April 6, 2025 • 49 mins
It's easy to understand why Reggie "Bird" Sorensen is so beloved by the public and the people around her.
From winning Big Brother twice, to connecting with people on this years I'm A Celebrity Get My Out Of Here Australia, you can always rely on Reggie to bring the laughs no matter how dark the situation.
But Reggie’s faced more challenges than most, from growing up in Tassie with her mum's struggles with schizophrenia to her own diagnosis of Usher Syndrome, which has left her navigating the world with pinhole vision. To top it all off, her youngest, Lucas, lives with cystic fibrosis.
Despite this, Reggie makes sure she's the best mum to Mia and Lucas by making the most of what she's got and cracking a few laughs along the way.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Matt, you know what my favorite part of watching arm
celeb was go on? Probably when you swallowed that anus. Yes, no,
but of course your friendship that you formed with none
other than Reggie Bird.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
But be honest, what was it more the anus or
Reggie Bird, My beloved Reggie Bird. Reggie Sorenson, as some
people may know her, she is an incredible person. She
is for sure. Reggie is, of course, a two time
winner of Big Brother Australia.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
That's out standing. Despite the Big wins, though life wasn't
exactly a guaranteed golden ticket.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Reggie's faced more challenges than most, from growing up in
Tazzy with her mum's struggles with schizophrenia, to her own
diagnosis of Usher's syndrome, which is left to navigating the
world with pinhole vision.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
She's doing all this while raising two teenagers, Mia and Lucas,
which we know Lucas has cystic fibrosis. Reggie opens up
about what it's like raising teens while dealing with vision loss,
the financial situation of post reality TV life, and how
she's preparing for the future.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
With outside Plus. She shares how she stayed resilient through
it all and her conversations with Mia and Lucas about
facing adversity.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Shall we let's do it?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Welcome back to two doting dads and one doting mum.
I'm Mattie, Jay.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
I'm Ash and oh yes, I'm Reggie.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This is a podcast all about parenting. It is the good,
it is the bad, and it's the relatable rage. We
don't give any advice legally, we're not allowed to.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
It's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Oh yeah, it's definitely, it's a great thing.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
Yeah, well maybe you can.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Maybe you can provide some advice, but no pressure, no pressure.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Advice on what how to look after a kid or anything.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Advice on winning ruffles, best fish and chips.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
We'll take how to ween big brother, anything like that,
if you don't mind. I really want to start way
back when a young Reggie.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
What was she like young, like growing up young that young?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, yeah, as a child, a teenager if you will,
if you.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Will, or hated the teenage years, especially hated fourteen. Well,
turning fourteen, you know, like you start to grow boobs,
and you got acne and you know, and you start
to like boys and then it all becomes complicated. And
I was getting bullied at schools.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
What do you get bullied for? Reg Oh, I.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Got bullied a lot at school because a lot of
the girls thought that I was after their boyfriends. But
I wasn't allows I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend
in and I got bullied a lot because I had
hairy legs as well.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Were you a class clown or were you more of
a follow the rules sort of girl at school?
Speaker 4 (03:12):
No, I did sort of play up a bit at school.
I do remember letting a fire extinguisher off in the classroom.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
So everyone has a fire extinguisher story.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Why did you let the fire extinguisher off?
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Oh, look, I did say I accidentally leant on it,
but I don't think I did. I do remember letting
it off, and then I got in big trouble and
then my school report got rewritten, Like my school report
got pulled apart, and then they had to rewrite it
because I was like naughty. And then I ended up
(03:46):
leaving that school. So I went to Rakeby High School
for seven and eight. It was quite a rough school.
I grew up in a rough area, very like housing committe.
Yeah yeah, rough as guts. Yeah yeah, that's such.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
A great Aussie expressions.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Guts. Yeah. And then I went to year's nine and
ten I went to Clarence High School, so that was
a bit more of a I got to public school,
but it was a bit more uppity class than where
I grew.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Do you remember when you were allowed to start shaving
your legs?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Oh yeah, Well my cousin flew over from Melbourne. I
think I was about again fourteen, and she when I
got some of that nair cream and put the nair
cream on my legs, and I'll never forget the smell
of that stuff. So because you know, I always used
to get called here comes the bush pig.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
My god, so kids are ruthless.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah, bloody, brutal. And then and I got in so
much trouble because all the hairs had gone off my legs,
and I got in so much trouble. Like I remember
my nan and saying to my mom, you know, she's
after the boys. She's going to attract the boys, you know,
like having no hairs on my legs.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So did it make any difference being being hairless on
the legs?
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Well, I felt like a little bald badger. By then.
It was like yeah, nice, nice, It was good. It
was good and you know what, me and my daughter Mea.
I felt so sorry for her growing up through high school.
She had really hairy legs like me as well. And
I'm like, I don't care. That girl is not going
(05:36):
to go through the torture that I went through at
school that those hairs are coming off, like, yeah, they
had they had to come. I used to get the
clippers and clip them off.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
My god.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Yeah, she wasn't going to go through what I went through. Yeah,
poor bugger.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
But I think that's good parenting if you ask me.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, yeah, do you think like, because because I got
bullied so much from having hairy legs, I just thought
there's no way in hell me or he's going to
go through that same thing, So, you know, I hated
to do.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
I think that's outstanding parents. Yeah, I think that's a
good look.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I used to get bully for my shoes at school,
and then now also goes to school. I'm like, he's
got to have the coolest shoes so he doesn't get bullied.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
So I think you've done the right thing.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Yeah, shoes was another thing. You know, I had to
wear desert boots to school and that was just horrific.
So do you know what desert beets are.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Like, the like, the like the leather clarks clarks still.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Well, desert beats are like brown kind of sprady.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I used to own a pack.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Well, now I know what you're talking about. They became
you were an icon? Is that what you were? A
fashion icon?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Apparently back then I wasn't.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So yeah, Well, for the record, Rage, you're you're a
far cry from a bush pig. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
I think you.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I don't see any semblance.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
And you are an icon.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Look what icon I would have looked like one of
those more dogs in the jungle Maddie.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
No, Hey, Reggie, I want to talk about Big Brother,
just really quickly, because I think there's a there's definitely
a misconception. I think that people who don't know the
full store story of Reggie, they're like, well, she must
be sitting on millions of dollars because she's one Big
Brother a couple of times, Like, surely, but obviously you
(07:29):
did win an amount of money off the first time
you won Big Brother, But at the time you went
back to Tazzy with your first husband, and how did
that money get split up? And what did you get
left with?
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So the first time around when I was married to Adrine. Yeah,
after win winning Big Brother, so I paid off the house.
We had a house, and I paid the house off
and I left that to Adrian. So I walked away
from the marriage. And then when when I moved to Sydney,
(08:02):
I had a guy made out. He was a TV producer,
so he wrapped me off forty grand. So by that
stage I had already ship I think nearly two hundred grand.
Hang on, it must have been about one hundred and six.
I failed at meth school, just trying to work it
(08:26):
all out anyway, So when I moved to Sydney, I
think I had left about eighty thousand dollars and I
could and then I couldn't get a job for two years.
So when I and then when I moved to Sydney,
I moved to I didn't know that rush Cutters Bay
was this whole knobby smart like fancy place in Sydney.
(08:49):
And I with the unit that I rented, I had
to put up front twenty thousand dollars up front to
get this unit because I didn't have a job and anyway,
so I put twenty grand up front for this unit.
Then I was getting stalked by the guy that made
out he was a TV producer, and I went to
(09:10):
go back to the real estate agent to get out
of that lease. I ain't been in there for about
two months, and they refused to give me any of
my money back, so I had to also, yeah, pay
all that money up front, so I lost all that.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
So and I lived off the rest of the winnings
until I got a job at Virgin. So it all
pretty That's where it all went.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Holy shit.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
So you I mentioned you walked away from the walked
away from the marriage. Do you mind going into that
a little bit, because I mean, I do recall you winning,
and I recall I think you had a fish and
chip shop at the time. Was that be the same husband?
Speaker 5 (09:50):
And inside to why you walked away from that?
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Yeah, So I was with Adrian for gosh, nearly twelve years.
I think it was because I was in the shop
for twelve years and then our marriage and we must
have been a bit less than that because I was
in there with another boyfriend prior so David and so anyway, yeah,
our marriage broke down. So before going into Big Brother,
(10:16):
it was kind of I was at the stage of
wanting obviously to change, do something with my life and
do something different. And that's why I applied for Big Brother,
because I'm like, I wanted a holiday to get out
of the shop.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
How often did you get a holiday when you're working
in the fish and chip shop?
Speaker 4 (10:32):
No, not much at all. Because I did go to Europe.
Me and Adrian ended up going to Europe. I might
have been after I've been in the shop for about
eight years. I went, I wanted to travel, and so
we went traveling and then I came back was in
the shop for another four years and that's when I went, no,
(10:55):
I can't do this. I need to get out of here.
I need a break. So that's when I applied for
Big Brother. And then things happened. I found out after
the show. Yeah, a lot of stuff happened. And then
I went, now, I can't do this anymore. And then
that's when I walked away. Yeah, and I did cop
a lot of shit, Like a lot of people said, oh,
like Woman's Day for example, bastards, why are they talking
(11:19):
about me at the moment. They've coursed a lot. I know,
I'm looking back at this, jeez, that's a couple of
relationships that causing a few problems with But anyway, so
I walked away and yeah, I left Adrian and went
to Sydney and then I went to Melbourne.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah at the time, Raad, you were working in the
fish and chip shop. The stories I've heard of bus
loads of people rocking up to see the fish and
chip shop that Reggie used to work at. It was crazy.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, yeah, mad mad after Big Brother, like that shop
would have been. They would have made it shit later
money because a lot of yeah, buses would rock up
and go to the shop just to see where I
used to work. So and still to this day, twenty
three years down the track, people always go, I, Reggie,
(12:13):
I went to your fish and chip.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Shop and You're like, don't go there.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Adrian's still there. We wrapped up gosh last year. Year
before it was because me and rod or Roddy's making
a doco on my life and I went back to
the fish and chip shop. I was absolutely shitting myself.
