My Brother Justin

Through all the goings on over the past couple of months, the biggest thing in my life right now has been the one thing I haven't been prepared to share online.

Many people will know that I have a very special younger brother named Justin, who was born with a host of physical and intellectual challenges, yet has in his 31 years defied all prognoses and expectations to become a strong, caring and independent chappy whom we all adore.

Jus as a baby underwent open heart surgery in New Zealand, and we've known ever since that one day he'd need further work. What we didn't know was that when his body needed attention, it would let us know by making him very sick very quickly. My cousin, who is a nurse, said that "it was literally as if someone flicked a switch in J's chest and he's gone downhill ever since". He passed out at college back in late March/early April and tests quickly showed that the heart valve replacement we'd dreaded was suddenly on the cards, along with a range of other repairs. Within weeks his doctor banned him from college and using public transport and even a simple flight of stairs was sometimes too much. It seemed that every test result brought more disconcerting news.

We were all extremely anxious - and for my other brother, in Japan, and me, being so far away from home was just the pitts. The day we heard that a date was set for surgery, and that his surgeon was a chap with excellent credentials, who specialised in 'dodgy hearts that've been fixed before and need more work', I sat at my keyboard and sobbed with relief.

So Jus had surgery on June 4 (small preparatory thing, which didn't actually go to plan, and freaked us out all over again), followed by 'the big one' on the 12th. To date, it seems to have gone REALLY well. He was out of intensive care after less than 2 days, half a day ahead of schedule, and has continued to come on in leaps and bounds.

I spoke to him for the first time yesterday, and he was pretty dopey, but morphine will do that - and after open heart surgery, morph or similar is in much demand!! He'll be in hospital for much of next week, then home to Mums to recuperate some more. If all goes well he'll be back at TAFE (college) within 3 months.

I'm amazed at what doctors can do to patch up bodies that weren't quite put together according to the manual. For the record, Dr TH Goh (J's cardiologist since he was a baby) and his surgeon, Mr Peter Skillington, deserve medals, along with all the nursing staff at Epworth Hospital, Melbourne.

Just as awe-inspiring is Justin's courage - he's managed to stay incredibly strong and upbeat, even when some of his test results were pretty awful and so much was uncertain. The day he told me he was "okay, but a bit nervous, because I know that something might go wrong and I might die" near broke my heart.

Those days already seem a distant memory and we look forward to more good news in the coming days and weeks. Family have flown in from Japan, Perth and all over to be with him, and their support has been immeasurable. Our parents, who have each been through so much before, have yet again been bastions of support.

To all of you who have offered me - and Jus - your support, thoughts and prayers - especially folk here in Oxford - I can never thank you enough.