Blog No. 275 – Canberra in 1970, Part 3 – 12 June 2025

My purpose is to give hope to those who have lost hope. Without hope, we remain lost in the Shadow Lands.

****

If I had not successfully endured the multiple calamities that happened in Canberra, I would have never had the joy of meeting my granddaughter Evelyn nearly 40 years later.

In 1970, Evelyn’s grandmother and grandfather survived through sheer grit and a refusal to give up.

Although my brand new career as a public servant did not look at all promising, I refused to give up; my family depended on me.

****

My granddaughter Evelyn was christened on the 17th of April 2010.  She was still so tiny after her premature birth.

****

Another photo of Evelyn’s christening in 2010.

****

Another photo of my extraordinary granddaughter Evelyn; she was one year old when this was taken.

****

[Untitled, by John Hankin] Where is the box where I buried my heart? Have I buried so deep it is gone forever? Will I ever feel whole again? Will I always feel this empty inside? How do I heal my lost heart  It is shattered into tiny pieces. Will I ever see her again? There is only one quality that helps us all heal. Give Love Always

****

To do the impossible, we have to keep going when “common sense” says give up.

****

Go with a clear, open and receptive spirit, and the universe will not treat you badly.

****

Extract from Travelling to Mykonos John Hankin (8 June 2013) The hydrofoil struts sang their melody, Sometimes a high pitched flute, Sometimes a ringing bell. At other times, they were almost an electric piano. The repetitive loop music of the struts continuously intoned its repertoire. "Ah, ah, ha, ha." "Ah, ah, ha, ha." Accompanying the hydrofoil struts were the members of the water choir. The waves smacked at the vessel as the catamaran cut across the sea. "Thump, thump, thump." The engines steadily throbbed. The television droned persistently. Passengers chattered. The body of the boat cracked as it bounced off the water. The windows were continuously streaked with salt, Blurring the outside world. A world where islands constantly paraded. Islands that were bereft of any lush green. Islands that contented themselves with streaks and patches of greenish tinges. Tinges that were mostly devoid of trees. Onwards the catamaran plunged.

Accept what is and keep moving.  Swallow events as they happen and keep moving.

Nothing else offers hope of survival.

****

Australian now has a health system that guarantees payment of a major portion of all medical procedures, but Medicare only started in 1975.

Before Medicare, health treatment was a luxury.  This meant I rarely saw a doctor when I was a child.

After we got to Canberra, it dawned on me that if my child was going to be born safely, I needed to get health insurance.  Without health insurance, we would never be allowed into any hospital.

So, I decided to get health insurance.

Luckily I took my obviously pregnant wife with me when I went to get our health insurance.

Another piece of luck was that computers did not exist in 1970.

With computers everywhere, what happened that day in 1970 could not happen today.

****

We turned up at the shop selling health insurance and I said I wanted health insurance because my wife was having a baby. 

The woman who served us asked if I had health insurance in Victoria and I said “no”. 

A frown crossed her face when I said neither of us had ever had health insurance.

I had no idea why she was asking me these questions

I had never heard of waiting periods for health insurance

I knew nothing about pre-existing conditions.

My family never had health insurance when I grew up

We never went to a doctor or a hospital.

The lady at the health insurance shop, frowned again for a moment and said she would backdate our insurance to a date one month before my wife had become pregnant, but warned us we would have to pay the premiums for the whole period.

It was not until we got back to our flat that I realised the significance of what she had done.  

Without the backdating, our medical bills for the childbirth would not be covered by insurance.

****

Neither of us knew it then, but the health insurance lady had done us a much bigger favour that we could possibly have known that day.

Geneieve was hospitalized for two weeks within days of Chris being born and she nearly died.  She most definitely would have died if we had not had proof we could pay the medical bills to save her life.

****

There were so many reasons why I should have panicked after I began living in Canberra.  If I had panicked, Genevieve would certainly have died and Chris’s welfare would have hung in the balance.

Whatever you do, do not panic.

Add meaning to your life by acting with purpose.

When you add meaning to your life, the way out of the terrible situations becomes clearer.

****

I will tell you more tomorrow.