16… where it all began.

It was late November. Ben was about to finish secondary school to begin his panel beating apprenticeship, and I had just finished year 11.

We were introduced by a mutual friend by complete accident! Ben was meant to be at school, but decided he’d had enough and headed home early. I had already finished for the year and was hanging out with a friend and his mate for the day.

Our friend, who was later the groomsman in our wedding, introduced us. Ben was very quiet, and I was, well… not! We seemed to be complete opposites, but there was something there.

We met again a week later and exchanged numbers. From there, the “getting to know each other” phase started. We didn’t live close, so seeing each other meant that we relied on our friend who was already driving, public transport and our parents.

We quickly became inseparable. If we weren’t together in person, we would talk on the phone until one of us fell asleep.

In January the following year, Ben began his apprenticeship and I started year 12. It was a pretty big year for both of us and we supported each other through the good times, and the not so good ones as well.

At my year twelve graduation, Ben was in the crowd, once again, showing his unwavering support for me. I remember looking at him from the stage and thinking to myself that I was going to marry him one day.

In 2008, I did just that!

We had moved out together earlier that year and life was good. By this stage, I had completed my tertiary study and we were both working full time. We would spontaneously head away camping for the weekend with nothing but a tent, sleeping bag, a fishing rod and a few beers.

We were married at Edwards Lake and later had our reception at a small country pub. The simple life was what we both loved, and an all out lavish wedding was just not something we wanted. We had the most amazing day!

We were ready to start our family. We already had two blue tongue lizards, but decided it was time for a dog. Enter Cody! He was our first staffy and we were in love! Three months later, staffy number two, Leah came into our lives, and our hearts.

We had been trying for a baby and, like so many, we were struggling. We had seen the doctor and tried all the tricks in the book, but still no luck. I had arranged an appointment with the fertility specialists to see what our options were. The week before the appointment, I was very nauseas and tired. Every test was negative! Disappointment overwhelmed us both. Two days before the appointment, I decided to test again. It was positive!!

After a rough pregnancy and complicated birth, we welcomed our first baby boy, Paxton. Eighteen months later, our beautiful daughter, Lillie was born. We had the pigeon pair, but our hearts had room for one more. Lillie had just turned two and we decided it was time. Unlike before, we had absolutely no trouble falling pregnant! Nine months later, we were over the moon when our baby boy, Hudson was born. Our family was complete.

We’d moved around a few times, and even lived in Bendigo for a little while before returning to Melbourne.

Our lives were turned upside down when our little lady was diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth 1A on Christmas eve of 2012. CMT is a neuromuscular disorder that affects the peripheral nerves and muscles causing pain, fatigue, weakness and muscle atrophy. As CMT is a genetic disorder, both Ben and I were tested, as was Pax. Hudson hadn’t been born yet, but was tested at birth. To our utter shock, Ben and Paxton were both confirmed as also having CMT.

To cut a very very long story short, I became a stay at home mum and dedicated every minute to making sure our children had everything they needed. Ben didn’t have any symptoms at that stage, but both of the children required, and still do, multiple therapies and hospital appointments so that they can maintain function for as long as possible. CMT is a progressive disease with no cure.

Fast forward to 2020. What a year!

Covid was in full swing, and we were remote learning with the kids. Oh that was fun, wasn’t it?!

In such uncertain times, we took a huge leap and bought our first home! This was a huge achievement for us, as we had been a single income family for such a long time. We purchased an untouched 1970’s double brick gem in the beautiful country town of Kilmore, Victoria. Since then, we have been slowly renovating and making this house a home.

2024

We have been living in our home for a little over 4 years. Pax and Lillie are in high school, and Hudson is in primary school. Our beautiful Cody and Leah have passed away, but we have little Jacko, our staffy/house hippo, who bring us so much joy. Lillie has undergone 2 major hip surgeries and both Ben and I have lost our dads.

We’ve gone through many ups and downs over the years, but here we are 22 years later, still very much in love, and building our dream of Titan Bull Australia, together.

All I can say is that I’m pretty happy Ben decided to ditch school that day in November all those years ago. While we have gone to hell and back over the years, we’ve done it together, side by side.

Abbey.

as Told by Abbey