I turned 51 on the 19th, but just don't feel like it one little bit LOL! The last few weeks have been pretty hectic, but an update was well over-due, and thanks to my brother Peter, who came up to help out for 10 days (arrived 1st December and departed 11th), I am able to fill you in on most of the events of those 10 days at least C/- his own Blog version of the 12 days of Christmas, that is up to day 22 as I write this update (one update for each day of December, so far . . . who knows when it will end LOL!). Well done Pete, and if you'd like to see/read his 10 days up here from his perspective, then I suggest you start at his Day One update and work your way up :)
I know it sounds a bit slack of me, but he is also an avid photographer, and so always beat me to the draw in getting snaps of things . . . in fact he often had drawn, shot, and re-holstered, before I even became aware of a photo opportunity. Why am I sharing this . . . because I have put no pics in my update 'cause they are already all there in his LOL!
A quick health report for those on the fly . . . as Pete did mention in his Day Three update, Mum went in for another two bags of blood on Wednesday 2nd December, after starting to feel very low and a blood test revealing that her red blood cell count was down. The transfusion certainly did pick her up, and her energy levels have been pretty stable ever since, allowing her to do a few extra things like go for a coffee and some clothes shopping after a doctor's appointment (see Pete's Day Ten update), and then a short and sweet Christmas shopping trip to Big W after another doctor's appointment last Friday (the 18th), as well as the regular Wednesday visits to her hairdresser in Yungaburra. For me, well my shoulder seems to be improving in strength and flexibility every day, and aside from the collar bone sticking up lump which is quite good for giving people shivers up their spine when they see or feel it (LOL!), it seems well on the way to a full recovery :)
We celebrated my 51st birthday with a lovely lunch at the International Club on Sunday (the 20th) because Phil took me (for my birthday present), with his son Harley, and two of Harley's friends, to see the movie "Avatar" in 3D on the 19th . . . and I'd better not start talking about it or I might not be able to stop LOL! Suffice to say, I rate it up there with "The Lord Of The Rings" as one of the greatest epics of all time. It has it all . . . out of this world amaaaaazing visual effects, another look at the battle between the heartless, greedy, fear-based destroyers and the heartfull, heart connected (to each other, all the creatures on the planet, and the Earth Mother of the planet herself), beautiful, graceful, and strong race being invaded . . . and there's even a beautiful love story thrown in as well LOL! Here's a little taste . . .:)
I know its hard to justify spending $300 million in the making of a movie when so many of the world's population are suffering through lack of the basic survival necessities, but this film does have the potential to bring about a shift in the consciousness of all who watch it, so it just might be worth the money from the bigger picture perspective . . . consequently, I have no hesitation in describing "Avatar" as a MUST MUST MUST see film :)
What is an Acromioclavicular Joint Separation??? Rather than attempting to explain it all, just click on the link (blue words) and I'll leave the task of explaining it to the experts LOL! I did write in my last update that this one would have a health report about ME, and so here it is. And . . . if you did go check it out the link, I have a grade 3 separation :(
How did it happen . . . ahhh, now there's a little story to share there, but basically, underneath it all, I just forgot I am 50 now and the body I'm here experiencing 3D in, as miraculous as it is, just can't do what it could when I was 20 :) For those of you that don't want to go find out more about it via the link above, or found the images a little abstract if you did, here's a blended photo/x-ray image I found that shows the injury very clearly . . .
Anyway, here's what actually happened. It was Alison's (brother Phil's mother-in-law) 80th birthday party out at his place. Due to the milestone that turning 80 is (congratulations Alison!), lots of her family had come from all over the country to celebrate with her, and although I couldn't tell you all their names, here's a photo of the group . . .
