Bianca's Story

ON THIS DAY...

By Bianca Hiscock

April the 24th seemed like just another silly Monday morning to me, just like any other when as usual I didn't feel like going back to work. < haha>

So I did the very naughty thing of calling in sick.  At the last minute I wasn't going to, but I did anyway. I slept in for a couple hours, which was nice...but it still didn't make me feel any better. I don't know what it was, but something in me just didn't feel right that day.

Finally I got up and put some washing on and was asking Kristy, my house mate at the time, what we should have for lunch. Before we even got to lunch my phone rang…the screen said it was 'DAD'.  I smiled as I answered only to find my brother Dyl on the phone instead. I said the usual "What's up" and he asked bluntly "Where are you?" I told him I was at home as I didn't have to work.  In short he told me to come down to the work site he and Dad were at. I asked why and did he want something but he just gave me the address and told me to get there as quickly as I could.

As I was putting my shoes on, I was telling Kristy that something was wrong with the call.  I just had the biggest gut feeling that something in that conversation wasn't right!!

But...then, my brother Dyl always played jokes on us at the best of times!  He always manages to sucker me in.  So I drove to the address he gave me.  When I arrived I found news vans and police cars everywhere and right then I knew that my bad feeling was right.  Yet I still I pushed it away...not even thinking it was Dad.  Maybe it was someone else down there we knew, or maybe if it was Dad or my brother and that maybe they were just hurt or something.

I started to walk into the paddock when the police stopped me.  They first told me that I couldn't go in there - and then they asked who I was. I explained.  One policeman directed me to another and she asked me if I knew what was going on.  I told her that I didn't but said my brother rang...so it has to be my Dad.

Sadly, she said, "Yes, I'm very sorry".

"Sorry?" I replied, "I don't understand what you mean" and yet my eyes were already filling with tears and I remember feeling unbelievably sick. She explained, in a nutshell, what had happened only an hour beforehand.  As much as I could I held my composure to keep myself up until I found my family.

She directed me to the mobile lunchroom in which she thought they were all in.  As I looked that way I could see my Mum and sister Danielle walking that way also. I started to run a little bit to catch up to them.  My Mum noticed me coming from behind and walked back a bit but as soon as I saw her, that was it for me, I broke down! All I could say was "This isn't fair, why does bad stuff keep happening to our family?????"

She just hugged me as only a mother could and cried back as we walked closer to the lunchroom where my other brothers were. I sat next to Dyl and gave him a rub on the back.  All he could do was look at the table and play with his phone. I knew what I was feeling but there is no way on this earth that I can ever comprehend what he must have been feeling or going through having been there.

You and Dyl were more than just father and son, you were best mates and everything else you could imagine!!! You did almost everything together.

I couldn't believe this could happen.

There were a few other things going on that day, but to be quite honest a lot of it is a blur and it just hadn't sunk in for me yet I don't think.  I was still in the mode of 'Dad's just away at work…this is all a silly mistake - things like this don't happen - I will go home and wake up tomorrow morning and call him and everything will be fine!What hit me the most, once I did get home around 7.00 pm that night, was...

NO I can't call you anymore…I can't hear your laughter or your funny jokes or sarcastic attitude or even just your tired I'm ready for bed voice after work…April 24th 2006 was the day you decided to watch over us all in your own special way.

Even though it hurts us all like hell, we know deep down that you are always here ... whether it be to guide us through bad moments or good times in our lives, to still curse at us when we are doing the wrong thing - or even to laugh at us when we are being stupid as our family have a great knack for!!!

You're body may have physically left but your heart and soul remains constant within all of us and all 6 of us kids have a very special thing…WE ARE PART OF YOU!!!!!!!

Always in our hearts and minds and never ever to be forgotten

I LOVE YOU DAD!!!