Blimey its almost Christmas.

Hi all, Erin here. Just dropping in to let you all know that Bill is doing as well as can be expected at this point. Still eating and talking well, but requires someone with him 24/7 now. No. 3 son has finished school and stays at home with his dad while I am at work. I so wish we could afford for me to stay home to be his fulltime caregiver, unfortunately the reality is, we can't. So our daily routine is I get up around 6am, wake the kids and get them organised for school around 6.30ish. Breakfast etc etc etc by 7.30 and kids are out the door around 8ish....give or take half an hour depending on how grumpy we all are.....
Then I get myself organised for work, wake No 2 son up to get himself off to Polytech, wake Bill and No 3 son up just to wake them up hehehehe. Start their breakfast for them before Pat and I leave for polytech and work around 8.15-8.30ish.
Pakura then helps his father out of bed, get dressed, washed and what ever else Bill might need help with. (some days he can do more than on other days, just depends really from day to day). We have to sort of judge when its best for us to intervene and help out because it is important that Bill remains as independent as he can for as long as he can.
I phone home around 11.30ish to make sure Pak has his fathers lunch organised, if not I'll shoot home (I'm only 2 minutes down the road if they need me)  I don't have to do that very often though, good thing about Pak is, he likes to eat.....so generally he's got something cooking all the time. Bad thing is, I cop all the dishes when I get home.....ah well, can't have it all I suppose.
I get home from work just after the kids get home from school around 3.30, spend about half an hour with everyone just catchin up on the days news, Pat arrives home from Polytech around 4ish, and sits with his dad while I get dinner started, throw the washing on and all those everyday chores that every working mum has to deal with. Pak has the afternoons doing whatever he wants to do once I get home. Kids will make themselves an afternoon snack. We usually sit down to dinner around 7.30 because thats what time everyone is home, then I'll get Bill prepared for bed, toileted, showered and/or washed, which can be a time consuming excercise, he hasn't quite come to terms with allowing our kids to help him with his ablutions at this point, so again, depending on how he's feeling on a given day, this could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour on good days and more if its a really bad day (happily there haven't been too many of those). Then our youngest 2 will shower and get themselves ready for bed etc, Bill usually in bed now by 9pm at the latest. Then I'll do the housework, my house is usually spotless from 10.30pm to 7am......lol. Pat helps out wherever he can, mowing the lawns when he gets home from polytech. On a Friday night our big son arrives to take his younger brother and sister for the weekends, (most weekends), Pat and Pak do what teenagers do all weekend....DONT ASK......and Bill and I work together around the house doing the odd job or two.

Don't know if either of us will get on here before Christmas, if not we want to wish you all a wonderful holiday season.

The Gardiners....

51 today

Well, here I am another year older and I think I'm a little bit wiser. Just did a quiet dinner at home with my family. Older boys gave their mother the night off cooking and rolled up the driveway with a backseat full of takeaways....lol. Which is ironic, because their mother had to cook her own birthday dinner mainly because we're all bloody hopeless and can never remember when her birthday is......shocking but true....I only remembered when her sisters phoned to wish her a happy birthday and she had already left for work....duh. She of course has become used to us not remembering and didn't expect anything less....lol. So as she does, she had her birthday dinner all sussed, went and got her groceries after work, came home cooked her dinner, sat in front of the tv and told us there was plenty of cheese and bread in the cupboard for our dinner....SO toasted sandwhiches it was. She did share her pudding with us though, lol.
How am I? I doing ok. Alot less mobile then I was at my last posting, not able to shower myself anymore, not as independent as I would like to be anymore, can still feed myself but with difficulty. On the upside, I'm still talking and eating well so things aren't too bad really. Managed to make it through the cold winter without any major dramas so all in all I'd say its been a pretty good year.
Thanks to everyone for your messages, as you've probably guessed I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to replying but I do read them and I appreciate all of your thoughts and good wishes. Until next time, take care everybody.
Bill