Naturally, there was a game of cricket on, and naturally, there was the usual competitive enthusiasm between the males, and I confess I was doin my best to make the biggest hit and the best catch, etc, LOL! Anyway, I was in the out field running as fast as I could after a big hit ball with the goal of catching it, looking up at the ball, and I simply stumbled a little, tried for several seconds to right myself, but just couldn't do it, and I sort of crash/rolled onto what must be the hardest ground on the whole property . . . an area of grassless, rock hard clay driveway :(
I vaguely remember hearing a weird noise as the joint went, but it all happened so fast I don't remember too much about it, but I do know that when I got up, and the roars of laughter by all the other players died down (I think it must have looked pretty funny LOL!), I knew it was a serious injury. X-rays at the hospital an hour or so later confirmed that, though there was nothing they could do other than provide me with a collar & cuff sling, instructions on managing the injury, and the knowledge that the tendons would re-grow in two or three months and I would always have a lump there unless I had an operation.
Thankfully, it was not very painful at all when I followed the advice, and most of the things I do in caring for Mum I could do one handed a little slower. The things I couldn't do, well . . . as usual we were very blessed, and it seemed there was always someone else there to do them :) Today, almost two weeks after it occurred, I am able to drive the car again (its a manual) and I reckon by next week, I'll be able to put Mum's wheelchair (something I still cant do at the moment) in the boot and take her to here weekly hair wash/set/whatever she has done at her hairdresser in Yungaburra.
Incidentally, Mum's going about the same as she was in the last update, which is pretty good, really. She's experiencing a little angina from time to time, but no more nose bleeds, and her leg/foot seems to be slowing improving and becoming more and more pain-free.
It was Dad's birthday on Friday the 13th of November, and although we (Mum, I & Phil) had planned to go out for a special lunch to remember & celebrate his time with us, Mum was not really up to it, so I made (with my one good arm) a simple meal of zuccini slice and salad, which we shared at home. It is very easy to celebrate the birth, and life, of Robert Maxwell Ackland.
To finish on a very positive note, we were recently blessed by the company (on Tuesday 17th and Wednesday 18th) of our dear friends Chris & Patsy Hannam. Patsy, the cake was award-winningly scrummy, and Chris, I didn't get to thank you before you left (cause I didn't notice till after you had gone), but thank you so much for doing the dishes. I really appreciated it :) Here they are with Mum . . .
OK . . . my intention is to do a update on Mum's health, but I also have a few pics and a video to share as well . . . just to show that I am doing other things in my life up here in Sunny North Queensland in addition to being a full time carer, that don't actually conflict with the role either LOL! So . . . I am very happy to tell you about the Whirled Dance Band that I am now a member of. At the moment, the group consists of Alison Bird on Saxaphone, Chris Stott on Guitar, Marie Pesavento on Mandolin, Sabine Liebrich on Flute, Brett Turner on Djembe, and Me on my Darabucca. There are others that play as part of the group at times when they are available, so it's pretty well a case of who ever's in town . . .
There's no need for the whole story of how I came accross this wonderful band of musicians and was invited to join, so I'll just say that the other drummer, Brett, was the key. I'm thrilled to be a part of it and be regularly playing the sort of music that my drum, the Darabucca, is particularly well suited to.
But . . . rather than just babble on about it, here's a video so you can see and hear what we are all about. A few weeks ago, when we played at the Yungaburra Folk Festival, Maria's husband Rob filmed us and here is a segment of one of the songs we played. It is a unique Whirled Dance Band arrangement blend of two songs, Troika, and Zigeuner Karawane, and has the feel of a good old Russian drinking song . . .
OK, now onto Mum's health. Last update she was back in hospital with a blood clot in her leg, and they were working on that medicinally. Well, on the 27th October, after a few days on Heparin, and then a few weeks on the blood thinning medication, Warfarin, the doctor thought there was enough success with that and sent her home, even though she did not have full feeling back in her foot. This made it borderline whether she would be able to stand on it well enough to move from bed to wheelchair, to toilet, and back etc, but thankfully, she managed just fine with that.
However . . . other problems developed C/- the thinner blood, and she was back in hospital on Monday the 2nd of November, with ever-increasing nose-bleeds occuring spontaneously at any time of night and day. They thought about packing the nose, but instead opted, after a few days to cauterize the inside walls with silver nitrate solution. This sounds worse than it actually was, as it is a painless process . . . and it worked . . . and so Mum was home again on Friday the 6th, and she has been home, and going pretty well, since then.
