Sea Turtles and Hopping Races

Just had a divine weekend - such gorgeous huge blue skies...so we've had lots of outdoor activities and Tara's done heaps of walking - including 500 metres each way on the pier out to sea (at the Spit) - pic here taken from the pier. Look how crystal clear the water is - last weekend we saw a sea turtle - sooooo beautiful!

Tara's refusing to use her crutches as much as possible. Keeps leaving them in the car when we drop her off at school. And apparently she never asks for help, even when she's climbing the stairs. And altho' it's not the most sensible thing for her to not be using her crutches, it works so well for her - the determination to go it alone.

But even when she doesn't ask for help - her friends are sooooo intuitive and helpful and just lovely. Like on Saturday - the twins had a friend over and we went to the beach - and Tone and the girls were having races down the dune...but Tara was coming last because she was having to hop without LouLou on. And then their friend said "let's all race on one leg down the dune" - so they did which was just sooooo thoughtful, and she was even sweet enough to try climb back up the dune on one leg...but that's something that only Tara seems to manage at this stage!


It'll definitely be SO exciting once Tara's got the swimming leg from Lizzie Loo and friends - our appointment with the prosthetist is for August 1. Can't wait! We're also gonna discuss getting a leg that'll allow her to wear a rollerblade or iceskating boot - because she's desperate to try those things for the first time ever now that she no longer has a brace...but with LouLou it's kinda impossible because we'd never be able to bend the foot in there. Yikes. Real feet and legs really are miraculous creations! Photo here shows LouLou up close - you can see how it's just a piece of velcro that holds LL up (which is why she sometimes falls off at the most inopportune moments!).

Cassie's learning about the skeleton this term and informed us that girls have 207 bones (I think she said 207) - anyway - Tara was a little upset when we realised that she has 207 minus all the bones in her left foot and ankle since they're no longer there. So we decided she can just say she has 207 bones and not get too technical about it. She's funny tho' - she's realised that for some people her op was a big thing - so there's this toy she really, really wants and she keeps saying to us with a total put-on diva accent "I deserve it, after all the pain I've suffered..." - but she's acting and her eyes are totally laughing as she says it. And when I say to her "what pain?", she can only remember one incident in hospital (when she came off the morphine at the same time she had terrible constipation). So now she's trying to save for the toy instead, one dollar at a time - giving Daddy back massages (she's SO strong with her elbow-massage!).

And to be fair to Tara - she's so not a diva - right now her life is filled with 'firsts' - and each one excites her like she's just walked on the moon. She's so appreciative of each new experience - and calls our attention to it - "look, look - my first time eating an ice-cream while I'm walking" etc.

We let the twins have a first together - walking to the shop around the corner on their own (but I followed behind without them knowing...until I was caught) - and it was so sweet - they were totally holding hands and telling each other how glad they are to be twins. All 3 girls did so FAB at school today - they were awarded a book each for reading & raising funds during the May Readathon. And this evening I've just read the school's weekly newspaper - which has a beautifully written paragraph by the headmaster about Tara including this: "Tara has shown an exemplary mix of courage and a down-to-earth spiritedness since the amputation of one of her legs..." Such wonderful words for a kid to hear her headmaster say. She's a very, very lucky girl to have had such an amazing support system around her - from friends and family to school and hospital staff. And even from people who don't even know her (yet)!

Thanks for the gorgeous birthday wishes! And thanks Alex for the marshmellow cake! Lots of photos today of the birthday weekend - the water was just so stunning, like an aquarium just bursting with fish. (The rocky outcrop in the back is where they're building a ship on the jetty that'll be used in films to appear to be a ship at sea...when meanwhile everyone's safe on the jetty.)

Back to School

Been a busy week. Cas's show last weekend was fantastic and today was Open Day at school - gorgeous to see the girls in action in their classes. Turned into such a brilliantly hot day it felt like the middle of summer - Tara actually got a bit of a sore on her stump from the heat - argh! The twins' beautiful teacher - Mrs Donahue - says Tara and Jadie have been working hard during this first week back at school - which is fantastic - focus back on school; and I think it helps a little that Tara's stopped taking any medication so she's slightly less fuzzy.

