Deane Boy's Road to Recovery

A lot has happened since the last written update! I apologise to those following Deanes journey, between the responsibilities of life, study, work and family it has been really difficult to find the time to sit down and write one of these but I want you all to know that you kindness love and support has been felt throughout.

On the 17th April, Deane and his mother Kahui were transferred up to the Wilson Centre, a childcare rehabilitation specialist facility in Auckland. It was a really hard step for them both to take at the time, both knowing that it was the best move for Deanes recovery; but that made it no easier to leave the rest of their family here in Napier.

While they were in the Wilson Centre, Kahui and Deane came to know other families and children going through their own journeys. The connections they made with fellow patients, families and staff created a fantastic support network for them and they are grateful to each and every person there who shared their time and stories with them. The medical staff at the Wilson Centre provided 24 hr care and our family are so grateful for them all, Kahui speaks so highly of their services and practice.

While there Deane continued physio and speech and language therapies and made phenomenal progress constantly. Most of his physical injuries recovered in no time, and his brain injury continues to make steady progress. It was hard to slow Deane down, no sooner could he walk than he wanted to run, EVERYWHERE. Anyone who’s raised a teenager (or can remember being one themselves) can imagine how hard it is to tell a 14 year old to slow down! Pair that with the cognitive enthusiasm of a toddler finding their feet and it seems a near impossible task..

We were also lucky enough that Deane’s older sister Michaela and Dad Kerin got flown to Auckland twice to visit. Deane and Michaela are so close as brother and sister, they really are like best friends, and it was always so hard for them to be a part. These visits gave them all something to look forward to and keep their heads up in the times that felt so hard. On a gloomy Monday they could look ahead to the next Friday when they’d see their loved ones, the Sundays where they’d have to leave each other again were heart-wrenching but every time they all knew that they were one day closer to Deane being better and everyone being together at home again.

Last Friday, May 29th, that day finally came. Deane was cleared to leave the Wilson Centre.

He and his mother made their way home.

Emotions were running high at the airport. Michaela’s eyes were were stationed on the plane door as passengers arriving in to Napier from Auckland made their way off the plane. I don’t think she would have blinked if it weren’t for the tears welling in her eyes. Finally her Mum and her baby brother were home.

People kept coming off of the plane and you could feel everyone’s anxieties increasing. We all stood there thinking, “How do they fit so many people in the plane?”

We knew they were there, but we also knew they would be polite and let every other passenger get their cabin baggage and make their ways off the plane first. The pace of exiting passengers slowed.

A hint of a smile crept onto Michaela’s face as she said, “There he is.”

Kahui says not long after they landed Deane looked out the window and said to her, “There she is. I can see her. She’s wearing white.”

Sure enough, Deane and Kahui were the last passengers off the plane. Deane had insisted on carrying all their bits and pieces and not letting his Mum carry a thing. As they came through the arrival gate it was an emotional reunion for all.

Deane, Kahui, Michaela and Kerin are home. They are altogether and they are home. Deane will continue with his therapies and will soon be resuming his schooling. At the moment he is still limited in the amount of schoolwork he can do and television he can watch. He won’t be able to play sports for a while, and contact sport like rugby has been ruled out long term, the risks are too high. For now their family have purchased board games and activities they can do together that are stimulating without being overwhelming. Deane still requires a lot of rest and supervision, and his mother Kahui is well prepared for it, more than ever with her daughter by her side and the rest of her family on-hand for extra support.

I know Kahui really wants to express her gratitude to each and every donor and person who has shown their support through Deanes journey. For every koha, every txt, every phone call every message, even every thought that has gone their way she thanks you, we thank you. This page is still an overwhelming gift for her and she struggles to articulate her feelings about it and I just tell her not to worry about it. That’s my job! All she has to do now is enjoy being with her family.

So from her, and all of us in Deane’s whanau thank you the ongoing support shown to us all through this time. It’s not over yet, I don’t know that things like this are ever ‘over’. We are in the stage of letting them resettle and work out what their new routines are; re-familiarising Deane with things and letting ourselves get to know the new things and quirks about him.

E kore nga kupu hei whakatutataki te aroha kei roto I o matou ngakau..

He taonga rongonui te aroha ki te tangata..

Kei te mihi, kei te mihi x