Now . . . there is another story to tell as well . . . about MY health, but I think I'll save that for the next update, which will not be too far away, I promise :)
I have been moved to tears twice today, so thought I'd share these "heart" songs with YOU :) The first is called "One Prayer", and it'll be pretty obvious why this evoked my heart opening . . .
The second is good old James Taylor, for those who know him, and I'm not really sure why this got the tears flowing . . . but it did. Maybe the lyrics, maybe the harmonies, maybe the memories it evokes . . . maybe all three LOL! Anyway, I hope that one or both of these videos evokes the love in you too, because YOUR love flowing through YOU is a blessing to all humanity. Thanks so much for BEing YOU so magnificently :)
As promised, having my camera with me all the time means there will be a lot more spontaneous pics to share here with you, but firstly, the usual health report . . . since the last update the blood transfusion Mum received actually resulted in a significant decrease in her angina attacks, but the reprieve only lasted a few days before she woke in the early hours of the morning (Monday 12th) with numbness & severe pain in her left leg. The doctor came immediately, gave gave her a shot of morphine, and called an ambulance to take her to hospital, where she has been ever since. She had a clot in her left leg below the knee, and because none of the doctors thought she would survive another amputation, or any sort of surgical procedure to remove it, she was put on an intravenous drip of Heparin (a blood thinner) to hopefully dissolve it without surgery.
And, thankfully, we have had some success. Circulation did begin to improve almost immediately with the Heparin, and after a couple of days they were able to detect a pulse on her foot again, and the pain had reduced considerably. When I saw her last night, she said they were thinking of sending her home this Thursday despite the fact that she still found putting weight on her foot (to get in and out of bed into the wheelchair, etc) quite difficult as it still felt numb, and that it was a bit painful as well, so I guess we just wait and see what unfolds. I did manage (despite significant resistance LOL!) to get a pic of her yesterday, and as you can see below, she is actually looking pretty well.
Mum always loves it when Phil & Shellie's Jacaranda tree flowers, and because it is looking glorious in it's full bloom at the moment, I took the pic below to share it with her, 'cause we just don't know if she will get to see it in person this year.
And while I was there, I had to take a pic of their new blinds. No doubt about the quality, which matches the price well LOL!, and with summer just around the corner, it will make a huge difference keeping the scorching afternoon sun off the verandah.
Now this is a record . . . two updates in the same day. But I just had to put this video up here after a "twitter" friend in the US shared that her son-in-law's new song was number 10 on Billboard. I'm still waiting to hear back after asking her if he simply penned the song, or plays in the band that sings it, Lady Antebellum, or both. She had sent me the link to a YouTube video of it, and yes, it really was a fabulous song called "I Need You Now", but after watching a few more of their videos, I found one that strummed even louder on my heart strings, called "Never Alone", and decided I just had to share it with you :)
And wouldn't you know it, watching/listening to this video evoked a warm and fuzzy memory of another favourite "You're Never Alone" song written and sung by Rick Price, and so, after a quick YouTube search, there it was . . . or, thanks to the capacity to embed Youtube videos into Blogs, here it is LOL!
Yes, you are reading correctly, if you've noted that this update was submitted less than a week after the last LOL! I have a good reason though - we celebrated my brother Phil's 53rd birthday last Tuesday, and although I remembered a little late to grab a pic (the cake was already cut) there was still time to grab a few moments of that time onto video to share with you all.
