To a Real Life Hero

Today is a very special day for several reasons.

• It’s six days till I return to work
• It’s Joe’s Ninth birthday, and
• It’s Lorna and my Eighth wedding anniversary

I mention all this because on this day, I want to pay special tribute, publicly, to a real life hero of mine.
If you know me, you’ll know that I love comic book heroes, in particular Batman for his unwavering pursuit of justice and doing the right thing, even if it’s wrong whilst all along respecting the sanctity of life. My favourite comic publishers, DC Comics (home of Batman, Superman and Green Lantern to name a few) are currently running a competition to find real heroes. The premiss is that you nominate your own hero by posting a short video stating why you think your champion should win. People vote, and the video with the most votes wins. I was going to enter until I read that the competition was only open to US citizens (not for the prizes, but to show my deep appreciation for my hero) . So instead, I thought I would show my appreciation like this.

Whilst my hero doesn’t stalk rooftops in a cape and cowl, or smash their fist into people’s face till they gets what they want, they do stand up for freedom, independence and justice. “Who is this wonderous paragon?”, you may ask. It is quite simply my beautiful wife, Lorna.

Since I become disabled with CRPS, Lorna has taken up the slack I have gradually let slip more and more in all areas in our family. She runs this unit as best she can with three dependants begging for her attention. She does all the housework (don’t let her fool you into believing she loves it), the shopping, the cleaning, the mending, the cooking, the bathing, the first aid, the refereeing between her two boys and me, the money management and the moral supporting whilst holding down a day job and making it look like she does nothing. There are times that I have to remember that she is running this family, not me, as I often think I am.

Some will say that all the above is ‘her job’ as wife and mother which, while not the description I would use, maybe true, but what she does on top of all this is care for me and Ashley. Although our little three-year old is growing and slowly becoming more and more independent, I am going the other way. Lorna has had to lift me off the toilet when my legs have decided to give up, out of the bath or off the floor when I have fainted and made sure I have a never-ending supply of tablets to control my CRPS. She has phoned me on a daily basis to make sure I am ok and to keep me company, she has been a shoulder to cry on and a voice of reason in my (many) darker moments. She has even paid through the nose (along with thousands of pounds from her parents) to make sure that my life is as comfortable as possible. We have bought an ever-increasing amount of mobility aids from walking sticks (singular, then plural), walking frames, wheelchairs, mobility scooter, perching stools, bath boards, softer clothes, comfier chairs and beds, numerous smaller aids and two cars big and soft enough to allow me to have a more comfortable life.

Not only has she done all this without uttering a single word of complaint, but she has done it all whilst battling her own health problems. Even when she has felt low, ill and just wanted to curl up in bed, she has made sure that both the boys and I were comfortable and content first. She has continued to be a mother, wife, lover, listener, confidante, carer, driver, Physio, butler, maid and cook.

These list of accomplishments and gushing praise pales in comparison to what Lorna has done for me, and I know I will, sadly, never be able to thank her or repay her enough for what she has done. So let me say now, publicly, with readers as my witnesses, that I love my wife, and declare her my ultimate real life hero.

Thank you Lorna, from the bottom of my heart. You have done for me more than you can imagine and I can only hope that your reward will be countless, if not in this life, then the next, and many more after.