Regular readers: I’m sorry this one has taken so long to appear. The website was broken and I was having trouble fixing it. I’m not sure why it is working now, but, on with the story…
It was maybe 8pm by the time we got word that Andrew Hodge was on his way. The team of doctors and nurses that were now constantly surrounding Trenna started moving her bed to the lifts to take her to … Read the rest ... “Trenna’s Heart Valve Replacement – Part 2”
By Greg
Being a carer can be like being on a roller coaster, it can be fun, and thrilling, and downright scary. Sometimes it’s all those things at once. And once you are on it it can be very hard to get off. But then again, sometimes you don’t want to get off, you just want it to go on and on as long as possible.
In this Post I will try to pass on some of my experience gained … Read the rest ... “Carer things that worked for Greg – the good, the bad and the ugly”
Photos played a very big part in Trenna’s life, especially in later years as her mobility decreased. She spent hundreds of hours sorting, scanning, dating and captioning photos stretching back to her very earliest days.
I therefore take quite a bit of time and care in choosing the photos I use on the site.
Below is a gallery of all the photos I have used so far. I have also created a page that displays all those photos. You should … Read the rest ... “All Photos Published on the TrennaMahney.com Website”
by Greg
The holiday season is upon us, so I thought I’d do an entertaining friends post.
Trenna absolutely loved mixing with people, and she loved good food. And lunch time was the ideal socialising time for her.
First thing in the morning she was often stiff and/or sore from the night, and her morning drugs had not had time to take effect. In the evening she was often exhausted from the activities of the day. Lunch time though, … Read the rest ... “How to Stage a Trenna Lunch – with recipes”
By Greg
This post has a connection to the Menu Diaries series. If you aren’t familiar with the series, a good place to start would be HERE.
Some of the items and practices I discuss here are mentioned in the series of posts in which I explain some of the mechanisms Trenna used to cope with her Marfan’s Syndrome. That series starts here.
As I have explained a few times, meals and their preparation were central to Trenna’s … Read the rest ... “Tales From Trenna’s Kitchen”
Note: The recordings I refer to in this piece formed The Kitchen Tapes series. It starts HERE.
The ABC is Australia’s national media and broadcasting service. And on the ABC Radio National station on weekday mornings the Life Matters show has been running an interesting segment entitled Life in 500 Words.
I have listened to quite a few and there are some fascinating stories … Read the rest ... “Trenna’s iPad”
By Greg
I’m publishing this post on 23 December 2022, exactly two years from when Trenna passed away.
I debated with myself whether to put anything on the site to commemorate the specific day, but then recalled an idea I have been meaning to get around to for a long time.
A “Celebration of Trenna’s Life” was held on Friday 15 January 2021. I gave the main eulogy but I also asked Trenna’s sister Nancy, and … Read the rest ... “Eulogy – The Movie”
By Greg
I’m very keen for this website to be an accurate representation, or at least sample, of Trenna’s life.
So if I become aware of an error, I will try to correct it.
I discovered one recently when I was working on a soon to be published story about Trenna and my earliest days together.
I was was telling the story of how I had dedicated a song to her when I was the guest presenter on a community … Read the rest ... “I Was Wrong – It Wasn’t That Song!”
By Greg
If this post interests you there have been three others on this topic. All with things that Trenna tried to help her or my life as we coped with her multiple medical conditions.
I don’t think for a moment that every tip or anecdote will be useful, but I certainly am hoping that people living with chronic illness or … Read the rest ... “Marfan and Other Chronic Conditions – Things That Worked for Trenna – Part 4”
Regular readers will know this, but…. although I mention several specific brands in this post I do NOT get any financial or other benefit from them. I name them just to help you understand what I’m talking about.
If you find this post useful or interesting you might want to check out three other posts: Marfan and Other Chronic Conditions – Things That Worked for Trenna; Things That Worked for … Read the rest ... “Marfan Weight Gain”
By Greg
This post relates to the Menu Diaries series. If you aren’t familiar with the series, a good place to start would be here.
The other day I was talking to a friend who likes the TrennaMahney.com website. I asked for some feedback, and this is what she said.
“I love all the stories about what Tren got up to – there’s lots of stuff I didn’t know. I don’t read those Menu things though… I’m not … Read the rest ... “Why You Should Read The Menu Diaries”
Below is the the eulogy delivered by Trenna’s oldest sister, Nancy Seckington-Baker at the celebration of Trenna’s life.
Greg has shared his story of Tren’s story. He has stressed I have 5 minutes.
We have endless, wonderful stories of our sister Trenna.
A truly life WELL LIVED.
However those stories are for another time and place.
I am here to say how incredibly thankful and grateful that we have … Read the rest ... “Eulogy Part 2”
On 15 January 2021 a celebration of Trenna’s life was held. I wanted to hand out a postcard which had a picture of Trenna and a couple of links to a playlist I developed after Trenna passed away a few weeks earlier. I then put up a Facebook post to help people to click through to the playlist.
That Facebook post appears below and I have embedded the Youtube Playlist and the Spotify below.
Below is the eulogy I delivered at the Celebration of Trenna’s Life (her funeral). In due course I will do another post explaining what I wanted to achieve from the event and how friends and family helped me to organise it.
One of Trenna’s sisters, Nancy also gave a eulogy, as did Trenna’s friend, Helen. I will be publishing their words in the near future.
It is, of … Read the rest ... “Eulogy”