A health report first, though. Since the last update, Mum has seen a heart specialist, spent a day and a night in hospital while being transfused with two bags of blood, and survived an Echocardiogram (Echo). And, after all that, she is definately feeling better than she did before it all, so it seems all worthwhile . . . though the specialist who did the Echo immediately made an appointment to see us on Monday to explore some avenues we can take to improve her health and quality of life. Thanks, as usual, to all of you who have been sending your love and support :)
OK, here's that video. A few moments in the life of Phil Ackland on his 53rd birthday. You will see Harley there (Phil's son) getting into the chocolate cake, and Mum looking pretty well and doing a few wheelies in her wheelchair. Phil is the main focus naturally, despite the knife waving at the end and the warning (blocked out by some Benny Hill music) not to put it on YouTube (LOL!), and I even managed to get a few seconds of Alison (Phil's mother in law), who usually avoids camera lenses like the plague :)
Incidentally, I took the video above on my new phone, a Nokia N97. My Telstra plan expired, so it was time to look for a new phone and a better plan than the one I had had with Telstra ($80/month for a phone & $80 worth of calls). After a couple of weeks of research on what was available with all the features I wanted on it, it came down to choosing between the Apple iPhone and the Nokia N97, and . . . after reading one comparison after another that indicated the N97 was superior in just about every way . . . and the fact that iPhone were behind in production and there would be a wait of a month or more . . . and the fact that Vodaphone (whose coverage has now reached 96% of the population) had the N97 free on a plan that included 1GB data, 100 free text messages and a cap of around $550 worth of calls - all for $80/month . . . the choice was very easy :) With it's 5MP camera sporting quality Carl Zeiss Tessar optics and twin LED flash, it will mean that I have a camera at the ready for decent pics far more often than I used to, when it meant lugging around a bulky camera bag to do so. (Anyone want to buy a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-18??? It's a fabulous camera LOL!) Anyway, here'a a pic of the N97 . . . ciao for now :)
My main reason for submitting this update is to share with you my experience of taking (finally LOL!) my 50th birthday present hot air balloon flight (see this Blog entry, here), but before I get into that, a health report is in order. It appears that Mum's heart is still very fragile, and sometimes even the littlest thing, like going to the loo, or eating a meal, can tire her out and bring on the beginnings of an angina attack. On the positive side, she is still able to manage other activities that she really enjoys, like going and getting her hair washed at the hairdresser (which is pretty much a two hour round trip), or going out for lunch or afternoon tea at my brother Phil's place.
As usual, any and all positive thoughts and love sent her way are greatly appreciated :)
OK . . . on to my balloon flight. For those that don't know I did attempt it on my actual birthday last December, but the second flight of the two they always have was cancelled due to a wind change during the first. And, so, I've been waiting for the right time to attempt it again. As it happened a good friend that I have made up here, Saddhen, and his wife, Merrily, also wanted the hot air balloon flight experience, and we decided to share it on the 23rd September, which was the Winter Solstice, and therefore an auspicious time to do so. I took my camera, but decided to take only videos in an effort to share more of the experience with you than I thought I would be able to do with still photos. I then did some simple editing, converted the resulting .mov video to a YouTube compatible .flv video, and uploaded the finished product to YouTube, as well as including it here (below) in this Blog update. Hopefully, you will get a taste of the experience, but please don't expect a Hollywood epic LOL!.
As the title of this update suggests, Mum's heart has been a bit fragile of late, and so I wanted to let you know what was going on there with a health update. There have also been a few positive things happen up here that were worth reporting, and because they occurred a while ago now, but since the last update, I'll start with them.
In July, I had two dear friends of mine from Victoria come up for a holiday out of the cold . . . Beryl and Allen, and in order to catch up, they invited Mum & I to have lunch with them. We all (Mum included) had a delightful time over an absolutely delicious lunch at the Lake Barrine Tea Rooms, and even though I simply forgot to get a pic of the four of us at the time (hopefully, I won't forget next time), I did find someone else's pic of Lake Barrine on the net (LOL!), and so at least you can get a bit of an idea of how beautiful a place it is :)
The next thing I wanted to share was a "male bonding day", enjoyed by the four Ackland males in Far North Queensland. I had to take the Lancer for a decent run and get a few things in Cairns as well, and so on Tuesday 11th of August, I was joined by Harley (yeah - wagging school), Phil (on a day off), & Simon (just going with the flow), and we even caught a movie while we were down there. Naturally, for such a high testosterone group we had to watch a high action shoot-em-up as part of our secret male business, and G.I. Joe was the best one showing at the time. Not much of a plot, but a lot of fun :) Shellie took this pic before we left.