So yeah, because I was like, what do I want
to do this?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
How did it feel standing back in the fish and
chip shop?
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, it was bizarre. It was so weird, really really weird.
But that's all going to be in the docade, so
people have to watch out for that one.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Do you know when's it going to come out?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Reg Oh, we're still in the making of it, so
fingers crossed this year. It's going to be all finished up.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
If you need anyone from the to make a cameo, yes,
be gay more than willing. After that, you met your
second husband.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
So yeah. So I was living in Melbourne when I
met Dale because I had to go back to dream
World to do some work and back at the Big
Brother House.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
That's right, it used to be a dream Word.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
I met Dale through the security guard that used to
let us out the house each week. She had to
come back and work with me at dream World to
look after me while all the fans lined up to
get a photograph and an autograph and all that stuff.
And she was good mates with one of Dale's mates.
And that's how I met Dale. And so anyway, I
(13:43):
was living in Melbourne and then I went back to
I flew up here to the Goldie, caught up with
Dale and we hit it off from there, and then
I ended up leaving Melbourne and I came up to
the Goldie and then I got pregnant with me because
I was shagging too much, so and then that's the
(14:04):
damn shaved legs. So that's that's how me and Dale. Yeah,
that's how our relationship started.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, before we get into Mia, just out of interest,
like in that period from obviously you did a bit
of work with Big Brother again. But I kind of
think like, surely you must have had so many offers
like appearances or you know, because you talk about what
it was like after the show and you have to
you have to have a bodyguard for two weeks, like
will you get well, you're not getting people throwing job off,
(14:37):
is that you.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
So after the show, Yeah, I had the two bodyguards
with me. I think they stayed with me for a
few weeks. And then because I couldn't walk down the street,
it was so crazy. It was just mad, absolutely mad.
And then I ended up staying in a hotel in
the city because I couldn't go home. It was just insane.
And then so I was with Harry and Melane, like
(15:00):
we had to have what is he an agent? Management,
so you couldn't go into the show unless you signed
contracts and management. And but I did have quite a
few things like offered to me, like Nando's offered to
give me a franchise, and they knocked it back because
(15:21):
I said, na, she cooks fish and chips. So that
was a really big like thing that that happened there.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
Surely you could have adapted to do chicken.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
I should. Yeah, I can. I make good bloody chicken
parmes and chicken burgers. Yeah, but it's really interesting like
back in the day, like again, oh gosh, Like you
have a lot of offers of things, but then the
management doesn't agree with it, and then you got no
(15:54):
saying it. It was just yeah, oh, and it was
another world. It was a world that I didn't know about. Look,
because I so far I was living under a rock
down in Chazzy. So yeah, no idea. Yeah I wish
I had. I wish I had someone guide me through
the whole yeah, entertainment world. And because I had no
(16:16):
idea at all about it.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
When you were pregnant with me, was there anyone guiding
you through the preparations to become a mum.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
No, not at all. I had no idea at all,
and I was sick the whole time with me. I
had that thing. There's a word for it where you
vomit NonStop, like vomited what nine months she was nine
months old. I vomited up until she pretty much came
out of me.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Yeah, I know what you mean. It's hell.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
It was horrible and I ended up in hospital on
a drip I think for about four days because I
couldn't even swallow water because I was so sick, so
so sick. Yeah, and then I have a drink of war.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
So I was really really crooked with me, And same
with lucas. I stopped vomiting with him around six months.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Mark.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Yeah, I had no guidance on, you know, how to
be a mum.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I can't imagine nine months of being nauseous. Oh my god,
that sounds.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Like one day of a hangover. And I'm like, make
it and I deserve more than this.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
So even the smell of coffee, I'd start vomiting just
and I used to lay on the toilet floor just
next to the toilet just to lift my head up
and just vomits.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
We're ashes most weekends.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Oh men, have it so easy, right, we have it.
We do have it easy.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Like there's so many variations with pregnancy, and it's like
just even just the thought of being nauseous and seek
for nine months straight.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
I just wouldn't. Yeah, I couldn't. I couldn't hack it.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I didn't enjoy being pregnant at all.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
With Lucas, you've spoken a lot about the fact that
he has cystic fibrosis. When did you realized that that
was something that you guys were facing.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
So Lucas was four months old when the results came
through from his He'll prick test, So they do a
he'll prick test when the babies are born. And I
got a letter in the mail when I had like
thirty different diseases on there, and when I saw on
there one of them was sistic vibrosis, I just thought, shit,
I hope it's not that, because I knew how bad
(18:26):
it was. One of Dale's mates who he worked with
at the fire service, his son has cf rory and
we knew what they go through. Yeah, And then I
rang Dale and I said, we've got this letter in
the mail and there's something wrong with Lucas. And we
rang the pediatrician to get in to see them, and
(18:48):
they said, no, it's going to take two weeks. And
then Dale rang them back and he said no, we
want to get in tomorrow, like as soon as possible.
So he blasted the shit out of them. Actually, so
we did get in the next day and then yeah,
that's when they told us Lucas has cystic fibrosis. And
I just broke down crying. It's just like, this is
the worst thing ever. So that was really really horrible.
(19:11):
But I knew something was wrong with Lucas because his
peo was very different to me, is so his body
wasn't absorbing the food so he was like his pee
was just like like a real runny green curry, like
it was so bad. Yeah, and I just thought that
there was something not right there.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah. So then after you get that diagnosis, what are
your next steps?
Speaker 4 (19:39):
So after that then we got put in touch with
I think the cystic fibrosis nurses, which was then the
Lady Cilento Hospital, so we had someone callers, we had
to go and have meetings with them, and then it
was just a big whirlwind of like, this is what
medication that is going to be taken for the rest
(20:00):
of his life, this is what he needs, and it
was just like what the hell? This is all too much?
Like it was very overwhelming and you had to learn
how to do phisio on him, like he's just this
tiny little baby and you know, and they teach you
how to phisio was just like taps of the two fingers,
just patting his chest at the time.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
And what's that forage.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
To move the muk its out of his lungs. So
with cystic fibrosis Lucas, it's a faulty gene, so mucus
sits in their lungs and that's what causes them to
not be able to breathe. And Lucas pancreas doesn't work,
his liver doesn't work properly. So it's the whole digestive system.
(20:48):
It's the CFTR faulty gene and the salt, so the
salt doesn't reabsorb back into their body. So like as
when we sweat, it all go back in. With Lucas,
when he sweats, all the salt comes out on and
it stays on his skin. So this is why he
has to have salt tablets every day as well. And
(21:10):
I'll give him a lot of in summer power aids,
gatorades electrolytes to put that all back in. So when
he doesn't have enough salt he becomes very lethargic, and
I can tell.
Speaker 5 (21:23):
I had no idea.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Yeah, so before he eats and drinks, he has to
have his cree on, his MS enzymes, has to have
a very high fat, high calorie diet. It's very different
to our normal diets. Yeah, because they don't put on weight.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Growing up rad when he was from Because you realize
when he's not even one, how much attention did he need?
To make sure you're staying on top of his condition.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Oh constant, Like it's absolutely every day without fail. You
have to have physiotherapy and make sure he's got the
right tablets. And also you've got to remember, like babies
don't start eating solid food until they're around what's six
months old or a bit older, nine months?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Maybe you're asking the wrong people.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Know we've only got two of them.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Oh bit older. Oh gosh, I'm trying to think now.
So Lucas had to start having solid sorry foods. It
was like you know, like the baby jill jelly stuff
or custards. So we had to break the tablets up
the enzymes to put that in the food so he
could take the enzymes so he could drink. When he
(22:40):
would have milk to try and absorb all that into
his body. So he was about six weeks old when
he started having had to have custards and jellies and
yeah to his little body.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
And then if you're not staying a top of cystic
five roses.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Oh, they go downhill.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah what does that look like? And then you know,
do you how do you treat that? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (23:08):
So, like I said, you've got to do physiotherapy every day.
And their bodies, their immune systems so weak that they
catch a lot of colds easily. They get to pick
up a lot of germs easily. Gosh, Lucas he's been
in hospital so many times, so when he gets run
(23:29):
like really run down. So if he gets a wet cough,
you know straight away like shit, we need to try
and get on top of this by giving him antibiotics.
But if it doesn't go away, he ends up in
hospital and they put a pickline into them and it
goes right up to the top of the heart and
they pump really strong iv antibiotics into his body to
(23:53):
and that's for two weeks at a time. They go
in and do that to try and get on top
of it again. So we call it tune up to
get the body back working properly again for a bit, and.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Then how are you communicating that to Mia your first order,
because obviously it must so much of your energy and
attention must go towards Lucas.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Yeah, it was awful, you know, looking back, I used
to feel guilty because me, I would want to you know,
poor little darling of a nighttime she would want a
bedtime story, you know, and but I'm like, oh, I've
got to give Lucas his physio. So it was a
lot of time was spent with Lucas and on Lucas.
And I feel like she's grown up missing out on
(24:38):
that attention, which is really sad. Like I feel bad
that that the way that I did that as a mum.
So I look back now and I wish I had
put aside that time for me and I didn't give
her as much time as what I should have. Yeah,
she's sort of grown up now. I feel like she's
(24:58):
she's really felt.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
But do you know what, I don't know if ashes
are same, But there are so many moments that I
have as a parent with Marley and Lola where they
want one more piece of me and I can't because
of work, or I can't because my attention is drawn elsewhere.
So just just know that. You know, there's moments, so
many moments where I feel like I should have given
(25:21):
more and I couldn't. And you know, I get that
parent guilt as well.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
Shit, yeah, well I guess it happens to us all. Yeah,
but yeah, I do feel bad for not giving her
that attention.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
No I don't.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
What's your what's your relationship like with me? Like these days?
