Thursday, April 30, 2009

M1 | Day 39

SUPPORT......an essential ingredient in the mix of life.

No man is an island.....otherwise put, we do not operate well alone. We surround ourselves with people that we believe are beneficial to us...not in a selfish way but in a fullfillment way.

In everything we do in life we need a sounding board, someone to encourage us when things are tough, someone to clap hands for us when we win...and most of all someone to love us when we need warm arms wrapped around us.....and I don't care how tough you are, we all need that.

I am no different. This is therefore a tribute to my lady who, without her support, I might not have made it through this hugely undulating and rocky journey over the past year.

It started with her marshalling 4 children on a beach that day in between trying to rustle up a paramedic and an ambulance to the beach at St Francis and getting over eager hands away from my severely broken neck and somehow getting her landrover to a point where she could follow the ambulance....all in the space of a few minutes...talk about woman's ability to multitask.....this woman is WORLDCLASS.

We laugh now about the journey to Port Elizabeth from her view point once all the other things had been taken care of. The number of the ambulance was printed on the back and she used her mobile to call them whilst driving down the freeway at 200kms an hour. "Please can you slow down, I can't keep up." she said to the nurse. "We can't do that maam, we need to get Mr Macdonald to hospital as soon as possible, but don't worry, when we get to the hospital I'll call you and guide you in." Which she did.

Looking back now, it must have been pretty hilarious....an ambulance barreling down the freeway with a Landrover chasing it.

Karen took care of the kids, made a million phone calls to my family, collegues and friends to tell them what had happened, was at my bedside every day....a drive of 2 hours there and back from our holiday home.

Got everybody back to Johannesburg safely.. a 10 hour drive, and made sure I was airlifted back to JHB.

Arranged for my kids to visit me in hospital...spent hours there herself to the detriment of her landscaping business and her own family.

Over the past year she has made herself available for whatever I needed. She nursed me back to health at her house....cradled me in her arms when I cried, feeling that I couldn't go on. Made it very clear when I had outplayed the sympathy card. Made interminable trips back to the hospital to have dressings changed, sutures removed and so one.

And now that we are at the end of that journey she has pledged complete support for my determined efforts to get back into the best shape of my life.... Life without her would not be fun.

Florence Nightingale has nothing on this incredible woman and I am fortunate that she chose me as a partner. She has given up a year of her life for me and as she says with a wicked smile on her face when I ask how I can repay her....." 3 or 4 carats on my finger will do nicely thankyou."


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