Journey

This year on 27^th March Rory turned 24.  Thank you to everyone who made a fuss of Rory on his birthday.  It made his day very special.  Following the combined birthday dinner for Poppa Honnor, Rory and Uncle Guy there was an additional special celebration as Uncle Guy turned 50.  We joined him and his friends for drinks and nibbles at East End Surf Club, his second home. 

I thought I would sit down and write that not a lot has happened over the last month but it has.  We are moving house!  We moved to Inglewood in 2010 when Rory went into remission from brain cancer.  I needed to move home to Taranaki to rebuild our lives and Sean secured a job at Taranaki Regional Council.  We intended to stay five years, which is the danger period for cancer survivors as the risk of relapse is high.  Colt was born and we grew and nurtured a life in the Inglewood community.  Moving never really came up in discussion.  In 2019, when Rory was 17, he was diagnosed with secondary cancer.  In 2020 following treatment, when he thankfully went into remission, we were back at square one, in no position to move.  Again we were treading water during the 5 year danger period.  We have made it through the other side and for the last year or so Sean and I have discussed moving house, possibly into New Plymouth.  We have a very unique set of needs.  Rory needs room to manoeuvre inside and out with a rollator and likely a wheel chair in future.  We need additional parking due to the mobility van, and Sean is a contractor so his depot/office is at home.  We are trying to future proof our purchase, so also considering the needs of (possibly) future grandchildren.  We have decided Inglewood as a location still makes the most sense for us, and we like living here.  We had casually started to look for houses when one came up which ticked all our boxes.  We have made multiple visits, sought the advise of experts and done the sums.  While it has happened on a faster timeline and for more money than we had planned we have secured our next home.  We feel a mix of excitement, fear and anxiety.  We will be moving over the next six weeks so it is going to be a busy time.  OT Dianne has made a visit to the new house to undertake an assessment for modifications to support Rory’s safety and independence.

This month we participated in Relay for Life in Taranaki.  Rory and I walked the survivors lap together.  I had to do some very deep breathing to stop the lump in my throat turning into tears.  The four of us walked laps for a couple of hours, joined by Nana Honnor and special friends who acknowledged Rory’s journey and all we have been through as a family.  It was very touching.  Rory is thrilled his mentor Peter has returned from a summer away so he can resume Thursday morning activities at NP Men Shed.  He has a long list of projects.  We made a day trip to Whanganui so Rory could attend the Lego Brick show.  He enjoys admiring and discussing the impressive constructions, many created from people’s imagination. He purchased some new super hero mini figures for his collection.