Clare Louise Burzynski - part 2

I wrote in one of my earlier bloggs about my accident but here I'm going to explore it a little bit more deeply. Im not entirely sure who exactly reads this blogg, but Im sorry if I touch a nerve in anything I say or quote. Im just putting what I think is true out there.

June 28th, 1989 my family, which consists of Mum (Barbara), Dad (Eddie), my Sister (Lauren) and I, were holidaying up in Queensland (remember that at the time we are living in Newcastle). I was just about to turn 3, my sister turning 6 in December. Dad was driving, Mum was in front passenger and Lauren and I were in the backseat. I was sitting in one of those toddler baby seats, with the proper over the shoulder, between the legs, click in the middle kind of seat belts. Being the age that I was I can't really remember that much of the day. What I can remember though is being somewhere with a hive (the Super Bee - hinesight a beautiful thing) and was on the way to the Big Pineapple. We never made it (and thinking about it now, I don't think I've ever been there either, not that I can remember anyway). Somewhere along the way we were involved in a head on car accident with another vehicle. I have been told stories of what caused the accident over my lifetime and pretty much they're all rolled into one blurry mess. But to me personally, it doesn't matter who was at fault and what caused what to happen. It happend. I don't blame anyone and I am not holding any kind of grudge. I was young, a little toddler, I still had my entire life ahead of me to choose the paths that I wanted to take. Its not like when some professional ballet dancer or whatever gets hurt and has to end their dancing career (like in Benjamin Button). I was a bubbly little girl, and bounced back pretty well. I lived with what happend to me. Adapted. And if you know me today, then you know I live a pretty satisfying life.


(In a toddler car seat. Honestly can't tell you if this was taken before or afterwards. It looks like afterwards, as in to show people what I was in in the accident.)

Anyway! Back to the accident. So we hit this other vehicle. I dont think the other driver involved got majorly hurt. I could be wrong, I just haven't heard anything. My father broke alot of bones and had to have operations to have all sorts of screws and plates to get fixed up. This later turned into athritis in his legs. My mother broke her arm but also got alot of internal things squished and woke up several days later attached to a ventilator. A very scary thing to happen to someone who is a nurse herself and able to understand all the medical talk around the hospital bed. Lauren got whiplash, but was awake through the entire experience, so for a 5 and a half year old, the entire experience must have been very traumatic. Me? Well I broke my spinal cord at the t8 section. Complete break too (no fibres hanging on like in some incomplete Paraplegics). Now apart from being carried into another car (hinesight says ambulance), being given a tissue for a blood nose and then later on being asked if i could wigggle my toes (answer - no), that is pretty much all I can remember from the accident.

So thats my version of the accident. What your about to read is from a notebook I was given a few years ago. Its my mothers diary that she wrote after the accident. Its quite long so Im not going to sit here and type the entire thing. Just a little bit. To get an adults side of the story (instead of a young adults childhood memory side of the story).

28th June 1989 and onwards
"Can't remember exactly which day I woke up but I thought I was having a dream about being in hospital. Was ventilated. Couldn't talk or move. I was told by John that we had been in a car accident."

3rd July
"Much improved. Still in Nambour ICU. Seen by Lauren and Clare's doctor who was concerned about Clares inability to move! To be transferred to Brisbane with the girls so that Clare can have a special scan of her spine at PA. Haematoma? Swelling? Crushed spine? Or worse still, the spine itself is damaged?"
(later that day)
"Transferred to RBH. Clare to Royal Childrens Hospital. Lauren not admitted. Saw Eddie for first time since accident - he cant remember much either"

4th July

"Have at least 67 stitches in abdomen and chest continuous. Drain site very painful. Clare to go to PA for special scan of spine under GA (general anaestetic). Very concerned about outcome."

(later that day)

"Doctor informed us of tragic result about 8pm. Very distressed. Eddie and I cried together for several hours. Why us? Why Clare? Why our beautiful little girl who had done nothing wrong? We cant accept it. Visited by minister of religion who said prayers with us for Clare. We both needed sedation this night and several others after."

5th July

"Visited Clare in Patterson Ward. Cried all over her head. Don't think I can cope. Will never quite believe all of this. Can't even cuddle her - broken arm makes it impossible."

(Playing with my Play Doh in hospital. Making the most out of a bad situation. Always smilin')

7th July

"Clare said 'mummy I can't stand up!' several times. Feel so useless."

