[Closed] Updates and Thankyou from the Gnusmases

What a fantastic post. Thank you, and thanks to everyone who's helped.

Like. Lots. Keep positive bud.

Excellent stuff.

I forgot to get back in touch, seems I've given away a few spares already so had no brakes.

PLeased to hear of the progress you're making

That other thread's a bit of a monster - can we have an update of any parts/stuff you still need?

Like.

Wonderful post Gnusmus.

Mary Hinge - Member

Like. Lots. Keep positive bud.

Me too

With everything that's going on in the world at the moment, it's great just to hear a bit of good news for a change. Well done for making me smile.

A huge thankyou to Newrobdob for contacting Exposure on the back of my original thread. I have had an email regarding my Joystick and they are willing to fix it as a gesture of goodwill. Big shout out to the bods at Exposure, Thankyou all.

Yay! I didn't post on the original thread about this as I didn't want to say something then Exposure not come through for you.
Yet another reason to use Exposure for your lights everyone (like you needed an excuse!).

This has truly made my week. A big hug and love to you and yours from the family funk 😀

This place has done something to be proud of

This thread is ace.

Best wishes gnusmas family

On the upside (sort of) our knackered car has gone so we now have an empty garage to house the chair/scooter in so will only need to be bought into the house for charging - no power in the garage.

I have finally managed to get access to my Stiffee, cobwebs and dirt and everything else too!

https://flic.kr/p/XWDTao

https://flic.kr/p/WMjJoT

Now to clean it, strip it down and rebuild 😀

Now where are the handlebars, saddle and grips?

[img] [/img]

We're just glad it can be of use and hopefully will be used.

Reminds me, I need to reply to your last mail, sorry! 😳

[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/35725699734_57e557395f.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4426/35725699734_57e557395f.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://flic.kr/p/WqXxSf ]G-3 on her spesh hotrock[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/51390498@N06/ ]funkyhooda[/url], on Flickr

See that smile on G-3s face?

that's like my face on reading this thread. Manhugs all round 😀

have finally managed to get access to my Stiffee

Alright man, jeez, too much information 🙂

Post of the year?

Well done people...! Truly inspiring stuff.

Anyone else finding it a bit dusty?

Definitely dusty.

I will have a blue P next to my name soon

Yes you will. I've spoken to Subs and they've agreed to gift you a 12-month digital subscription. Email subs@ with your details please.

This is STW at its finest. We're bunch of argumentative opinionated asshats at times but when the shit hits the fan there is no finer place to be and everyone works as one to get stuff sorted.

Superb stuff. 🙂

Now to clean it, strip it down and rebuild

Now where are the handlebars, saddle and grips?

Where do you live? I might be able to help out with that.
Email in profile.

We're bunch of argumentative opinionated asshats at times

No we're not.

Now where are the handlebars, saddle and grips?

Beaten to it by PP but I can furnish all those if needed (and as long as your arse isn't perch-precious)

No we're not.

You're worse than Hitler.

No he's not, you are

No he's not, you are

Pot meet kettle

Like. 🙂

I have a P!!!!! 😀

Thankyou Cougar and anyone else who messaged STW for this, i really appreciate it. Does this mean i am now privy to secret handshakes and activities?

For those asking, i live in Carmarthen, about a 20 min drive from Brechfa.

Honestly, this place continues to amaze me. In a good way though.

@gnusmas- I'm back from my hols soon. Get that bike fixed. Grips, bars and saddle you say? I'll bring them with me 🙂

Thankyou Cougar and anyone else who messaged STW for this, i really appreciate it.

FWIW, I said that if it couldn't be done, I'd pay for it. Fortunately my money is safe. (-:

I have a Bontrager saddle from a Trek that you can have. I've been snowed under at work, but will try and find something to ship the handlebars in too.

Thanks for update OP, the smile on the kids faces say it all.
Oh and well done getting the bike in the front room 🙂

Cougar - wouldn't expect you to pay for it, but thankyou for the offer. Extremely generous of you 🙂

Thankyou for all the offers again, genuinely appreciate them.

I set about looking for my Joystick last night ready to rerurn to exposure and couldn't find it. I remember keeping it safe, has anyone seen it? And if anyone has seen my pump too i could do with it as i have no air in my tyres 🙁

On my travels though i did find my bars, saddle and grips 😀

Ambrose - bike is underway, need to sort out the brakes next. Then to see if a 11-36t cassette will work with a narrow ratio short cage mech, as those are what i have to work with.

Then to move on to G-1s bike, work out what bits can be used/transferred and see where we are with it.