OK, now onto the health report. Mums heart has been gradually getting more fragile as time has unfolded since her birthday update where she was battling with a touch of the flu. It's meant that things she used to be able to do relatively easily, like go to the toilet, began to leave her breathless, with her arms feeling like lead. Even eating had this effect some times, and the symptoms often also included pain and a tightness accross her chest.
Anyway, on Sunday 23rd August, I got up in the morning to find her quite distressed after a pretty bad night (of what has been revealed as small attacks of angina), and immediately called the doctor who got me to take her straight to hospital. It wasn't an emergency sort of admission - more of a decision to put her in so they could fine tune the heart medication she was already on, because it didn't seem to be doing what it was supposed to do. That seemed to go OK, her heart medication was increased from one to one and a half tablets a day, and she was out the following Thursday (27th) feeling much better.
However, things didn't really end there, and after a week or so at home, I had to call the doctor for Mum again on the morning of Wednesday 9th September after she experienced another bad night. This seemed a little more serious, and the doctor got the ambulance to take her this time, and she is still in there as I write this update. She is now on two heart tablets a day, and the initial plan was for her to come home yesterday, but that didn't eventuate, as despite this increase in medication, she is still having angina attacks at night after even the slightest exertion (like having a pee).
There are positives and negatives here . . . the positives is that, due to the extra rest she is forced to take in hospital, a couple of budding ulcers on her toes have healed, and the second is that apart from the angine attacks, she is not in any major pain at all. It's pretty bizarre when I visit her, because she seems so well, and bright, and peaceful, and happy, and she is not putting on an act either. She is eating well, and chats with the other patients, and its hard to understand why she is in hospital at all.
The negatives . . . well, her heart needs to get stronger, but to do that she needs to do a bit of exercise, but if she does that, it seems to bring on an angina attack, so I just don't know where we go from there . . . other than making the most of what time she has left here in 3D, and endeavouring to ensure it includes as much joy as possible. So . . . as usual . . . any love and positive energy sent her way is very much appreciated :)
Yes, its was Mum's birthday on Sunday (born 26/07/1929), and seeing as it was definately an occasion for a camera, I have a few pics to share. But let me give a bit of a health update first. Mum is going OK. Not great . . . but OK. She has been battling with "a touch of" (doctor's words) the flu for the past few weeks, and so has not been eating that well, has been feeling weak and achey, and has been using more oxygen than usual. Apart from that, she still managed to get to play bridge last Thursday morning, so it's not been a particularly debilitating back-slide.
But before we get to the birthday, one visit definately worth mentioning was from all the Adler (pre-marriage) sisters on their yearly get-together. They all came for morning tea last Friday (24/07) and filled the unit with their warm & uplifting energy . . . and matching bags (made especially for their get-together by Sue). Mum enjoyed the visit enormously :)
Then, of course, Sunday was Mum's birthday, and we had a lovely lunch at the International Club in Atherton to celebrate. Joining Mum & I were Phil, Shelly, Harley, Simon, Alison, and Alison's sister Doris, who was over for a few weeks from WA.
The food was great, the atmosphere pretty quiet & relaxing, and the cake was Mum's favourite . . . a black forest cake . . . but it was so big we gave a quarter of it to the kitchen staff before we left.
