Heaps of progress

Oops, haven't updated for a while. Been pretty hectic tryna catch up on work. This was the first week we didn't have to go to Brisbane. Whew. Tone's blood pressure still not great - so he's exercising flat out, eating right, breathing, and tryna laugh instead of going straight to the grumpy place.

Tara's doing FAB. Her 2nd scar (one that formed after the other one finally fell off) has also fallen off. Major YAY! She's bandaging her leg like a pro...altho' we're still annoyed that the hospital insisted on us doing our own bandaging in the first place when most western countries use stretcher socks which are far more efficient (just pull on!). The physio in rehab tried to show us last week just how a 'professional' does it - but her bandage unravelled before we'd even got downstairs! So we'll definitely tell her that next time we see her - especially since it turns out that they could've given us customised stretcher socks by using the ones they have for adult arm amputations.

There were a couple of not-so-divine incidents in the last week - Tara was getting changed for gardening class one day, and some little kids stood on the other side of the glass door and watched her closely - and then said 'eeeugh'. These kids were younger than those that were told all about Tara in assembly - and we thought about saying something to the school - like maybe suggesting that the younger classes get told about Tara's leg too coz they would be noticing her in the playground etc. And most negative reactions come from ignorance. But then we thought, you know, you can't dictate to everyone how they should react & you can't wrap Tara in cottonwool - so a little bit of exposure to what's really just a natural response - could actually be useful. As for Tara herself - she wasn't upset at all; she understands & said "oh I don't let it get to me" & you can see she doesn't. One of the older kids did say that she should try not change right in front of the door next time!

It did make us aware tho' of how totally thankful we are for all the positive love and response that Tara's been getting - every little message, comment, pressie, card, prayer & hug is filling her up with so much positivity - laying such a vital foundation for her self-esteem & strength - and providing an amazing reservoir of love that she can draw on for the rest of her life to handle those knocks she will inevitably get.

The other incident was when we were walking thro' a park near the beach. Tara was racing ahead of me on the wheelchair & I was running to keep up, and I heard this little girl, maybe 5ish, say to her mum "wow, did you see that girl? Her leg's chopped off." And instead of her mum saying "yes, that's called an amputation" or "yes, and did you see what a pretty shirt she had on" or something that would acknowledge Tara's leggie loo & that her kid was correct, she instead went 'SHHHHHH SHHHHH' in the ugliest, loudest, most horrified way - like she wanted to throttle her child. And I totally understand. She meant well. The poor mum was mortified - thinking her kid may upset Tara or I. And I may have reacted the same way before having had Tara. But yikes. Now that I have had Tara - I just think those kind of reactions are what keep the social stigma going: "don't talk about it", "pretend you haven't noticed", "don't look - or at least don't get caught looking"! Blah, blah - it's just kinda crazy - meant well but just projects a shameful, too-awful-to-acknowledge kinda message.

Anyway - Tara didn't hear it - she was going far too fast; and sadly I didn't use the opportunity to change just one person's perception coz I was sprinting after Tara. Next time!

So - back to that reservoir of love. People keep asking how we're "really" feeling - but it's all here on the blog. There's nothing we're hiding or tryna put on a 'brave face' for. And that's probably thanks to all of you - for all the love and support - this blog has really helped us feel like we're all in this together. So the blog and your participation has made us much stronger than we ever would've been otherwise. THANK YOU!

The only tears we get for Tara are when she makes us so proud - there's no sadness about her amputation per se. In fact - it's been amazingly liberating. Even now - before the prosthetic - she is SO much free-er than she ever was with the brace.

And our other tears come from you guys. The messages that touch our hearts & feed our souls; and the inspiring things so many of you are doing - Jean-Luc started an amazing thing with his fund for Tara. It still blows us away that JL stepped in like he did. As if an angel guided him. And he's inspired so many others like Lizzie and George and kids at Tara's school. There's been a heap of red tape - but finally it looks like Tone may have been able to set up a Trust Fund for Tara which'll allow for tax-deductible donations that she'll be able to draw on for the rest of her life for prosthetics. We'll have more info next week - but thank you for now to Terry and to Sian for agreeing to be on the committee. Terry took out so much time to research and advise us. And Sian's been a saint - simply saying "I am happy to help in anyway I can" when Tone asked her.

Most exciting news? Tara will get her measurements done on MONDAY for her first prosthetic!!!!!!!! Also we're weaning her off the phantom pain tablets. Not sure whether they've worked or not. She still gets phantom tickles, but would they be worse if she hadn't take the tabs? Don't know. We do know tho' that it's definitely had an effect on her memory - normally she's like an elephant but she's been quite hazy - so it'll be great to get 100% Tara back!

Photos and videos today of last weekend (Mother's Day) including the girls racing each other on bike, wheelchair and rollerblades; brekkies with the cousins & the girls playing Singstar (not great quality - but shows how Tara's leg is so not stopping her grooving!) - HAPPY (belated) MOTHER'S DAY to all the fab mums out there!