Days 58-68, vanlife,16-25 March, heading home
Well the best laid plans of mice and men don't always work out. Our plan was to head south visiting several lakes deep in Fiordland we had not previously visited. Late on the 16th of March, after a quiet day in Lake Manapouri and the day before we were to head off grid, I received a call from my girlfriend in Nelson who had popped round to see mum. Mum had fallen and they were awaiting an ambulance. I quickly booked a flight to Nelson for early the next morning and we hit the road toward Queenstown, arriving late to our lakeside freedom camping spot about 30 minutes south of the airport.
We parked up and I fielded some very worried calls from the emergency department as they struggled to stabilize mum. She had fractured her hip and hit her head and they were struggling to get her blood pressure under control. Fortunately, by morning she was stable and I was able to board the plane with some relief.
On arrival into Nelson, I went straight to the hospital where we spent 2 days waiting for surgery, trying to keep mum comfortable. Fast forward a week and she has recovered well physically but is still confused and forgetful. We are working to arrange more care for her when she is discharged with some success.
Tomorrow I fly back to Queenstown and Gordon and I will drive back to Nelson together to support mum over the next few weeks to recover and get the long term care she needs. I am also doing some short term work for my employer a few hours a week to help them out.
The good news is that on April 18th, Gordon and I start our next adventure. We are very excited to share that we are heading to Samoa in the Pacific Islands for 6 weeks to do some volunteer work and cycle touring. We can't wait!
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