Something else worth sharing is that Mum actually bought herself a birthday present! Partly due to some unofficial advice from a Centrelink worker who pointed out that she was over some cut-off point but would get a full pension if she had a little less cash in the bank, and partly due to the fact that she had didn't really like the Barina (she says she always thought it was a bit "tinny", but I suspect that some of that attitude may be due to Dad buying it without consulting her). Whatever the reason, it was lovely for me to see her feeling deserving of a gift of this magnitude from herself, and I, too, feel blessed, because, as the chauffer, I was able to express a preference for, and get, the "5 on the floor" manual version of the latest Mitsubishi Lancer :)
As usual, the lack of news in the form of Blog updates, has meant good news, but there are a few things to share with everyone. We did have a bit of a scare the week before last, with Mum getting a terrible pain in her stomach at midnight on Wednesday night (20th May). Hotpacks didn't help, and she was unable to get back to sleep. Bruce Herriot (her Doctor) was called around 6.30 a.m. and he gave her a shot of pethadene so she could relax and sleep, and she had blood tests done. Bruce called in several times that day and by the time the blood test results had given her the all-clear from anything serious in the late afternoon, the pain had started to move down, suggesting it was a blockage in her digestive system. An enema got things going again, followed by a laxative Thursday night, and she was back to full steam again on Friday :)
So, apart form that one day, she has been going from strength to strength. She has started playing bridge again on a Thursday when needed, and has just come through a very busy few days of catching up with old friends and new, culminating in a Herberton High School Reunion at George & Lorna Jackson's place.
We had her friends (above), who had come up for the above-mentioned Reunion as well as the Yungaburra Primary School Reunion (which Mum chose not to go to), Audry & John Dickie, Ailsa Scurr, and Moira Martin for lunch last Monday (25th), then lunch out with them again (minus John, who was not well) at the Tolga hotel on Wednesday (27th). The very next day after that we had more of Mum's friends, Neville and Sue See, for lunch, and then on Saturday just gone (30th), we went to a baby shower for some friends of mine, Andre & Nina. Yep, I was suprised Mum came with me to that, even though she had met them and they had invited her, and she was not the oldest person there as she had feared anyway. She said she enjoyed the afternoon, but only stayed for an hour and a half :)
Then on Sunday (whew, see what I mean about a busy time LOL!), she had the best time of the lot at the Herberton High School Reunion (below). It was at George & Lorna Jackson's place and she and all the olther old school chums seemed to have a wonderful time catching up with all the latest news.
And just to finish off the day, I showed Mum the video below (that several people have sent me the link to) which resulted in tears rolling down her face, and her exclaiming that it was the joy coming out. I had some joy coming out myself LOL! It definately is a feel good video, and It would have been amazing to have been there at the time . . . enjoy!
I have been wanting to do a blog update for several weeks now, and even though it's been ages since the last update (I think I have set a new record for length of time between updates LOL!), it has, thankfully, been a case of "no news being good news" for us. But . . . Easter feels like a good time to "break the drought" and write a few words to let you know how we are going, as well as send out some warm Easter greetings to you :) You will notice that I actually submitted this update several days after Easter, and that's because a little program (Ad Muncher) I have to get rid of ads from web pages worked a bit too brilliantly, and was causing the Blogger website to malfunction . . . it just took me a few days to realize what the problem was :(
Mum has had a few small health issues over the past weeks, with having two sunspots burned (frozen???) off her nose last week, but generally is going really well. After her last medical checkup, she was taken off the three valium (2mg) she was having each day to help her relax, and she handled that change easily. She still cries quite readily when she becomes acutely aware of Dad's absence in her life, but she seems to be getting more and more comfortable with that and accepting that its a natural (and essential) part of the grieving process. There are still times, however, where I pick her up for slipping back into her old ways of swallowing them down and/or apologising to whoever is with her for her tears, as if she was doing something wrong LOL! Where on earth does that attitude come from? No doubt from the people who showed her how to BE in the world as a child, and I guess they were doing their best, but I sincerely thank God she is letting go of those rediculous and innappropriate attitudes now :)
March 22nd was Dad and Mum's wedding anniversary, and even though they are not both still here to celebrate one more year of marriage since the last, I reckon it's a day that will always be worth celebrating (I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for that day LOL!), and so I took Mum to The Coffee Works in Mareeba for morning tea to do just that. They also produce delicious hand-crafted chocolates there, so it was the ideal time to get Mum a very special Easter Egg, below :)
Easter has been quite a social time, with Simon (my nephew, Mum's grandson) visiting Thursday night with his friend Tracey to play board games, a lunch of fish (and a feast of delicious local dishes) at the farm (Phil's place) on Good Friday, and another visit from Simon and Tracey for afternoon yesterday (Easter Sunday), after which us three young ones (not sure if I should still be included in that LOL!) had an e-game (on my computer) of Cashflow 101. I must say that for their first game Simon and Tracey did really well, though I got out of the rat-race (the main object of the game) first after a lucky break buying and selling shares.
