Tony's 60th

Damien's Dad Tony having MS for the past 12+ years hasn't been able to do much with his days. The once pilot and socialite is now living in high care in a nursing home with a lot of elderly people with dementia. I has started massaging his every Tuesday just as a chance to visit and help in any way. I think he just likes anyone coming to visit. He does have 2 carers who take him out every day to lunch or the cinema. Otherwise he fills the days by listening to the radio, watching TV, sunbaking, sleeping etc.

His old plane

So for this 60th he wanted a big party, and organised the coro club to celebrate. The family came down, ie his brother David and his kids, Lisa etc for a lunch and drinks. Then kicked on at Blumer ave. Most of the family had already come down to visit a few months ago after a scare of Tony ending up in hospital with sepsis. We all thought it was going to be 'it' and was very scary. However he pulled through with a large dose of antibiotics (which according to his end of life plan was not to be administered in the first place). We are now calling this the practice run, morbid I know but its easier to joke about it. Pa was down from Jervis Bay!! A huge journey. We stayed up late listening to him tell stories of escaping the war and his life with the Nazis compered to moving to Australia where he felt he got less respect and wanted to move back to Germany!! He worked bilding a concentration camp in Germany, yes it was Auschwitz, and then worked on a pineapple farm in Queensland earning next to no money, not even enough to buy a shirt. Was great to hear his story and eye opening to hear a story from the other side of the fence. Pa actually built the house we are in now and was a hilarious moment when he went to leave down the side of the house in the dark, when we all said watch that step there, and he said "I know theres a bloody step there i put it there'...

At the 60th Tony was given a gift from his old Areo Club mates to go for a ride in the plane, organised for the following day. We all met up at the areo club and with a lot of man power lifted him into the plane! He went up and back twice to take the 2 trips with everyone. It really was the best present for him and one to go down in history.

Ready to fly

Was a tight squeeze

 

Very tight squeeze

He had this smile on his face all weekend!!!

Getting out

The Crew

The Areo club guys