Granny_ring - i have always worked on my bikes in the front room. Tunes in the background, cuppa on the table and away to go. Mrs G hasn't got a problem with it as long as i don't make a mess and i tidy up afterwards, which is fair enough. Any oily/greasy jobs are done at the kitchen sink.

[quote=gnusmas ]i have always worked on my bikes in the front room. Tunes in the background, cuppa on the table and away to go. Mrs G hasn't got a problem with it as long as i don't make a mess and i tidy up afterwards, which is fair enough.

She's a keeper!

She's a keeper!

This whole story never cesses to amaze me. What a feel good factor! This is the sort of stuff the news should be made of, not the usual BS.
Surprised its not on STWs front main page yet...

She is a keeper 😀

Glad all of this is warming everyones cockles, certainly is here.

What you have read is a (major) part of things that have been going on and one that is current. There has been a whole lot more that has happened over the last 6/7 years or so, literally one thing after the other. Some of which would make our current situation seem like a walk in the park. We would always ask each other when our turn to catch a break would be, there have been some seriously dark times. Somehow we have always got through it all together and will continue to do so.

My bike always has been my personal escape, that's why it is hard now not being able to ride and clear my head/work out aggression. Hence the original question on the original thread.

To have this light at the end of the tunnel thanks to you all means more than anyone could ever imagine, we hopefully seem to be catching our break now.

Getting extremely dusty writing this and thinking of everything.

****ing tremendous, brilliant stuff STW, and all the best to you and the family gnusmas.

Fabulous!

Sorry for the delay, but the cassette and chainring were dropped off at the post office last night, you should get them in the next couple of days

If anyone has a 10spd chain kicking around that could be donated to finish off the drivetrain for him?

spawnofyorkshire 
Sorry for the delay

No worries mate, thankyou for letting me know. Look after yourself 🙂

Huge thankyou to Spawnofyorkshire, they turned up this morning and look great.

Huge thankyou to Houns who drove from near Birmingham to sunny (yes it was really sunny) Carmarthen today.

We now have a wheelchair! 😀

Well, sort of. Once crowdfunding sort themselves out (still waiting) and Junkyard gets the funds you all gratefully donated, we will be able to get batteries for it. If all is good then we will get ramps, custom seat pads etc too.

Really nice to meet you, and thankyou to you and your Nan again. Look after yourself and hopefully meet up with you for the ride at some point soon.

Best get on and finish my Stiffee now!

Last I heard, Junkyard was on a six month tour of the Bahamas...

(-:

Not quite the Bahamas but i have had a pic from him of a canal boat in a lock 🙂

Hmmmm, i wonder.......

Yes, I left you to buff your stiffee, I like having that affect on people!

Was lovely meeting you and about 20% of your family, I got back about an hour ago, missed out on cat collection, which has resulted in an additional one being snuck in 🙄

I was wrong saying your little girl looks like Clare Danes, it was Kirsten Dunst I meant! 😳

Glad I could squeeze the sunshine in to bring with me, I've yet to spend any time in Wales when it's raining. I shall pass your gratitude on to my Nan as discussed, she'll be happy that you've now got it

Top work Houns 🙂

😳 it was a nice day out

Have you got your Exposure light back yet?

Gnusmas, I rode the Gorlech red at Brechfa this afternoon, it's in really good shape. The 'chute' (paved with brieze-blocks) is just as thought provoking as ever! Hopefully see you (and all the other STWers) soon.

Newrobdob - finally found the light, emailed the returns form back to exposure so hopefully being sent off this week.

Ambrose - good to hear, glad you enjoyed yourself. Hopefully i will get to experience it soon 🙂

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/brechfa-ride-14th-september?replies=1#post-8690016

Ambrose - Junky copied me in an email to you but it seems to have disappeared, was going to email you about this, my email is in my profile.

gnusmas, glad to see the Hotrock getting some use. 😀

Crowdfunding have sorted themselves out and Junky has transferred the donations to us.

Need to order batteries now and start looking into seat pads, leg supports, ramps etc.

Thankyou all yet again for everything you have all done. We cannot thank you enough. I will update this thread as and when things happen and upload pics too.

[img] [/img]

Carmarthen won't know what's hit it
[img] [/img]

Whoop! 😀

Well done everyone. Good work. STW people at their best.

Any more updates chap?

How do Houns? Hope all is well with you and yours?

You wouldn't believe the past few weeks we have had, honestly you couldn't make it up. Can't go into any details but everything else had to be put on hold because of it.

Anyway, another Occupational Therapist is visiting tomorrow on the back of an application for an adapted bungalow. This should hopefully help and move things along quicker. Batteries are being ordered this week so should have the chair running soon.

Middleagedmadness is delivering a scooter to us on the 7th October so should have a lot more freedom then, different uses etc.

