1/12/03 Letter from Maria
Maria has given me permission to publish this letter on the web page. It is just so terrific. Dom and Dale were close mates in spite of the 11 years age difference.
Dale died early November so it is pretty raw for Maria. I didn't know what a support Dom had been to Maria.
Mike
Hi Mike
I just went to the web site myself, Tony has been there and figured it out, but while I was checking e-mail’s I noticed yours and went to see last pics of Dom. I was so saddened by the news when someone had told me, and wondered if it was around the time we saw you last, and I think it was.
He was certainly an angel that inspired a lot of people from the stories I’ve read on the site.
I would like to say that he helped me, to understand from a child’s perspective what Dale could be enduring at times, I always had lots of questions and you Mike were wonderful support (with your simple yet meaningful words in particular I remember you said, I know how you feel, Dom went though the hallucinations too), when I really needed to be away, instead of watching him struggle for his life any longer, then transported promptly to ICU, there were a few times where I had so many questions at the hospital, and around the corner was Dom, sometimes he looked so tired that I didn’t ask or said anything, but there were lots of times, Dom seamed to just know what I was yearning to know as a Mother, even after Dale had passed away, I thought, I really miss Dom now more than ever, as he had experienced death and could maybe tell me what Dale went through, and as I’ve always thought, knowledge is comforting, good or bad news, perhaps some things are better being surprised with.
And what a handsome young man with hair, and without hair of course, no wonder he had so many valentines…….. Dale often looked at people and found a spot (freckle/beauty spot/chocolate/anything really), pointed to it and said that’s because your beautiful, I miss him sooooooooooooooooo much, and I think I will for the rest of my life, and grateful his is once again in Gods arms and home, but I still miss him soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much, he is just everywhere but nowhere.
It was great to realise Dom won the battle with the Cancer.
Love you guys
Take Care
Maria
x
13/12/03 Christmas 2003 greetings
Dear family and friends,
Please accept these our Christmas greetings instead of a card this year as the task is a little overwhelming. We really appreciate all the love and prayers during this last year. We have lots of good memories to savour.
It was really special for Jacqui, Michaela, Derek Davies and Bronny ( Dom's cousin) to walk with the morning crew of B105 (a Brisbane radio station for those who don't know Brisbane), then to hear replays of their phone call to Dom for ‘Agro to the rescue’ and an interview with Jacqui during their 2 week Christmas Appeal raising funds for the Royal Children's Hospital.
It is reassuring that our special boy Dominic will not be forgotten. A few mums have told me of their daughters having a picture of Dom on their walls, Dom would be chuffed!!
Love from
Mike, Jacqui, Michaela and Holly
x x x x
19/12/03 yahoo we are getting Monty
Hi everyone. Something to brighten up a sick day off work. I just had a phonecall from a country town public servant to advise we can pick up Monty on Boxing day. He will be nearly 5 months old - about the same age Holly was when she came to us. We will drive there that day. Paperwork should arrive in the mail over the weekend. Even at 10 am I was still ringing the Premier's office trying to get pressure on them to act before Christmas. I had slipped him a note about the struggle when I was talking to him last Friday at a Neighbourhood Centre AGM.
Mark Latham, The new Federal Leader of the Opposition was there also so I slipped him a few pages of advice about carers payments and Family Tax Benefits and Fringe benefits tax. Haven't heard back from him yet but Premier Beattie's boys were quick off the mark on Monday morning and 5 days later I have a result. My Bete Noir has been beaten again! Many thanks also to Sharyn of FCQ who has been doing some heavy lobbying in the regional area. Speaking of FCQ your prayers are requested for our president who was in Tuesday's paper full of smiles with his family and then had a heart attack Wednesday. Jacqui worked with him on the last annual conference committee until Dom got ill. Dom and Kaela have always been keen to get Monty and of course Holly has prayed for her little brother to be with us every night since he was born.
Anyway, we will be back in Brisbane by the New Year with our reunited family.
That's all the exciting news this week. There isn't much else to describe. I haven't had any more "lumbering exploits" for a while but did notice one limb I'd still like to take off the new neighbour's tree (yes the sale did go ahead and I now have a cabinet maker living next door instead of a builder.) I've been back at my real job for three weeks and am loving it. It is such a great team at Lutwyche Community Health Service. The new paper work is horrific of course, 25 pages where 4 used to do, 7 where 2 did the job, etc., and a raft of new pathways for tick and flick answers instead of writing sentences. Hopeless for someone like me who can write forever but doesn't read much unless the page is set up for a reader instead of in an attempt to get as many words on the page as they can. My job can now be done by anyone who can hold a phone and a pencil and read 6 point print very well. At least people will be spared from trying to read my writing. I only communicate by tick and flick, score cards and computer printout now.
Christmas will be spent at Sunshine Coast with the Davies family, Boxing day with Monty and Holly's family, New year at home, a little canoing hopefully thrown in there, a week at work and then another week up the Sunshine coast. The final week of January I will spend doing home renovations. Look forward to some more interesting stories then (if I don't get washed down the Nymboida River and out to sea in a cyclone).
Spoke to a publisher recently about printing my and your writings but haven't heard back. There are plenty more.
Kaela has been away on sleepovers and camp with Canteen this week. She loved the Canteen camp and is very keen to get further involved. She was happy to be known as a "bereaved sibling" and said she had a ball, even doing High Ropes at the adventure site. Jacqui has been kept pretty busy with Holly and has enjoyed me being home today to care for her while she and Kaela went Christmas shopping and hairdressing. We've had a lot of late nights so it was good to settle Holly today and have a good midday sleep. Thank goodness she still enjoys a sleep at 5 years old. Next year she is in preschool. She is still a ball of fun and very cute. She has been playing beside me here for ages using her table and chairs as everything from motor cars to waterslides. My neighbour on the other side came over and gave us such a compliment that he thought Holly could not possibly have been done better for than we have done so that made me feel very chuffed. He was also pleased to hear Monty is coming soon.
Must away and dig ugly grass out of the recovered front lawn.
Love
Mike, Jacqui, Kaela and Holly