Tom had a spinal infection that put him in hospital for several months with huge amounts of antibiotics. While the back issues resolved, Tom has had frequent colds/flu since and then developed chronic fatigue syndrome. The impact was significant, costing him more than a term of school and leaving him without the energy for sports or the desire to socialise as he once did.
An update from Tom's Mum less than a month after completing The Switch:
Tom had a fantastic weekend at Waimarama, spending hours in the water swimming and boogie boarding.
Having only managed a couple of hours at school at the most in term four last year, it is fantastic for Tom to be back doing full days and immersing himself in school life. He's up and at it in the morning, rearing to go. Such a change from last year where we would have to wake him up to go to school and he would fall asleep on the way home after only an hour or two there.
He's always been academic and diligent, but he lost his motivation last year. It's fantastic to see this restored, with him even taking his maths homework with us to the beach over the weekend to ensure he got it done.
Tom's also back riding his motorbike all the time. It was his pride and joy, but he hardly rode it for much of last year, fearful that he would fall off due to being so tired, or simply having no desire to even ride it.
Here's a pic of him heading up from the beach last weekend...
