Teleported

I woke up today, as with many other days feeling normal for a fraction of a second, thinking everything was normal. Then reality catches up to you. This place looks the same, same bed, same house, same people around you. But it does not feel the same, it's a somber, less cheery world that you have been teleported to, a parallel world where everything is almost exactly the same. But it is different for me and difficult most days. I have tried keeping busy and tried slowing down and adjust to this new world. But there are days where I think I can't go on either way. I just want to return to where I was and that makes me feel lost and torn between here and there. 

There are people who were teleported here at the same time as you, some of them look like they have adjusted to this new world, others seem to be making the best of it, then there are a few who seem to be struggling as much as I am to adjust to these familiar but uneasy surroundings. Then there are people who carry on as if nothing has changed, fail to realise just how much the old world meant to you, that you built your life around that one person who was the centre of that world. The one person who was not teleported to the new world, “a world without Harri”. Some times all you need to get through the day is some acknowledgement from the people around you that it is ok to be sad and to cry, that they will cry with you because they also long to go back to the world with you. But that world only exists in everyones memories. We can't go back to it. But this does not mean that it was not a real world and that we should be sad for it's passing.
Kim and Matt Creevey

Tribute page for Harrison

A tribute page has been established for Harrison and the family. Please follow the link below if you wish to leave a message.

Etribute page

We are all Missing Harri

We have had a very tough time over the last few weeks, since Harri's 18th Birthday party. Harri became unwell with the Influenza B and ended up in hospital with pneumonia, a potentially fatal chest infection. Breathing became very difficult for Harrison and he went into respiratory failure, so he was put on a ventilator and taken to the Mater ICU. Here he fought to get on top of the infection and after 9 days he was making progress to come off the ventilator.

But he started to get more temperatures and came down with a server secondary infection called Pseudomonas. Harri was required to be re-sedated and fight this new infection. 7 Days later he improved and he was finally able to come off the ventilator on the 29th of September. The doctors were very hopeful, but late on the 30th of September Harri started to succumb to the infection again.

After weeks of fighting his respiratory muscles were depleted and weak. A server scoliosis and tracheomalacia were complicating Harrison's ability to breath and cough properly. Harrison deteriorated over night and passed away at 3pm on the 1st of October 2015.

We, Harrison's family are very sad, but we have been blessed to have Harri in our lives, especially over the last 15 years, since he received his brain injury from an encephalitis.

We hope to keep the memory of Harrison alive by keeping the charity going and helping children with similar struggles as Harrison.

We thank those who have offered their condolences and prayers, and we thank all those who have played a part in our young mans life.

Regards Matt

Hello again to the readers,

                   Firstly my apologies for the hiatus. Life has certainly picked up pace around our household. I will endeavour to account for that in coming posts. Most certainly the communication work with Harri's SGD is taking a lot of priority and time. On top of this the need for me to return to work and the success of starting a small business has lead to a savage lack out time on my part, to up keep regular posts.

                   How ever our 1 fundraiser for the year has snuck up on us and is on this month.

We are completing the City2South 14km fun run on the 14th of June 2015. The team consists of Bailey (younger brother of Harri), Kim ( Harri's mother) and they will be joined by Harri being pushed by myself. I am giving myself a challenge of trying to complete the 14km run (which includes Highgate Hill) in under 90 minutes. An increased difficulty as Harri is 17 now and is 4kg heavier than last year.

Donate for the run

Thank you again. for now M.C.

School year over for Harri

Harri has commenced school holidays, being in year 10 with the seniors, they start 2 weeks earlier than the lower grades. This will give us 8 weeks practice time with his SGD, in preparation for next year. Year 11 subject selection included english, maths, IDMT (visual design technology), creative industries (media), 2 lines of IEP, senior leadership program and academy.

The ten pin bowling season has also come to a close, with the awards night next weekend. The new season will recommence next January on the 17th. With Harri nominating for the Kedron tournament in March.

My apologies for low number of posts lately, but a lot  of my spare time has been absorbed by the project of completing the rumpus room downstairs. The aim was to have it completed by the time the school holidays started. With only the windows and some small paint patching to go, we are close.

