Walking In Faith

Dee always said we would never have pets. After his wee daughter blinked her pretty little eyelids at him... "please, Daddy..."  we currently have 3 dogs and a cat.  Bene, our eldest dog, has had a lump growing on his front left leg for about 6 months. This week we are waiting for surgery to have it cut off. While we were away in Christchurch it changed, started weeping, and is now bleeding constantly.  The vet said it is likely to be superficial, but the initial test came back inconclusive. (Seems to be a theme for us!) Today's distraction was waking up to find dog vomit all down the bed duvet, right beside the covers!!  Typical!  Anyway, Dee is missing home so much that he said he even misses "those stupid dogs!" Can you believe he would ever say such a thing!  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.  BENE's surgery update... (Wednesday 23 February 2022) Surgery went well today! They got the whole lump removed and our wee boy came home at the end of the day,

Dee is feeling pretty low at the moment.  He feels along and that God is not even listening.  He is alone in the Christchurch Public Hospital having more testing done. His Burwood buddies are on the other side of town (improving). His family are back home in Palmerston North.  His new nurses and doctors and excited to 'try out the new hoist' that is fitted in his individual room, having no experience with spinal patients and how to help them effectively.... it's the little things; like not being able to close the door or curtain, reach your phone charger that a nurse moved, or something that has fallen onto the floor. Dee is still finding his voice to ask for the things that he wants and needs. You know how he is... doesn't like a big fuss and doesn't like to be needy and ask for things, just takes it as it comes.  There are a few things that are really bugging him at the moment.  His phone fell onto the floor, still plugged in, and broke his charger.  Somehow while

What a beautiful community we live in!  We have been so blessed! The kids and I arrived back in Palmy to find our home in an immaculate state... Silah had organised a working/cleaning bee that our friends, family, and church members had all helped out with.  They cleaned up all the ugly bits of our yard, the dirty gross stuff in the house that needed attention, water blasted the house and paths, cleaned out the gutters, pruned the trees, removed the massive pile of wood cuttings in the front corner, put in a beautiful new garden along our fence, cleaned out all the kitchen cupboards, put in beautiful smelling reeds, soap and moisturiser, cleaned and potted some new plants, cleaned everything, got rid of truckloads of weeds, and filled the cupboards and fridge with food! It felt and smelt great!  We were totally surprised too! Thank you to everyone who helped with this massive labour of love!  Dee and I really appreciate the way you are all supporting us through this journey! We really

A series of events lead to me losing control of my emotions, publicly.   4am start to clean and pack the house  Our luggage was overweight and needed to be repacked at the check-in counter The kids and I were all well over tired and had not had breakfast The flight to PN was cancelled due to poor weather We had already returned the car and cleaned out our accommodation I had to request a reliever for another day in my classroom - another day without wages God was with us; when rebooking our tickets for the next day I asked the Air NZ lady if we were "allowed to sleep here", meaning at the airport terminal. She booked and paid for us to stay in a motel. We had to pay for transport and food. BLESSING! I used the PN hospital taxi voucher (for the first time) to get us to the motel. The voucher declined.  I tried to follow the instructions on the instruction sheet if it declined, but the taxi manager wouldn't allow this.  It was a Sunday so we were unable to speak to the PN h

 It was hard for everyone. We all had a little cry when we had to drive away from him, sitting in his wheelchair out in the carpark, watching in the rearview mirror, as we leave Daddy alone in Christchurch.  We enjoyed some fun family time, taking photos, having a giggle, talking about what the next bit of our 'normal life' will look like. It is such a weird feeling leaving a loved one alone to face something huge. We are so blessed with the technology we have available to us now, to stay connected, even though we are so far away.  The kids are relieved to be going home to routine, school, their dogs, and their friends. Even though they will miss Daddy. I have my masters project and a bunch of overdue assignments to look forward to! We head back to Pegasus for one last sleep. We have to clean out the beautiful (large) house we have been staying in, pack our belongings from the last month, and leave home at 6:30am to return the car and get to the airport for our flight the follo

 As we sat outside on a grey, wet, chilly Christchurch summer's morning, we watched 6 guys unload and erect, 2 trucks full of lockdown fencing. The spinal unit is now completely surrounded by this fencing with 2 little gaps in the fence... just waiting for the final word.  The patients and their family congregated on the inside of the fence, watching as they used the drill to tighten the bolts between each section; one patient commenting that "it is like a prison inside a prison!"  Everyone is feeling it.  There was a letter from the Burwood Spinal Unit Management delivered with the lunch trays, advising us all that the Canterbury DHB is preparing for the next stages of the Covid-19 pandemic to keep patients and staff safe. "The current visiting policy of one adult and one child will be more restrictive with patients unable to have visitors unless in exceptional circumstances. Anyone staying in the Tapper and Milner Units (whanau accommodation) needs to vacate as the