She's ulterately eighteen seventeen.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
She turns eighteen next week.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh oh, how are you feeling about that? Oh?
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Look, well I was excited that she got a license.
So she got a driver's license when we're in the jungle.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
Very cool.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Yeah, And I couldn't wait to get in the car
with her. In the minute I did, I'm like, shit,
get me out of here. She's got a lead foot.
But she's turning eighteen, and hopefully she goes out and
has a bit of fun and steers clear of bad things.
You know, you're worry about the kids, been me drugs
(26:18):
and oh just this whole she's about to experience that
whole nightclub world. So I mean back in the day
when I went nightclub and all I did was dance
or you know, you just dance. But these days staff
knows what they take to stay up all night because
I'm not into that shit. But yeah, I'm a bit
worried about her turning eighteen.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
It's a scary phase where they're becoming little adults and
you step back and include yourself, but at the same
time you're like, I still want to hold her hand
and pick her up from the nightclub every evening.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Yes, that na. Look. I went through the phases of
her hating school and not wanting to go to school,
but she ended up making it through to the end
of school, which was really really good. So she's turned
out to be a good girl. She really has.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Oh she's amazing, Ash.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
Oh yeah, you merry.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Something else you've spoken a lot about is your eyesight.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah yeah, my eyes are shit.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
For those that's a good for those who don't know.
And for Ash, what was the moment where you realize
you might have an issue with your eyesight?
Speaker 4 (27:29):
I found out about my eye disease, which is called
retinitis pigmentosa, was when I went to work at Virgin
and I was training in Melbourne in the training, we
had to work with people with disabilities, and this blind
lady came in and she spoke about how she went blind.
And one of the first things she said was I
(27:50):
couldn't see in the dark. And I'm like, shit, I
can't see in the dark. I can't see in the dark.
And she said, you need to go and get your
eyes checked, and I did. I went to an optometrist
and they said, no, you need to go to an ophthalmologist.
And I went to the ophthalmologist and they said, oh, well,
you got these iro disease and it's retin, it's pigmentasa
and you're going to go blind. And I was like,
(28:12):
oh shit, Like I didn't really think anything of it.
I really didn't. And then it wasn't until I moved
here when I was with Dale and I had mea
after I had Meya and Miya was crawling on the
floor and I used to kick her and trip aver,
the poor little thing. You know, I'd be walking along
and the next thing she's got a big kick in
(28:34):
the guts from me and yeah yeah, And he said, gon,
get your eyes checked again, and I did. I went
and got them checked. And then that's when they said
pretty much said you need to stop driving, and I'm like, shit,
so my whole will come crashing down.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
Were you at that point?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (28:53):
So I was thirty four, I think when I had
Maya thirty four? How old am I now? I'm fifty
one now? Oh, I don't know. I think I was
about thirty four when I had to stop driving. Wow,
sixteen years.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
What is it? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (29:09):
So seventeen years.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
I can't imagine having kids and not having not been
able to drive because because of because of it, it
must have How did you get around?
Speaker 5 (29:20):
How was that hoful?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Yeah? Buses, buses and taxis and walk. So I walk
everywhere because a lot of people always go g legs,
g legs, legs, g read You got nice legs, That's
what I was trying to say, freshly shaved, those freshly
shaved legs. I'd say it's from.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Both Those kids from primary school could see it.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Now see these legs now, Yeah, it's from all the walking.
But that's how I get about. But it was really
hard when mel was a baby getting out and about.
It was just awful because where we lived it wasn't
too far to get to the shops, but it was far,
(30:05):
Like I couldn't carry a heap of groceries home, and
I'd always have a lot of trouble with taxis picking
me up because they're like because I knew it was
such a short drive, so it was really hard.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
To get a selfish of them.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
Yeah, and you couldn't get a bus where I lived,
Like a bus would only come once an hour, and
it didn't stop anywhere near where I lived. And back then,
like you didn't have ubers, but it was super hard
to get around, and it was that's gosh. I think
it was after I had Lucas. That was even harder,
(30:38):
having two little kids and just trying to bloody get
around was awful.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Ch did they tell you at that point what percentage
of your eyes like you'd lost and how quickly it
was it was going.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Yeah, So at that time, I think when I got diagnosed,
I only I think I had about fifteen degrees of
vision left and now only fifteen I think back then
yet because it was below twenty because that's when you're classed,
or it might have been ten. Oh shit, because I've
only got nine eight or nine degrees left now, But
(31:15):
it was must have been about fifteen because I think
when it's below twenty degrees, that's when your class is
legally blind.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
So, and then when I got diagnosed, they gave me
fifteen years time frame. They said I'll be totally blind,
totally blind within fifteen years. So I'm hanging on. I've
gone six years over that now, so I'm just hanging
on to that.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
Little The joke's on them, then, I guess, and I've
got left so good on now.
Speaker 4 (31:43):
That's why I get out and do whatever I can.
And when I had that opportunity to go into the jungle,
I'm like, yes, I'm taking this, you know, grab it
with both hands and just bloody go and have fun.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Do they tell you now, Rag, do they rediagnose how
much time you have left? Or do you want to know?
Speaker 4 (32:00):
It is getting worse, Maddie. It's definitely getting worse because
I'm doing clinical trials as well. At the moment. I've
been on these trials for two years and I feel
like my eye like I don't know if I'm taking
the real drug or it's a plus ebo, but I
do feel like my eyes have got worse since I've
been on these trials. But it again, I don't know
(32:21):
whether it's my eyes deteriorating or it could be the
drug that I may be on. I'm not sure, but yeah,
I don't know because when I go and have all
these tests done, because it's a lot of testing, and
and you do the field tests, like because I've got
no peripheral vision at all, and yeah, so each time
(32:45):
they do the testing, they don't tell you, like on
the clinical trials, how much a vision I've got left.
It's not until I go and see my ophthalmologist and
I do same testing, and then they tell you if
I've lost more percentage each time I go there, right, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
And how long does the clinical testing last?
Speaker 4 (33:06):
For us? It was meant to be a two year trial,
but they've now turned it into a five year trial.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
Well, and like you said, you don't you don't know
if you're on the placebo or not. That's why, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Yeah, it's crazy because when you go somewhere, like from
an example, going over to the jungle in South Africa,
you've got to write down all what medications you take.
And I had to get a letter. I'm ringing them.
I said, look, I'm going away, I need a letter
to say whether this is I don't know what they
write in these letters, but you know, to get a
(33:39):
pass to get it through customs and stuff. Yeah. Even
when I went to Bali last year with Phil, I'm like,
I was shit scared to take the tablets over in case.
It was like I didn't know. You don't know what's
in these things.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
You've been taking cocaine for the last months.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
I imagine you're logged in a valley jail.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Maybe that's why if brain's fried even more so.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
Don't take them in a bodyboard bag.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
No, no, so I don't know that. Yeah, the trials
has still got a long way to go, and it's
all about trying to slow down what vision I've got
left to try and say, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
We know.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Going to the soup market is one of the hardest
moments with young kids, Yes, and it must be even
harder when you've got limited vision. With any scenarios in
the soupermarket where it was particularly challenging.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
Oh yes, I got run over by this old man
on a big mobility skeeter. He made me down and
half of so sorry, hey, the old bugger he made
me down here. So I was walking to the twelve
items or less aile we miss our cream. And then
next I was walking with my cane, so I always
(34:53):
use my cane when I go into crowded places or
the shops, just to let people know, you know, I
can't see very well. And then he came down on
my right hand side and just rang me down. He
ran me down and I then he reversed back and
ran over me again, yeah, screaming at me. He's gone,
(35:16):
You're as blind as I am, yelling at me, and
I'm laying on the floor at you, and all I
could see was my sour cream on the floor. And
then I looked up. All these people were looking at me,
and they were staring at me. I was staying to
bloody ring me. Who's that hang up?
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (35:34):
Sorry?
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Yes, So he ran you over, then reversed back over
you and then yelled at you yes.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
And then all these people were just staring at me.
And then this lady came and helped me, and all
I could see was her face. I was looking at
her face, and she helped me up, and she helped
me go to the counter to pay for my sour cream,
and the lady who works he she said, you okay,
REGI because I'm regular down at Woolies. And I said, no,
(36:03):
this man just rang me down. And she goes, what
in here? And I said, yeah, in here, and I
went and sat outside. I rang me here because I
was just with me and we had lunch and Maa
come over to help me and told her what happened.
And then she goes, mom, is that him? And she
saw him coming out of Woollies and I said, chase him.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I said, chase it's a hit and run a hit.
Speaker 5 (36:24):
He just left.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
So she took a photo of his number plate on
his scooter and then I after Woolies, they said, after
I sit that side, and the Woolies lady she said,
do you want to look at the footage?
Speaker 5 (36:40):
Red?
Speaker 4 (36:40):
And I said yes, I do. Oh no, I said, look,
I'll come back tomorrow. And I went back the next
day because I was so shook up. And I went
back the next day to look at the footage and
she said, sorry, it's against our legal rights to show
you the footage.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
She's like, what footage?
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Yeah, yeah, So she said you need to see the
police if you want to get the footage. So then
I had to go to the police with Roslind. She
took me and we got the footage and because I
just wanted to see what happened, you.
Speaker 5 (37:10):
Know, do you have the footage?
Speaker 4 (37:13):
Yeah, I've got the footage. I'd love to be yeah
show one day I will release the footage of me
getting Modan and woollies. Long story about me going to
the supermarket. But yes, it is hard going to the supermarket.
I've now got a favor of bloody mobility scooters.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
I see them driving down the road sometimes and like
on the footpath little I don't know what's scary. The
kids on scooters are the old people on their mobility schools.
Speaker 5 (37:43):
I'll never be able to look at one the same.
Be careful, I will be careful.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
I can't believe the audacity to run you over, reverse
back over the top of.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
You and then yell at you and then run the audacity.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yes, rech with Lucas. Now is he fifteen?
