This christmas will be Troy Fisher's last.
The former Special Air Service captain's body has become progressively more paralysed over the past 14 months by the muscle-wasting motor neurone disease. He reckons he has just six months before the rare, random and incurable condition robs him of his ability to
breathe.
When the tree lights up at Christmas in the Park in Auckland's Domain tonight, it will be his hand that flicks the switch - with the help of his children - after one of his doctors nominated the family in an Aucklander-Mercury Energy contest.
Confined to a wheelchair, the 37-year-old can feel his family's touch, but can no longer move to hug his wife, Elissa, 38, and their twin boys, Michael and Jarod, 7.
But there is no self-pity. A close and loving family, the Fishers talk matter of factly about the inevitable.
"When I was diagnosed [14 months ago] I decided straight away that it was not good to be angry or sad," said Mr Fisher.
He described his illness as a gift, "because I have been given the gift of time, and I have not wanted to waste an ounce of that".
His life insurance paid for things the West Auckland family had always wanted to do, like taking the boys to Disneyland and his wife on a romantic holiday in Tahiti.
He has made a point of telling his loved ones how much he values them. "I have made my peace with everybody.
"The last thing I want is to have Christmas with Elissa and the boys, and after that I can go."
There was a setback a month ago when Mr Fisher fell face-first from the wheelchair lift that links the 3m drop between their home's front door and its driveway. His injuries included a badly smashed face and skull, broken bones and a puncture wound in his right thigh that just missed an artery.
But nothing was going to stop him being out of hospital in time for his last Christmas, which the family will share on the day with relatives at their bush-surrounded home in Swanson.
On a whiteboard in the kitchen, one of the boys has written a red-pen message:
"Dear mum and dad, I love you so so so so so so much, it's so so so cool having Dad home ..."
