18/02/2024
For those who know me and my battles you know that I don't shy away from what I deal with on a day to day basis. I am open, honest and above all realistic about my demons. And a lot of people tell me that I have guts for speaking about them. Well, I'm going to show you what real guts looks like.
The photos with my post are of my daughter, Tessa. She is going to be 12 in June. So when I first broke down she was three going on four. She watched her daddy get taken away in an ambulance a few times while we were trying to work out why I all of a sudden couldn't walk, struggle to feed myself etc.
Now for those of us at an age where we can appreciate what was going on, although traumatic, we get why it was happening and everything that went on with it. Now Aimee and I explained as best we could to a then nearly four year old what was happening. And at the time Tessa was ok with the explanation and kept going with her life.
However, in the past few weeks, it has become apparent that these events are revisiting a more mature mind. What takes guts is for a nearly 12 year old girl to come out and admit that she isn't coping, that the flashbacks and nightmares are getting the better of her.
I knew this day would come. It was going to happen. My breakdown was spectacular and traumatic for all of those around me. And I knew that sooner or later my kids would revisit and have to process everything that they saw during that time. Rohan did it a few years ago, but because he was older he was able to process and deal with it more easily and quickly.
Yes we are getting the help that Tessa needs. As soon as she came out and spoke to us, we got her off to the doctors for a referral and she has an appointment with a psychologist next week to start her healing process.
And the most important part is she has a couple of really close friends at school who are taking care of her and a family that has just jumped in the trenches with her. So to Astrid, Isabelle and the rest of our family, thank you for helping support our little girl.
To the staff at Hamilton North Primary School and especially principal Kellie Hatherell and her teacher Grace Murphy, thank you for understanding making sure that she gets the support and care at school as well.