It's very cute in the morning seeing her get ready for school - breakfast, brush teeth, pull on dress, pull on LouLou...like her new leg's just part of her uniform. We struggled to get her school shoe onto LL - so scary - thought we were gonna yank the (very non-flexible) foot off. Tonight we'll have to take the school shoe off so she can wear more casual shoes over the weekend. Wish us luck!

We had a great meeting with Mr Denton and his Queensland Events team on Tuesday to discuss Tara being made an honourary ambassador of The Gold Coast Marathon. There's going to be a formal presentation at the school on 14 August - with Anna Bligh (Premier of Queensland)! Very exciting! They were so gorgeous - they had brought a bag of goodies for Tara, not knowing that Jadie and Cas would be there too...and then two days later we received two express packages for Jade and Cas, with all the goodies and handwritten notes too. They SCREAMED with delight!

Talking handwritten - Anna Bligh herself sent Tara an exquisite congratulatory card, embossed and handwritten just like Princess Diana used to do. She said how sore she had felt after running in the half marathon and was wondering if she'd ever do it again, "and then I saw your photo and felt so inspired". Isn't that just such a lovely, lovely gesture for someone so busy to do? Tara read it out loud and then asked me to put it somewhere 'very special' (top shelf in the TV room so everyone can see it) - so she is aware that this is a great honour.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Little Miss Ambassador

The most incredible thing happened today. Phone rings. Cassie answers. Hands it to me. I think "argh, it's another Telstra telesales dude". Then he introduces himself as Michael Denton from Queensland Events...and I think "okay, he's raising money". But NO! He was calling to say that little Tara Maria Panayis so touched everyone on Sunday that they'd like to invite her to be an ambassador for The Gold Coast Marathon! Isn't that amazing!!!?

He said she captured the spirit of the marathon! Apparently there were people in tears when she crossed the finishing line, and those who didn't run looked at Tara and realised they had no excuse not to run next time. (Although, you know, even tho' they may not have run themselves - it was the spectactors' collective spirit that helped carry Tara to the finishing line, willing her on and running from across the streets to cheer her on.)

So apparently the Queensland Premier is going to send Tara a congratulatory card, and there's going to be a formal event for the ambassadorship! We're going to meet with Mr Denton next Tuesday. Will keep you posted!

Other news - great walking lesson at rehab on Tuesday (pictured above), lots of playdates and fab time at Strike bowling alley today with King K and son (and happily for Tone, K noticed his new svelte physique). Jadie came first out of the Panayis's. And Cas has a modelling show tomorrow night. All go!

Stop the Press!

Wow! Lizzie Loo not only ran 10km under an hour, but with the sponsorship of her amazing friends and family - Tara is now soon going to be the proud owner of a swimming leg! Thank you! She is SO excited - it means so many things - not just to swim, but to be able to walk on the beach and not crawl; and to be able to stand in the shower with her sisters and turn the taps on herself, instead of sitting on the floor!

Tara was so funny this morning - awake VERY early, all dressed and desperate to walk to the shop and get the newspaper...so we did, and sure enough The Gold Coast Bulletin featured a little piece on Tara being a great champion. Whew - she was soooooo happy.

It's Granny's birthday today - Happy Birthday! - just had a fab dinner & the girls spent the day there playing with their cousins (who now each have a copy of Tara's article pinned to their bedroom doors). Sweet man!

And thank you soooooo much George and Cam and Filipa and Lucy and ALL the gorgeous children who walked around Richmond Park in the rain for Tara and Jaspar! It was so exciting coz they phoned us from London in the middle of the walk and sent us this pic via Mands' mobile.

Yesterday Tara made a little video to say thank you to George and Lizzie - see below. And a HUGE thank you to ALL those who were involved yesterday (walking or sponsoring) - it's so hard to say in words what you have just given Tara - it's more than just prosthetic legs (altho' that alone is awesome!) - it's the caring (especially those of you who haven't yet met Tara) that's just the greatest gift she could receive right now...and something that will stay with her for life.

Gold Coast Marathon Junior Dash

Wow! This morning was such a tear jerker - in a 'happy tears' kinda way.

