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06/05/22 Fri. Into town early to collect rental car from Customs at 0630.......but the guy didn't turn up until 0715, so by the time we had done the paperwork and filled up with fuel, we were an hour late setting off. I put my foot down wherever possible and we were at the hospital at 1130 after collecting my newly made exhaust elbow on the way. As it turned out, we had no need to rush because the Doc didn't even know we had come for the appointment to make a mask for me! After some lunch, I kept a new appointment at 1415 with the radiologist and had said mask made before going for another CT Scan where they did all the measuring and positioning with laser beams. For anyone remotely interested, Ana filmed some of the process in the radiology room - while I was being positioned by laser, the guy was softening a plastic net type of thing in hot water, which he then moulded to my face. This, when cooled and hardened will be used to 'clamp' my head to the table while they zap my throat with radiation!
Treatment will possibly start on the 17th? We had a bite to eat before setting off back to Kudat at 1700, and it was a horrendous trip back! Imagine a drive of 185Km on poorly maintained single carriageway roads, with no street lights and pitch dark, in pouring rain with heavy traffic and every second car has misaligned headlights.....that's the sort of drive it was!
07/05/22 Sat. Refitted the stern tube (three or four times) and the cutless bearing housing, now just the awkward job of aligning the engine/gearbox with the shaft.
09/05/22 Mon. A really frustrating and wasted day today! We had visited the Immigration Office on the 29th to renew our visa (expires 30th) and was told to fill in some forms, get copies of just about everything and return them to the office on the 9th (today), which we did. First, we were told to fill in another form explaining why we had overstayed our visa by nine days! Then, after waiting two hours, we were told to go to the Post Office, buy two stamps, then go to the tax office and get those rubber stamped. Next came "you need a Malay citizen to vouch for you and submit their identity card'. After that, we waited again until finally, after five and a half hours there, we were told they would send the application to KK headquarters, which is what they told us on the 29th! So, practically a full day there and still no visa.
11/05/22 Weds. A couple more days of filling and sanding and checking some bolts which are due for replacement and which we will have to buy in KK on our next visit there.
12/05/22 Thurs. Hospital treatment start date confirmed as 17th, so car rental organised for 7am on that morning. We will go into Immigration again tomorrow and see if we can get a letter stating that we have applied for a visa - just in case we are stopped by police anywhere between here and KK.
20/05/22 Fri. We have driven down to KK and back for the last four days, attending hospital for my radiotherapy treatment, this will be the routine for the next four weeks. We leave Kudat at 0600 and get back around 1400 depending on traffic and weather so it's just as well that I don't mind driving too much! We could of course stay in KK for the duration, but hotel would be about 120 ringgit per night plus eating out each day, whereas petrol for the drive there and back is 35 ringgit, so it's a fair saving each day over the four weeks.
21/05/22 Sat. Today I had the new anode drilled to fit the existing hull bolts before I connected the prop shaft to the gearbox again and applied sikaflex to the cutless bearing housing. The new exhaust elbow is now ready to fit, but as it was nearly 6pm, I called it a day!
22/05/22 Sun. 48 years ago today, I was discharged from the RN and it only seems like yesterday! I fitted the exhaust elbow today, but I am a hose clamp short so that will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. Another video for you to watch - it's the preparation for radiation treatment on the linear accelerator, if you wonder why the staff change, it's because it was filmed over two days sessions. When they are happy with the set up, the lights go off and they leave the room and I am left alone listening to the machine do it's stuff.
28/05/22 Sat. Another 5 sessions of treatment in KK done, and Monday is a holiday so I have until Tuesday off! We took the car in for it's 10,000Km service this morning which is basically just an oil and filter change.
30/05/22 Mon. Replaced the propeller today and tightened it all up. There is an issue with the steering - when the wheel is midships, the rudder is slightly off centre (to port) and the only way I can see to fix that is too remove the arm from the reduction/transfer gearbox, centralise the worm gear and refit the arm. That job may prove difficult because the gearbox is behind the fuel tank!
31/05/22 Tues. An easy drive to KK today, because of the holiday the roads were all but empty of traffic and we made very good time, arriving at the hospital much too early for my appointment, so we had coffee in Coffee Bean to pass a little time. There was a little traffic on the return trip but nothing too serious.
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