Mending shattered lives

At the beginning of December, 2002, a house became available in a nearby village and two weeks later we moved to our new home. On December 19th, Jim was discharged from hospital.

For the next six months, we waited for the house to be made more wheelchair accessible. Jim and I struggled to adapt to our new lives and predictably there were problems. Finally, in July a lift was installed. Other alterations began to follow and for six months the house was full of builders.

Jim now works as a volunteer at the local hospital and also participates in basketball which he loves. Our eldest daughter is now seven years old and has been classed as special needs because of the emotional issues caused by stress.

Despite all this, there is a light at the end of our tunnel. We have pulled through the crisis so far and we're attempting to rebuild our shattered lives.

I know our lives will probably be very different ultimately and, of course, no one knows what the future holds. Fortunately, I remain an optimist and I trust that everything will work out for the best.

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