A Dedication To My Right-Hand Man

My parents taught me that there wasn’t much I couldn’t do if I worked hard and put my mind to it. They gave me confidence and trust and always supported me in the paths that I chose, some of which were unconventional.

As a child I had an inquisitive mind and was often found getting involved in ‘fixing’ stuff with my Dad. I have fond memories of spending hours 'helping’ with DIY projects and although he was prone to procrastination (so there would normally be a few on the go at any one time), I learnt he could solve most things and much like my Dad I came to see problems as challenges which were satisfying to overcome. One of my earlier memories was making a radio set with Dad in a small box, I still remember the excitement and amazement when I heard sound through it for the first time. My Dad made cool stuff happen and I helped him, we were a great team.

All of my parents have continued to support me as I have grown up and my research for the Body Recovery From Water Study has been no exception. They know it matters to me and so it matters to them. Recently Dad saw that it wasn’t easy to spread word of the Study and have all the information about it available in one place, he suggested having a website and although I thought this was a great idea I didn’t ever think it was possible. I’m self-funding my study and doing everything on a shoe string so no chance that I could pay to get one done. ‘No matter’ thought Dad, and because he saw how important it would be to me he made me one himself. When I say ‘made one’ I make it sound simple, I know it was anything but. He has never worked in IT or had formal training in this field so it was a major hassle at times, but the old ‘Dennison’ approach was applied and he overcame challenge after challenge and pulled the rabbit out of the hat. I was amazed, and inspired (as always) and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have him around. The website is really brilliant – you can see the results of his hard work here.

I think the website could probably be seen as a 21st century version of the radio set, it is a demonstration that if you are inspired enough and you love enough you can do pretty much anything. It will make a real difference to the Study and I’m sure it will help achieve the aims and objectives which in turn may make the difference to the families of missing people.

So I’d like to say thank you Dad, for the nature and the nurture, for being my dear friend and my right-hand man and for making cool stuff happen. xx