Spokes

Baie dankie vir almal wat besorg was en goeie wense gestuur het!! Dit beteken vir my baie!! Ek is gister (Saterdag) ontslaan nadat ek Dinsdag aand opgeneem was. Ongelukkig ..of gelukkig kan ek niks van die val onthou nie.. ook nie van die stabilisering of die rit in die ambulans nie.. Ek kan eers weer onthou van toe ek in die ER was. Ek wil graag vir Chris Basson en Ronelle, Aneen, Amanda en almal wat gehelp het om my goed by mekaar te kry en my by die hospitaal te kry n' groot dankie te s?!! Baie dankie ook aan die Ambulans personeel by die baan!!! Ronelle verdien 'Engel-status' vir wat sy gedoen het!! Sy was die hele tyd by my in die ER om te sorg dat die mense wat die Xtrale en 'scan' doen, en die dokters my nie rof hanteer nie en dalk my nek beseer nie!! Ronelle is duidelik my beskerm-engel! Baie dankie Ronelle!!! Chris, my pa en broer was ook die hele tyd daar. Ek dink hulle is eers teen 3:00 die oggend weg, toe ek in die saal was. Nou is dit net vir beter word en die telleurstelling van die val oorkom. Die breinbloeding was OK en kon hulle toe my sleutelbeen opereer en herstel met skroefies en plaatjies. Die gebreekte ribbes en spiere sal maar self moet rekom. Soos in die Terminator... "I'll be back" !! Weereens baie dankie ann almal! Riaan

Jip.. nothing that's not part of a track bike, built in, or that might come loose during racing, is allowed. At local racing events the officials are more leanient. There are too few compettiters... if they start doing bike-checks like in the past, there would probably only be one or two guys allowed to race Giving away my age here... but... 25 - 30 years ago there would be bike-checks at every event. They would check that your tubbies are propperly glued, handlebars doesn't move, chain is not too loose so that it doesn't come off in the race etc. The guys would stand in line waiting for their bikes to be checked. Ps. Great photos you guys!!!! Nice seeing you there again Ronelle!!

Hallo daar ou Grote!! Dog ek vra maar hoe dit daar by die huis gaan.. Kan Nats darem nou al weer praat?? Met ons laaste kommunikasie gister het dit so bietjie sukkelrig gegaan. Actually I also wrote to thank some people for their contrabutions to the fund. Thanks First Ascent SA (can't remember if I thanked you previously), Naas Vermaak (thanks Naas) and ABSA (interest on account)!!! Thanks guys, now that Franna is home the bills are coming in thick and fast. By the way, ek hoop daai pynpille is vrekken sterk (soos klein Ben sal s?) vir daai prys!! Cheers vir eers.

Hoezit Poepol!!.... nou dat jy self jou eie een kan afvee... Ag maar dis lekker om jou so regop te sien!! Hoe gaan dit met die gate in jou kop waar die traksie was? Is dit al beter of is daar nog infeksie? Nou dat jy jou vlooiband aanhet kan jy darem seker jou hare laat was!? Ek wil maar net weer dankie se en noem dat, danksy alma lse liefde, ondersteuning, gebede en bydraes is die ''road to recovery'' meer draaglik. Ek wil maar ook net 'n beroep op julle outjies doen om nie nou op te hou met julle bydraes nie asb. As daai rekeninge eers begin kom, sal die fonds gou-gou uitgeput word. Thanx again!! Nou maar laat ek eers weer bietjie werk doen.... Goed gaan Ou Grote!!!

Dis fantastiese nuus vir jou 'recovery', maar jy beter flippenwill stil l?!!! Ek hoop jou nek word darem in die tussentyd met iets anders gestut dat jy nie sommer jou nek draai nie!? L? stil!! tot hulle daai vlooiband om jou nek kom sit...

Gestuur meneer.... kyk maar of jy die foto gepos kry! Hoop jy kry bietjie rus vanaand. Cheers

Lyk my oom Hendrik is nie al een wat nie vandag 'n foto gelaai kry op die hub nie.. Ek het gister, op pad terug van Knysna af, 'n mooi kiekie geneem van die hele kontrepsie by Franna se bed. Als is daar... die tv, laptop, spie?ls, specialised waterbottelhouer, airfreshener en laaste maar nei die minste nie, 'n pragtige foto van die hele Esterhuizen gesinnetjie. Die foto is geneem op hul troudag en agterop het die kinders 'n almanak gemaak waarop hulle die dae wat Franna in die hospitaal is, afmerk. Die Orthotis was by Franna vandag om afmetings te neem vir die harde "collar". Hopelik kan dit so oor 'n week of so gebruik word. Dit sal met die beweeglikheid help. Just also another few thank-you's: WW got hurt in the process of setting out the route for the Nandos/ Willow Creek MTB challenge and thus couldn't complete the job... But he still received the fee he was offered and thanks to all the participants in that race Franna received an extra R1000.00 paid to him directly. Big Boy also made a contribution to the fund.. thanks. With all these deposits and the kindness of the Worcester Roundtable the account is standing at R31650.00 For everyone that has contributed, please give yourself a pat on the back!!! The neckbrace will not be covered by the hospital plan and that will be the first of many accounts to be paid.... so, the fund needs to keep growing. If there are people out there that has some innovative fundraising ideas, please let us hear it. This is not my stongpoint.. Nice meeting you yesterday Oliveboy! Hey Franna hoe gaan dit met Nats en die Bronchites? Oorwin sy darem die kiem?? Sterkte daar!! Spokes2009-07-07 12:50:26

