Anna Bligh Day!

Sorry - it took us (Tony!) a little while to scan the article in The Gold Coast Bulletin - but here it is - Tara with Premier Anna Bligh!

SUCH a fantastic day! One that'll be etched in their memories forever...and will inspire them I'm sure. It could not have been better - on all fronts. The school was amazing. The speeches by the Head of School Peter Crawley and the Junior School Captains were amazing. The singing of the national anthem and the school song was amazing. Premier Anna Bligh's speech was amazing. It was all just amazing! So inspiring. I wish I had copies of the speeches. About excellence. About how everyone's special but some people do just display that extra bit of specialness. About making the most of what you have. Striving to be your best. Having a smile on your face and in your heart. And how fantastic exercise is - makes you look and feel good AND gives you the kind of discipline it takes to become a Premier!

We met with the Premier before and after the presentation. She's truly inspirational - eyes that light up and connect, and so totally in the moment. She had such a hectic schedule for the day, but you would never have known it because while she was with us - she was with us. She shared some personal stories with us of friends who've also had amputations or challenging legs; and presented Cassie and Jade with fantastic framed photos of their Gold Coast Marathon Junior Dash finishes. Isn't that sooooo thoughtful of the organisers? All 3 girls had the best time - posing for pictures with the Premier and with Mr Crawley (they could not stop giggling!).

And aaaaaaah - Tara's speech. Wow! She did us all (well, herself) so proud. I wish each of you could've been there. It was just so beautiful. At first they forgot to call Tara up - and I thought "well, maybe it's for the best. Would be awful if she gave a speech now and got tongue-tied." But I knew it would be a waste for her to miss this opportunity to step up & I knew she'd be sad since she'd rehearsed it. So we quickly alerted Mrs Kirby (who was on great form) - and the Premier called Tara up to the microphone. And instead of listening to me go on about Tara - here's what Mr Crawley said about her speech in the school newsletter:

"She stood before the audience of Premier, staff, officials of the Gold Coast Marathon, parents and fellow students and delivered a word perfect, tone perfect and manner perfect speech. She was already in the role as ambassador for the marathon. Positive, encouraging and not a sign of being self-absorbed by the abundant praise she had just received. If she had not been so impressive we would have shed a tear. I would like to think that the explanation for this extraordinary story is that Year 3 clearly prepares the girls well! I suspect this is really a story of family love and support."

Such lovely words. And to be honest - Mrs Donohue (Tara's fab teacher) was actually instrumental in preparing Tara - last week she cleverly asked Tara to thank a guest speaker for coming to visit their school - so it gave Tara a taste of public speaking!

And Michael Denton from Queensland Events sent us a lovely email afterwards, which included these words: "When we saw Tara run over the finish line we knew she was something special. When we saw her speak yesterday and how she handled the whole day, it left no doubt in our minds that she is destined to achieve great things in her life. What an inspiration to all of us she is and what great and genuine support she has from her family and the school."

We're so, so lucky - to have that support - from all of you and from the incredible St Hilda's. Isn't it amazing how high a human can be lifted...when she (or he) has so many supporting hands holding her up. Thank you!

So now Tara is officially the Junior Ambassador of The Gold Coast Marathon - and her next challenge begins - to encourage and inspire as many people as possible to join her at next year's marathon! (Anyone keen for a visit to the Gold Coast next July?) The Premier also set a challenge to Tony to start training to take part next year...and he's set himself an extra goal - to convince Mr Crawley to join him!

Run, Baby, Run

Hello!!! Haven't updated for a while coz we lost our camera (which a kind gentleman found and returned a few days later) and have had problems with our internet connection and and and...just been kid/business busy - choir competition, friends, parties, throwing frisbees on the beach, trip to Noosa (for Tone), move to new office blah blah blah.

Anyway - very exciting - tomorrow morning is Anna Bligh Day! As in - she'll be at school to present the honorary ambassadorship for the Gold Coast Marathon to Tara! Aaaaah!!! Tara's been soooo cute practising her little thank you speech all week - sitting in the shower, holding a shampoo bottle like it's a microphone; or delivering it to anyone who wanders in to our living room - like Bill who stayed over last week; Gela, and Linda (beautiful old school friend over from Canada) and her daughter Michelle.

And it's so typical - as the day's drawn near - we've all fallen apart - Tone and Cas woke up with sore throats, I've got a spot on my nose and Tara's licked her lips so much she looks like Homer Simpson. Plus she's developed a sore on Stumpie Star - so today she went to school on crutches without LouLou. Argh! Only Jadie's ok (altho' she's got a sore chest at night). Jadie's actually doing so well in terms of handling all the attention on Tara. We've made a special effort this term - signed her up for tennis on her own and changed our evening prayer from "please heal Tara's leggie for me" to "please help Jadie be more confident" - and the result is amazing - actually visible, and she says she can feel she's got more confidence now.

Coincidentally she won an invitation to a modelling course at one of the birthday parties she went to. She's so not into modelling BUT we saw how incredible the course was for Cas's confidence - so Jadie (who used to FREEZE if anyone looked at her) says she now does wanna do the course.

A huge hello and thank you to Jessica and Lucy - gorgeous twins we shared a garden with in Sydney - who've been SO divine in their support of Tara with cards and letters...and who did the Sydney City2Surf last weekend with their parents, and dedicated it to Tara!