Well . . . thats all for now, so before I think of anything else to add (and there's probably heaps LOL!), I'll sign off and get this update online :)
It was wonderful to see the Atherton Uniting Church filled to overflowing last Monday (19th January) as we celebrated Max's life and said goodbye (to his physical form, anyway). Leo Newell, the minister of the church, had helped us create the program, and conducted it beautifully. Songs were sung, prayers were prayed, and many of the ways that Dad had touched people's lives were shared by family and friends. We even screened a powerpoint presentation * of snapshots of his life with him singing The Stars * as the soundtrack. My brother Phil created that, and he even wrote the song, too! Dad's three sons (Pete, Phil, and I), and three of his grandsons (Simon, Nick, and Harley) were very honoured pallbearers.
(* Please note . . . if you want to run the powerpoint presentation along with The Stars soundtrack, you will need to download both files [links above] and place them in the same folder before running it.)
When I got up to say my bit, as well as reading out some words that Dad's brother Geoff had sent, I also read out a poem that I had written for the occasion called "Celebrating Dad". It evoked many feelings in myself and others on the day and I would like to include it in this update as a tribute to him . . .
CELEBRATING DAD
Hi there Dad. I know you’re here. So “Au Revoir”, I say ‘cause I know I’ll see you again; you’re just a breath away We’ve all come here to pay respect, and celebrate your life Your kids, and grandkids, siblings, friends, and your beloved wife
You really touched so many lives while you walked on this earth And I know I am one of those that celebrate your birth They say nobody’s perfect, Dad, but I have come to see You’ve always only ever been the perfect Dad for me
Providing for your family was a goal you set to do And all we ever wanted more of was some time with you I am so proud to be your son, and grateful, through and through You helped me learn so many things as I grew up with you
How to kick a football, how to bat and bowl How to drive a nail in, and how to dig a hole How to ski behind a boat, and how to sail one too All these things and so much more, I learned because of you
But you know what Dad the greatest gift that you bestowed on me Was a drive to seek and find the truth, and to always be An instrument of love and peace to everyone you knew So thanks dear Dad, may all that love and peace now be with you
In conclusion, I thought it'd be good to let you know that Mum is going amazingly well. As you can imagine, she is missing Dad heaps, but she is able to express her sadness pretty well as it arises. We have spoken a lot about the grieving process, something I have learned a great deal about on my journey to date, and she seems to be willing and able to embrace it, as uncomfortable as it is. She had blood tests done on Wednesday, and her doctor came and saw her yesterday (Thursday 23rd) with the results. She passed everything with flying colours! And because her foot is healed of its ulcers, and she is no longer in any pain, he dropped her pain patch down one level to the lowest level there is. So . . . all the love you have been sending has definately been working :) It is soooooo appreciated . . . thank you soooooo much :)
A sombre update today, folks, as Dad (Max) left his body around 11:45 yesterday morning. He also left behind the pain he was in and is suffering no more. The French say Au Revoir as a more formal version of "see you later", and thats seems totally appropriate to me here, due to my belief that the essence of who we are is much much greater than the body we inhabited while we were living here in three dimensional reality.
He will always be as close as a thought because the love that he is (and we all are) can never die. Still, his pyhsical presence, especially for Mum, is a huge loss, and needs to be grieved. I do believe that she will be able to navigate through that difficult process, because she has quite good access to her feelings, and she is certainly being encouraged and supported in embracing it by me . . . but any love and support YOU can send her way will be very much appreciated.
This is not going to be a long update, but I was very pleased to find a couple of moving and uplifting videos online that I wanted to share with you at this time. The first is "To Where You Are", by Josh Groban, but sung here by Chloe Agnew, and although it's not definate yet, Mum would like this song to be played at the funeral, which, incidentally, is going to be held at 2.00p.m. next Monday (18th) at the Atherton Uniting Church.