Once in a life time holiday

In the 2nd week of the school holidays (Sept/Oct) the family enjoyed a trip of a life time on the P&O Pacific Dawn. We departed from Brisbane for the South Pacific Islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu for 7 days.  We joined in a group of family and friends about 50 strong who had cruised before. 

We departed on the Saturday about 2pm and celebrated our first night at sea with dinner in the Waterfront Restaurant, 3 course A la carte.

 The first night was a little bumpy, but we all got through with no sea sickness. 

The first sea day we were very busy with activities around the ship. There was the Liar Liar show, where 4 crew members gave a story each and only 1 was the truth. Then there was dance classes ( cha cha) finished of by dinner with the group in the Waterfront Restaurant again. After dinner an acrobatic performance in the atrium, then a musical performance "Please Don't Stop the Music" in the Marquee.

 
 

A little concern for Harri

The last weekend has seen Harri at the hospital for GI issues. This is not the first time Harri has had GI issues, but the symptoms are worse than he has had before. Although home again now, the issue is still left unresolved and may require further investigations.

On the good news side, Harri's long awaited SGD mount has arrived and the device will now start going everywhere with him. We hope this will now bring consistency for Harri in his attempts to communicate with us and the world. So when you see Harri next time, don't forget to engage in a basic conversation with him, and then give him plenty of time to work on his response.

I promise later this week i will post photos and stories of our holidays. We were lucky enough to enjoy a P&O cruise to the South Pacific.

Cheers MC

Fundraising ride finishes in style

This week has seen the fundraising ride for Peter Brookes comes to a tremendous finish. Peter had been riding from Sydney to the Gold Coast. He left Sydney on the 28th of September and arriving on the Gold Coast to tremendous applause on the 8th of October. Channel 9 Gold Coast News were there to cover the story ( see the link below). A total of just over $17,000 was raised as of Peter's arrival home. A tremendous thanks to Peter, his family and supporters who help him accomplish the gruelling feat, and the couple of people who took up their bikes to keep Peter company for some of the journey. Thank you also to Peter's employer, A.B. Patterson College, their staff, students and school community for getting behind him. We are very glad to have him back safe and sound after taking on the Pacific Highway with a bike.

9 NEWS story

What a magical holiday

We were lucky enough to go on a south pacific cruise holiday in the 2nd week of the school holiday. 7 nights with 3 stops in New Caledonia and Vanuatu. Everyone had a ball. The staff were very good to us, the locals at the all the stops were also very friendly. It is the best holiday we have done yet. It's gunna be hard to top that.

Sorry for putting up a lot of photos but it was hard to choose.

 

 

 

 

We are alright

Harri and I had an adventure on Monday. We are alright. A car came through a give way sign, slamming into the front of our car, ripping off the bumper and giving us an almighty july. The driver of the other vehicle then drove away. I was able to get a description of the car but was unable to get a full rego number. Now we are mostly confined to home as the vehicle is our main means of transportation. We don't know how long we will be without the vehicle at this stage.

Another birthday

Harri has recently celebrated another birthday. The day was celebrated with a visit to 1 of the schools rallying behind Peter in his "Ride for Harri" from Sydney to the Gold Coast. The school had decided to have a gold coin day, then make posters using the gold coins and spread these out to represent the journey Peter would take. The event raised over $2000 for Harri's HOPE Inc.

In the afternoon the whole family went to the cinemas and enjoyed Guardians Of The Galaxy and then a family dinner. We cut a cake made by his brothers.

Having already celebrated his birthday on the Saturday before with family and school friends with a 10 pin bowling party.

Closing in on the target as the ride looms

We are closing in on the fundraising target as we near the end of the campaign. Saturday saw a sausage sizzle at Harbour Side Rare Gourmet Meats , on the Gold Coast.

Thank you to Joshua and the team for coming up with the idea, setting up and the donation of the sausages and other goods.

Thank you to Peter and staff from ABP that turned up to man the BBQ, as well as the students who dedicated their time to help out.

