Getting back on the Horse

It has just passed the 1 year mark on November the 3rd 2014 that my Dad Grant Laursen had his life turned upside down in an instant.

Dad was a fit, healthy and very independent person who did exactly what he loved doing which was training Race horses. He has worked with horses for 30 years and was very successful at what he did.

On November the 3rd 2013 Dad was carrying out his morning duties at the Foxton Racecourse taking his horses that were in work for gallop around the track. A close friend of Dads often enlisted his help to ride her "rough" filly because he was the only one that had the guts to take on the crazy horses. While riding this particular horse it shied and jumped the running rail. The horse tipped the top and somersaulted it, driving Dad head- first into the ground.

Dad knew instantly that this fall (amongst the many) was far more serious and he wasn't bouncing back up from this one.

He was flown directly to Palmerston North Hospital and then on to Christchurch Hospital ICU, where he spent 2 weeks slowly regaining strength as it had affected his breathing from the break to his 4th, 5th and 6th vertebrae.

From there he was transferred to Burwood to start the slow road to recovery to try get Dad back on his feet and using his arms again, which he no longer had any control over. 7 months was spent there with myself, my sister and a few close friends and family, making the trip down as often as we could to keep up dads spirits and just keep him company in general.

A long 12 months later and we have Dad back in his hometown surrounded by the people he loves. We have him in a rental that has been modified for him with ramps, wider doors and his electric bed to keep him comfortable during the night. Dad has 24 hour care as he needs constant help with the day to day things. Even the simple things like feeding himself, drinking and showering.

I'm wanting to make Dads life a little more comfortable and fundraise to get him the things he needs to gain back his independence. Such as a vehicle that he can drive himself eventually, and the right equipment to help him gain his strength and use his arms and legs as much as possible.

Dad is determined that he will walk again and he will get back on a horse. With his amazing attitude and the huge effort he puts in daily I'm sure he'll get there.

So any donations you can contribute, be it large or small will make a huge difference to Dads end goal of gaining independence.

Thank you so much.

Kind Regards

Grant & Family.