When Kenneth had his heart attack, I was working as a sole trading disability support worker at the time. I had just finished my shift and was heading home after finding 10missed calls and 6 text messages from our 2 older girls. Both stating ‘DAD IS NOT FEELING WELL AND WE ARE AT THE GYM, SHOULD WE CALL AN AMBULANCE’. I called them as soon as I saw the text and found that they had managed to get home (5min drive from the gym). Asked if their dad was ok and both said ‘yes, he said he was ok and the shower is making him feel better’.

Arrived at home and went to see him. Found him lying on the bed, kids surrounding him. He said “I’m ok, I think I just pushed myself too hard and too fast”. One look at him said it all – his colour was OFF (when you know you know). So, I told him we needed to go to the hospital just to be sure. Stubborn as he is he said ‘no, I’m ok, honestly I am’. That said, I went to get something to eat but told him we were going to the hospital as soon as I was done. 5mins into eating, Kenneth walks out into the lounge room, sits on the couch behind me saying he might need to go to the hospital after all. I got up immediately and off we went. During the drive he grabbed my hand saying “I feel light headed and am struggling to breathe” – this came in a calm and relaxed tone which was so unlike him – alarm bells went off in my head. I did all could to avoid stressing him further but picked up the speed down Queens road heading towards Logan Hospital.

Upon arrival we spoke to the triage nurse who stated ‘NO VISITORS’ were allowed to stay – at this point I noticed other families who were saying bye to each other, one staying at emergency and the rest leaving. I then recalled there was an outbreak at the PA Hospital which of course heightened the security measures that resulted in the ‘no visitors’ policy, understandably so. Kenneth who was out of sorts and starting to feel nauseated at this point was getting short with the nurse we were both talking to as we tried to give her all the info about why we were there and also reiterate the fact that he has had a heart attack before. Nurse took all the required information then advised us that I had to leave. Now this part had to be the single most hardest thing I have ever had to do. Seeing him struggle and fully aware that he was experiencing another heart attack. Our kids sitting at home not knowing what was going on with their dad as we told them he was going to the hospital just for a check up. Once again the nurse reminded me I had to leave so hugs and I love you’s were said before I left.

Feeling terrified & helpless I sat in the car and Prayed – pleaded with God to not take him just yet. We weren’t ready for that to happen. The drive to the hospital took 5mins, the drive home took an hour. Stopping just to pull myself together and plead with God again and again. Texted my father in-law, who lives with us, to let him know what was going on and also asked him not to say anything to the kids. I didn’t know what to tell them, hadn’t figured that part out yet. Once I got myself together again I drove the rest of the way home. All 4 kids were hanging out in one of the rooms which made it easy for me to sneak past to get to mine and just lay there in the dark.

Kenneth and I texted back and forth – it took the nurses a further 10mins to call him in for an ECG. As soon as they got the results, it was all hands-on deck due to the severity of the results – they gave him medication then called for an ambulance to take him to the PA Hospital for emergency keyhole surgery. The treating doctor spoke to me briefly to give me an update via Kenneth’s phone before they placed him in the ambulance.

At this point I knew I had to tell the kids. I dragged myself out of bed and walked to the room they were all in – the kids took one look at me and knew it was their dad but they all held their breath as I uttered the words before they broke down into tears. Texted my father in-law who had done the same as myself and hid in his own room with quiet tears – to give him an update regarding Kenneth’s status & the kids being made aware. He made his way upstairs – I let the kids know he was coming up and that he will need them just as much as they needed him, just as much as we all needed each other. So, as soon as he entered, he was embraced by all 4 kids. It is a night we will never forget. Silent prayers were sent up individually and everyone cuddled up together in the lounge room as we waited to hear from the hospital.

Kenneth managed to call before he went in for surgery just to say I love you to everyone – unbeknownst to us he had yelled at the doctors to allow him to make that call. We were left in the dark about this part, Kenneth made that call thinking that was going to be the last time he’d speak to us – only revealing the truth about how he felt at that moment, weeks after he came back home. Evidently, his keyhole surgery went well – he called as soon as he got back to his room during the wee hours of the morning. He was kept in the hospital for another 5Days before being discharged with a heart function of 34%. 

 He spent months TRYING to recover but things turned south with other parts of his life and we were left with nothing but my sole trading job to get us by. This was all new to Kenneth as he has always been our bread winner. To have to sit back and watch as I took on all shifts that came my way, working 2-3 shifts a day, sometimes 4 @ 7Days a week to keep our family afloat. The end goal for my sole trading was always to build a company. I needed one person to help me make that happen – Kenneth. He knew that too and so he sped up his recovery as much as he could and started to work the back end whilst I did all the floor work. Little by little things started to come together – we’ve hustled hard for the best part of a year and TOGETHER we built ELYSIAN. One could never have done it without the other.

Just as Kenneth is the Face of Elysian, I like to think I am the Heart and Soul 😊 As the saying goes “Just do your BEST and let GOD DO THE REST” – I truly believe HE made this happen for us. Everything that we’ve gone through, the GOOD, the BAD & the UGLY has been a Blessing in Disguise. All roads lead to Elysian.

The hustle continues and we have a Fantastic Team with us this time.

This is a story of Faith, Love, Resilience, Perseverance & the true value of FAMILY.