The Bundarra community is rallying behind an inspiring local family and asking the broader region to chip in.
While Rachel was pregnant with her first son 20 years ago, she suffered a severe stroke, the day after becoming engaged to Bundarra farmer, Chris Rohrlach. It was only because Rachel was a nurse, on duty in a hospital when the stroke struck, that she survived at all. The damage caused by the stroke was devastating. Rachel is a quadriplegic, her movement is so limited that she must eat blended/pureed food. She is a loving mother, trapped in a body that cannot move. Unable to talk, Rachel can communicate by looking up for yes and down for no or gesturing with her eyes to spell out messages.
Following the stroke, the dramatically paralysed Rachel continued with her pregnancy with the help of a ventilator and gave birth to a healthy boy, Kieron. Chris married Rachel, always explaining that she was the only woman who he had ever loved. Their second son, Liam, is now aged six.
Both Liam and his 20-year-old brother, Kieron, are great boys, according to their father’s best mate, Danny Poulsen.
On April 16 this year, Chris died of a massive heart attack while helping neighbours to muster cattle. He was 43 years old. Suddenly, Rachel had lost her husband and carer, two sons had lost their father, Danny had lost his mate and the Bundarra district had to say goodbye to a popular country bloke with an infectious smile.
Danny said that Rachel is normal on the inside – she simply cannot move. Her senses, like her ability to feel or touch and her internal physiology are normal. “The boys had a loving home. They would get permission for something from their mother with a look at her eyes,” he said.
A special Rohrlach family fundraiser will be held on Sunday, June 10. Being held at the Bundarra Golf Club, it will involve a 9 hole golf, 3-person Ambrose, with a shotgun start at 10am. The golfing fun will cost just $25 per person, which includes a sit-down lunch. There will also be raffles and a charity auction.
“I believe that everybody in Bundarra knew of Chris. He was the type of bloke who helped everybody and always had time for a yarn. With his passing came a sadness that the whole town felt. That grief has turned into a desire to stand together and give Rachel a hand,” Danny said.
The fundraising is to assist the Rohrlach family to purchase a rear wheelchair-access van to facilitate transportation for Rachel. “At the moment, Rachel’s transport is an old Fairlane. Chris used to be able to kick it in the gut and keep it going but it is too unreliable for the carers and the hoist system, used to crane Rachel into the passenger side, is too difficult for some of the carers to use. We really need a van with a wheelchair lift at the back,” Danny said.
The next priority will be to secure funding for paid, overnight carers. Rachel will soon move off the farm and into Bundarra.
“For all the 12 years I’ve known them, Rachel had 50 hours of care a week, so Chris could go and run his farm and other businesses. Overnight and during weekends, Rachel’s care was on Chris’s shoulders, with help from Rachel and Chris’s parents. Rachel’s care is still in limbo after Chris died. The carers often stay overnight voluntarily,” Danny said.
Rachel has said that she greatly appreciates the support that she has from her community, especially her family, carers and friends.
Anyone who would like to donate goods which can be used in the charity auction are urged to call Danny Poulsen on 0428 505 503 or email: danmon@live.com.au. Donations can also be sent to the Bundarra Lions Club, care of the Bundarra Post Office, 2359.
Anybody wishing to make a cash donation can deposit direct to the Bundarra Lions Club account: BSB 062 556 – account number: 0090 5998.
In another example of the community pitching in, 20 local lads took part in a working bee recently at the Rohrlach family property. They finished a fence that Chris had been working on and they got a building project on the property to ‘lock-up’ stage. Some people couldn’t get there so they donated money or materials towards the work.
When asked how the support from his community for the Rohrlach family to date makes him feel, Danny said, “It just confirms for me that we chose to live in the right place. You see that kind of support from your community and you know that, if something happened to your family, that support would be there for you. It is a really great place to live.”
Story: Gary Fry
