Friendships

I am very lucky and have many friends from all my different walks of life whether that be scouts, MS, Mums from school or work but I have one very special friend. Back in 1996 prior to my diagnosis of MS I worked for an Accident Management Company in Marlow Buckinghamshire, I needed to recruit a member of staff to cover maternity leave and that is where my friendship with a wonderful Antipodean couple started. I interviewed Lynn and although our looks were not at all similar our life experiences were. I had no difficulties in immediately offering her the job. If I was honest she had more experience in the insurance industry than me!

 Lynn and her husband Bernard lived in a flat along the same road as me and my partner (Dave). It wasn’t long before the four of us had formed a friendship and Dave and I were acting as tour guides.

Lynn stayed working with me until because of her husbands work they moved to London. Our friendship continued but early 1997 Lynn fell pregnant and the decision was made to move back to New Zealand. That’s when our friendship was really cemented, regular telephone calls were made from NZ to the UK as they had a special deal where they can make a call anywhere in the world for $10. That’s where our fortnightly calls started and over the years it’s gone from phone calls to Skype and now FaceTime.

Our friendship became so strong Lynn and I were really so alike but on the opposite side of the world. Even our daughters were born 9 months apart, when Lynn gave birth I became pregnant.

Fast forward 7 years and in 2005 Lynn and Bernard and their 2 children came over for Christmas, of course their children had never experienced snow at Christmas they were used to their parents slinging chicken kebabs on the Barbie. We had great fun experiencing new things together meeting all my family, visiting more places and even having a picnic when the temperature was 5°C!                       
                        
After that visit Lynn started to come over every 2 or 3 years especially as my MS had started to have quite an impact on me and as my Kiwi best friend she  wanted to keep an eye on me. Lynn’s last visit over here was in 2010. Sadly in February 2011 a massive Earthquake struck in Christchurch which caused untold damage including the lost lives of 185 people. It was than that Lynn and Bernard decided to move themselves and the children to Western Australia (WA). After that Dave and I were determined to make a trip out to WA. That in itself required a hell of a lot of planning. Booking the flights was probably the easiest thing, we had worked out that we needed 3 years to save so our trip was planned for Easter 2013, we didn’t want incredibly hot weather nor did we want to hit the cooler weather which is why we prompted for a Easter. The biggest challenge was how to plan for my mate MS. A dear friend of mine who so happened to be a paraplegic gave me some very valuable advice, which was to get fitted with a catheter for the period of the flight. This meant I could drink as much as I liked (water) without worrying about going to the loo. The catheter could be removed easily once I had arrived by myself.  Lynn contacted the equivalent of a District Nurse before the trip to insure that they could do the same for me on my return. I have to say this is the best bit of advice I have ever been given and it meant I did not have an issue with dehydration. My trip was made easier by the fact I was staying with friends and they were also able to arrange for a commode and a standard wheelchair. Because we chose to book the flights through a travel agent so the accountability lays with them, they also arranged the airport assistance at each airport.

I think air travel especially long haul is quite daunting as a person with MS, one never knows when the spasms are going to kick in along with the general aches and pains. To my pleasant surprise and I think it was because I was able to drink so much I found everything manageable. As soon as we had landed I went straight to the ladies toilet and removed my catheter. It was great to know it was so manageable, I also had a weeks worth of antibiotics that my doctor had prescribed before leaving should I end up with a UTI. Dave Shannon and I were met at the gate by our friends Lynn and Bernard who drove us to their house, they were obviously worried that we would have so much luggage that they borrowed a trailer! Our adventure had really now began, Lynn and Bernard had lined up places to go and people to see, they included meeting with their friends and family, Perth, Freemantle, Yenchep, a Didgeridoo shop and Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park (where the kangaroos run wild). We spent many an evening chatting through old times and laughing until our bellies hurt this of course may have been aided by a few bottles of vine and lots of barbies. Lynn and Bernard have a swimming pool in their back garden and for me it was the equivalent of going to a hydrotherapy pool each day. I was completely shocked as was worried about the temperature which got up to 38°C when we were out there, but I suppose it’s a different type of heat and the only time I struggled was because I had tried to do to much in one day, but that was also the case for Dave and Shannon.

I have learnt one thing over the last 10 years and as corny as it might sound it’s worth embracing MS and that’s why it has become my mate. I really do think most things are possible.

Below are a few pictures from our WA adventure.