Kids love their new bikes, riding them when they can, always with a smile on their faces.

Hopefully things will continue to improve now the latest saga is over.

Oh no! I can believe it, I've had a crappy few weeks of it too. Hopefully things will sort themselves out finally for you all now!

Potential great news re the bungalow, I'll keep everything crossed for you.

Don't know if this is of any use to you

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/where-and-how-to-donate-a-mobility-bath

Kids love their new bikes, riding them when they can, always with a smile on their faces.

[img] [/img]

A rather large update for you all.

Due to other ongoing things i still can't talk about (all i can now say, it involves a man, police and looming court case and is a serious issue), everything is getting sorted slowly. This situation is taking a lot longer to resolve than initially thought.

Mrs G has suffered a lot this past few weeks (added stress and appointments), to the point she can now barely move. A bit of time to rest and extra physio should get things back to normal soon. I have suffered too, mentally and physically, but trying to work through it all. We have tried to keep things as normal as possible for the kids through the past few weeks.

Mrs G has said that i need to go (for my own sanity) on the Cwm Rhaeadr ride next Saturday so that is still going ahead.

While all this has been happening, we have been told she is eligible for PIP. This has enabled us to order and pay the downpayment on a large mobility car. A spanky blue Alhambra will be here by the end of November. This will save us having to catch buses to appointments/physio/treatments.

I have now been awarded carers allowance too, first payment came in on Monday.

Still waiting to hear about an adapted bungalow, could be a while but we are on the list at least.

Exposure have sent back my Joystick. It has been tested and it works just fine, they think the problem lies with the charger so they have sent me a new charger too.

So, all in all, good news regarding PIP, carers allowance and mobility car and my light. But completely overshadowed with the other situation which has put a real downer on everything.

Thankyou all again for all yiu have done. Mrs G will be mobile very soon and (apart from the ride on Saturday) i will be starting to do evening rides too.

Hopefully you are riding a wave of goodwill that will keep you going through the bad stuff.

Mrs G has said that i need to go (for my own sanity) on the Cwm Rhaeadr ride next Saturday so that is still going ahead.

Good.

Speaking from experience with the added benefit of hindsight: I may have said this before but, whilst it feels like the most selfish thing in the world you [i]must[/i] take care of yourself first and foremost. It's easy to lose sight of this but the simple fact is, if you're primary carer and you fall over then you're of no use to anyone.

Hey gnusmas - its been quite a while since we heard from you. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that is wondering. So, how are things going?

And I know that you have kids; how are you doing as far as Christmas presents for them?

Good shout Joe. Would love to hear how the family G is getting on

Hi all, sorry for the lack of updates. Will try and explain.

Things are ok, but could be better. Scooter, wheelchair, reclining chair and car sorted so physically a bit easier. Need to sort pics out as promised. The physio isn’t really working as well as we hoped but still persevering with it. I have been out twice on my bike in the evening, both times had a call asking me to come home as i am needed for something.

TBH i am struggling personally with it all. Not in looking after my wife or the kids, doing the best i can, but struggling myself. I am piling on the weight as i am constantly indulging in comfort eating and my depression is getting worse. Can’t seem to stop. I watched a film on tv the other night, took me nearly 5 hours to watch a 2 hour film as i was constantly being called to help in whatever way was needed. Haven’t got an issue with helping at all, but just to try and explain the lack of time i have to chill.

This is part of the reason i haven’t updated yet. After all everyone has done (which has been a massive help and really appreciated) i kind of feel like i am failing not only my family but everyone who has helped. It is ongoing and it should get better but currently in a low point and waiting for a higher point before updating again.

I try to make some time for me but there is always someone needing something or something needing doing. As it is now the house is literally upside down due to moving rooms around to try and make things easier and better for Mrs G to get round. The cleaning (apart from essentials) has been neglected for 2-3 weeks and i have 4 loads of clean washing for 6 people to sort and put away. Time is difficult to get sometimes especially when guilt steps in because there is a lot to be done.

As far as the xmas and the kids go, with 4 to get gifts for it is quite tough. We have got some things for them, they unfortunately have got stuck in all the issues and while they do understand, must be very tough on them.

14 year old sons list comprises of an xbox one and loads of games, typical teenager stuff really 

Our 9 year old son is currently saving for a nintendo switch. He has £60 from his birthday in September so far, which he keeps offering us if he overhears us talking about anything money related, which is really sweet but also heartbreaking at the same time. That is all he has said he wants, but not asked for it for xmas?

4 year old daughter’s birthday is on xmas day! We were hoping she would be born on my birthday but she decided to hang on for 2 extra days and arrive on the 25th. Double whammy of gifts there, and she is at the age where she wants everything she sees on telly.

