Monday 21st – Sunday 27th September

Well a ‘cut and paste’ week really.  Darryl continues to knock the milestones off his list of to do’s to get home and bit by bit his walking, talking and his right arm improves.  For the past few weeks we have had extra gym sessions, a weekly ‘bob’ in the pool and I have ramped up the weights I strap to the ’stick of misery’ for his arm exercises.

All this seems to be paying off,  because the improvement is certainly not waning, in fact I would say it is increasing.  By the end of each day Darryl is knackered, notwithstanding the fact that he does have the odd ‘power nap’ during the day also.  It’s well earned though when you consider the mini mileage he is now doing.  On the average day we will walk to and from the gym area three times (700 metres total), either 400 – 500 metres on the treadmill or five km on the exercycle, three sets of arm exercises a day (total of 1 1/2 hours) and 45 minutes of exercises in the morning before his shower.  Not bad for a guy who is recovering from one of the most severe brain injuries resulting from rugby in recent years!!

Darryl continues to impress those in the rehab world with his continued progress.  To me, his progress and achievements to date are simply reflective of the blend of his own determination, hard work each and every day and the involvement of experts, from Andrew Law, the neurosurgeon who saved his life on Anzac Day, to the staff of the rehab who have supported Darryl in this slow and most often arduous journey.  The equation is simple – good in, good out. 

I am a believer that in many ways you get out of life what you are prepared to put in and when what you are wanting to get out is almost everything, there is a lot that needs to be put in.  In head injuries that ‘lot’ needs to come from a lot of people and in a lot of ways, slowly but surely, Darryl is starting to show rewards for the hard yards he has been doing – and make no mistake, it is he who at the end of the day has to do those hard yards regardless of who supports him to do this.

There is much I could say about the weeks, as I have with each week, but suffice to say that this week has simply built on the progress of the last couple.  This progress is what will see us leave the rehab and all of us, as a family, return back to our home in the Far North from which we all left in a heartbeat five months ago.  Darryl has been crossing the days off his calender for two months now and there aren’t too many left.

The least major hurdle is ‘Humpty Dumpty’ day, this Wednesday.  Darryl will finally have his skull closed back in as the large piece that was removed to save his life is replaced with an acrylic prosthetic held in with the good old titanium screws and plates.  This is huge to Darryl and he looks and feels at odds with who he knows himself to be.  It has been the single most stressful part of his psychological condition over the last few months as he has moved closer to what you might consider ‘normal’.  Quite simply, it would be hard for anyone to feel ‘normal’ when a piece of your skull the size of an envelope is sitting in a fridge at the hospital!  So in many ways this operation will be closure in more ways than one and we are glad to have Mr Laws at the helm. 

Personally I will be incredibly relieved to have this procedure complete.  I have spent five months trying to ensure that he didn’t bump or have bumped, this area of his head where there is basically nothing but skin protecting his already delicate brain.  There will be a sigh of relief from me once this is remedied.  I guess prior to that however, the family and I will have to revisit that  most anxious of experiences; waiting to hear how the brain surgery went.  The last time the news was more devastating than any parent should have to bear and I will have to work hard to remind myself that any deja vous is remnants of a nightmare past and not warranted nor reflective of the postive position Darryl is now.  Well that’s the plan, the reality is those large chuncks of life that have fallen heavily on me throughout this journey seem to choose their own time and way to fall, I just have to keep looking up – turkey lurkey!!   

Well Darryl, the week has finally arrived.  There  is still a long way to go, but this is a time that you can be proud to look back and reflect on how far you have come.   Life is fluid and evolving and much of it we can’t control, but that which we can will be determining of our character and the footprint we leave on this earth.   

As we have talked of so many times Darryl, it is your attitude and application to hardship that will give your life meaning and define the person that you are and will become.  With each hurdle passed, with each challenge overcome the world that you grow with unveils more opportunities.  For life has a way of giving back to those who give of themselves.  It may not, and usually does not, appear obvious at the time, but I remain convinced of the natural justice that is born of genuine effort, commitment and tenacity.

You are close to closing one chapter of this journey and on returning home we will open the next.  The pages are now yours to turn though Darryl and the pace with which you do this lies once again in your hands.  I am proud of how you have given of yourself to become yourself once again.  One day, when you are able to stand aloft the mountain you have moved, the gravity of your struggle and achievements will become clearer to you.  For now just know that all around stand in utmost admiration of you and I more than anyone know how much that is deserved. 

Not long now mate.

Dad.