I apologise for not posting for a few weeks but it has been a difficult few weeks where I’ve been in a lot of pain. I’ve not missed sessions but when I have not been at the gym or visiting therapists I have been resting to deal with the pain in my back and shoulders. I do not think it is a bad thing that pain at the moment as I can feel my body changing just a little bit. As I gain more strength in areas that are weak, the spasms in those areas particularly the shoulders are also getting stronger. I am hoping it is a phase that my shoulders need to go through to learn how to behave more like normal shoulders. I’m hoping this anyway but I will have to monitor it over the next month or so and will put up with the pain that comes with it.

It was great to celebrate my first birthday at home and not in hospital! The day itself was nothing special but we finished up with some local friends over who have been a great help since the accident happened. It was a very normal day that finished with a wonderful piece of chocolate cake.


Monica gave me the best present as you would expect which was a handle that sticks to a shower wall using suction. I had my first stand-up shower since the accident. Not only was it invigorating but it meant the shower took about 10 minutes less! So every second day now I no longer need to use the uncomfortable shower chair can avoid it altogether by standing up to be showered and dried before I get dressed. A small thing but a big change to the daily routine in terms of time usage. It also makes a difference with what I am trying to achieve to be able to stand up as much as possible.

I have also had a bar installed at home that I can stand up and hold onto. This allows me to do squats, leg raises and sideways leg movements and also stand-up to talk to people. It is really important that I do this to get my body used to standing for periods of time to improve blood pressure. As a part of this condition your blood pressure falls through the floor and you have to retrain your nervous system to get it back to normal levels. Of course it also allows Ashley to practice her ballet moves as shown in the photo.

Whilst I am making progress and need to keep encouraging myself to work every day to get better you can see it is not all beer and skittles. I am dealing with a lot of pain and you still get slapped in the face every day with what you can’t do. It is taking every ounce of my patience and determination to keep my head up and keep working every day to improve. Luckily there are people around me to help me out during periods when I feel down. My family and friends are my greatest blessing.

Keep well,

Mike.

If anyone wants to watch the video of Mike on Sunday Night, Channel 7 have the video on their website.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here for the link to Mike’s Project Walk Story on the Ch 7 website.

A Night With Mike
Preparations are well underway for “A Night With Mike”. This special fundraising event on Saturday 28 March includes Celebrity Speakers, triple World Triathlon Champion, Peter Robertson and four-time Olympic Medallist, Daniel Kowalski. A charity auction will also give you a chance to bid for some great sporting memorabilia. Read more here.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR INVITATION

The Entertainment Book is a restaurant and activity guide that provides special 25 to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers from many of the best restaurants, hotels and attractions throughout Australia. Entertainment Books are only available through fund-raising groups, organisations and corporations as a member benefit or fund-raiser. $13 from every book purchased will be donated to Mike’s program. For further details on the books, please refer to www.entertainmentbook.com.au. To purchase a book to benefit Mike, please contact Joanne Mortimore on jomortimore@optusnet.com.au or on 0411 722 772.

michaelforbes.org Cycling Jerseys and Knicks
You are invited to be a part of a unique fundraising experience to assist Michael Forbes, in conjunction with Cycling Australia. To help Mike achieve his initial goals and to provide funding for Mike’s rehabilitation, we have designed a “MichaelForbes.org” branded cycling kit, consisting of cycling knicks (bib and brace or shorts) and a jersey. These are now available for sale. RRP is $80 for jersey; $90 for knicks or $150 for a set. The kits are available in at CBD cycles stores in Melbourne city or Spoke(n) store in St Kilda or by contacting Monica – phone: 0408 164 482 or monica@michaelforbes.org if you can’t get to these locations.

After a whirlwind Christmas and New Year, we are starting to pack up things at Talbot to head home.

Official leave date is 21st January but Mike is very keen to have everything in place to leave next Friday…. I just see that as 3 less days to have the house ready! We will be home for a few weeks and then all being well (ie, Ashley’s passport coming thru) we will be off to Project Walk in the first or second week of Feb. The wonderful Anthony is looking at organising a big fundraising dinner when we get back at which hopefully Mike will be able to show off some new skills.

No posts recently because I have been attempting to get a passport for Ash which with a dad who can’t sign and a mum who was born in a remote village in Fiji and does not have a birth certificate has been proving challenging!!! I think the guys at our local post office deserve a medal in patience!! Hopefully the 4th attempt is sufficient and it will go thru OK this time! I have already told Mike that if it doesn’t he is off to the states himself!!