11th July

"Clare screaming through physio sessions. She is so frustrated. I feel like crying with her. Can't take much more of this."

13th July

"Clare more confident in wheelchair but hates baths and being moved."

17th July

"Everything has finally hit me as real. It's no a dream any more. My little girl is really crippled for life and her future has been wrecked. My family really was almost written off (as was my new car). We still haven't had our long awaited holiday."

30th July

"More forms to complete for Clare. Dread the thought of managing with her for the rest of our lives."

5th August

"Clare cranky with her legs not doing what she wanted them to"

(In some medical thingmebob. I look so small. Lucky I got the toy for comfort)

7th August

"It is so sad watching Clare attempting to move. Even sitting up to concentrate on play is so hard for her. She can't support herself. I feel depressed and so sorry for her. All the 1 year olds in her ward are walking or starting to. She never will again. Clare very tired. Lauren becoming difficult to handle - shes bored with the whole affair."

10th August

"Clare much better in physio. Went for a 'walk' in parapodium outside and waved to a helicopter and aeroplane."

11th August

"Happy 3rd birthday to our little angel on wheels! Clare's party in the ward, bed covered with balloons and presents."

(My 3rd birthday in hospital, still smiling!)

That will do. It goes on and on..

I think that the main thing I wan't to get across to people is that it might seem all doom and gloom right after someone is involved in an accident, but you have to think of the future. You live through the now part, must don't write off the future. Like I keep saying, I love my life, I wouldn't change it for the world. So if your reading this, and have either been recently been involved in a life changing accident or your a parent of a child who has. Don't write off life. There is a future for you or your child :)

Anyway, thats one major section of my life under wrap. I have to get ready for the Western Stars end of 2008 / start of 2009 shin dig. Made a berry cheesecake.. yum!

Stay tuned for part 3 :)

Clare Louise Burzynski

I was talking to Lee on MSN about his blog and he asked when was I going to write a new one. I said when I thought of something to write about.. I soon thought that I could tell you all about the different states that I've lived in and that how I still call myself a Perth girl through and through. But then I started looking through some old baby and childhood photographs and I thought of a better idea...

At the moment on the Wheelcats Facebook group, several people, including myself, have been uploading old photographs of Wheelcats. I went as far as going to the WSWA Osborne Park office and sifting through old photos to find some around 1999. My god, there were alot of funny photos. Funny clothes, funny hairstyles. We have grown alot in 10 years!

So, my idea.. Instead of a whole bunch of text for you to read through. How about my life in pictures? Unfortunately I don't have a scanner at home so I've had to resort to taking photos of photos. Hence why some of them look a little fuzzy or have shine on them. Some of the originals are a little fuzzy anyway but I think you will still be able to manage :)

So how about I start right from the start?

I was born August 11th, 1986 in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Half english from my mothers side, and half Aussie but with a whole bunch mixed in (hence the Polish last name) on my fathers side.

(1. Me - screaming, just popped out; 2. Me, Dad and Lauren, my sister; 3. Me and Mum)

I was born a normal, healthy baby. 10 fingers, 10 toes. 1 head. All my sight, all my hearing, all my touch senses in tip top condition. Nothing wrong with me. I remember my mother telling me that at first I started crawling by doing an Army crawl. One arm over the other. Then of course the legs kicked in. And then yes walking. Apparently I started walking early for my age. I must have known deep down that something was going to happen...

(Proof that at some stage in my life I could walk - bit of a blondie wasn't I?)

Well thats going to have to do for tonight. Its 40 degrees tomorrow so Im going to Herbie an hour earlier tomorrow.. which means getting up earlier.. erg!

Stay tuned for part 2.. Ooo I wonder whats gunna happen to that cute lil blondie!!

Perth, Western Australia

For those of you who have never been to Perth: come! For those of you who have visited Perth before: visit again! For those of you, like me, who live here: how lucky are we!

This morning I decided I wanted to see if going for a push would actually get my HR up eventhough I pretty much push around all day long. So off I went in my car and drove to North Beach, a good 30 or 40 minute drive from where I'm living at the moment. I parked in one of the little carparks at the end of North Beach rd, got out, started the HR watch and went south. I decided that I would push for 30 minutes, stop, turn around and then push back to my car, which would make it a good hour of pushing. I ended up going all the way to Scarborough Beach. Took me about 35/40 minutes to get there. Once I was there I discovered a beach volleyball tournament and decided to sit in the shade and watch for a while. It was good to run into Kim L while I was there as well. I ended up hanging around, having a drink, an ice cream, for about an hour before setting off back to my car in North Beach. Took me 38 minutes to get back, stopping every now and then to take a few pictures.

