Alive and kicking

[Ben551]

Greetings ~

Well now, it's been quite a while since I posted anything on the forums, so I thought it only fair that I start a new thread 🙂

It's taken me almost an hour to reply to all the messages backed up in my inbox. I have to say, reading all the well wishes put a bigger, and even more daft, grin on my face.  Some people even noticed on my listing that guests were leaving reviews mentioning my wife being in hospital.. hey hey, look at you folks, being all internet savvy and resourceful!  Makes me proud 🙂

So where have I been then, eh?  Well, it's not all flowers and rainbows I'm afraid.  Though I'm a positive sort, I'd say the past two months have been what the Queen described as her Annus Horribilis.  This loosly translates as "One's Bum Year" according to the British Sun.  What made the past two months bum?  Quite simple really. My beautiful wife tripped and fell on the pavement, sustaining a massive life threatening injury.  I won't share details of her injuries, or the experience, since... folks on these forums are from many walks of life, with many experiences, and it would do no good to have someone upset by it.  I'll just summarise by saying : in the blink of an eye my world turned upside down. I almost lost her... but, by grace, I didn't.

Life can change in an instant... though I realise now why poets and songwriters have recited these lyrics for centuries.

But enough of that.  Life goes on and things are on an upward trend!  In spite the long recovery ahead, I wanted to stop in and write a quick message about  something positive from this experience that directly relates to Airbnb and the magnificent community we have.

When things were at their lowest, my Airbnb family were at their best.  Stephanie, Lizzie and Quincy organised and sent me flowers, from the other side of the world, which blew my mind.  We had a table covered in flowers addressed to my wife, so when another bunch arrived I figured it was for her.  Then I realised they were addressed to me!  I was sleeping in a chair next to a hospital bed at the time and, although I wasn't looking for any reward for doing that, it was... touching, to know that some folks on the other side of the world were thinking of how rough it might be in that particular moment.  Here's a picture of the lovely bunch that arrived.

But it doesn't end there...

Airbnb hosts across NZ (hearing the news) offered us free accomodation to help my wife's recovery... up and down the country!!  Hosts everywhere who heard the news came forth, in droves, offering us sympathy and recovery stays.  We had offers from Christchurch, Auckland, Waikato and Taupo (top to bottom of New Zealand), it was amazing.  I have yet to take anyone up on the offer since my wife isn't yet fit to travel... but it is the thought that still makes us both smile.  We were honoured.  Airbnb hosts are unbelievably kind and frankly, some deserve medals.  They didn't offer publicly, they messaged me privately, so I know the offer wasn't being made in exchange for some measure of publicity.  Several hosts in my city wrote to me and even offered to roll up their sleeves and help run our Airbnb!

So it has been an experience of genuine kindness.  One that I think we needed to get through these last few weeks 🙂  I hope to be around the forum more in the coming days. It hasn't been possible for the last few weeks and I'll ease back into things as time allows.  Rest assured, I haven't stopped thinking about you folks and have a load of stories to tell!  I promise to find the time soon 🙂

~ Ben

[Katja202]

@Ben551 I am new her and i do not know you yet. But read your posts which helped me a lot. Your story touched me …. All i want to say is love each other to bits … and then a bit more. But it sounds like you are all ready doing that. 😉😀🌺