Hi All. On Australia Day Heather and I along with Cath Conway and Leigh Bunting flew a Cirrus SR22 to Bacchus Marsh to see Ian for the last time. It was sort of an invitation event. We saw 3 generations of the Patching Clan circling together. As Patch said later “It was an outstanding day”. We got to give him a hug and have a brief chat. I would rather pull out all stops for that than go to his funeral. He was in excellent spirits and smiled heaps. It was well worth the trip. The effort put in by Family and Friends to organise his last flight, get him to the field and care for him on the day was amazing. Up until the last minute we didn’t even know if he would get a leave pass from Palliative Care for the day but it all happened.
Tonight I got a call from Caleb White letting me know that the family had put out the call to close friends to be there this morning to say goodbye. He is expected to last 1 to 2 days. Thus a larger than life character like Ian is leaving our group. Below the news from his wife several days ago. I will miss the old bugger heaps. Ian is a lovely guy and a committed ground engineer and pilot. Nige. From: Ian Patching Sent: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 6:09 PM To: Ian Patching Subject: Patch update - 19/2/2014 Hi All It’s been a while since I’ve sent an update and I know you’d like to know where things are at. Ian is still in the Austin Hospital, Olivia Newton John, palliative care ward but has been able to have a few days out (a bit like day-release for good behaviour? Without particularly having to put on the good behaviour?). He’s had a couple of days at home where a few lucky (?) friends have been invited, on the proviso that they accepted the responsibility of curating, completing and/or distributing some of Ian’s many unfinished projects. My condolences if this has caused any unhappiness to wives/partners of said friends who now find their houses invaded with more ‘personal research vehicles’, as Ian liked to call them. We had another momentous day on the Monday Australia Day holiday. Ian got to Bacchus Marsh Airfield for his final flight. We were extremely touched by the number of people who made the effort to attend the occasion, and extremely grateful to JR Marshall and family for driving over from Millicent so that JR could be Ian’s co-pilot at my request. Thanks also to Terry Cubley for taking me up, all the people who put in so much to the organisation to make the day run so smoothly, the food, the photos, and all the other little things that made the day so special for Ian and all of us who were there. Sorry that some people missed out due to timing, some mis-communication etc., but the photos and stories are there to be shared. As lots of people have commented, it was much more fun than going to a funeral. It’s a great hospital – not least because they gave us the boardroom to celebrate Lorna’s (his Mum) 87th birthday on 2/2/2014. We’ll ask for it again to celebrate Tighe’s 29th birthday on 1/3/14. As much as the doctors are trying, there are no good drugs to control nerve pain and, unfortunately, that pain is continually increasing in frequency and intensity. In the last few days the morphine has had to be increased and Ian is now losing track of time and reality to some extent. He has asked to have no more than two visitors per day as he is finding the effort very tiring, which increases the pain. Please phone a few days ahead if you plan to visit, so I can book a slot for you. Please be prepared to wait on the day, if you can, as the extra morphine hits make him sleep. Also, there is no guarantee as to his state of mind and level of clarity at any particular time, so don’t be surprised if he says some unexpected things. Alternatively, emails and text messages might be more suitable. Ian and all of his family continue to be heartened by your generous and heartfelt messages to him and us. I’m at the stage of making funeral arrangements. I’ve been assured it’s not unusual to ask for an indication of intention to attend, to help with knowing what size venue to book. Of course, not having a date makes it impossible to know exactly, but would you please send a reply email if you think you will be attending if the date and time make it possible. Please make the subject line Funeral Intention. Once again, many thanks to you all for your support. Today is the one year anniversary of Ian getting the news that the inflamed cyst in his neck was actually cancer. Thanks for being on the journey with us. Best wishes Ruth, Ian, Tighe, Kiernan and extended family
