Fight For My Dad
Donation protected
My dad Kevin Hitchcock is my best friend and I desperately need help to prevent him going into a nursing home before his time.
In 1991, when I was just five weeks old, Dad broke his neck in a diving accident and was told he would be a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. This traumatic experience brought an end to his career as an award-winning journalist.
Being an active person and a fitness fanatic, Dad refused to accept he would never walk again and with a special rehabilitation regime and sheer determination he defied the odds and slowly regained the use of his legs and later his arms and hands.
As I was growing up we progressed together - learning to crawl together, taking our first steps together and through this long experience we became extremely close. I was very protective, insisting on holding his hand everywhere we went thinking I’d be able to prevent him from falling over.
Dad’s struggle was not only physically hard but very emotional which put a lot of pressure on Mum. With an older brother and sister Mum looked after all four of us. Eventually, when I was eight years old, it all became too much and their marriage failed. Sadly, Mum moved away and what made it harder was that by this time my brother, Denham, was working overseas and my sister, Kelly, had a job in the city.
So it was just Dad and me left on our small hobby farm.
From that day forward Dad raised me on his own, dealing with all that comes with raising a young girl - the tears, tantrums and school yard dramas. To me, he seemed to handle everything I threw at him without flinching.
He was, and still is the first person I ask for advice, the first person I call with good news, the first person I go to when I need a hug and the only person I constantly worry about.
Being raised by my Dad, I inherited a lot of his good qualities and some not so good. I believe I’m strong and independent but also stubborn or as Dad would say, “determined and resolute”.
The most important thing I learnt from my dad was to never give up, to set your goals and keep trying even when things seem impossible.
Eventually, I left home to study and work so Dad moved into his own unit where he has managed to live independently with home help services.
Unfortunately, he has developed a terrible condition called syringomyelia which is slowly turning him back into a full quadriplegic. At first he lost the use of his legs and now he is beginning to lose the use of his arms and hands. He suffers from debilitating seizures, lengthy blackouts and endures many other medical complications. There are no further surgical treatments available that can assist him. His new condition also includes hypersensitivity which means all the nerve endings in his body are constantly on fire, causing him constant pain.
I am now watching the man who has given me everything in life, slowly have his life and what little independence he has left, taken away.
Dad is now in an electric wheelchair, is hoisted in and out of bed and can't travel any distance. He is confined to his unit and a few local cafes.
Denham has been a massive help, to both Dad and I, always being supportive and helping with large bills and expenses where he can. We both help Dad as much as possible (or as much as he will let us) but he is proudly independent and his one rule is that we have to live our own lives too.
Dad’s living costs include expensive medical supplies, a long list of medications, regular taxi fares to hospital, unit strata fees, building levies and home delivered frozen meals. These expenses aren’t covered by his disability pension alone and won’t be covered by the NDIS.
Few people understand the true costs of living in the community with quadriplegia and Dad has done this for 17 years. He has only survived thanks to a registered charitable appeal fund. It was set up by former work colleagues and close friends and is overseen on a pro bono basis by a firm of accountants. Money was donated at a variety of events where Dad would give inspirational speeches. He is no longer physically or mentally able to take part in these events and, sadly, the fund is now exhausted.
After reviewing his budget together, Dad and Denham discovered he will need around $8,000 a year (on top of his pension) to remain in his own home. This is just too much for our small family to cover in the long term.
Money problems cause Dad anxiety and depression and it's the one thing where I’m not in a position to help.
Dad is now 65 and terrified of being forced to sell his home and go into a nursing home but I’m fighting to keep him at home for as long as humanly possible. He deserves to stay where he is with twice daily visiting carers who look after him, the people on his street who know him and his family and friends who love him.
There’s nothing I could ever do to show my dad the appreciation I have for the life he’s given me.
So I am asking you to please help me to give my beautiful dad, my best friend, the dignified life that he deserves as an independent person, in his own home for as long as possible.
