Neill Duncan
A snowy blanket covered Katoomba on the afternoon I found out I had sarcoma, a rare type of cancer, in my left arm. The roads were scattered with abandoned cars. It was apocalyptic, a scene analogous to the past year of my life.
I'm a musician. I support my family with one tool: my saxophone. So discovering I had cancer in my arm - and then having it chopped off - was a very dark time.
Beating the odds: Saxophonist Neill Duncan Photo: Wolter Peeters
It all happened very quickly. After two rounds of
chemotherapy at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital I had my amputation the
week before Christmas 2012. Strangely enough, I was quite calm about it.
Being a jazz saxophone player, losing my arm was very dramatic and affected people deeply, especially Michael Lira, who I play with in the band Darth Vegas. So he tracked down a guy in Amsterdam who adapts wind instruments for people with disabilities.
It has taken a year for instrument maker Maarten Visser to custom build the world's only one-hand tenor sax. He hydraulically moved all the top keys to the bottom so I just use my right hand.
Against all odds, it seems I will play again. I have the same excitement about relearning the instrument as I did when I first picked up a sax 35 years ago.
With a $26,000 price tag it was way out of our budget. Then I started getting phone calls. One was from Support Act, a benevolent society for musicians who come into hard times. They put money towards our mortgage and the new saxophone.
Musicians don't have a safety net. We don't have sick pay or annual leave. I feel incredibly blessed and supported by initiatives, the community and family. It's been a hard road, learning to live with one arm … but having something that might kill me has made me so grateful to be here.
Lucy Carroll
A snowy blanket covered Katoomba on the afternoon I found out I had sarcoma, a rare type of cancer, in my left arm. The roads were scattered with abandoned cars. It was apocalyptic, a scene analogous to the past year of my life.
I'm a musician. I support my family with one tool: my saxophone. So discovering I had cancer in my arm - and then having it chopped off - was a very dark time.
Beating the odds: Saxophonist Neill Duncan Photo: Wolter Peeters
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In a funny way it has been a blessing. My wife, Rachel, and
our four kids, Ruben, Polly, Pearl and Floyd, have received amazing
support from the Blue Mountains community - from having meals dropped on
our doorstep to neighbours leaving cash in our mailbox.Being a jazz saxophone player, losing my arm was very dramatic and affected people deeply, especially Michael Lira, who I play with in the band Darth Vegas. So he tracked down a guy in Amsterdam who adapts wind instruments for people with disabilities.
It has taken a year for instrument maker Maarten Visser to custom build the world's only one-hand tenor sax. He hydraulically moved all the top keys to the bottom so I just use my right hand.
Against all odds, it seems I will play again. I have the same excitement about relearning the instrument as I did when I first picked up a sax 35 years ago.
With a $26,000 price tag it was way out of our budget. Then I started getting phone calls. One was from Support Act, a benevolent society for musicians who come into hard times. They put money towards our mortgage and the new saxophone.
Musicians don't have a safety net. We don't have sick pay or annual leave. I feel incredibly blessed and supported by initiatives, the community and family. It's been a hard road, learning to live with one arm … but having something that might kill me has made me so grateful to be here.
Lucy Carroll
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/lifechanging-event-losing-an-arm-20131231-3046p.html#ixzz2pUOzbVsn
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