So the result of the day? Yes, going for a push, especially along that strip with a few good hills, got my HR rate up. Average HR on the way down was 150 with a max of 184. Average HR on the way back was 153 with a max of 178.

(more pics on FaceBook)

Week 1

Well it's the end of my first week back into training for 2009. Slowly getting back into it so my new 09 training diary definitely doesn't look as busy as it did pre-paras. I had the monday off after flying back into Perth the sunday night, but then..

• Tuesday - Intervals on the hand crank in the gym - 40 minutes worth (want to work my way up to 48 minutes. Why? Coz thats how long a NWBL game goes for. 40 minutes is WNWBL).
• Wednesday - 1k swim followed by a 2 hour training session with Cats / Rollers coach Ben E. I was accompanied by Aussie under 23's squad members Adam and Kim. Was a good hard session. Probably shouldnt have done the 1k swim before hand as I was absolutely nackered at the end. Got my first blister for 09 as well, which is a good and bad thing. Means rough man hands can be made soft after a while, but also shows my lack of training since Kitty.
• Thursday - Another 40 minutes worth of intervals on the hand crank followed by an hours worth of shooting around trying to get used to the girls size 6 ball again (compared to the mens size 7 ball).
• Friday - nothing training/fitness wise. Spent pretty much the entire day putting clean clothes away, and doing odd bits around the apartment.
• Saturday (today) - The Wheelcats (which was actually a mixture of Cats, Stars and juniors) played a demo game before the Perth Lynx game (which they won!) at Perry Lakes. It was alot of fun, as well as promoted our team and our sport to more of the public, so overall it was a good night.

Next week I hope to step the training up a bit, get a few more swim sessions in, at least 3 gym sessions, and at least 3 shooting sessions. Local league also starts on monday. I gotta make sure im in good shape for the Gliders first training camp for 09 coming up later this month at the AIS.

One last thing before I go, during training Ive been wearing my new Polar RS200 heart rate monitor. Freaking awesome! It has this built in Sport Zones thing so that I know im working as hard or as easy as I should. It also uploads data onto a website (www.polarpersonaltrainer.com) via my laptops mic. It has an online diary, can create different training programs depending on your fitness goals, and also graphs all your data for you. Pretty cool!

Summer lovin'

Well I am back in Perth and I am lovin' summer! Hot stinky 35 degree days are so much better than freeze your arse off winter days.. Today I felt like going for a drive, so drove to North Beach and then did the coastal drive to Hillary's Boat Harbour for some Wok in the Box and then a relaxful sit in the sun to watch the waves roll in.

Melbourne was very enjoyable. It wasn't the every-day-at-the-beach kind of holiday that it was like last year, but it was still very cool to be able to relax with a glass of champers, try work out the daily newspaper puzzles, watch dvds and celebrate the end of 2008 with a bunch of mates.

What a year 2008 was! The Wheelcats won the NWBL premiership for the 3rd year in a row. The Western Stars gained a new coach and went from last to runner up team in the WNWBL final. The Gliders travelled to China, Japan, and USA for several different tournaments as well as many training camps at the AIS. We then won the bronze at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics (my first ever Paralympics!). The Wheelcats then travelled to Kitakyushu, Japan to compete against the worlds greatest. I also started building my dream house which is soon to be completed hopefully some time this month.

So what will 2009 bring? Well I will be settling into the new pad, making a house a home. Will go back to studying my Bachelor of Legal Studies (majoring in Criminology) after deferring it for a year. Then I have the honour of playing for my three beautiful basketball teams again. Will it be 4 in a row for the Wheelcats? A feat that has never been conquered before. Will the Western Stars be able to go one better and stop the Hills Hornets 7 year reign? The Gliders have been revamped with new staff. A fresh new look will be good for the Gliders. Western Stars coach John T has been appointed head coach and has Ben O and Matt D have been appointed assistant. No manager has been appointed yet but Im sure he or she will be able to get the job done. Though, having to put up with 12 - 16 girls would be a tough gig (snaps to Sonia who did an awesome job the past years). Lastly, a casual job may be on the horizon. Just to fill in what will already be a busy weekly schedual for me :)

Anyway, hope you all are having fun safe holidays.. if you havent already started working that is :)