Sian's also been amazing - her mega-support (along with Terry) has enabled us to set up a tax-deductible trust fund for Tara - AND she's gonna be running in the Sunday Mail Suncorp Bridge to Brisbane fun run on 7 Sep. She's raising funds for the hospital that looked after Tara so beautifully - the Royal Brisbane Children's Hospital - click here for more info.

Last night Tara played tennis for the first time since her op - just divine! She didn't wanna get off the court she was loving it so much. The sun was gone, it was dark - and still she insisted on playing, saying "I'm having SO much fun". Sooooooo much more freedom than when she wore her brace. And she was so sweet - when I kept hitting the ball into the net - she said "it's okay Mum, as long as you're doing your best, I'm still proud of you". And she meant it.

Heaps of other news but don't wanna bore you. Very proud of Cas - she's gonna be competing in a French-speaking competition against girls two forms above her this weekend. Go Cas Go! (Allez, Cas, Allez! - oops, don't think that really translates!)

Pics today are from the Gold Coast Arts Centre - they've got this fab outdoor circuit with gym equipment & special places to meditate - so you get to exercise the body and soul.

Tara had a blast - wearing TWO crocs for the first time in her life! Tone tried to teach the girls to skip stones across the water (I thought of you Cam) & Tara ran her heart out - see video below.

Lots of love to everyone! Wish you could all be here tomorrow! And please hold thumbs/cross fingers that Tara remembers to say "Premier Anna Bligh" and not just "Anna Bligh" when she addresses her! (We only found out the protocol today - so we've been bribing Tara with marshmellows to help her to learn it!)

Ice-Cream, Shoes and Prosthetics

Whew. So it's been pretty full on - mainly with a fab trip to Brisbane to see King K and Gela and an amazing school choir concert at the Gold Coast Arts Centre. Some of the mums were quite tearful (with joy) seeing Tara walking around with long black pants on - she fitted right into the crowd and was walking SO well you'd never have known one of her legs was LouLou in disguise!

In fact - for the first time EVER - we went to Aus Fair the other day and not one person turned to look at Tara - because she blended right in. That's the first time in her LIFE! Altho' it didn't last long - she spotted the escalator and BEGGED us to let her go up and down - so for about 15 minutes straight she walked up and down the escalators having the time of her life (in the beginning holding hands and then finally letting go) - first time ever being able to do that on her own. So that kinda drew a few stares!

Apart from all the usual stuff (tennis, swimming, dinner with friends etc.) - also had a lovely mothers and daughters day at St Hildas, Granny moved into her brand new flat nearby (very exciting!), Jadie and I got colds AND Tone's blood pressure has almost returned to NORMAL!!!! YAY!!!!! Cholesterol still a blah.

Cassie's been very creative - made an ice-cream recipe (heaped with caramel koalas and Dairy Milk) and then cooked it herself from scratch (including making the ice-cream from cream and condensed milk). Very yummy. She also made this small clay Little Miss Sunshine shoe...and the only thing it fits is Tara's stumpy star...so Tara insisted on the photos that are here today. She forced me to photoshop her right leg to also be small - and she just laughs everytime she sees this pic below.

Our visit to the prosthetist yesterday was great (except you know when you're dying for your 8-year-old to be entertaining...and they just suffer total personality-loss instead. Argh!). Anyway - it's amazing how quickly things are changing and improving in the prosthetic world. Altho' Barry (the GC prosthetist) made 2 legs for his other patient (whom we met) just a few months ago - a walking leg and water leg; he now has a far better method. Prosthetics are made up of various components - and he now advocates rather creating ONE component for the main part and then different feet for the various activities Tara wants to do. (So it really is like a Bratz doll where you can put on feet with skates on, barefoot waterproof feet, running feet etc.) So he says he'll specially create Tara's next walking leg to have its main component be all waterproof - this will be the James Bond-like leg - where she puts a gel liner over her knee & thigh with a pin below the knee. Then the leg slots into that pin and you can only release it by pressing on a secret spot on the prosthetic. This means she'll be able to run so much better, trusting the leg that it won't fall off (as velcro-belted LouLou has on occasion!). He'll then create a walking foot and a separate waterproof foot. He says this method is much better because it means the stump only has to get used to one leg; and obviously it's a lot less costly - because the second the stump grows too big - it means only one main leg component needs to be replaced rather than two or more. So it's REALLY exciting and hopefully we can start on that asap - will speak to the hospital on Monday to find out when Tara can stop using this interim leg.

Very sweet. Without us saying anything - Tara's wearing LouLou a LOT more. Like today - Saturday - she hasn't taken LouLou off - and usually when she's at home she does. So she's obviously enjoying the independence and freedom she gets from being able to walk around and carry things at the same time (unlike hopping - very dangerous with a glass of milo or scissors!).

OK - gotta rush. Hairdresser coming in 20 minutes. St Hilda's Dinner Dance tonight at the Sheraton and then 9am start tomorrow - the girls' school chapel, followed by birthday party etc. etc.

Hope you're all having a FAB weekend. Will do emails tomorrow night I promise. Thank you again to EVERYONE for such divine support - wish you could all see Tara in real life (Janet - we'll see you at Xmas!) - just a blossoming bundle of happiness and love.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Just a quickie to say we've been super-busy - and will update the blog later tonight/tomorrow. (I know you normally check on Friday Zigs - so this message is for you!).

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!