A long overdue update....

Hello all... It has been awhile since I have updated anyone on the current happenings in my life.

If you haven't already figured it out, no, we did not make the short-list for the Island Reef caretaker job we were seeking out... Although this was disappointing, as certain things came to light over the past few months, it may have been for the better.

Many of you know I have been struggling with pain issues for quite some time now. The pain comes, and goes, but when I have extremely bad flare-ups it means that walking ceases to be an option for me... this includes even simple things such as going to the bathroom, where I am forced down on all fours to even get to the toilet (a little bit more information than you probably needed, but a good example as to just how severe my pain can become). After years and years of seeking out doctors to help me deal with this pain, I finally enlisted the help of a local spine center in the Northern New Jersey area. Although I am still in a great deal of pain, I feel like I have finally found a medical team who is not only sympathetic to my pain, but also is working very hard to try to alleviate this pain... For me, this has been nothing short of a miracle (just having empathy from a medical professional does quite a bit to ease the mind mentally).

So, onto what's going on with my pain situation.

After looking at my x-rays and MRIs, my new team has determined that my back is broken in two places... and probably has been for quite some time. Part of my pain comes from what is called spondylolysis, which is essentially the breakage of the facet joints on the L4 vertebrae of my spine.


This has contributed to spondilolisthesis of L5 and S1 (essentially a slipping forward of those vertabrae due to the instability of the upper bone).



On Wednesday, I received my first epidural in an attempt to control some of the back pain I am experiencing. Although, so far it has not gone as well as I had hoped, this is the first time I have felt that any of my medical professionals have taken a proactive approach in helping me conquer this sometimes debilitating factor of my life. Shorly after my edipural, I discovered that corticosteroids and I don't have the best relationship with each other. The last few days I have been dealing with elevated blood pressure and heart rate (up to 160/95 for bp, and 108 bpm). Thank god for small miracles such as Xanax to bring my heart rate back to normal! Three days after the injection, my back is feeling ok, but not great.

My doctor explained to both me and Eric that this would not cure me. Because of the bony degradation problems, joint problems, and disc problems in my back, it is possible that epidurals will not relieve the pain. It was also explained, that due to the nature of the breaks in my back, they are unable to heal on their own. The only way to actually fix my back is through a spinal fusion.

So, all in all, Eric and I (and also my family) have a pretty big decision to make as to whether or not I should go through with the surgery. It is a long recovery, and from what I know a fairly painful procedure, but we are starting to think that in the long run it may be the right thing to do to get me back to feeling like a normal 30-year old - things as simple as cooking, cleaning, and even just shaving my legs have become impossible for me to do without help at this point in my life.

So, that has been what's going on with me... Sorry it took so long for this update, but mentally this has been fairly difficult to deal with... but I am keeping my head held high since I know that feeling sorry for myself about the situation will do nothing but make everything worse. Having surgery will put our future plans for relocation on hold, but we both feel it is better for me to be functioning normally first before moving on to the next chapter of our lives.

So, for the next few weeks I will be monitoring myself to see how well this epidural takes hold. If this injection does not work, well, then surgery seems to be the only other option.

I promise not to wait so long in letting everyone know what is going on with my health, and hopefully soon I will happily be on the road to recovery.

In addition, I would like to thank everyone for all your kind words and thoughts that I have received recently through this difficult period in my life. I love all of you, and it would make it much harder to get through this without all of your support!

Blessed be!
Oksana

It's official!

Yes, it is official... We have submitted our video for Tourism Queensland!

A very big thank you to our friends and family (especially Eric's mom) for helping us to get the word out! We've had quite a few votes so far, and we're holding strong at 4 stars! And thank you again to our producer/director/videographer, dylan 'dementis' roberts, for all of his help!

If you haven't checked out our video yet, please click here to check it out and vote for us!

Tourism Queensland will be announcing the short-listed candidates on March 2nd. Keep your fingers crossed for us, and once again, thank you to everyone who is pulling for us and has been so supportive of us going after our dream!!! It means the world to us!

Exciting day!

Well... we have FINALLY completed all the editing for our "Best Job in the World" video resume. It was a lot of work, but fun at the same time (well, most of the time, at least).

A special thank you to our friend dylan 'dementis' roberts for helping us out with this task... we couldn't have done it without him! (Well, maybe we could've.... it just would have been much harder and not come out nearly as well!)

We are very happy with the final product... and we hope that the folks at Tourism Queensland will be as excited about our video as we are!

So, to all our family and friends who have been excitedly following our progress towards this amazing adventure... keep your fingers crossed for us!!!! This is soooooooooo exciting for us, and we know that this is the opportunity of a lifetime that we have been looking for!