Thank you,
Kirralyn
**Any donation large or small will be forwarded through his registered and independently administered appeal fund.
In 1991, when I was just five weeks old, Dad broke his neck in a diving accident and was told he would be a quadriplegic in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. This traumatic experience brought an end to his career as an award-winning journalist.
Being an active person and a fitness fanatic, Dad refused to accept he would never walk again and with a special rehabilitation regime and sheer determination he defied the odds and slowly regained the use of his legs and later his arms and hands.
As I was growing up we progressed together - learning to crawl together, taking our first steps together and through this long experience we became extremely close. I was very protective, insisting on holding his hand everywhere we went thinking I’d be able to prevent him from falling over.
Dad’s struggle was not only physically hard but very emotional which put a lot of pressure on Mum. With an older brother and sister Mum looked after all four of us. Eventually, when I was eight years old, it all became too much and their marriage failed. Sadly, Mum moved away and what made it harder was that by this time my brother, Denham, was working overseas and my sister, Kelly, had a job in the city.
So it was just Dad and me left on our small hobby farm.
From that day forward Dad raised me on his own, dealing with all that comes with raising a young girl - the tears, tantrums and school yard dramas. To me, he seemed to handle everything I threw at him without flinching.
He was, and still is the first person I ask for advice, the first person I call with good news, the first person I go to when I need a hug and the only person I constantly worry about.
Being raised by my Dad, I inherited a lot of his good qualities and some not so good. I believe I’m strong and independent but also stubborn or as Dad would say, “determined and resolute”.
The most important thing I learnt from my dad was to never give up, to set your goals and keep trying even when things seem impossible.
Eventually, I left home to study and work so Dad moved into his own unit where he has managed to live independently with home help services.
Unfortunately, he has developed a terrible condition called syringomyelia which is slowly turning him back into a full quadriplegic. At first he lost the use of his legs and now he is beginning to lose the use of his arms and hands. He suffers from debilitating seizures, lengthy blackouts and endures many other medical complications. There are no further surgical treatments available that can assist him. His new condition also includes hypersensitivity which means all the nerve endings in his body are constantly on fire, causing him constant pain.
I am now watching the man who has given me everything in life, slowly have his life and what little independence he has left, taken away.
Dad is now in an electric wheelchair, is hoisted in and out of bed and can't travel any distance. He is confined to his unit and a few local cafes.
Denham has been a massive help, to both Dad and I, always being supportive and helping with large bills and expenses where he can. We both help Dad as much as possible (or as much as he will let us) but he is proudly independent and his one rule is that we have to live our own lives too.
Dad’s living costs include expensive medical supplies, a long list of medications, regular taxi fares to hospital, unit strata fees, building levies and home delivered frozen meals. These expenses aren’t covered by his disability pension alone and won’t be covered by the NDIS.
Few people understand the true costs of living in the community with quadriplegia and Dad has done this for 17 years. He has only survived thanks to a registered charitable appeal fund. It was set up by former work colleagues and close friends and is overseen on a pro bono basis by a firm of accountants. Money was donated at a variety of events where Dad would give inspirational speeches. He is no longer physically or mentally able to take part in these events and, sadly, the fund is now exhausted.
After reviewing his budget together, Dad and Denham discovered he will need around $8,000 a year (on top of his pension) to remain in his own home. This is just too much for our small family to cover in the long term.
Money problems cause Dad anxiety and depression and it's the one thing where I’m not in a position to help.
Dad is now 65 and terrified of being forced to sell his home and go into a nursing home but I’m fighting to keep him at home for as long as humanly possible. He deserves to stay where he is with twice daily visiting carers who look after him, the people on his street who know him and his family and friends who love him.
There’s nothing I could ever do to show my dad the appreciation I have for the life he’s given me.
So I am asking you to please help me to give my beautiful dad, my best friend, the dignified life that he deserves as an independent person, in his own home for as long as possible.
Thank you,
Kirralyn
**Any donation large or small will be forwarded through his registered and independently administered appeal fund.
Organizer
Kirralyn Hitchcock
Organizer
Manly, NSW