Net goeie nuus vandag. Gisteraand het Francois BAIE pyn na die operasie gehad, maar vandag is dinge baie beter. Die "contraption" is opgeslaan danksy die shopfitters van PA Venter op Worcester. Nou kan ons sommer direk met die ''main konyn gesels! HOEZIT POEPOL!!! Welkom op die die Hub FRANNA!!!'' Die rekening het ook nog 'n bydrae ontvang van INVSTC PB en staan vanoggend op R21150.00. Baie dankie mense!!! Spokes2009-07-03 01:57:13

That was such a great initiative!! Thank you Hendrik !!! I understand that the cheque will be made out in Francois's name and therefor will not reflect on the account that I report on from time to time. Thank you Hendrik for also helping to get that Opus MTB back. That bike will shortly be delivered to patham, who then becomes the proud new owner of this mean machine!! Francois is in for the operation on his elbow at the moment. Hope everything goes well Franna. Thank you M. Laubscher for your contribution to the account! I will be off to Knysna tomorrow, so will see how the reporting goes!! Everyone driving there... drive safely and enjoy the weekend.

OK, here's another update... Tomorrow Franna is going in for another operation to his elbow. Last week they fixed his elbow with screws and stuff, but the swelling prohibited them from attaching the torn ligaments. So that will be fixed when they operate to remove a little piece of bone that is lodged in the joint. Then when he awakes ... or on Sat morning... he will have a contraption next to him with a laptop mounted in. Can't wait to see how it will work!!! When I spoke to Franna today he again said how deep everybody's willingness to help has touched them... I also want to mention the commitment of Natasha.. She has been there for Francois morning ,noon and night. Keeping him company, massaging his back and legs when it gets sore, washing and cleaning him, looking after the children, the household, the business ect. You are doing a great job Nats!!! Slanhoek Kelder has also made a donation and then there is also more pledges to come in. I will make mention of that when it materialises. The fund has now broken through and is standing at R20 150.00 Francois also mentioned that his Merida MTB is up for sale.. When I have details, I will post it. Think of Fran tomorrow!! Cheers vir eers.

Franna is doing well. He did his Gym-workout this afternoon and built up quite a sweat...... just kidding... but we were joking about him having a ''six pack'' and muscular right arm by the time he gets out of hospital. He is doing Isometric excercises and uses a dumbell for his right arm. Then when he comes out of hospital and has lost all that muscle weight (like Lance Armstrong) he will make his comeback!! Franna is taking it day by day, working towards achieving short term goals in the mean time. Just a quick note on where we stand with the fund for Franna's rehab. I just checked and the fund is currently standing at R19650.00 and growing. This is thanks to some more kindness that has come in from Wilfred Schwabe, Bez Bezuidenhout, Tygerberg MTB Club, Stefano, Slowpoke and MDK555!!! Thank you for the your good hearts!!

@Daloco Sounds like you are an IT engineer type guy. Sorry to hear about your cousin. Did he recover at all? Francois was ''man-handled'' by some new night-staff training nurse/s last night and his neck got hurt in the process. How the (....) can they let trainee nurses handle a special needs patient without the assistance of a propperly trained nurse?? Thank goodness he is OK. On the technical laptop-mounting side of things... the enginering company building the contraption said that they might have something ready by next week... will keep you posted. In the meantime Natasha holds the laptop up so that he can see whats going on.... She'll develop some big muscles for a tiny girl if she's not carefull. The fund for Franna is standing at R17850.00 at the moment. That will be pushed to over R18 000.00 with the donation that Wallee made and the cheque we received from Mr. Piet Carstens (a former employer of Natasha). Thanks guys! There can also be a nice boost to the fund from this weekends race... Please support the Willow Creek MTB race in Worcester!! Regards

Thanks Colonel and Ronelle .. I do not know what the arrangements is and cannot speak for kjind, but I did speak to Natasha and Franscois today and aparrently there were someone there today to do measurements and devise a plan for mounting the laptop in front of Francois. Martinette who is a friend and occupational therapist was also involved in the planning... this is all I know for now. It is so great to see how people can get together and offer assistance in times of need, so thanks again for your offer. Today Francois had quite a bit of visitors, and he was again in good spirit. The nurses warned him though that they are not going to allow so many visitors if he doesn't keep still... because then they have to sit with his complaining in the evening

Sorry Ronelle ... jy't die verkeerde foto daar.... Ek het die SA's gery, maar dis 'n race waaroor ek nog baie ongelukkig is met myself!!! Jy moet maar kom kuier, ek sal vir jou 'n koffie koop!? Some more feedback: Thanks also to Michael Ings who's contribution helped the account grow! It is currently standing at R15 700.00 There is still a long way to go, but every bit is much appreciated !!! Francois is doing great while he is on his "happy juice"... but he gets a bit crancky when the pain returns during the night... Please keep routing for him!!