• There are good moments

    Whilst Ian is tackling a traumatic experience, he does have good moments and there have also been some very special times. His brother-in-law and wife visited in March and his daughter and grandson, Jennie and Joshua visitied in April. Ian’s Niece and nephew popped in and then Leanne came to visit followed by Mark &…

  • Grateful for assistance

    Ian has lost the avbility of his legs to stand/walk. This has meant that Fiona has had to physically move him using a transfer board and sheets and pulling on his clothing. He also battles to swallow so a simple thing like swallowing saliva is not so simple any more. It’s been a tough time…

  • Communication

    Some of you may have noticed that Ian does not communicate as much as he used to. Using his fingers is a struggle, his left thumb is more nimble than any other finger and even that, is difficult. Sending WhatsApp messages take much effort so if you get something from Ian, know he’s made the…

  • Where it all began

    ***After going for numerous tests it was still unclear why Ian’s right arm was so weak, especially since he had no pain, no pins and needles in his arm or fingers and in that, he is right-handed. During these tests, Drs found prostate cancer and he was fast-tracked on hormone treatment and after a scraping,…

  • Keeping calm

    The progression is always at play but keeping calm is not always easy. For example, as the muscles in Ian’s tongue and throat change shape and/or weaken swallowing and speaking becomes more of an effort than it was. Water on its own can be dangerous and cause Ian to choke, but water with a bit…

  • Raising funds again

    Joshua, Ian’s grandson joined Laura (previous Ian en ander champion) and Pieter, Ian’s son-in-law at a relay mountain bike event in Sabie. They rode 7km in relay to raise funds for Ian.  A sponsor came forward for their team. Team Brakanjan rode for 2hrs20 and did very well! They had completed 7 laps by then. …