I was born on the 7th of October 1966, the first child of Ross and Robin, in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I was named Bethli, after my paternal Grandmother, and Vivienne, after my maternal Aunt and Great Aunt. I don't remember much of the early years, except our cat Fluffy, a grey part-Persian, seeing snow for the first time, and our next door neighbour, Doris, in Masterton. We moved to Masterton when I was a one year old. My sister (and only sibling) Kylie was born on the 15th March 1971, in Auckland.
Bethli at 2 years. 1st November 1968
Just before my fifth birthday I started school, and remember learning how to make woolen pom-poms and also falling over in the rain and breaking my nose. I was starting to get sick at this stage, which took the form of fevers, inflamed glands and vomiting attacks. I was also bruising easily and badly. After living in Auckland for four years, my father's job took us to Hawera, in the shadow of Mt. Taranaki.
I was in Standard One in Hawera. I started to learn the piano, from a Nun in the convent by the large (and scary) Catholic church. My friend Brighid had a pony called Weetbix which we rode after school, and I learned to ride a bike on my other friend Donna's older sister's bike, going through the knees of a number of pairs of trousers. I sometimes had difficulty eating by this stage, and my vomiting attacks were intensifying. I was becoming jaundiced, but my family hadn't noticed as it was so gradual. Shortly after my eighth birthday, I became very ill (the Saturday of Labour Weekend, last weekend in October). This was the first time my liver completely failed. I was in the local Hawera hospital for a couple of days, and then Teddy and I were transferred by ambulance to the larger Taranaki Base Hospital.