 As predicted, we have gotten used to life in Burwood and it's not so bad here.  We know the routines and expectations now; which nurses to steer clear of, when the doors get locked, and the best places to hang out together.  We have even spent some time exploring some of the local attractions while we have been here!  We have had some surprise visitors down here too! Familiar faces have been such a pick-me-up for everyone and we were all thoroughly surprised! Our new Christchurch friends are awesome! We have loved getting to know you all, even if it has just been through messages online, and we look forward to more encounters and catch-ups with you. We have 4 days left before we return to Palmerston North. It's going to be weird not seeing Dee every day and creating a new routine for ourselves again. I am so glad we all came down with him. It has been a tumultuous few weeks for us all, but it has given us all an understanding of what he is going through and the things he will

We have been so very blessed!  It is hard not to see it everywhere we look.  Today the kids have not coped. They are tired, over the late-weird routine, hate sitting around outside all the time (no seating), sick of having no wifi, missing their friends, really missing their dogs, even missing school! There were lots of tears and tantrums today.  When we had our morning prayer, we talked about looking for the blessings in the everyday things around us and that the things we focus on really influence how we feel. Anyway... when I reflect on the blessings we have encountered throughout this whole ordeal, it is quite overwhelming!  He continues to provide for all the things we need... AND want.  When we came to Christchurch, we had known it was coming for weeks, but actually only got 2 days notice. There was no accommodation available in the onsite Burwood Spinal Unit accommodation, no motels in the area had accommodation available for our consecutive dates (we would have had to hotel cha

It's the simple things that are the hardest... like throwing the ketchup to someone just a few meters away.  Dee has lost the grip in his righthand. His arms continue to weaken. He struggles to hold his eating utensils to eat comfortably or lift his arm to grasp things.  He struggles to control the movement in his right arm and the grip/release of his right hand. He is aware that even a few days of not exercising his muscles (ie; long weekend without physio) results in massive regression in his ability to use his arms. Because of this, he is reluctant to give up his manual wheelchair, in spite of the very real struggle to continue using it. Today he was trying to throw me a packet of ketchup. Well... what a drama!  Watch the videos for a giggle! (There were so many to choose from!)

 True story...  "I feel handicapped when I eat" he says...  "You are handicapped, egg, you're in a wheelchair!" I reply. We both let out our biggest fullest laughs, echoing around his room!  Perception is a weird thing. Some people have commented that 'we are dealing with this well'. I ask you this, what are the options? We can only take one day at a time. No point thinking too far into a very unknown future, or worrying about unknown things (like when the Canterbury DHB will be locking down the unit due to covid!) We simply live in the moment. God is with us in the moment. We feel his presence.  We hear the Tui singing in the tree, feel the sun on our face, and enjoy each others company. Life is good. 

Dee is learning some new tips and tricks in his chair!  He came out today proud as punch showing us all that he could do a wheelie! The physiotherapists are awesome here, giving him some great pointers to make life easier in a chair. These little things are helping him to regain his overall strength and develop the strength needed in specific areas for his new life. Wheelies are great for keeping his core engaged and helping him to get up a curb!  This is super important because his core is mostly paralyzed and it makes it difficult to cough, breathe deeply, sneeze etc. Plus it helps him to do everything! All I can say is... lucky he still has his training wheels on the back, or he would for real have brain damage with all the times he has fallen backwards!

 We are stuck in a cycle of waiting.  Waiting to find out when he will go to Christchurch hospital for more tests, waiting for results, waiting for a new diagnosis, waiting for a plan, waiting for appointments with different specialists, waiting for a family unit accommodation, waiting to see what affect Covid will have, waiting for change. It's like groundhog day. First in Palmerston North, now in Christchurch. We have been waiting in hospital for 12 weeks now.  While we wait, Dee continues to get worse. In the short time he has been in the spinal unit he has lost almost all strength in his right hand and arm, severely limiting its use. He is really struggling to wheel himself around in his chair on any uneven ground now, but doesn't want to give up his manual chair and loose all strength and mobility in his arms. His room mate is constantly telling him to get a motorized chair after watching his physical struggle getting around. But, you know... he is stubborn!  Dee is feelin