Page 24 - My Memoirs - Max Kurz

1963-1965 We became First Time Parents
The emotion surrounding parenthood was hard to reconcile. Like marriage we had no idea what to expect, there was no preparation, we were excited and happy looking forward to the occasion. There was no time to grasp the reality of the meaning of becoming a parent, we just did. It was work as usual the only significant difference was Renee suffered through the phase of pregnancy.
Renee was hospitalised prior to the birth due to problems she was experiencing. When the time arrived, and she went into labour. It was not till many hours later and a very difficult labour for Renee till our first-born son arrived on the 12th August 1963. Such was the protocol in those days that I was not allowed to attend the birth and only got to see him after he was born. Our newborn son was named Wayne Rudolf Kurz.
We were first time parents, just many of first-time events. In retrospect we can appreciate how lucky we were that we had a healthy beautiful little boy. Life became that much busier; I thought “I really have a family to support”. As time moved on and we settled into family life and work it was not long before Renee became pregnant for the second time, August 1964.
I was woken in the early hours of Saturday morning to take Renee to the hospital. On route there was a fire, we were escorted by the police to the hospital. History repeated itself and it was a difficult labour for Renee until she gave birth to our beautiful daughter whom we named Leanne Elizabeth Kurz.
In 1965 we had 2 children, a boy, and a girl, both healthy beautiful babies; life took on a whole new chapter and meaning. We lived our lives instinctively doing the best with what we knew, which was not a lot, but we managed. My work was demanding, made worse by my intensity and drive and a need to succeed. My health suffered and I became an increasingly worse asthmatic sufferer, suffering alone as I did not want anyone to know. Renee was having health problems associated with childbirth and hormonal issues. Therefore, our hands were full, doing all the things that parents do with a new family, the difficulty is to recall the highlights of that time. I can remember our holidays at Port Stephens, our stay at the Country Club Hotel where we met new friends, it was an ideal holiday
24