Well life sure does have amazing twists and turns!
We decided to travel to Melbourne back in July, even though they were in lockdown, in the hope that the restrictions would be lifted to run my Awesome event! After two postponed dates we finally had an easing of restrictions. We decided to run the event over two sittings in one day, so on the 31st of July I managed to catch up with over one hundred and fifty people and had a great day.
For the duration of our time in Melbourne we stayed in an apartment that had disability facilities and was located close to family. We also decided that I would have 24/7 care so Steve could take the opportunity for a well-earned break. As my main carer for the past four years, it was time for him to have some respite, catch up on some sleep and do some therapeutic painting before returning back to me.
Then lockdown in Victoria hit again!!
With the assistance of carers, my awesome friend Liz plus Maree, I managed to get through whilst he was gone.
I also had my special friends Patrick Running-Massage and Louise Honeybear Blackstaffe visit to provide much needed massage and Di DallOglio to provide Pilates stretches. Other friends and family dropped off meals which allowed my team of carers to focus on my day to day requirements.
The sad thing is, due to the cold temperature, I only left the apartment a handful of times and needed a blanket each time. This is because I am unable to regulate my body temperature and I feel the cold so much more. My neck also poses a few problems, so a lot of the day is spent with my carers trying to get me comfortable.
As lockdown continued in Melbourne, our next hurdle was trying to get home. My Awesome event was done, and I needed to get back to the warmth where I could resume my regular activities of care and support.
With flights booked for 28th August, we applied for hotel exemption as there was no way it was going to be possible for me to live in a confined hotel room for 14 days.
It was a roller coaster couple of weeks as each of the states imposed their own conditions and we wondered how we were going to get back, let alone have the support needed to care for me once we were back in Queensland. Miraculously, the day before we were due to fly out, we received hotel exemption which meant we were allowed to quarantine at home. Meanwhile, Liz had decided to fly back with us to continue caring for me so the four of us boarded our flight and headed home together for a cosy 14 day quarantine.
It was fantastic to see family and friends, but it was definitely time to get home. What was meant to be a short trip ended up being six weeks spent mostly in lockdown.
I am so incredibly grateful for everyone that I managed to catch up with. And for those of you I didn’t see, I hope to see you soon!
Make sure you keep posting photos of your orange wristbands and keep happy and positive. If you stay awesome everything works out.
Love you all xx
PS: If you need an orange wristband message your details to me