Speaker 4 (38:04):
Yeah he's fifteen. Yeah, he'll be sixteen this year.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
And how's he going with cistic fibrosis? Now, how's he
managing it?
Speaker 4 (38:11):
He goes to the gym. I've just signed him up
for rugby league. He's yet to have a game. He
went to the training the other week and he's going, Mom,
they're big boys, like he's going because he's in the
under sixteen. So I said, I said they're big. He goes,
they've got beds and I said, I know, Like, tell
me about it. They are all these big islanders, like
(38:34):
they're huge, they're messive. So I think he's a bit
worried he's going to get smashed because he's He's very
fast though. He's a fast runner, So I don't know
much of that wing. Is that what it is?
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Put by the wing and he can just run fast
from them. That's the benefit of being fast.
Speaker 5 (38:52):
They're usually slow.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Okay, so he's very very fast, So whatever. I still
don't understand that game. And anyway, it's stupid. I don't
get it.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
It's it's where I played.
Speaker 5 (39:05):
I was.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
I was a little string bean, but I was quick,
and they were like, you can go on the wing. Yeah, okay,
So get his coach and just say put him on
the wing.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
And put him on the wing. Okay. Yeah, So that's
what he does. He goes to the gym and he's
going to start doing that. He used to play basketball.
But again another thing happened. There was when they went
back the next season, all the boys just shot up
like they're huge. Anyway, Mum, it's too he goes, it's
too big for me. So he quit basketball.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Yeah it was too so he picked a more contact
sport with bigger people.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Does he want to play chess?
Speaker 4 (39:42):
Yes, I don't know. I said maybe he should play.
He should play soccer.
Speaker 5 (39:49):
I used to play.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
I used to play soccer.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
So here you go. He probably probably really good? Is
he is?
Speaker 4 (39:54):
He is?
Speaker 5 (39:55):
He still going to school?
Speaker 4 (39:56):
Yeah, it's been hard this year because I pulled He
was at Helen's fail High and I pulled him out
of that because he was he wasn't really happy there,
so I've put him into another school and now I
think it's just the same thing. He's not real one
hundred percent happy here either, so I think school all
around is not Lucas's thing. So yeah, which is really hard.
(40:19):
So he's always been put in the hard basket all
through school with his illness, so he's never really enjoyed school.
So hopefully, I don't know, pull him out and put
make him get a job, you know, get an apprenticeship.
He wants to be an electrician or a carpenter. Or something,
So that'd be good if he did something like that.
Speaker 5 (40:40):
Yeah, I can imagine it would be.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
I mean, if you're already if school's not your thing,
and then of course he's got to manage his systic.
Speaker 5 (40:46):
I'm guessing it's really really hard for him. Just so
you know, I didn't. I left school at fifteen, and
I'm fine, good on you.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
What did you do when you left school?
Speaker 1 (40:56):
I left to do an apprenticeship too. I've had a
million jobs since then. But it definitely like how Lucas
might be feeling, where it's like school is not his
thing and working with your hands and doing a trade
was actually really beneficial for me. So hopefully he can
find what's for him.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
If there's any sparky companies or builders who listening to
the podcast who might be on the Gold Coast and
looking to take on a young kid, a whipper.
Speaker 4 (41:22):
Whipper snipper, wheper snipper. Yeah, I think him getting an
apprenticeship would be great. It would really be good.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
For him and Reggie at the moment. I know you've
spoken about the fact that like I'd love a job,
like I'd love I'd love something, and you're like, I
just need someone to give me a go. Do you
know what would be the dream job? Do you think
at the moment, at.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
The moment, a dream job would be I'd love to
do radio, be awesome. I'd be great on radio, just saying,
but anyway, as long as I don't swear.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
You'd be very good with your swearing on this episode, by.
Speaker 5 (41:56):
The way, Yeah, I was going to say, I don't know,
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
He's done with the normal, Regie, I.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
Know, go on, let a few out.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
Oh look, I'm really bad. I'm really bad, even you
know when we're in the jungle, because we were told
it's a what is it? A PG show friendly time slot?
Very family friendly.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
I had very talking about the whole time. I was too.
Speaker 4 (42:22):
There's a lot Maybe that's why I didn't get much
eat time.
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Yeah, maybe you could be a comedian. Reg I know
a lot of.
Speaker 4 (42:30):
People have seen Reach. What do you do comedy? And
I'm like, oh, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (42:34):
Crack some jokes? Why not?
Speaker 4 (42:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (42:36):
Maybe really good at it.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
I don't know. Whatever comes out of my mouth just
comes out, you.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Know, naturally that's perfect for a comedian, right, Yeah, because Rege,
we can and we don't have to include this in
the episode if it's too personal. But at the moment,
being on a blind pension, how much do you receive
a week.
Speaker 4 (42:57):
So being on a blind disability pension, because so I
used to get the family tax benefit thing, but when
when the kids leave school and stuff, you don't get
that anymore. So at the moment, I think it's around
thirteen hundred or fortnight and I pay six fifty a
week crent.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
So there you go, jeus.
Speaker 4 (43:22):
Leasure with nothing. It's like, yeah, yeah, so that's why. Yeah,
the second big brother, a lot of the money's been
lived off and read.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
I know, like you're such a positive person and you
smile through it, but do you have that worry of like, shit,
you know, I really need to get something to sink
my teeth into.
Speaker 4 (43:46):
I should get totally Like even with you know, me
and ride my mate Roddy, we're always doing stuff and
trying to, you know, get my social media page up
and the numbers up on them, just so I can
just try and do stuff. You know, I need to
(44:08):
get a job. But yeah, it's really hard because being
vision impaired you're limited to what you can do. So
and yeah, blind disability pension doesn't cut like these days.
I'm very I'm thankful that I get something, but with
(44:29):
the rentals these days, it's just insane how much rent
people pay these days. It's crazy and it's only going
to get worse and it's going to get harder. So yeah,
I need to get an income coming in because I'm
really startmer ship yourself.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
Yeah, are you ever hesitant to let people know about
the fact that you're blind because it just instantly paints
you as being a certain type of person?
Speaker 4 (44:53):
No, not at all. I'm yeah, Like like when I
first found out about my blindness, I was. I remember
when the very first time I had to wear my
disability badge, like my my blind badge, lay vision badge.
I was so embarrassed. And when I used my cane
for the first time, I was so embarrassed. I was
(45:14):
so embarrassed and I didn't want to use it. But
now I couldn't do without both of them. So no,
I'm happy to let anyone know that you know, I'm
vision impaired and legally blind. Even though I get bagged
a lot now after going on Bloody, I'm a celebrity.
Get me out of here. All the trolls on. They're saying,
I'm faking it. So you were a good guy dog
(45:36):
for me, Maddie in there.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
I pulled you into a couple of trees.
Speaker 5 (45:40):
You did, you did? Tell me? You did? Tell me?
Speaker 2 (45:44):
That was just testing outing me.
Speaker 4 (45:53):
Tell you about the rock that he used to make
me trip on so i'd fallen, Grabby's.
Speaker 5 (45:58):
Tell me tell me about a rock? Is it a
penis shaped rock or a rock shaped peenis?
Speaker 4 (46:03):
There was a rock and he try and because walking
it to the waterfall, it was a real battle. It
was a trick, wasn't it, Maddie, Like it.
Speaker 2 (46:11):
Was camp Everest.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
Oh my godness, it was so hard. And he take
me along this path of the rocks and yeah, no
I did. It did make me fall and I did
accidentally grab his penis.
Speaker 5 (46:26):
And what did you think about the penis red?
Speaker 4 (46:29):
Well, we just got out of the water, which was
freezing cold, and I must say it wasn't shriveled up.
Speaker 5 (46:40):
That's all right. I heard the big ones hurt. Well
that's what my wife tells me. Anyway, Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (46:49):
Yeah, So now I'm happy to let people know that
I'm vision and pair just grab.
Speaker 5 (46:52):
Them on the penis don't know.
Speaker 2 (46:57):
Read one question we always end on. When Mia and
Lucas have flown the nest no longer with you, is
there anything that you would like them to remember about
the house they grew up in?
Speaker 4 (47:11):
Oh gosh, it's hard many because I rant we've moved
that many bloody times now. It's shit because the owners
either more.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
About the type of mum that they had growing up.
Speaker 4 (47:24):
Yeah, Oh that'd be good. Yeah, because we've moved about
six seven times now. The house they grew up Oh Jesus,
the mum that they grew up with would be a kind,
loving mum that tried to do the best that she
could for them.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
That's yeah, that's awesome meeting you. I think that they're
very lucky to have you. And you're very, very kind
and very loving and I really appreciate the time that
you spent with us.
Speaker 4 (47:56):
Oh, thank you for having me on. I hope this
has been a boys.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
No, it's been amazing. Thank you so much, Regie. And
for the record, I think you're a great mum.
Speaker 4 (48:06):
Thanks. Maybe, yeah, I do the best that I can.
Speaker 5 (48:11):
Good. Thank you so much again. Reggie.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Oh mate, I don't know how Reggie does it. If
you want to keep up with Reggie, make sure you
check out the show notes for all the links to
a social media.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
And while you're there, give us a follow and a rating,
why not a subscription? Share it with a friend.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
Five stars, maybe a couple of stars, Hey, maybe just
a couple. Just be free, three, four or five you
We haven't had a one or two or three star lately,
not have we had one at all.
Speaker 5 (48:40):
It's been a while.
Speaker 2 (48:41):
But hey, if you're listening to this and you think
we're shit, we want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (48:44):
Yeah, we don't see you next time.