On the weekend we were able to establish that Mike definitely did not incur a brain injury as part of his accident. Being a nice day and all, we went for a ride with Chris and Jules and their little girl. Plan A was to try to get to North Point Cafe and the park there ….. we got there, the girls jumped off the bikes and we went off to play in the park – Mike looked at Degeers and they went off for a further spin to Brighton Baths – he came back puffing and blowing so obviously some effort was put in. THe 10km ride completely wiped him out and landed him in bed with light-headedness for the rest of the day which only served to prove that he is just as stupid when it comes to pushing himself as he was before the accident so tick – no brain injury! Thankfully there is no clock on my mountain bike so I have no idea how fast he was going but it was an OK pace for Jules and I to ride with kids on board, so it was faster than I had expected.

The ride was great and we will look at setting up a last Sunday in month type arrangement where who-ever is around can come for a spin. Initially probably just along the beach path to a park or cafe but over time we will start trying new bike paths.

Hope to see as many of you as possible before we head off in early Feb.

Finally, the wonderful folk at Supersprint are letting us do a raffle and some fundraising up at their Great Ocean and Otway classic ride. It is a 145km ride from Torquay, with a 65km support event on 28th March. We are expecting to be back from the states are are planning to get Mike down there …. was hoping they might run a 10km support event!! Log on to the supersprint website if you want more details or to enter – I just wish I was fit enough to contemplate it! Even if you don’t want to ride it, we will need some volunteers to help sell raffle tickets so think about heading down.

Talking to Mike over the last two days revealed lots is happening. Mon is busier than ever! Thursday saw the final fitting for Mike’s recumbent and what a thrill he had to find that the modifications enabled him to work the brakes and gears. His legs growing stronger can pedal the machine — not far yet but he is confident about them.

Mon is driving a hired vehicle now taking the pain out of waiting for maxi taxis that fail to arrive. Mike says that he will still be in Talbot for a while waiting for the paperwork that is required to ensure his ongoing care. He went home on Thursday night as he had no therapy to stay for on Friday. I have just finished reading ‘Walk with Me’ by Kevin Hitchcock, injured in 1991, sustaining a similar injury — C3-C4 vertebrae (one higher than Mike’s). It was such a parallel journey, where he writes of the importance of the devoted love provided by his family and friends that helped him through the toughest of times.

Moni’s tireless efforts for Mike, along with their supporting friends have played this enormous role for Mike. He has a long way to go but he has climbed many rungs of this interminable ladder and has been able to sustain a determined and positive attitude through it all. Mike’s acceptance, with grace, of what has happened, has played a large role in his ability to take joy from even the smallest of improvements in his condition. I have watched him work with his paralysed arms, hands and wrists with enduring patience, devising a way to conquer a task or part of it, on the way to greater independence. He allows himself to dream of what he will do in the future but has been careful not to let this take him into the land of wishful thinking.

As I read of the cases where people have made remarkable recoveries, one of the questionable elements is the role positive or negative that drugs play. Mike has been determined to limit his intake of drugs as he is convinced taking the pain also masks the feeling that he needs to regenerate the pathway to the brain. Most of the time he takes none but sometimes he has a short term run with anti-inflammatories and sometimes he has night medicine for spasms. I have no doubt the many sessions Mike has had from therapists — reflexologists, kinaesiologists, cranial-sacral and Feldenkrais — have played a huge role in helping him reach the degree of recovery he has made so far. As well, Mon’s determination to apply stretching exercises for him each day, have helped reduce the stiffness associated with the spasticity and immobility of Mike’s situation. Holistic medicine has much to offer.

My kindest regards for all that you do and the very best for Christmas/New Year

Lesley (Mike’s Mum)

Support Forbesy and grab a piece of sporting history
If you’re coming along to the Track World Cup sessions on Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights (Or even if you’re not), you can place your bid to take home one of these great sporting memorabilia items.

All items have Certificates of Authenticity, other than items 6 and 7.

These items will be sold via Silent Auction during the evening of Track World Cup sessions. If you can’t attend, please email your high bid for the item to Monica. The highest bidder on each item from those in attendance or from email pre-bids will win the item. All winning bids must be reach the Reserve Price.

Don’t miss out. Make your bid now!