“Of all the times to be admitted”

- A continuation of the last blog.

The day things took a massive turn was Good Friday. What a coincidence! That morning, the head doctor of my Maxicillo facial team came in and wildly suggested I get up and start eating and drinking. Like me, dad (who was staying with me at the time) thought this a bit too much too soon. But Dr Heggy insisted. I remember shaking my head at dad and he bent down next to me and told me I can do this. he said; come on! my dad is good like that. So, I had a bed bath and then got up. For the first time, I actually saw what my room looked like and it was a pleasant surprise. I had this incredible view of the city, my own bathroom and desk. It’s like a hotel room. Dad had a couch by the window that he slept on.

That morning I drank some water for the first time which was magnificent. First, we were visited by some people who were doing the rounds at the hospital. You know like celebrities and characters that surprised the kids in the wards on Good Friday. We were lucky enough to meet four lads from the Essendon AFL team......or was it St Kilda? Yeah either way, they are firstly not out team. We’re from the western suburbs, hello? And secondly neither my dad nor I are crazy football followers. Not that we mentioned either of these things. It was still a bloody awkward visit since we had pretty much nothing to talk about. Lol.

We were then visited by the Easter bunny which I was momentarily pleased with just because of the sheer happiness she brought with her. (though I was fully aware it was a person in a costume – I’m not 5). Then I was a little depressed when she handed me a chocolate bunny of which I could not eat. That was the sad thing about this Easter, I didn’t actually get to eat any chocolate this year. Not that it really matters though.

I got out of my bed and very woozily made it into my wheelchair though it was incredibly difficult to sit up even. Dad decided to call mum to bring in my electric chair because it had back support. Meanwhile dad took me for a walk downstairs and once I gained my balance I was able to enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would. The hospital atmosphere was exhilarating. The place was packed with kids and families. TV and Radio hosts doing specials from the hospital foyer. Celebrities arriving for visits and interviews. Characters making appearances and stopping for photos (I met Captain Jack Sparrow (an imitator) whom dad called Captain Hook. I wanted to yell at him for that. But the man seemed very lovely and kind and we got a photo). There were stalls of food and games set up. Face-painting, even an animal petting farm. Good Friday really is like a party at the Hospital. Of all the times to be admitted, this was the best and I was pretty lucky in that sense.

After that short lap of the ground floor, we went back up to my room and met up with my dance teacher Wendy again. She brought with her, her friend’s daughter (Georgia) who was in town from Tasmania. Wendy also did my hair for me as it had been neglected since the operation – that was nice of her. I got a visit from the Australian boarder force (that sounds funny) and they brought with them an ex-guard dog? Anyway, I got to pat a dog named Kanye and the they gave me a toy version of the dog. Mum, my brother and sister arrived with my wheelchair and we set off for another tour.

We hadn’t even gotten more than two steps out of my room before we were bombarded with celebrities. The first were the stars from that show The Chase (not that we were very familiar with the show to be honest). Then this TV host I think from wheel of fortune. Terrific guy. Parents told him about my writing and he told me to keep it up. Then here’s the best one… we met Dami Im! If you don’t know, she’s the incredible artist who performed at the Eurovision song contest for Australia in 2016 and I think it was the X-Factor that she won before that. In person, she’s very tall. But also, very sweet and pretty. We also met Anthony Callea! Very short, very cute then mum revealed he was gay and in a relationship. But all jokes aside, although I’d never heard any of his songs till that day, the pleasant interaction with him made me have to google him later on. He’s actually a great guy and funny too.

So, after all that we went down for the second time all seven of us. We made the rounds and It was better now that I was in my electric wheelchair because I could see more. The problem was my eyes were significantly more droopy than usual for some reason which made it hard to see where I was going. I think mum and Wendy took turns holding my eyelids open while I drove.

But then we got to the most exciting part of the day. Wendy spotted some people from the Australian Ballet who had come to visit and they were walking around the foyer, in costume. I was so over the moon excited, I pointed excitedly wanting to get a picture with them. We met three boys and two girls between the ages of 16 and 21 I think. They were just graduating their final year at the dance school. They looked absolutely, magnificent! I was so envious of the girls’ tutus. I think judging by the title of my blog site, you’d know by now my dream was to be a ballerina. Going to the ballet or meeting real ballerina’s in person is the next best thing. Wendy told them a little background about how she taught me and that I still danced in my chair. Perhaps that were moved by the story because what came next was incredible. They actually gave me a pair of real, high quality ballet pointes, signed by all five of them. I was so excited I did my version of a scream at the time. I remember also feeling very flushed. I was so happy. Those ballerinas had made my day! I completely lost all thoughts on my recent surgery or the fact that I was in pain. I was just happy to put the shoes on and take the photos. It was the best.

After that we walked around the hospital till late in the afternoon. I started to feel the pain kick in and was falling asleep so we headed back towards the lifts. On the way, we ran into my best friend and her dad. Apparently, she’d been up to visit me just then and of course I wasn’t there. But she’d left presents and a note on the whitebeard in my room. We talked (and by talked, I mean mum and dad talked on my behalf). That’s the day we learnt that her dad worked on the construction of the hospital building. Also, a little kid walked by, came up to me and offered me a balloon. Just a random act of kindness and from a human so young was enough to make anyone smile.

While I’m on the subject, I’d just like to point out that all parents should raise their kids to be more kind like that, instead of being judgemental of appearances. Which is why we thanked the mum as well.

Finally, back upstairs I found a purple balloon and purple teddy bear from my bestie. I said goodbye to Wendy and Georgia before I got into bed and finally got some drugs into me. I was absolutely exhausted but it was worth such an epic day!

Have a lovely day! xx

I looked pretty bruised up here but don't worry, I was happy in the moment and I'm back to normal now,. 

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