Speaker 2 (48:49):
Bye. Two Doting Dad's podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of
country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
We pay our respects to their elders past and present
and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate islander
peoples today
Matt, you know what my favorite part of watching arm
celeb was go on? Probably when you swallowed that anus. Yes, no,
but of course your friendship that you formed with none
other than Reggie Bird.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
But be honest, what was it more the anus or
Reggie Bird, My beloved Reggie Bird. Reggie Sorenson, as some
people may know her, she is an incredible person. She
is for sure. Reggie is, of course, a two time
winner of Big Brother Australia.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
That's out standing. Despite the Big wins, though life wasn't
exactly a guaranteed golden ticket.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Reggie's faced more challenges than most, from growing up in
Tazzy with her mum's struggles with schizophrenia, to her own
diagnosis of Usher's syndrome, which is left to navigating the
world with pinhole vision.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
She's doing all this while raising two teenagers, Mia and Lucas,
which we know Lucas has cystic fibrosis. Reggie opens up
about what it's like raising teens while dealing with vision loss,
the financial situation of post reality TV life, and how
she's preparing for the future.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
With outside Plus. She shares how she stayed resilient through
it all and her conversations with Mia and Lucas about
facing adversity.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Shall we let's do it?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Welcome back to two doting dads and one doting mum.
I'm Mattie, Jay.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
I'm Ash and oh yes, I'm Reggie.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This is a podcast all about parenting. It is the good,
it is the bad, and it's the relatable rage. We
don't give any advice legally, we're not allowed to.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
It's a good thing.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Oh yeah, it's definitely, it's a great thing.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
Yeah, well maybe you can.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Maybe you can provide some advice, but no pressure, no pressure.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Advice on what how to look after a kid or anything.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Advice on winning ruffles, best fish and chips.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
We'll take how to ween big brother, anything like that,
if you don't mind. I really want to start way
back when a young Reggie.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
What was she like young, like growing up young that young?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, yeah, as a child, a teenager if you will,
if you.
Speaker 4 (02:25):
Will, or hated the teenage years, especially hated fourteen. Well,
turning fourteen, you know, like you start to grow boobs,
and you got acne and you know, and you start
to like boys and then it all becomes complicated. And
I was getting bullied at schools.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
What do you get bullied for? Reg Oh, I.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Got bullied a lot at school because a lot of
the girls thought that I was after their boyfriends. But
I wasn't allows I wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend
in and I got bullied a lot because I had
hairy legs as well.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Were you a class clown or were you more of
a follow the rules sort of girl at school?
Speaker 4 (03:12):
No, I did sort of play up a bit at school.
I do remember letting a fire extinguisher off in the classroom.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
So everyone has a fire extinguisher story.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Why did you let the fire extinguisher off?
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Oh, look, I did say I accidentally leant on it,
but I don't think I did. I do remember letting
it off, and then I got in big trouble and
then my school report got rewritten, Like my school report
got pulled apart, and then they had to rewrite it
because I was like naughty. And then I ended up
(03:46):
leaving that school. So I went to Rakeby High School
for seven and eight. It was quite a rough school.
I grew up in a rough area, very like housing committe.
Yeah yeah, rough as guts. Yeah yeah, that's such.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
A great Aussie expressions.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Guts. Yeah. And then I went to year's nine and
ten I went to Clarence High School, so that was
a bit more of a I got to public school,
but it was a bit more uppity class than where
I grew.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Do you remember when you were allowed to start shaving
your legs?
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Oh yeah, Well my cousin flew over from Melbourne. I
think I was about again fourteen, and she when I
got some of that nair cream and put the nair
cream on my legs, and I'll never forget the smell
of that stuff. So because you know, I always used
to get called here comes the bush pig.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
My god, so kids are ruthless.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah, bloody, brutal. And then and I got in so
much trouble because all the hairs had gone off my legs,
and I got in so much trouble. Like I remember
my nan and saying to my mom, you know, she's
after the boys. She's going to attract the boys, you know,
like having no hairs on my legs.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So did it make any difference being being hairless on
the legs?
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Well, I felt like a little bald badger. By then.
It was like yeah, nice, nice, It was good. It
was good and you know what, me and my daughter Mea.
I felt so sorry for her growing up through high school.
She had really hairy legs like me as well. And
I'm like, I don't care. That girl is not going
(05:36):
to go through the torture that I went through at
school that those hairs are coming off, like, yeah, they
had they had to come. I used to get the
clippers and clip them off.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
My god.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Yeah, she wasn't going to go through what I went through. Yeah,
poor bugger.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
But I think that's good parenting if you ask me.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, yeah, do you think like, because because I got
bullied so much from having hairy legs, I just thought
there's no way in hell me or he's going to
go through that same thing, So, you know, I hated
to do.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
I think that's outstanding parents. Yeah, I think that's a
good look.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I used to get bully for my shoes at school,
and then now also goes to school. I'm like, he's
got to have the coolest shoes so he doesn't get bullied.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
So I think you've done the right thing.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
Yeah, shoes was another thing. You know, I had to
wear desert boots to school and that was just horrific.
So do you know what desert beets are.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Like, the like, the like the leather clarks clarks still.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Well, desert beats are like brown kind of sprady.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I used to own a pack.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Well, now I know what you're talking about. They became
you were an icon? Is that what you were? A
fashion icon?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Apparently back then I wasn't.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
So yeah, Well, for the record, Rage, you're you're a
far cry from a bush pig. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
I think you.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I don't see any semblance.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
And you are an icon.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Look what icon I would have looked like one of
those more dogs in the jungle Maddie.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
No, Hey, Reggie, I want to talk about Big Brother,
just really quickly, because I think there's a there's definitely
a misconception. I think that people who don't know the
full store story of Reggie, they're like, well, she must
be sitting on millions of dollars because she's one Big
Brother a couple of times, Like, surely, but obviously you
(07:29):
did win an amount of money off the first time
you won Big Brother, But at the time you went
back to Tazzy with your first husband, and how did
that money get split up? And what did you get
left with?
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So the first time around when I was married to Adrine. Yeah,
after win winning Big Brother, so I paid off the house.
We had a house, and I paid the house off
and I left that to Adrian. So I walked away
from the marriage. And then when when I moved to Sydney,
(08:02):
I had a guy made out. He was a TV producer,
so he wrapped me off forty grand. So by that
stage I had already ship I think nearly two hundred grand.
Hang on, it must have been about one hundred and six.
I failed at meth school, just trying to work it
(08:26):
all out anyway, So when I moved to Sydney, I
think I had left about eighty thousand dollars and I
could and then I couldn't get a job for two years.
So when I and then when I moved to Sydney,
I moved to I didn't know that rush Cutters Bay
was this whole knobby smart like fancy place in Sydney.
(08:49):
And I with the unit that I rented, I had
to put up front twenty thousand dollars up front to
get this unit because I didn't have a job and anyway,
so I put twenty grand up front for this unit.
Then I was getting stalked by the guy that made
out he was a TV producer, and I went to
(09:10):
go back to the real estate agent to get out
of that lease. I ain't been in there for about
two months, and they refused to give me any of
my money back, so I had to also, yeah, pay
all that money up front, so I lost all that.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
So and I lived off the rest of the winnings
until I got a job at Virgin. So it all
pretty That's where it all went.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Holy shit.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
So you I mentioned you walked away from the walked
away from the marriage. Do you mind going into that
a little bit, because I mean, I do recall you winning,
and I recall I think you had a fish and
chip shop at the time. Was that be the same husband?
Speaker 5 (09:50):
And inside to why you walked away from that?
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Yeah, So I was with Adrian for gosh, nearly twelve years.
I think it was because I was in the shop
for twelve years and then our marriage and we must
have been a bit less than that because I was
in there with another boyfriend prior so David and so anyway, yeah,
our marriage broke down. So before going into Big Brother,
(10:16):
it was kind of I was at the stage of
wanting obviously to change, do something with my life and
do something different. And that's why I applied for Big Brother,
because I'm like, I wanted a holiday to get out
of the shop.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
How often did you get a holiday when you're working
in the fish and chip shop?
Speaker 4 (10:32):
No, not much at all. Because I did go to Europe.
Me and Adrian ended up going to Europe. I might
have been after I've been in the shop for about
eight years. I went, I wanted to travel, and so
we went traveling and then I came back was in
the shop for another four years and that's when I went, no,
(10:55):
I can't do this. I need to get out of here.
I need a break. So that's when I applied for
Big Brother. And then things happened. I found out after
the show. Yeah, a lot of stuff happened. And then
I went, now, I can't do this anymore. And then
that's when I walked away. Yeah, and I did cop
a lot of shit, Like a lot of people said, oh,
like Woman's Day for example, bastards, why are they talking
(11:19):
about me at the moment. They've coursed a lot. I know,
I'm looking back at this, jeez, that's a couple of
relationships that causing a few problems with But anyway, so
I walked away and yeah, I left Adrian and went
to Sydney and then I went to Melbourne.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah at the time, Raad, you were working in the
fish and chip shop. The stories I've heard of bus
loads of people rocking up to see the fish and
chip shop that Reggie used to work at. It was crazy.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, yeah, mad mad after Big Brother, like that shop
would have been. They would have made it shit later
money because a lot of yeah, buses would rock up
and go to the shop just to see where I
used to work. So and still to this day, twenty
three years down the track, people always go, I, Reggie,
(12:13):
I went to your fish and chip.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Shop and You're like, don't go there.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Adrian's still there. We wrapped up gosh last year. Year
before it was because me and rod or Roddy's making
a doco on my life and I went back to
the fish and chip shop. I was absolutely shitting myself.
So yeah, because I was like, what do I want
to do this?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
How did it feel standing back in the fish and
chip shop?
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Yeah, it was bizarre. It was so weird, really really weird.
But that's all going to be in the docade, so
people have to watch out for that one.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Do you know when's it going to come out?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Reg Oh, we're still in the making of it, so
fingers crossed this year. It's going to be all finished up.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Very cool.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
If you need anyone from the to make a cameo, yes,
be gay more than willing. After that, you met your
second husband.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
So yeah. So I was living in Melbourne when I
met Dale because I had to go back to dream
World to do some work and back at the Big
Brother House.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
That's right, it used to be a dream Word.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
I met Dale through the security guard that used to
let us out the house each week. She had to
come back and work with me at dream World to
look after me while all the fans lined up to
get a photograph and an autograph and all that stuff.
