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Introduction | The Dream | Thanks | The Move | The Future | Thoughts
Kurrumin - Introduction
The Story of Kurrumin - as told by Judie Stephens......
On Saturday 27 November 1993 events happened that changed the fabric of our family and threw us into total disarray. My daughter Amanda and her husband Jay were killed, leaving behind three pre-school aged children: Matthew, 5 years old, David, 3 years old, and Jackson, 3 months. Matthew and David went to live with their paternal grandparents who wanted to provide for them a life that was as close as possible to normal and with the opportunity of being with their cousins and in their own environment. Jackson, the baby, sustained a closed-head injury at the time of the accident. It was said that he may not survive. He lost mobility, he was deaf and blind. And so, there was a long time at the hospital until he was 6 months old, with daily visiting and overnight stays and the challenge of putting things together.
Possibly the last thing on my mind was where we’d live. I lived alone in a comfortable suburban bungalow, 9 steps to go in, narrow doorways, lacking in lighting and in fact I was in the middle of major renovations. As a woman of 49, I built a spa in my kitchen and other things that would really suit my lifestyle.
On Friday 13 May 1994 Jackson came home to "Tree-Tops", thanks to the Sydney Children's Hospital who prescribed different pieces of furniture and seating solutions that would be of assistance. We lived there very happily for the first year or so. Then as Jackson was slowly and steadily improving it suddenly dawned upon me: it was dark - we needed more light; the doorways were narrow - Jackson had nowhere to walk in his walker. We put in a lift solution, but beside that there were steep and treacherous stairs that could cause an accident. There were many challenges.
Dare to dream - Dare to do
More information on some of the organisations mentioned in the Story of Kurrumin can be found below:
Lend Lease - http://www.lendlease.com.au
The Royal Blind Society - http://www.rbs.org.au
Introduction | The Dream | Thanks | The Move | The Future | Thoughts
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