Some examples of my work and where you can find me...

My photography is being sold in a number of different outlets. I'm very excited to say that I'm currently being sold internationally on AllPosters.com! You can find me at the outlets listed below, or you can go to AllPosters.com or Art.com and search for Oksana Fox (only 2 prints are currently being sold on AllPosters.com and Art.com - for a more extensive sampling of my work check out one of the places below).

Artist Rising Gallery

Red Bubble Gallery


Flickr Gallery

My first post... and hopefully big changes to come!

Well, I've had this blog for some time, but until now I have not used it. I have used other blogging websites and tools (old rants and rambling which I will be adding to this site), but more just for my friends rather than the general public.

That is all about to change right now!

I am really excited about the pursuit of a dream I have had for as long as I can remember... living near the Great Barrier Reef. I don't know exactly when I learned about this amazing place; probably around 6-7 years of age; but I knew one day I had to go there.

I grew up near the coast of southern California in a family which has strong ties to the ocean. My dad would often go scuba diving and bring home creatures of the sea for us to feast on. I remember when abalone was abundant, rather than an incredibly rare delicacy. I could drive a boat long before I could drive a car. I learned to snorkel when I learned to swim. Every time (except for one) that I saw my life flash before my eyes; and yes, there have been a few; was at the hands of the ocean. But rather than fear the ocean, I embrace it.

Back to the Great Barrier Reef... I feel like my dream is being placed at my feet - just waiting for me to snatch it up, take it by the horns, and make it my reality.

For years, I had been relentlessly researching moving to Australia. I wanted to live somewhere tropical, or sub-tropical. I decided on Brisbane. The hardest part was convincing my husband, Eric, that Australia wasn't so different from the United States, and that we would be able to acclimate ourselves to the culture there... after years of prodding, followed by a period of time of not mentioning it at all, Eric began to see things my way... and excitedly so!

Then, the economy started to take a downward spiral... my dreams of the Great Barrier Reef were put on the back burner. Although, personally, we have not been hard hit by the economy (yet), we can see things crumbling down all around us... the idea of spending my life next to the largest structure created by living organisms, and all the beauty that it encompasses, started to be replaced by more realistic ideas of how to spend our lives. We started looking for houses stateside... First in California, then in Huntsville, Alabama, as the California economy went to shambles... My dream had pretty much left my radar...

Until I learned about "The Best Job in the World."

I feel like this opportunity has been placed in my lap, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Eric and I have been looking into leaving New Jersey for quite some time now. We were actually planning to move on in our life adventures within the next 6 months to year... I couldn't think of anywhere more perfect to move to after spending nearly a decade in one of the most dreary places on Earth (at least, in my eyes it is).

And, it doesn't hurt that we feel we are extremely qualified for this position.

• We are both PADI-Certified SCUBA divers
• I am an internationally-sold photographer, and I have experience photographing the underwater world
  
• We LOVE to travel... and anyplace tropical is somewhere we would like to be. Outdoor adventures are a top priority for us
  
• We are fun-loving, outgoing, and have loads of charisma
  
• We are both incredibly responsible... The only time Eric has missed a day of work in the last 7+ years was due to a MRSA infection... Not exactly something he could control
• I have been working for my company for 9 years, part of that time putting myself through school at Rutgers University, where I attained my Bachelors degree
  
• Eric has been at his job for 7 years, and went from being an assistant manager to managing a multi-million dollar shop within his company - breaking revenue records for the last 3 years straight
• I'm a whiz with the computer, and my writing skills are exceptional
• Being out in the wilderness doesn't phase us in the slightest... whether it is being out at sea for days at a time reeling in albacore, or spending a week in the desert off-roading until our hearts are content
  

And the list goes on... This IS our opportunity at a dream... and we know that there is NO ONE better for this job...

Yes, they are only looking for one applicant, but the skills that the two of us have, and the teamwork that we have as a couple, make US the perfect candidate for this position. As we like to say, as individuals we are strong... as a couple we are unstoppable. Where one of us goes, the other will follow, so we figure we might as well present both of ourselves, because that's what they will be getting. One of us having to pay our travel expenses to get there doesn't phase us in the slightest.

We will be finalizing our video this week, and sending it off for review... and hopefully they will realize, as Eric and I already know, that WE ARE the perfect people for this amazing opportunity of a lifetime...

Who knows? Maybe after 6 months of having us, they will realize that they want to keep us on for longer... We can only hope! And pray... and beg... and plead... :-)

I will keep everyone updated as to how this adventure unfolds itself... and I hope to have VERY good news to update you all with.

In the meantime, my thoughts will be filled with underwater visions and island fantasies... and hoping that dreams really do come true.