And she was good mates with one of Dale's mates.
And that's how I met Dale. And so anyway, I
(13:43):
was living in Melbourne and then I went back to
I flew up here to the Goldie, caught up with
Dale and we hit it off from there, and then
I ended up leaving Melbourne and I came up to
the Goldie and then I got pregnant with me because
I was shagging too much, so and then that's the
(14:04):
damn shaved legs. So that's that's how me and Dale. Yeah,
that's how our relationship started.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, before we get into Mia, just out of interest,
like in that period from obviously you did a bit
of work with Big Brother again. But I kind of
think like, surely you must have had so many offers
like appearances or you know, because you talk about what
it was like after the show and you have to
you have to have a bodyguard for two weeks, like
will you get well, you're not getting people throwing job off,
(14:37):
is that you.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
So after the show, Yeah, I had the two bodyguards
with me. I think they stayed with me for a
few weeks. And then because I couldn't walk down the street,
it was so crazy. It was just mad, absolutely mad.
And then I ended up staying in a hotel in
the city because I couldn't go home. It was just insane.
And then so I was with Harry and Melane, like
(15:00):
we had to have what is he an agent? Management,
so you couldn't go into the show unless you signed
contracts and management. And but I did have quite a
few things like offered to me, like Nando's offered to
give me a franchise, and they knocked it back because
(15:21):
I said, na, she cooks fish and chips. So that
was a really big like thing that that happened there.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
Surely you could have adapted to do chicken.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
I should. Yeah, I can. I make good bloody chicken
parmes and chicken burgers. Yeah, but it's really interesting like
back in the day, like again, oh gosh, Like you
have a lot of offers of things, but then the
management doesn't agree with it, and then you got no
(15:54):
saying it. It was just yeah, oh, and it was
another world. It was a world that I didn't know about. Look,
because I so far I was living under a rock
down in Chazzy. So yeah, no idea. Yeah I wish
I had. I wish I had someone guide me through
the whole yeah, entertainment world. And because I had no
(16:16):
idea at all about it.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
When you were pregnant with me, was there anyone guiding
you through the preparations to become a mum.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
No, not at all. I had no idea at all,
and I was sick the whole time with me. I
had that thing. There's a word for it where you
vomit NonStop, like vomited what nine months she was nine
months old. I vomited up until she pretty much came
out of me.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Yeah, I know what you mean. It's hell.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
It was horrible and I ended up in hospital on
a drip I think for about four days because I
couldn't even swallow water because I was so sick, so
so sick. Yeah, and then I have a drink of war.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
So I was really really crooked with me, And same
with lucas. I stopped vomiting with him around six months.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Mark.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Yeah, I had no guidance on, you know, how to
be a mum.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I can't imagine nine months of being nauseous. Oh my god,
that sounds.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Like one day of a hangover. And I'm like, make
it and I deserve more than this.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
So even the smell of coffee, I'd start vomiting just
and I used to lay on the toilet floor just
next to the toilet just to lift my head up
and just vomits.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
We're ashes most weekends.
Speaker 5 (17:36):
Oh men, have it so easy, right, we have it.
We do have it easy.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Like there's so many variations with pregnancy, and it's like
just even just the thought of being nauseous and seek
for nine months straight.
Speaker 5 (17:47):
I just wouldn't. Yeah, I couldn't. I couldn't hack it.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I didn't enjoy being pregnant at all.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
With Lucas, you've spoken a lot about the fact that
he has cystic fibrosis. When did you realized that that
was something that you guys were facing.
Speaker 4 (18:03):
So Lucas was four months old when the results came
through from his He'll prick test, So they do a
he'll prick test when the babies are born. And I
got a letter in the mail when I had like
thirty different diseases on there, and when I saw on
there one of them was sistic vibrosis, I just thought, shit,
I hope it's not that, because I knew how bad
(18:26):
it was. One of Dale's mates who he worked with
at the fire service, his son has cf rory and
we knew what they go through. Yeah, And then I
rang Dale and I said, we've got this letter in
the mail and there's something wrong with Lucas. And we
rang the pediatrician to get in to see them, and
(18:48):
they said, no, it's going to take two weeks. And
then Dale rang them back and he said no, we
want to get in tomorrow, like as soon as possible.
So he blasted the shit out of them. Actually, so
we did get in the next day and then yeah,
that's when they told us Lucas has cystic fibrosis. And
I just broke down crying. It's just like, this is
the worst thing ever. So that was really really horrible.
(19:11):
But I knew something was wrong with Lucas because his
peo was very different to me, is so his body
wasn't absorbing the food so he was like his pee
was just like like a real runny green curry, like
it was so bad. Yeah, and I just thought that
there was something not right there.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah. So then after you get that diagnosis, what are
your next steps?
Speaker 4 (19:39):
So after that then we got put in touch with
I think the cystic fibrosis nurses, which was then the
Lady Cilento Hospital, so we had someone callers, we had
to go and have meetings with them, and then it
was just a big whirlwind of like, this is what
medication that is going to be taken for the rest
(20:00):
of his life, this is what he needs, and it
was just like what the hell? This is all too much?
Like it was very overwhelming and you had to learn
how to do phisio on him, like he's just this
tiny little baby and you know, and they teach you
how to phisio was just like taps of the two fingers,
just patting his chest at the time.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
And what's that forage.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
To move the muk its out of his lungs. So
with cystic fibrosis Lucas, it's a faulty gene, so mucus
sits in their lungs and that's what causes them to
not be able to breathe. And Lucas pancreas doesn't work,
his liver doesn't work properly. So it's the whole digestive system.
(20:48):
It's the CFTR faulty gene and the salt, so the
salt doesn't reabsorb back into their body. So like as
when we sweat, it all go back in. With Lucas,
when he sweats, all the salt comes out on and
it stays on his skin. So this is why he
has to have salt tablets every day as well. And
(21:10):
I'll give him a lot of in summer power aids,
gatorades electrolytes to put that all back in. So when
he doesn't have enough salt he becomes very lethargic, and
I can tell.
Speaker 5 (21:23):
I had no idea.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Yeah, so before he eats and drinks, he has to
have his cree on, his MS enzymes, has to have
a very high fat, high calorie diet. It's very different
to our normal diets. Yeah, because they don't put on weight.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Growing up rad when he was from Because you realize
when he's not even one, how much attention did he need?
To make sure you're staying on top of his condition.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Oh constant, Like it's absolutely every day without fail. You
have to have physiotherapy and make sure he's got the
right tablets. And also you've got to remember, like babies
don't start eating solid food until they're around what's six
months old or a bit older, nine months?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Maybe you're asking the wrong people.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Know we've only got two of them.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Oh bit older. Oh gosh, I'm trying to think now.
So Lucas had to start having solid sorry foods. It
was like you know, like the baby jill jelly stuff
or custards. So we had to break the tablets up
the enzymes to put that in the food so he
could take the enzymes so he could drink. When he
(22:40):
would have milk to try and absorb all that into
his body. So he was about six weeks old when
he started having had to have custards and jellies and
yeah to his little body.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
And then if you're not staying a top of cystic
five roses.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Oh, they go downhill.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Yeah what does that look like? And then you know,
do you how do you treat that? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (23:08):
So, like I said, you've got to do physiotherapy every day.
And their bodies, their immune systems so weak that they
catch a lot of colds easily. They get to pick
up a lot of germs easily. Gosh, Lucas he's been
in hospital so many times, so when he gets run
(23:29):
like really run down. So if he gets a wet cough,
you know straight away like shit, we need to try
and get on top of this by giving him antibiotics.
But if it doesn't go away, he ends up in
hospital and they put a pickline into them and it
goes right up to the top of the heart and
they pump really strong iv antibiotics into his body to
(23:53):
and that's for two weeks at a time. They go
in and do that to try and get on top
of it again. So we call it tune up to
get the body back working properly again for a bit, and.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Then how are you communicating that to Mia your first order,
because obviously it must so much of your energy and
attention must go towards Lucas.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Yeah, it was awful, you know, looking back, I used
to feel guilty because me, I would want to you know,
poor little darling of a nighttime she would want a
bedtime story, you know, and but I'm like, oh, I've
got to give Lucas his physio. So it was a
lot of time was spent with Lucas and on Lucas.
And I feel like she's grown up missing out on
(24:38):
that attention, which is really sad. Like I feel bad
that that the way that I did that as a mum.
So I look back now and I wish I had
put aside that time for me and I didn't give
her as much time as what I should have. Yeah,
she's sort of grown up now. I feel like she's
(24:58):
she's really felt.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
But do you know what, I don't know if ashes
are same, But there are so many moments that I
have as a parent with Marley and Lola where they
want one more piece of me and I can't because
of work, or I can't because my attention is drawn elsewhere.
So just just know that. You know, there's moments, so
many moments where I feel like I should have given
(25:21):
more and I couldn't. And you know, I get that
parent guilt as well.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
Shit, yeah, well I guess it happens to us all. Yeah,
but yeah, I do feel bad for not giving her
that attention.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
No I don't.
Speaker 5 (25:34):
What's your what's your relationship like with me? Like these days?
She's ulterately eighteen seventeen.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
She turns eighteen next week.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Oh oh, how are you feeling about that? Oh?
Speaker 4 (25:47):
Look, well I was excited that she got a license.
So she got a driver's license when we're in the jungle.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
Very cool.
Speaker 4 (25:54):
Yeah, And I couldn't wait to get in the car
with her. In the minute I did, I'm like, shit,
get me out of here. She's got a lead foot.
But she's turning eighteen, and hopefully she goes out and
has a bit of fun and steers clear of bad things.
