress in white and have a photoshoot in the stunning surrounds.

After the ordeals of the past 18 hours we were hanging out for a good time. We were not disappointed. Lunch was superb. The service was great and food delicious, complimented by the vineyard’s own wines (Verse 1 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc)

After lunch we explored the grounds and took some photos.

Back to the chalets for a nap before the “Big Dance“.

The AFL Grand Final is the last game of the season and determines the best team of the year. Clearly the best team is not playing in the Grand Final this year, but that’s another discussion. The Melbourne Demons take on the Western Bulldogs, both Victorian teams. It’s a shame that no Western Australian teams (no, the Western Bulldogs are not a western team – don’t get me started) are playing in the first ever grand final played in Perth. It promised to be am interesting game nonetheless.

Despite a close first half the Demons finished very strongly to win comfortable in the end for a well deserved victory.

Watching the game, Gordon wasn’t his usual exuberant self and we could tell he was suffering again. After the game we left Gordon to rest and retired back to our chalet for a jacuzzi bath and some TV before bed.

Sunday morning Gordon did indeed feel better and reciprocated the bacon and eggs breakfast. They checked out soon after and drove home. We anxiously await advice from his Oncologist on the impact of the blood clotting.

We checked out around 11.15am, as we were planning to meet Mary Ann, Alex and Marcus for lunch before we headed for home. Mary Ann and Alex were camping in Augusta for the weekend. We met half way at the Colonial Brewery in Bramley (just outside Margaret River). We arrived without a booking and luckily they fitted us in. Lunch was nice and it was great to catch up with them, albeit rushed.

The weekend was umm… different. Parts were a lot of fun, but we were always worried for our mate. Many thanks to Mike for fitting us into the resort, on short notice on a busy long weekend, The highlight was the lunch at Flutes. It was a wonderful afternoon and we will be back there for sure. On the other hand, I won’t be fussed if I never see the inside of any South-West hospitals again!