Crocodiles and Iguanas

Whew. It's been a hectic week - heaps of work for Tone and I to catch up on plus major social life for the kids on holiday - including a fab day out with a Portuguese South African friend who owns a boat called Costa Plenty! Tara's bandage has been changed again - blue this time like her school house Acacia. Cassie had a mini-operation (local anesthetic) on her lip (she had bitten it and created a major sore). I'm sick. And Jadie went ice-skating for her first time ever!

Tara's getting super-fast on her wheelchair. So fab to see her speed up and then throw her arms in the air and free-wheel, yelling "I'm free!". She saw a little boy last night in a wheelchair at Surfer's Pardise (we did the most divine sunset walk) and she picked up some tips on doing wheelies. Yikes! It was quite interesting - Tara noticed that his amputated leg was already healed but that he was still in a wheelchair & she said it was probably because his leg was bent - so it was like a reminder to her to keep doing the exercises to straighten her knee - because without that capability she'll never walk. Actually she's been so good at the exercises that we're having to put packets of rice on her leg to make it a little harder. She realised this morning that she thinks she's forgotten how to walk. But that's what the weeks ahead will be all about - learning how to walk again.

Tone says he keeps seeing wheelchairs everywhere now. So our world is slowly changing. Saw a dreadful thing that you can't go to the top of the Eiffel Tower unless you have two legs. Argh! Imagine being deprived of that amazing feeling that people travel across the world for. I felt sick to my stomach for a day - that horrible feeling of a life made smaller - but then I thought a) luckily Tara's already been up there; and b) maybe it's only wheelchairs that aren't allowed and prosthetics are fine; and c) the Eiffel Tower's my dream, not hers!

And not sure if you saw - there was a Californian guy who tried to smuggle some rare iguanas in his prosthetic yesterday. Funny, but annoying. It's the rare individual like him who then makes airports a nightmare for us coz they treat Tara suspiciously (you can't believe what a palaver it used to be with her brace in airports all around the world...except for LA of all places!). But anyway - it won't stop us travelling! And like Tara always says - we meet interesting people that way!

Tara's phantom pains - or tickles - continue.  We have to not talk about them - otherwise they appear out of nowhere! A good massage seems to help - takes away the ticklishness, plus Tara LOVES a massage! She said last night that there's another feeling she gets occasionally too - she said she can't describe it but "if it was a colour, Mama, in my mind it's sort of black/grey". I thought that was so sweet that all on her own she came up with a way to describe it by using colour. Nobody's ever told her about that. But sob - I wish it weren't black/grey. I wish it were pink and yellow and fun. She is still on the phantom pain medication and the doctors have said this is normal in the beginning to have these feelings - and that over the next few months they should fade 'telescopically' (ie. the feelings begin where the foot used to be, and then slowly come closer to the stump until they're absorbed into it).

She's having an absolute blast though and not whinging at all. She was so excited to show Jadie her stump this week (at the bandage change). All her friends - and their siblings - have been incredible at taking turns to not swim, or whatever, so she's always having fun too. And she's talking more and more about walking - she's so ready! Another hectic week ahead of us - including seeing the doc on Tuesday for inspection...and a surprise coming for Tara on Friday. We're BURSTING to tell her! But we won't, we won't!

Well done Cam Cam for working out the Comments!!!!! Pic of croc (at local shopping centre this morning) to lure you & Jimmy's & Tia's and Maria's and everyone's family over to Australia! Thinking of little Jo (even more than usual) today. And here are some more pics of our 2006 Eiffel Tower day coz they make Tony laugh - it was the hottest day that year - so hot that they allowed people to swim in the fountains opposite the Eiffel Tower (usually strictly forbidden, like walking on French grass!)...so everyone jumped in with their clothes on and swam except the Panayis girls coz Daddy said "no, we've got no towels". Check the effect it had on Tara who was sweltering! (The pics make Tone laugh - Tone makes us laugh!)