You know, you're worry about the kids, been me drugs
(26:18):
and oh just this whole she's about to experience that
whole nightclub world. So I mean back in the day
when I went nightclub and all I did was dance
or you know, you just dance. But these days staff
knows what they take to stay up all night because
I'm not into that shit. But yeah, I'm a bit
worried about her turning eighteen.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
It's a scary phase where they're becoming little adults and
you step back and include yourself, but at the same
time you're like, I still want to hold her hand
and pick her up from the nightclub every evening.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Yes, that na. Look. I went through the phases of
her hating school and not wanting to go to school,
but she ended up making it through to the end
of school, which was really really good. So she's turned
out to be a good girl. She really has.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Oh she's amazing, Ash.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
Oh yeah, you merry.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Something else you've spoken a lot about is your eyesight.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah yeah, my eyes are shit.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
For those that's a good for those who don't know.
And for Ash, what was the moment where you realize
you might have an issue with your eyesight?
Speaker 4 (27:29):
I found out about my eye disease, which is called
retinitis pigmentosa, was when I went to work at Virgin
and I was training in Melbourne in the training, we
had to work with people with disabilities, and this blind
lady came in and she spoke about how she went blind.
And one of the first things she said was I
(27:50):
couldn't see in the dark. And I'm like, shit, I
can't see in the dark. I can't see in the dark.
And she said, you need to go and get your
eyes checked, and I did. I went to an optometrist
and they said, no, you need to go to an ophthalmologist.
And I went to the ophthalmologist and they said, oh, well,
you got these iro disease and it's retin, it's pigmentasa
and you're going to go blind. And I was like,
(28:12):
oh shit, Like I didn't really think anything of it.
I really didn't. And then it wasn't until I moved
here when I was with Dale and I had mea
after I had Meya and Miya was crawling on the
floor and I used to kick her and trip aver,
the poor little thing. You know, I'd be walking along
and the next thing she's got a big kick in
(28:34):
the guts from me and yeah yeah, And he said, gon,
get your eyes checked again, and I did. I went
and got them checked. And then that's when they said
pretty much said you need to stop driving, and I'm like, shit,
so my whole will come crashing down.
Speaker 5 (28:51):
Were you at that point?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (28:53):
So I was thirty four, I think when I had
Maya thirty four? How old am I now? I'm fifty
one now? Oh, I don't know. I think I was
about thirty four when I had to stop driving. Wow,
sixteen years.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
What is it? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (29:09):
So seventeen years.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
I can't imagine having kids and not having not been
able to drive because because of because of it, it
must have How did you get around?
Speaker 5 (29:20):
How was that hoful?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Yeah? Buses, buses and taxis and walk. So I walk
everywhere because a lot of people always go g legs,
g legs, legs, g read You got nice legs, That's
what I was trying to say, freshly shaved, those freshly
shaved legs. I'd say it's from.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Both Those kids from primary school could see it.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Now see these legs now, Yeah, it's from all the walking.
But that's how I get about. But it was really
hard when mel was a baby getting out and about.
It was just awful because where we lived it wasn't
too far to get to the shops, but it was far,
(30:05):
Like I couldn't carry a heap of groceries home, and
I'd always have a lot of trouble with taxis picking
me up because they're like because I knew it was
such a short drive, so it was really hard.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
To get a selfish of them.
Speaker 4 (30:17):
Yeah, and you couldn't get a bus where I lived,
Like a bus would only come once an hour, and
it didn't stop anywhere near where I lived. And back then,
like you didn't have ubers, but it was super hard
to get around, and it was that's gosh. I think
it was after I had Lucas. That was even harder,
(30:38):
having two little kids and just trying to bloody get
around was awful.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Ch did they tell you at that point what percentage
of your eyes like you'd lost and how quickly it
was it was going.
Speaker 4 (30:51):
Yeah, So at that time, I think when I got diagnosed,
I only I think I had about fifteen degrees of
vision left and now only fifteen I think back then
yet because it was below twenty because that's when you're classed,
or it might have been ten. Oh shit, because I've
only got nine eight or nine degrees left now, But
(31:15):
it was must have been about fifteen because I think
when it's below twenty degrees, that's when your class is
legally blind.
Speaker 5 (31:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
So, and then when I got diagnosed, they gave me
fifteen years time frame. They said I'll be totally blind,
totally blind within fifteen years. So I'm hanging on. I've
gone six years over that now, so I'm just hanging
on to that.
Speaker 5 (31:37):
Little The joke's on them, then, I guess, and I've
got left so good on now.
Speaker 4 (31:43):
That's why I get out and do whatever I can.
And when I had that opportunity to go into the jungle,
I'm like, yes, I'm taking this, you know, grab it
with both hands and just bloody go and have fun.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Do they tell you now, Rag, do they rediagnose how
much time you have left? Or do you want to know?
Speaker 4 (32:00):
It is getting worse, Maddie. It's definitely getting worse because
I'm doing clinical trials as well. At the moment. I've
been on these trials for two years and I feel
like my eye like I don't know if I'm taking
the real drug or it's a plus ebo, but I
do feel like my eyes have got worse since I've
been on these trials. But it again, I don't know
(32:21):
whether it's my eyes deteriorating or it could be the
drug that I may be on. I'm not sure, but yeah,
I don't know because when I go and have all
these tests done, because it's a lot of testing, and
and you do the field tests, like because I've got
no peripheral vision at all, and yeah, so each time
(32:45):
they do the testing, they don't tell you, like on
the clinical trials, how much a vision I've got left.
It's not until I go and see my ophthalmologist and
I do same testing, and then they tell you if
I've lost more percentage each time I go there, right, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
And how long does the clinical testing last?
Speaker 4 (33:06):
For us? It was meant to be a two year trial,
but they've now turned it into a five year trial.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
Well, and like you said, you don't you don't know
if you're on the placebo or not. That's why, isn't it.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
Yeah, it's crazy because when you go somewhere, like from
an example, going over to the jungle in South Africa,
you've got to write down all what medications you take.
And I had to get a letter. I'm ringing them.
I said, look, I'm going away, I need a letter
to say whether this is I don't know what they
write in these letters, but you know, to get a
(33:39):
pass to get it through customs and stuff. Yeah. Even
when I went to Bali last year with Phil, I'm like,
I was shit scared to take the tablets over in case.
It was like I didn't know. You don't know what's
in these things.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
You've been taking cocaine for the last months.
Speaker 5 (33:55):
I imagine you're logged in a valley jail.
Speaker 4 (33:57):
Maybe that's why if brain's fried even more so.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
Don't take them in a bodyboard bag.
Speaker 4 (34:04):
No, no, so I don't know that. Yeah, the trials
has still got a long way to go, and it's
all about trying to slow down what vision I've got
left to try and say, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
We know.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
Going to the soup market is one of the hardest
moments with young kids, Yes, and it must be even
harder when you've got limited vision. With any scenarios in
the soupermarket where it was particularly challenging.
Speaker 4 (34:33):
Oh yes, I got run over by this old man
on a big mobility skeeter. He made me down and
half of so sorry, hey, the old bugger he made
me down here. So I was walking to the twelve
items or less aile we miss our cream. And then
next I was walking with my cane, so I always
(34:53):
use my cane when I go into crowded places or
the shops, just to let people know, you know, I
can't see very well. And then he came down on
my right hand side and just rang me down. He
ran me down and I then he reversed back and
ran over me again, yeah, screaming at me. He's gone,
(35:16):
You're as blind as I am, yelling at me, and
I'm laying on the floor at you, and all I
could see was my sour cream on the floor. And
then I looked up. All these people were looking at me,
and they were staring at me. I was staying to
bloody ring me. Who's that hang up?
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Ah?
Speaker 4 (35:34):
Sorry?
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Yes, So he ran you over, then reversed back over
you and then yelled at you yes.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
And then all these people were just staring at me.
And then this lady came and helped me, and all
I could see was her face. I was looking at
her face, and she helped me up, and she helped
me go to the counter to pay for my sour cream,
and the lady who works he she said, you okay,
REGI because I'm regular down at Woolies. And I said, no,
(36:03):
this man just rang me down. And she goes, what
in here? And I said, yeah, in here, and I
went and sat outside. I rang me here because I
was just with me and we had lunch and Maa
come over to help me and told her what happened.
And then she goes, mom, is that him? And she
saw him coming out of Woollies and I said, chase him.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I said, chase it's a hit and run a hit.
Speaker 5 (36:24):
He just left.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
So she took a photo of his number plate on
his scooter and then I after Woolies, they said, after
I sit that side, and the Woolies lady she said,
do you want to look at the footage?
Speaker 5 (36:40):
Red?
Speaker 4 (36:40):
And I said yes, I do. Oh no, I said, look,
I'll come back tomorrow. And I went back the next
day because I was so shook up. And I went
back the next day to look at the footage and
she said, sorry, it's against our legal rights to show
you the footage.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
She's like, what footage?
Speaker 4 (36:56):
Yeah, yeah, So she said you need to see the
police if you want to get the footage. So then
I had to go to the police with Roslind. She
took me and we got the footage and because I
just wanted to see what happened, you.
Speaker 5 (37:10):
Know, do you have the footage?
Speaker 4 (37:13):
Yeah, I've got the footage. I'd love to be yeah
show one day I will release the footage of me
getting Modan and woollies. Long story about me going to
the supermarket. But yes, it is hard going to the supermarket.
I've now got a favor of bloody mobility scooters.
Speaker 2 (37:34):
I see them driving down the road sometimes and like
on the footpath little I don't know what's scary. The
kids on scooters are the old people on their mobility schools.
Speaker 5 (37:43):
I'll never be able to look at one the same.
Be careful, I will be careful.
Speaker 1 (37:49):
I can't believe the audacity to run you over, reverse
back over the top of.
Speaker 5 (37:53):
You and then yell at you and then run the audacity.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yes, rech with Lucas. Now is he fifteen?
Speaker 4 (38:04):
Yeah he's fifteen. Yeah, he'll be sixteen this year.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
And how's he going with cistic fibrosis? Now, how's he
managing it?
