Life with Travis

by Julie Bramley

Click on the image for a larger view

Julie Bramley

We don't live in Wodonga anymore but we still go to the Cooinda Camps and I help organise the Annual Family Camp, planning, booking and coordinating the events. I'm a dance teacher and I still occasionally travel to Wodonga to help with the Cooinda discos, which are great events for the children with disabilities and the siblings. My daughter, Rebecca, who's eleven, recently helped out as a gopher at the last Cooinda camp at Lake Hume Resort. Mum and Dad used to go up there too, to help with the camp. We came to live in Melbourne to be near my father. He's just recently died of leukemia.

Click on the image for a larger view

Travis Bramley

I got involved with Cooinda originally through our son, Travis. When he was born, he had a fractured skull from a forceps delivery. He was not expected to live. Our family was put under some pressure to leave him be but I said to my husband, John, "I'm not going to leave our baby here to die." That was twenty years ago. I suppose we just lived in hope. It was a very traumatic time back then. I lost my brother a week after Travis's birth. Thankfully Travis pulled through. He went blind at six months. He has multiple disabilities. He needs a lot of care and attention but he is an important and much loved member of our family. Rebecca helps a lot with caring for him. Glen, our middle son, is good with Travis too, but he's a bit preoccupied at the moment with VCE.

I used to be the DJ for the Cooinda discos once a month. I'd take Travis and he'd really enjoy it. Music is very much a part of his life. He likes anything with a strong beat. He's a unique person. We know what he likes. We took him to the Grand Prix and put him near the window so he could sense the action. He thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, the noise and the vibrations. He was rocking and waving in his chair, clearly enjoying the experience. He likes to be part of it all. John was a truck driver for years and Travis was only three months old when we had him on a trip with us in the truck, from Sunshine to Wagga. Travis was very happy on the drive. Then the truck broke down at All Saints Winery at Wahgunyah. The radiator kept boiling and John had to change the head gasket. All in all, Travis handled it pretty well and John reckoned the winery wasn't such a bad place to break down. Travis was very happy when we got going again. He loved the truck. Eventually, John had to give trucking away to help care for Travis. Our family might lack a bit of money but we all take care of each other.

Click on the image for a larger view

John and Julie Bramley

For the Complete Story...
Contact: Cooinda Family Support Group