The second is a beautiful song called "Love Is Eternal", and although it's not my favourite version of the song, Carly Simon does an excellent job of it, and I was suprised to even find a video of it at all . . . enjoy :)
Hmmmm . . . if I waited another 10 days, THIS update would have been 2 months since the last one . . . just like the LAST one LOL! Oh well, I do my best :) . . . and a lot has happened since the last one, I can tell you. And, like the last one, it's better late than never, I reckon :)
One highlight was a whirlwind trip to Victoria in late November/early December of 2008 to pack up my unit, and the drive back up to Atherton. I figured it was enough of an adventure to want to share with friends and family, but rather than put it all here in a Blog, and bore those who didn't want to put aside the time it'll take to read it all, I decided to upload it to a page on my website so those that did want to read it could :). If you are one of those people, clicking here will take you there.
But before I share any more of what has happened since the last update, I'd like to do a health report. Pete did an excellent job of caring for Dad & Mum while I was away, and their life was made a whole lot more comfortable when the TCL split system reverse cycle air conditioner was installed, but by the time I got back, Dad's patch was only just doing the job, and little by little he got more and more uncomfortable, until, after a few days of doing too much and resting too little, he was sent into hospital by his Doctor again . . . on Christmas night :(
He was in there for 3 days, and was looking much better after the blood transfusion he had while he was in there, but it didn't really last that long and he was back in a week later on the 6th January. He is still there as I write, and they are having trouble balancing the amount of pain relief he needs to be comfortable with the amount of not-drugged presence needed to function effectively in the world. I suppose there was going to come a time when the drugs he needed to make his pain levels managable would mean he would not be able to function effectively enough to live at home, and its possible that time might have arrived, but we will wait and see.
Mum has been quite teary lately, and she seems to be feeling Dad's absence and lack of health more than usual. Aside from that, she is physically quite well, and can now go several hours without oxygen. Her foot is totally healed of it ulcers, and even after her pain patch was dropped down one level, her only pain now is produced by an occasional headache, which panadol seems to deal with effectively. On a lighter note, it was my 50th birthday on the 19th of December.
I've never been much of a party animal, having not had parties as a kid (due to it falling in the school holidays), but I would have celebrated my 50th in a bigger way with family and friends if I had still been down in Melbourne. However, I wasn't upset in the slightest, really, because I very much enjoyed the low-key celebration I had with my family up here . . . dinner out at the Tolga Hotel, and then champagne and cake (black forest - my favourite) at home for desert :)
Yep, I think 50 years is quite a milestone, and I feel very proud to have made it this far. So thank you to everyone who blessed me with gifts. One very special gift worth mentioning was from Dad & Mum, and was a balloon flight over the Atherton Tablelands (well not right over them from one side to the other - but up floating over the top of them - for half an hour LOL!). The funny thing was that the second flight of the day (that I was to go on) was cancelled due to a change of wind. The pilot explained that there were no roads going into the area the wind would have taken the ballon if they had done the second flight, and we would have been stuck out there LOL!
But, as it turned out, it was all good, because the weather was hot and muggy (yep, even at 4.00 in the morning), and the sky was overcast - NOT good ballooning weather, and I can now take the flight on a day of my choosing. I have some new friends up here who also want to experience the bigger picture perspective that ballooning provides, and it looks like we will all go in a group some time in the future, which will also be a lot more fun for me than going on my own.
One last highlight I really wanted to mention was Chris & Patsy Hannam's visit. They actually visit every few months, and are very dear friends of the family, but I have not put them up on a Blog before. But, as they are two of Dad & Mum's favourite people in the whole world, I really wanted to do so this time. Unfortunately, the visit coincided with Dad's Christmas hospitilisation, and so he was not in the group pic below. He didn't miss out though, as they went and spent some time with him in hospital :)
So . . . that's about it. At this point, I would like to wish YOU a very wonderful 2009. I truly hope it unfolds even more magnificently for you and all your loved ones, than you could ever have imagined :) . . . and even though its a bit late now, fireworks are always fun. Ciao . . .