From the moment Tara took off in the 2.25 km Junior Dash, she was stone last - but with all those people cheering her on from the side, clapping and shouting such inspirationally beautiful things to her - it was so hard to not just stop and sob with pride in her, and gratitude for the kindness of strangers. Instead I had to run/walk alongside Tara saying "come on baby, you can do it" without letting her know how I was breaking inside. I just wanted to pick her up and carry her - but she did it all by herself.

And you know - even tho' she had some pain with her prosthetic and had to readjust it half way thro' - not once did she even think of stopping, giving up or crying. She just kept on going.

At one stage she saw two kids lagging and said "I have to beat them" and she went for it - and did overtake them briefly - but then at the end they raced past her again.

But she didn't mind. She was just soooo excited to get her first medal for running ever! All three girls were.



And it was really sweet because the girls' running numbers were 1, 2 and 3 so their names must've been at the top of the Junior Dash list - and when we arrived, we heard the compere saying over the loudspeaker that "the whole Panayis family is here - Cassie, Jadie and Tara" - so they all got to feel special.

Plus Tara was interviewed by the press afterwards - so that was pretty spectacular for her.

And then we all went for donuts at Aus Fair - with the Paton girls who ran with Tony, Jadie and Tara - and the very nice woman there gave the girls a whole bunch of extra donuts just to be nice! So now they all can't wait for next year's marathon!

See video below for Tara's final 'sprint'...The guy on the loudspeaker is saying "yeah, Gold Coast Bulletin, where are you? Check this out...in the kid's race. You little Champion, you!" Thank you Jean-Luc, George and Lizzie for being such running inspirations in Tara's life!

First Waltz

Had such a surreal moment last night - Tara was hopping around without her prosthetic on, and came hurtling into my room to get something, and almost knocked me over...but before I could yell at her, she saw my face (annoyed!) and quickly said "fancy a waltz?". So then she grabs my hands and starts confidently waltzing me around the room...and in the middle of all of us laughing at the cheek of it (Cas and Jadie cheering her on from the side) - I suddenly thought "wow, this is sooooooo sweet - my one-legged daughter teaching me so beautifully how to waltz".

Shame man, all she wants - desperately - is a puppy...but we're not allowed pets here. Here's a little pic she did today when the girls (six of them) were playing 'schools' (as you do when you're on holiday!) of her sitting in her dream bedroom with her little dog. Breaks our heart...but Tone and I just aren't in a rush to sell - LOVE our facilities, the beach etc...argh!

Also saw Kung Fu Panda today - love that bit where Dustin's character says "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift...that's why they call it 'the present'." The girls spent most of the afternoon swimming and playing 'Kung Fu Shoe' - where you do a power kick and your shoe (waterproof croc) goes flying sky high before descending into the pool/ground/someone's head.

Interesting - saw a movie tonight on Austar ('Music Within') which is all about the true story of the Vietnam Vet in America who brought about the change from 'The Ugly Law' (where disabled people had no rights to be seen in public...and could be removed from public places for being 'offensive' for other people to see). It's incredible to think that the Disabilities Act - which was then followed thro' in about 21 countries - only came about in 1990! Wow - what a relief! We're soooo lucky - that others fought before for us to have ramps and better access AND more acceptance etc.

You know of course tho' that Tara has never heard the word 'disabled' and still has no idea that the 'wheelchair' sticker we've had for years on the car is because of her. It's just been so fab for her to not have to limit herself by labels, especially other people's interpretation of what those labels mean. In fact today it was quite funny because she was walking with Lou Lou and one crutch (which she has to use while she's breaking Lou Lou in) and she caught a glimpse of herself in a shop window and said 'oooh, I look like a Granny with a crutcher' (she means 'crutch') - which is her first observation of how she may look to other people. Her 'one crutch' theory is that young people always have two crutches (coz they've broken legs) and only Grannies have one crutch to help them with walking.

Actually can't wait for the next prosthetic. This one's not that comfortable - it's attached with a velcro band at the top so isn't a snug fit. Will be fab when she gets the leg that hooks into a pin thing...

Happy Weekend everyone! Can't wait for Sunday when we all go running in the UK and here!