I looked back on the web site to this day a year ago and Tom was still on a ventilator.  He had been put back for the third time.  But for a short while he was able to be wheeled outside and there is a picture of myself and the girls huddled around his bed outside Milpark hospital on the helipad.  I remember it so vividly.  But can it really be a whole year ago.

Tom has had a rough couple of weeks, its that time of year when the cold weather hits our chests.  Poor Tom cannot cough or clear his throat or lungs.  So some serious percussion physio and jumping and shaking on his chest has occurred.  It hasn’t been pleasant and I have been frightened at times rushing to his bedside in the middle of the night to assist him coughing.  But he is over it and we have learnt some lessons.

We are about to embark on our first ever holiday since Tom’s return.  And to a beautiful place that has special memories.  The glorious Mozambique.  We leave on Friday.  Tom, myself and the girls together with the Malloch Browns will fly while the Greenways and Ralphs will drive.  Tom would not be able to handle the 11 hour drive so we are literally bundling him into a small aircraft while the other drive his van with his wheelchair across the border to the beach.  Its daunting but exciting.  Going with our dearest friends makes it so much easier as they know the drill, what is expected, what can and can’t be done.  And we have been there before so we know what to expect.

Obviously it will be so different.  To get Tom to the beach will be a journey in itself but we shall conquer.  To let him float in the sea with his girls is my goal.  So we will be equipped with floating devices, tubes and what ever else necessary to make this happen.

Its also our 10th wedding anniversary and I truly believe that spending it together with some of  the most special friends we have, in the most spectacular place on the planet, well that’s what I call a blessing.

I still take such deep breaths and feel the oxygen fill my lungs.  What a simple function we take for granted.  I thank the universe that Tom got this back……… even if he can’t feel his chest rising and falling.