Monday 1st December 2014

Hi all, What a sensational evening we all had on Saturday night. Thanks you so much to everyone for all of their time and effort that went into making it a huge success. What a great venue, great singers and band and even the weather was sensational. If I didn’t get around to speak to you, I apologise. I did my best to at least say hello and know that I didn’t quite make it to you all. It was great to catch up and see people other than hospital staff! To Di and Belinda, what can I say. They led the charge and got the evening off the ground, had everything really well organised, found and rostered the many groups of volunteers that all had their jobs and made the evening run so smoothly. There were so many of you (and I think I only know of half of you) From what I heard many hands made light work. And there was a lot of work in the kitchen, behind the bar, cleaning up, keeping an eye on the auction…….Thanks so much to each and everyone of you for a night that ran really smoothly. I really, really enjoyed an evening out. A big thanks Craig for MCing and keeping the proceedings short so that everyone could enjoy themselves. Thanks to all of the singers, the band members… I had a few people ask me if you were for hire… and to everyone for turning up and bringing your friends and family as well (hope you all enjoyed your evening). A big Thank you to everyone who donated and purchased, the “stall” holders, just everyone. You are all awesome! We can’t tell you how much your support means to us. Our situation isn’t fabulous and to know that everyone is there behind us helps so much. If you missed Gerard’s “speech” on Saturday or would like to see it again, here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI6bzQVDpKM STOP PRESS. Today’s excitement. Gerard underwent tests this morning for diaphragmatic pacing and if his diaphragm responded to the stimulus then they were going to go ahead and insert the electrodes. The big news is, straight from Gerard when he called earlier, “It’s working like a charm!” This will mean that, once his diaphragm has been trained over the next few weeks, he will be able to be off the ventilator for most of the day. Today he has apparently spent some time off it already and was back on this afternoon while he had a rest. It might not sound much, but he and the rest of us are all really excited by another step in the right direction! I’m looking forward to catching up with you properly over the coming weeks for a coffee or just a chat to find out what’s happening at your place. We are in awe and incredibly overwhelmed by what everyone has done for us. THANK YOU a million times over! If you’d like to pop in and see Gerard he would love it, anytime after 1pm and if you are later, you get kicked out around 8pm when visiting hours are over. He is still at the Austin probably until mid December. Ward 3 North Bed 14! Now that I have finished celebrating with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Buzz ice cream, from Warrandyte Lollies and Treats, I better get back and finish work for the day before dinner and a visit to Gerard. Ich bin Ihnen sehr dankbar (I'm very grateful/thankful to you) as Zac would be saying in Germany. Love Sue, Gerard, Max and Zac xxxx