Harri was also rewarded with last weeks good game, with the bowler of the week award. scoring a 200 game 50 over average.

Return to form for Harri

Harri has recently started to regain some of the form he was showing early in the year with his 10 pin bowling. Last weekend he bowled a straight 200 game, which was 50 over his average. It was well timed with the teams that are currently in 2nd and 3rd place have made up some ground on "Stations Hands" harri's team. With only 1/3 of the season remaining, they have just over a 2 perfect games buffer to 2nd place, and his personal average is currently the 2nd highest in the club, only 3 behind 1st place. They have 2 tough games coming up over the next couple of weeks.

On a second note the AGM for Harri's HOPE Inc. is coming up in mid-late September, we are looking for people who might be able to commit to 4 meetings a year (fixed dates in advance), to assist in the running of the charity. This would be purely administration, as the fundraising is organised separately. If you would like to find out more or are interested, please leave a comment to this post.

Regards Matt

Riding Jersey design

We have had some wonderful help in creating a new design for Harri's HOPE Inc. as a part of designing a riding jersey for Peter Brookes' "Ride For Harri". The fundraising page has been released, and is going well, but please keep spreading the word.

The designs have been finalised and i decided to share the images of the riding jersey,

Regards Matt

Peter gears up to Help Harri's HOPE

Peter heard of Harri and his story through his wife, who is co-ordinator for touch football at a school in Brisbane, that I (Matt) have refereed for, for the last 3 years. Having in the past given us the opportunity to attend some NRL games in Brisbane.

Peter is an avid cyclist and 12 months ago came up with an idea to ride to raise money for Harri's charity. only this year has the idea and planning grown in a mammoth undertaking of "The Ride for Harri", which will start in Sydney and finish at the school where Peter works on the Gold Coast.

Peter has established a fundraising page and encourages everyone to spread the word / link, even if you are unable to give personally, you may know someone you can. We really appreciate your support.

Ride for Harri

Stay tuned for more updates as the September / October dates draw near.

Regards Matt

Busy term for Harri and us all

We have had a very busy term so far, Harri now attending Corinda 5 days a week and the SGD work is well underway. Harri is at times participating in general conversations at home. As soon as the wheelchair mount arrives it will become a part of everyday use at school and at home.

We have been working with some new carers, Jeni on the school holidays and recently Saurav, Nancy and Kephas. This is making life a little more hectic at the moment, but will make life a little easier in the near future.

Bowling is still going well and Harri has made some improvements in the past 2 weeks. Bowling his best score of 190 last week was his best game in 3 months. His bowling average stands at 153.

Regards Matt

Memorable photo

We received this week the photo of Harri's QLD Cole Cup Team from the National tournament.

This included the 7 team members, coach, team manager and carers

School holidays a chance workout

The school holidays have started, and there is no plan to go away these holidays. So Harri is taking the opportunity to increase his Sporting Wheelies PT sessions. A thank you to Christian and Nathan for offering the extra PT sessions. Thanks also to Sarah and Naomi, his regular PT's, as they have loaded Harri's FES profile onto the new controller, making the sessions run smoother and more post PT sessions on the MotoMed available.

We did take the opportunity to visit Family at Kenilworth / Imbil over the weekend and help out with some jobs around the farm.

The SGD work is going well, with training commenced at the schools and an application for a wheelchair mount in place, it will only be a short wait and his communication device will go everywhere with him.

Harri's new carer Jenni is helping to extract the best out of Harri, he is working really well with her.

A marathon effort to support Harri

Harri and I had a meeting recently with an enthusiastic teacher Peter, who enjoys cycling. He is planning a mamoth ride from Sydney to the Gold Coast, where he works, later this year as a fundraiser for Harri's HOPE.
His school is getting behind him and supporting on his ride, as is his wife's school here in Brisbane, where i referee touch football.
At the meeting, Harri was presented with a signed Titan's league ball, having heard that Harri is a avid supporter. Stay tuned for more new on this later in the year.

Special thanks

I wish to say a special thanks to staff at Jetstar airlines and the Carlyle Hotel for making our travel to Hobart and stay in Hobart a very pleasant experience.