A Blog About a Bloke-Living with WHS

It has taken me 3 days to be able to sit down and write this. Three days filled with memories, sadness and finally a sense of peace. My grandmother, or Ma as we called her, entered eternal life Sunday morning. She was 88 years old and had only been diagnosed with ovarian cancer on Wednesday. She had wanted to die for many many years. It became even harder for her when my grandpa died 3 years ago. My grandmother was a refugee. Her and my grandpa came to Australia from war-torn Latvia on a boat. They came to Australia in the hope of making a better life for themselves. Whilst living in nothing more than a tent in the refugee camps of Uranquinty NSW, my father was born. My grandpa had to work in Sydney, so my grandma spent a lot of time on her own in an unfamiliar country, without knowing much english. Can you even imagine it? They eventually moved to Victoria, and made their home in Heidelberg West, where they lived until they became too ill and frail to live an...

Ryley had to have his bloods done today. You all know how much I hate having to do these. The older Ryley gets, the worse he is. He just is so much bigger now, and so much more able to fight me. He had to have 6 vials taken today. Fasting bloods too of course. Enter: Clown Braeden. Clearly this little 3 year old has spent too much time at the RCH. He decided the only way to help Ryley through this was to act as silly as possible. He knows that Ryley loves it when he 'accidently' trips over and falls to the ground. He knows that Ryley finds it hilarious to watch him bumping into things. So guess what he did? It truly helped Ryley while he was having most of the blood in his body taken out. Braeden's reward? A barcode sticker. Well, he was excited about it anyway. (Ryley thought they were daft).

You may notice a little widget I have placed on the right hand side of this blog. I have been getting emails from people wondering if they can donate money to the conference and I have finally figured out a safe and secure way for people to make donations if they like. If there are readers out there that would like to make a donation but would prefer to get a tax invoice, please contact me via email ( dridans@hotmail.com ) so that I can arrange that through the Australian WHS Support Group. I would like to say a huge thanks to the people who have already donated. Our major fundraiser is in the process of being organised right now and more details soon on where and what that will be!! There will be a bombardment of update in regards to the conference very very soon. Any questions at all please don't hesitate to email me or send me a message through Facebook!!

Yeah alright. I better post ey? What's news? Well. Nothing much really. I wrote a couple of draft posts, but decided not to publish them yet. No idea why. Just feeling a bit concious about what I am writing on here. I don't have any reason to be feeling like that. Just feel like I am going through a kind of renewal period and I just don't feel happy with what I have written. *Yawn* Speaking of renewal periods (what the hell are they anyway?). After my massive traumatic plane experience (notice how dramatic it has gotten in the last week), I kind of feel like I need to reprioritise or something. Aside from the fact I probably need a dose of CBT in regards to plane flying, I could also do with a day at a day spa or something similar. Only in order to...er...renew myself?! Not really. A few glasses of champers did the trick. In all seriousness though, maybe it is the Supermoon that appeared this week. I know I am not the only one who feels a bit like they are s...

I know you all want to know. So let me tell something about me and planes. We don't go so well together. Let me take a deep breath and I will explain (and a gulp of champers too while I am at it). As you all know we had a wedding in Perth on Saturday. David was in the wedding because it was the wedding of one of his best mates. Someone he grew up with. We wouldn't have missed the wedding for the world. The wedding itself was beautiful. They make a gorgeous couple and we are really happy for them. Now. Neither David or I have ever flown in a plane before. Correction. David has been in a little plane, but nothing like the normal big planes. I barely slept Friday night and to be honest, had been a bundle of nerves all week. I had barely eaten or slept all week. It wasn't just because of the plane trip. I was also leaving the boys for the first time (well Braeden for the first time ever, and Ryley for the first time in 5 years). Everything was going fine, the take off ...

Gee you have a good memory! It all went really really well!! No sleep apnoea episodes, oxygen levels all good and heart rate excellent too. So no need for further investigation!! Very very happy about that too. He still doesn't sleep that well, but at least we know that it's not due to his snoring or lack of oxygen! Good question!!!!! Ask me anything

This weekend David and I are flying over to Perth for a wedding. All up we will be away for around 24 hours. We are both first time flyers. We are leaving Ryley and Braeden for the first time at home with my parents. Braeden has never been cared for overnight by anyone. He isn't really who I am worried about. Ryley had overnight stays with my parents heaps when he was younger. But not since he started the Ketogenic Diet. Not since he is now PEG fed. Anyone guess what I am worried the most about? Not the fact that I am personally not-at-all a fan of the thought of flying. No. Says she who prefers to drive around the countryside in order to avoid being in a plane. Yeah. You all know me too well. I am most worried about leaving the kids behind. What if the plane crashes for goodness sake? I have taught my parents and my sister how to do the PEG feeds. I have even taught one of my best friends as a back up to the back up plan. I will write out an instruction manual (no jo...

This week I have felt as though I have been floating. Almost a bit like I have been walking next to myself trying to push my body along. Braeden has been quite sick this week with a weird gastro bug. Which has meant that I have spent every night this week with barely any sleep. He even went a whole 24 hour period without eating or drinking, although I did manage to get some breastmilk into him. He is now making his way through a packet of icy poles, but hey, anything to rehydrate him right? Braeden being sick is a whole new experience really. It has been a long time (well 3 years, so not THAT long) since we have had to try and coax fluids into someone. One of the great advantages of Ryley having a PEG is that when he is sick, we can still pump fluids and feeds through. When he has gastro, we can at least keep him hydrated because we can slip little tiny syringes of fluids straight into that tummy of his. Can't do that with Braeden. Anyway, he seems a bit better today. I...

(Because he is 3 now and he knows) When Mum grows up she is going to turn into a Spider (a black spider). Dad is going to be a Tiger Braeden-Butterfly Ryley-Buzz Lightyear with two wings Talia- Butterfly too Poppa-Butterfly Nanna-Mouse Josh-Dinosaur Petra-Big Monster Nan-Dog Grumpy-Butterfly too Unka Bede-A car Yes. Braeden took a series of photos. This was one of them.