Robbie is Home.

BIG NEWS! One week ago, last Friday, Robbie left the hospital and walked through the doors of his and Sue’s home for the first time since entering the hospital on Sept 30. We are over the moon to have him home after almost seven weeks and excited for the next chapter of healing to begin.

The process to prep the house and get it ready for Robbie was no small undertaking. If you haven’t been to our parent’s home, just know it is on a steep street, with a long steep path leading to a fairly steep set of stairs...this all just to enter the living room...quite a challenge for someone who is recovering from a stroke. There were many things, big and small, that needed adjustment, fixing or to be installed before Robbie could come home. And there was a team – a mighty team – of friends and family that came out on November 9 (1 day after Robbie’s 60th and on Max’s 30th) to make it happen. A massive thank you to everyone who helped that day and in the days since getting the house ready for Robbie’s big welcome home...in no particular order: My three brothers (Max, Oscar and Cory), Mark & Stella Padbury, Keith & CJ London, Lance Schepps, Terry Chambers, Roberto Variale, Bob & Debbie Hayes, Greg & Carol Frachette, Cachou Wainer, Shane Gillispie, Jim Lino and our amazing mother, Sue. My apologies to anyone I missed.

Here’s what Max had to stay about that day:

“If you are going to have a stroke whilst living on a hill, make sure to first spend your life building enduring friendships with contractors and builders. As if the outpouring of love and support thus far wasn’t enough, this army of builders, supported by nurturing cooks, spent several days building a sturdy, aesthetic, yet low impact railing system from the street up a crooked path and flight of stairs to allow dad to walk himself in. My friend, Shane, joined us, and late in the afternoon Terry Chambers began explaining to Shane that this was in fact not a group of friends that had assembled, but a tribe. And I agree. It may have been my 30th birthday, but I would not have wanted to spend it doing anything else, or with anyone else. It was a beautiful community, closely connected, working seamlessly for a wonderful goal. It’s an incredible way to spend your time. I love our tribe.”

Indeed, we love our tribe!

In yet another show of love, as people learned of Robbie’s 60^th birthday on November 8, a delightful and unexpected array of Robbie’s friends, family and work mates showed up to the hospital. Joined by hospital staff they created a wonderful and impromptu celebration. We are looking forward to a planned gathering in the not too distant future where everyone who wasn’t there can get together and celebrate.

These two groups still only represent a fraction of those who have shown up in one way or another...through visits, emails, texts, donations. We are in constant awe of the community Robbie has amassed, all showing so much love. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We will never feel like we’ve said thank you enough.

As for Robbie’s progress, he’s come so far in his recovery and yet, there’s still so much more to do. He’s excited to be out of the hospital and allowed to sleep through the night without a nurse waking him up to check his vitals or some such. But this new phase will require even more work on Robbie’s side to make sure he keeps pushing himself. And he wants nothing less than a full recovery.

He absolutely loves visits. We still ask that everyone please email or call to make sure it is a good time, rather than just popping by...mostly because some days are a little more rigorous. I am unable to post the address here due to this site’s public access. But once again, please contact [email protected] and either Robbie or one of us will get back to you. We are still waiting for his confirmed schedule for his physical therapy sessions. Once we have this, we will distribute and ask that you plan to come by outside his PT time so that Robbie can focus on his recovery.

Finally, I (along with my brothers) want to just send a small, but significant moment of recognition to our mom, Sue. She’ll probably ask that I not post this, but she’s most deserving so I will anyway. Sorry mom. While all of us have spent the past 2 months rallying behind Robbie and showing so much love and support to him directly, she has quietly and steadily set herself up for a new life (hopefully temporary) to be a caretaker for the love of her life. She has always been the rock for our family and it’s no doubt that she has taken on her new role with so much grace and strength. She has not stopped for one day making sure Robbie is comfortable, taken care of and always with a partner in his journey; and all the while makes sure everyone else around her is okay too. This hasn’t been an easy task, but I think she makes it look that way. And with that, my brothers and I just wanted to take a moment to fully appreciate her and all that she’s done for Robbie and us. She’s the most amazing woman I know and hope that one day I can grow up to be just like her. I (we) love you mom!