Don’t think our 2 year old son is too fussy, as long as there are plenty of boxes to climb into and destroy 😆 

Everyone has done more than enough for us already, and it looks like Wiggles is now on the receiving end for his unfortunate situation. I really hope things work out for him and the kids, sounds like they deserve some luck through all this. If i can help in any way i definitely will as i said in his thread.

So to sum up, been worse and been better. And apologies for the extra long reply again. Will try and update more regularly regardless of how i am doing in the future.

Gnusmac.

I have a turbo trainer in th basement.

Its a little old and rusty but it should be in use by now and isn't AGAIN.

Therefore

If you think being able to plonk your bike on that and get some cycling in would help I'll see what i can do about getting it to you?

Hi Josh

Thanks for the offer.

I have a turbo trainer sitting in my wardrobe. It was all set up, but as Mrs G needs some specialist equipment and now has a bed in the dining room as she can't manage the stairs (i am still upstairs, not enough room for me downstairs too) the whole house has moved around so no room for it anymore.

Damn. I'll have to ride the bloody thing then.

Stick it outside?

Less sweaty which is a bonus!

maybe another amazon wish list might be in order for the kids stuff?

Thanks for the update gnusmas. I'm sure that it is overwhelming at times, but it sounds like you are dealing with everything really well, so don't be so hard on yourself!

Pls post a list for the kids or a paypal address or something for those that may want to send a little help your way.

Pls post a list for the kids or a paypal address or something for those that may want to send a little help your way.

Yes, please do that gnusmus.

As nice as the gesture is and again as appreciative we are of the offers, i honestly believe everyone has gone above and beyond for us already.

I said it before in my previous threads, i am not here to take advantage of anyone and not expecting anything. It is my sanctuary from daily life where i can laugh and cry with the rest of you when i get 10 minutes peace.

Hey Mate

Glad to hear that the wheelchair works, was worrying in case it didn’t! Hope you just needed the batteries and nothing else?

Please don’t take this the wrong way... but... I wish I lived closer so I could help out, when I was at yours briefly I could see how manic everything was (typical busy/large/young family stuff) which is enough to deal with on its own, but with the added stress of health issues and caring for the Mrs plus finding time late at night for work? It’s completely understandable that you feel like you do.... I’d offer to come clean/baby sit for an odd hour or two here and there if I could, just to give you a breather.

Please shout up on here if there’s anything you need, I’m struggling financially at the moment thanks to universal credit... taken on a cleaning job whilst looking for other stuff, so can’t help out myself, but I’m sure others will

When we’re both in a better place to do so, I’ll come down and have a pint or two with you

Can’t seem to stop. I watched a film on tv the other night, took me nearly 5 hours to watch a 2 hour film as i was constantly being called to help in whatever way was needed. Haven’t got an issue with helping at all, but just to try and explain the lack of time i have to chill.

I'll repeat what I said on the previous page.

[i]"whilst it feels like the most selfish thing in the world you must take care of yourself first and foremost. It's easy to lose sight of this but the simple fact is, if you're primary carer and you fall over then you're of no use to anyone."[/i]

It feels like the most selfish thing in the world I know, but the truth is that you're ultimately being selfish in [i]not [/i]taking time out for yourself, for reasons as above. Both you and your family need to understand this.

What crises can possibly arise that [i]require [/i]you to drop everything? Is the kitchen on fire? If not, why can't it wait for an hour?

Trust me, I've been here, and I made myself ill through it. If you don't take time out occasionally, you'll wind up needing a carer yourself. [b]Make[/b] time. If you cannot do that, you need to be looking at professional help because that's too much of a burden to carry alone.

IMHO, IANAdoctor, etc.

Reading back, that last comment i made sounded a bit harsh.

I apologise.

What i said i meant, you have all gone above and beyond already and we will be eternally grateful to you all for everything.

I also understand some of you are only offering help (again). I think pride gets in the way of genuine people sometimes and i do not mean to or want to offend anyone.

As it is each individuals choice, as was said to me previously, then my PP address is the same as in my profile. I will take some time over the weekend with the kids to get some sort of list together and post it here as was suggested earlier. Please understand i do not expect anything and i am not asking for anything.

Thankyou all yet again for my warm and fuzzy feeling.

gnusmas - Member
Reading back, that last comment i made sounded a bit harsh.

It’s totally cool. I read it how you just explained it anyway!

You’ve been more than clear how much people’s efforts have meant to you. We all can tell you appreciate it greatly. Try not to worry on that account.

I’ll take this opportunity to echo Cougars words. Look after yourself first. If you are not well or are too drained - you can’t support others.

Take care buddy!

J