Hi, I'm here

Ahem.....been way too long aye! I hate to admit this, but I forgot my bloody blogger password and didn't know how to get another one.....I guess if I had asked Erin what it was you just might have heard from me abit earlier lol. You know us men, hate asking for directions and in my case, hate asking for bloody passwords hehehehe.
But I bit the bullet ASKED Erin if she happened to know my password....(duhhhh, she set it up for me) and here I am.
Whats happened since last time: I decided not to go with the peg at this stage, then I got sick (caught a heavy flu) and thought to myself well ain't that just TYPICAL Erin and I had discussed the pro's and the con's but she left the final decision up to me, and I just wasn't ready to have it. Since then, I have been progressively getting less mobile. While I was sick, my arms and legs got a lot weaker and I haven't got the strength back now that I'm feeling better. I can still stand at the toilet, but can no longer get myself up off the toilet seat, so I'm using a commode now, its just so much easier for Erin that way. Have received a big box of external catheters to use at nights, because in this cold weather I'm wanting to GO all the time BUT I haven't wanted to use them, and I haven't used them yet. Erin instead put an electric blanket on my bed, something I've always hated and I slept like a baby, all night long without waking to go to the loo. Then I got sick again, and two of our kids got hit bad with the flu and it all got abit much for Erin who had to ring her mum to come and take the older of the two kids to her place for a few days and she hated having to do that.....but she was running around like a chook without a head from room to room with tissues, and cough medicines and anti-biotics as well as having to go to work. Thank goodness for our older two boys who were home with us when she wasn't. Also thank's to Erins job who are really understanding of our situation and are ultra flexible where Erin's work hours are concerned.
So thats been my exciting life since my last post....lol. I'm still positive, I'm doing ok considering, and all my kids are back to their healthy fighting selves oh and I've put my password somewhere where I can find it.....So, I can't use that excuse again.
Wrap up warm, everyone, its cold out there at the moment, look after yourselves and your loved ones.
Bill

Hi, its been a while

Just touching base to let you know everything is good, in fact I'm feeling better then I have in a long time. I have to do things alot slower, but I'm still doing everything for myself. Speech is still really good, eating etc is still really good.
Had an appointment with the gastroenterologist this week, to talk about the insertion of "the peg". I am going to have this done in the next few weeks. As I explained before, I don't actually need it at the moment, but with winter coming on it would probably be in my best interests to have it done now before the cold weather hits just in case I catch a cold/flu and can't eat or I need to take meds which I can then take via "the peg".
Family is good, Gary #4 son started intermediate this year, Pakura #3 son is in his last year at college, Patrick #2 son starts a new job next week......yipeeeeee, Timoti #1 is happy in a relationship and living with his partner Loren, and last but not least Heni our baby girl (she's 8) is enjoying getting spoilt rotten by her brothers, the lil rat!
Thats about all for now but will try and make more effort to update my blog from now on.

Happy New Year everyone!

Well, thats another Christmas come and gone. I ate everything I'm not supposed to eat....lol and enjoyed every minute of it. So far there have been no consequences, so fingers crossed, its going to stay this way for a while. My two sisters were back from Aussie for the Xmas break and together with my mum, step dad and one of my brothers came down to see me before they flew home to Brisbane. Yet to catch up with another brother (lives in Kaitaia) and sister (lives in Auckland) and their families but hopefully will get to do that sooner rather than later. Erin and kids all well, I'm well, no drama's to speak of.
Confined to my wheel chair 24/7 now, still able to do most things for myself though. Only drawback is starting to get pressure sores now coz I'm always on my "you know what" but I suppose things could be worse.
Just before xmas a couple of my mates called around with notebook and pen in hands wanting to know what we needed done around the house in terms of maintenance etc......so like a good soldier I told them what I wanted and they are planning to come around with the rest of the rugby boys to paint my roof and do a few fix-it jobs for me in the next couple of weeks, I'm looking forward to that. If I can figure out how to put pictures on here I'll take a few and put them on here, I wouldn't hold my breath though. Thats all for now, will get back to you all after the boys have worked their magic on my roof......