22nd September 2010: Anniversary and other landmarks

We celebrated another wedding anniversary last Friday. Here you see us on that day pictured at our local Mexican restaurant (recently opened...the chef is not Mexican, and probably not a chef, enough said). However, nice ambience and we were happy.

This week we were invited to have a look at a new rehab programme called Springboard. It is located deep in the centre of Adelaide and we were daunted by the journey. It turns out to be brilliant and exactly what Simon and I had hoped for. A post-medical rehabilitation programme that runs for 1-2 days per week. It includes speech therapy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapies. The people that we met were so positive and committed. They told living stories of other clients who arrived in wheelchairs and left walking. They are prepared to take us on for up to three years. We are hoping to combine this with a return to work programme for Simon.

Here we hit a snag. While in the City, we decided to walk across to Simon's office to pick up some papers and things. He had not been there in over a year. Astonishingly, his office building has no disabled access. We did get into the building with the help of a colleague, Adam, who hauled Simon's wheelchair up a step through a side entrance. It was impossible to reach Simon's office which is down a flight of stairs and there was no ramp. Most disturbing, the toilets were inaccessible for disabled people. I did think poorly about UniSA at this point. I have reported it all to the HR department and hope that they will be able to improve matters.

Not to be discouraged, Simon and I took our first trip on the Adelaide to Glenelg tram. These are accessible, but you have to let the driver know you are there so he can put a ramp out. The tram drivers were brilliant I must say. We stopped off at the City shops (Rundle Mall) for some inevitable CD shopping, then went onto Glenelg (the bay) by tram and stayed there for an hour.

It was an exhausting day, we learned a great deal, and returned feeling challenged but inspired. My inspiration is that I can now see a day when Simon will be independent of me; he will be able to make his own choices about what he does, when, how and who with. I know that very often he would rather be out with the lads than listening to my endless stories of the wonders of Flinders Uni in between commentary on the progress of my new vegetable garden (a patch of ground behind the shed).

Caught up with some research students today, one recently returned from fieldwork in Malaysia. Heaps of data, but the government policy context keeps shifting. No worries, it can only add flavour to the thesis.

Love to all,

Marian xx