Speaker 4 (38:11):
He goes to the gym. I've just signed him up
for rugby league. He's yet to have a game. He
went to the training the other week and he's going, Mom,
they're big boys, like he's going because he's in the
under sixteen. So I said, I said they're big. He goes,
they've got beds and I said, I know, Like, tell
me about it. They are all these big islanders, like
(38:34):
they're huge, they're messive. So I think he's a bit
worried he's going to get smashed because he's He's very
fast though. He's a fast runner, So I don't know
much of that wing. Is that what it is?
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Put by the wing and he can just run fast
from them. That's the benefit of being fast.
Speaker 5 (38:52):
They're usually slow.
Speaker 4 (38:54):
Okay, so he's very very fast, So whatever. I still
don't understand that game. And anyway, it's stupid. I don't
get it.
Speaker 2 (39:03):
It's it's where I played.
Speaker 5 (39:05):
I was.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
I was a little string bean, but I was quick,
and they were like, you can go on the wing. Yeah, okay,
So get his coach and just say put him on
the wing.
Speaker 4 (39:15):
And put him on the wing. Okay. Yeah, So that's
what he does. He goes to the gym and he's
going to start doing that. He used to play basketball.
But again another thing happened. There was when they went
back the next season, all the boys just shot up
like they're huge. Anyway, Mum, it's too he goes, it's
too big for me. So he quit basketball.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Yeah it was too so he picked a more contact
sport with bigger people.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Does he want to play chess?
Speaker 4 (39:42):
Yes, I don't know. I said maybe he should play.
He should play soccer.
Speaker 5 (39:49):
I used to play.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
I used to play soccer.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
So here you go. He probably probably really good? Is
he is?
Speaker 4 (39:54):
He is?
Speaker 5 (39:55):
He still going to school?
Speaker 4 (39:56):
Yeah, it's been hard this year because I pulled He
was at Helen's fail High and I pulled him out
of that because he was he wasn't really happy there,
so I've put him into another school and now I
think it's just the same thing. He's not real one
hundred percent happy here either, so I think school all
around is not Lucas's thing. So yeah, which is really hard.
(40:19):
So he's always been put in the hard basket all
through school with his illness, so he's never really enjoyed school.
So hopefully, I don't know, pull him out and put
make him get a job, you know, get an apprenticeship.
He wants to be an electrician or a carpenter. Or something,
So that'd be good if he did something like that.
Speaker 5 (40:40):
Yeah, I can imagine it would be.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
I mean, if you're already if school's not your thing,
and then of course he's got to manage his systic.
Speaker 5 (40:46):
I'm guessing it's really really hard for him. Just so
you know, I didn't. I left school at fifteen, and
I'm fine, good on you.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
What did you do when you left school?
Speaker 1 (40:56):
I left to do an apprenticeship too. I've had a
million jobs since then. But it definitely like how Lucas
might be feeling, where it's like school is not his
thing and working with your hands and doing a trade
was actually really beneficial for me. So hopefully he can
find what's for him.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
If there's any sparky companies or builders who listening to
the podcast who might be on the Gold Coast and
looking to take on a young kid, a whipper.
Speaker 4 (41:22):
Whipper snipper, wheper snipper. Yeah, I think him getting an
apprenticeship would be great. It would really be good.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
For him and Reggie at the moment. I know you've
spoken about the fact that like I'd love a job,
like I'd love I'd love something, and you're like, I
just need someone to give me a go. Do you
know what would be the dream job? Do you think
at the moment, at.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
The moment, a dream job would be I'd love to
do radio, be awesome. I'd be great on radio, just saying,
but anyway, as long as I don't swear.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
You'd be very good with your swearing on this episode, by.
Speaker 5 (41:56):
The way, Yeah, I was going to say, I don't know,
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
He's done with the normal, Regie, I.
Speaker 5 (42:00):
Know, go on, let a few out.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
Oh look, I'm really bad. I'm really bad, even you
know when we're in the jungle, because we were told
it's a what is it? A PG show friendly time slot?
Very family friendly.
Speaker 2 (42:13):
I had very talking about the whole time. I was too.
Speaker 4 (42:22):
There's a lot Maybe that's why I didn't get much
eat time.
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Yeah, maybe you could be a comedian. Reg I know
a lot of.
Speaker 4 (42:30):
People have seen Reach. What do you do comedy? And
I'm like, oh, I don't know.
Speaker 5 (42:34):
Crack some jokes? Why not?
Speaker 4 (42:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (42:36):
Maybe really good at it.
Speaker 4 (42:37):
I don't know. Whatever comes out of my mouth just
comes out, you.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Know, naturally that's perfect for a comedian, right, Yeah, because Rege,
we can and we don't have to include this in
the episode if it's too personal. But at the moment,
being on a blind pension, how much do you receive
a week.
Speaker 4 (42:57):
So being on a blind disability pension, because so I
used to get the family tax benefit thing, but when
when the kids leave school and stuff, you don't get
that anymore. So at the moment, I think it's around
thirteen hundred or fortnight and I pay six fifty a
week crent.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
So there you go, jeus.
Speaker 4 (43:22):
Leasure with nothing. It's like, yeah, yeah, so that's why. Yeah,
the second big brother, a lot of the money's been
lived off and read.
Speaker 2 (43:35):
I know, like you're such a positive person and you
smile through it, but do you have that worry of like, shit,
you know, I really need to get something to sink
my teeth into.
Speaker 4 (43:46):
I should get totally Like even with you know, me
and ride my mate Roddy, we're always doing stuff and
trying to, you know, get my social media page up
and the numbers up on them, just so I can
just try and do stuff. You know, I need to
(44:08):
get a job. But yeah, it's really hard because being
vision impaired you're limited to what you can do. So
and yeah, blind disability pension doesn't cut like these days.
I'm very I'm thankful that I get something, but with
(44:29):
the rentals these days, it's just insane how much rent
people pay these days. It's crazy and it's only going
to get worse and it's going to get harder. So yeah,
I need to get an income coming in because I'm
really startmer ship yourself.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
Yeah, are you ever hesitant to let people know about
the fact that you're blind because it just instantly paints
you as being a certain type of person?
Speaker 4 (44:53):
No, not at all. I'm yeah, Like like when I
first found out about my blindness, I was. I remember
when the very first time I had to wear my
disability badge, like my my blind badge, lay vision badge.
I was so embarrassed. And when I used my cane
for the first time, I was so embarrassed. I was
(45:14):
so embarrassed and I didn't want to use it. But
now I couldn't do without both of them. So no,
I'm happy to let anyone know that you know, I'm
vision impaired and legally blind. Even though I get bagged
a lot now after going on Bloody, I'm a celebrity.
Get me out of here. All the trolls on. They're saying,
I'm faking it. So you were a good guy dog
(45:36):
for me, Maddie in there.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
I pulled you into a couple of trees.
Speaker 5 (45:40):
You did, you did? Tell me? You did? Tell me?
Speaker 2 (45:44):
That was just testing outing me.
Speaker 4 (45:53):
Tell you about the rock that he used to make
me trip on so i'd fallen, Grabby's.
Speaker 5 (45:58):
Tell me tell me about a rock? Is it a
penis shaped rock or a rock shaped peenis?
Speaker 4 (46:03):
There was a rock and he try and because walking
it to the waterfall, it was a real battle. It
was a trick, wasn't it, Maddie, Like it.
Speaker 2 (46:11):
Was camp Everest.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
Oh my godness, it was so hard. And he take
me along this path of the rocks and yeah, no
I did. It did make me fall and I did
accidentally grab his penis.
Speaker 5 (46:26):
And what did you think about the penis red?
Speaker 4 (46:29):
Well, we just got out of the water, which was
freezing cold, and I must say it wasn't shriveled up.
Speaker 5 (46:40):
That's all right. I heard the big ones hurt. Well
that's what my wife tells me. Anyway, Oh my god.
Speaker 4 (46:49):
Yeah, So now I'm happy to let people know that
I'm vision and pair just grab.
Speaker 5 (46:52):
Them on the penis don't know.
Speaker 2 (46:57):
Read one question we always end on. When Mia and
Lucas have flown the nest no longer with you, is
there anything that you would like them to remember about
the house they grew up in?
Speaker 4 (47:11):
Oh gosh, it's hard many because I rant we've moved
that many bloody times now. It's shit because the owners
either more.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
About the type of mum that they had growing up.
Speaker 4 (47:24):
Yeah, Oh that'd be good. Yeah, because we've moved about
six seven times now. The house they grew up Oh Jesus,
the mum that they grew up with would be a kind,
loving mum that tried to do the best that she
could for them.
Speaker 1 (47:45):
That's yeah, that's awesome meeting you. I think that they're
very lucky to have you. And you're very, very kind
and very loving and I really appreciate the time that
you spent with us.
Speaker 4 (47:56):
Oh, thank you for having me on. I hope this
has been a boys.
Speaker 2 (48:01):
No, it's been amazing. Thank you so much, Regie. And
for the record, I think you're a great mum.
Speaker 4 (48:06):
Thanks. Maybe, yeah, I do the best that I can.
Speaker 5 (48:11):
Good. Thank you so much again. Reggie.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
Oh mate, I don't know how Reggie does it. If
you want to keep up with Reggie, make sure you
check out the show notes for all the links to
a social media.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
And while you're there, give us a follow and a rating,
why not a subscription? Share it with a friend.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
Five stars, maybe a couple of stars, Hey, maybe just
a couple. Just be free, three, four or five you
We haven't had a one or two or three star lately,
not have we had one at all.
Speaker 5 (48:40):
It's been a while.
Speaker 2 (48:41):
But hey, if you're listening to this and you think
we're shit, we want to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (48:44):
Yeah, we don't see you next time.
Speaker 2 (48:49):
Bye. Two Doting Dad's podcast acknowledges the traditional custodians of
country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
We pay our respects to their elders past and present
and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torrestrate islander
peoples today
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