Wrinkles of time
“The wrinkles of time haven’t changed the beautiful memories of youth”
This weekend we spent time with Grannie Gardiner’s family under the auspice of Uncle Matt’s 70th birthday in December. Six of the eight surviving siblings of the Vujcich clan were present, with representation from across Aotearoa covering three generations. We were fortunate we had Molly https://photographybymolly72.mypixieset.com/ to record the gathering on film (courtesy of a voucher from Sam and Caitlyn for Christmas). I took a couple of pics on my cell phone but we await with excitement the better quality photos from Molly. I was very impressed with her patience as we rotated around the smaller family groups, and would recommend her to anyone wishing to capture a special moment. I enjoyed watching Grannie with her ‘original’ family. The passing of time is evident in their grey hair and lined faces but it is easy to see past this to their individuality and connection. It was very moving.
The school holidays are rolling by. We haven’t gone away on ‘holiday’ but instead enjoyed several one day tramps, including to two new locations (there aren’t many of these left!), a day trip to Whanganui and building a smoke house with Sam. Colt has enjoyed hanging out with his mates. On the 6th of January we returned to work and Rory resumed his normal activities. This week Rory had a zoom clinic appointment with ENT surgeon Dr Mel in Christchurch to discuss the situation with his right cochlear implant. The receiver and magnet implanted under the skin are now jammed against the external processor over his ear. The implant may have moved due to ageing (he was 15 when he received it), because the skin is thin from radiotherapy, or some other unknown reason. The ongoing pressure and friction could cause a breakdown of the skin of the scalp which could get infected. The implant could become exposed threatening his hearing on the right side. The situation needs to be resolved. We have tentatively booked surgery to reposition the receiver and magnet in May.