Whānau challenges

whanau picnic, Lake Pupuke

The last few weeks have been very challenging for Tanya and her family.  Her 79-year-old brother Garth had a serious accident with a loaded wheelbarrow on his steep driveway in Cheltenham, breaking his artificial hip joint and his femur.  He  had four hours of surgery, and  recovery of body and brain are taking a long time . But fortunately he shifted into a Rehab ward yesterday, so we are all  hopeful for the future.

 It has been very difficult for his wife Viv who has memory challenges.  Garth’s son Barney and his wife Joanna are doing all they can, and Tanya is sharing the visits to Garth in North Shore Hospital, as well as supporting Viv with visits, appointments,daily phone calls, and in every way she can. 

Together on a sunny afternoon on Saturday 11 December we all managed a successful outing with Garth, in his wheelchair (his first opportunity  to feel the sun and wind on his face in 6 weeks) –  a picnic on the shores of Lake Pupuke near the North Shore Hospital.  A milestone for us all.

So this time period for us between leaving our Grey Lynn apartment and settling in to a Selwyn villa before moving into  our new “House by the Sea” has been much busier than we anticipated.