In Memoriam: Judy's illness diagnosed

When my mother heard the bad news, she immediately decided to come and help us, and by the weekend she was staying with us. Over the weekend, Judy’s headache got worse; so much so that on Sunday afternoon we called the ambulance and she was whisked down to Whangarei to the Hospital a day early. They examined her quickly and, without losing any time, put her back in the ambulance to go to Auckland, with us following in the car.

 

One of the great things about that year was the massive support I had from the school. Whenever I needed to be in Auckland with Judy, the other teachers closed ranks and filled in for me. Those who taught Judy for those first weeks were especially supportive, as were Derek and Lynne Challis, and my colleagues in the English Department.

 

The surgeon at Auckland Hospital was Philip Wrightson, who was at that time the leading neurosurgeon in the country, and the founder of the Neurological Foundation. He explained very patiently that Judy has a tumour in a deep part of the brain. She was immediately started on medication, and recovered reasonably soon after that.

 After a few days we returned to Paihia and Judy went back to school. We realised that the flat was too small for us so I bought a three-bedroom house on Maori rental land in Puketona Road, where the route from Paihia to Kerikeri leaves the coast.

(Here she is at Pakuranga with her cousins and Uncle Stuart.) 

My memory of the exact dates of Judy’s deterioration is hazy now, but she had another stint in hospital about June, after which Mary came home with us to help look after her for a week or so.

While Judy was in hospital about this time, she had a course of radio-therapy. In those days this treatment was not focussed like it is nowadays, and the clinicians didn't know exctly which part of the inner brain was affected, so it was very much a hit-and-miss business.

I remember about this time watching her trying to knit a small garment for one of her cousins who was due to be born soon. Four times I counted her trying to put the needle into the loop of wool before she succeeded. Her body was slowly refusing to follow her instructions.

(In this photo Stuart and Catherine and the cousins have come to visit us in Paihia.)
 

And then one day we were drinking tea in the lounge, looking out at the water of the Bay, and the cup fell from her slack fingers and tea spilled everywhere. That was when I realised that I could no longer care for Judy. So we reluctantly returned to Auckland to be near the hospital, and when I could not stay with them, friends helped my mother care for Judy whenever she was out of hospital.