I had one of those this week.

I was talking to dad Anthony Grugeon about the medical ordeal his four-year-old son Brayden had just gone through. The more he spoke, the more amazing Brayden's tale.

Consider this: from being bright and full of life one day, to being gravely ill and in desperate need of a liver transplant two weeks later. A largely unheralded operating procedure was tried - to put a second liver in beside Brayden's own, let it do the work and hope Brayden's recovers. It had been tried twice in 10 years, for a 50 per cent success rate.

Then, with Brayden still in recovery and desperately ill, they discover he needs a bone marrow transplant.

Rather than put him through chemotherapy and another eight months in hospital, they decide to try a new drug first.

How, as a family would you deal with that? It was a quite amazing story, one setback after another.

It went a bit long, I must admit, but there was just so much to tell. I hope you enjoy this story of courage.

And in today's edition we're carrying a comment piece that is timely. It is encouraging people, however they can, to support local business in these tough times.

With restrictions easing - whether you support the move or think it premature - we need to give local businesses whatever help we can, while retaining the safety levels we each feel comfortable with.

It will be nice to get the old Maitland back again.

Talk again next week.

Rick Allen, Editor