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SUMMER 2025 InTouch | 15 as they pulled away, Bill remembered the family dog. He ran back and found the poor animal standing with his head barely above the flood. Bill scooped him up, soaked and shaking, and the family escaped together. Cyclone Gabrielle took almost everything the Symons family owned – their home, their belongings, and Hiromi’s car. Yet they considered themselves fortunate. They had Bill’s brother’s house to take shelter in, and they were alive. They would end up living in that borrowed home for almost two years while their own house was rebuilt. Rebuilding was slow and complicated, but just before Christmas 2024, they finally moved back into a place that once again felt like theirs. But late 2024 brought new heartbreak. William had a fall and broke his hip. Since then, he hadn’t been able to walk, and he slowly stopped talking, despite the loving support of the team at Fairhaven School. His family did everything they could, but every day was a reminder of how much life had changed. In October 2024, Fairhaven School reached out for help supporting a Lottery Grants Board application for a mobility van, something that would allowWilliam to travel safely and comfortably. When Bill and Hiromi first received an email in December saying the application was successful, they felt hope spark again. But the spark dimmed quickly when they learned the message had been sent in error. The approval email was for an occupational therapy assessment, not a van. The disappointment was crushing. Still, the family didn’t give up. Through months of miscommunication, changing occupational therapists, and delays, made harder by having no local OT in Hawke’s Bay, they persisted. They searched for a vehicle that Hiromi could drive. They stretched their insurance payout to contribute toward the van they needed. And eventually, after months of waiting, trying, and hoping, the Lottery Grants Board funding came through. Almost three years after surviving the cyclone and managing William’s condition, their new mobility vehicle arrived. The day it rolled into their driveway, it felt like the world had shifted back toward the light. For the first time in months, William was taken into the vehicle in his wheelchair without discomfort. He smiled. He talked. He seemed to lift from the inside out. His power chair, which had only been allowed home during school holidays, could now travel with him whenever he wanted. The world, once again, was open. Bill and Hiromi stood beside the new van, overwhelmed by gratitude; not only for the transport itself, but for the people who helped carry them through the hardest years of their lives: Fairhaven School, the Lottery Grants Board, and their Fieldworker Debbie Hoskins from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, who stayed with them every step of the way. Their story is one of loss and hardship, but also of survival, community, and the small miracles that come when people don’t give up. And in the middle of it all is William – brave, smiling, and ready for the road ahead. Above left: Flooding in the families' backyard. Right: Damage to Hiromoi's car from the floods.