I needed to think quick. I had to call upon every skerrick, every ounce of resourcefulness within me to solve this conundrum. It was hard enough getting Amanda up onto our private viewing platform to begin with, let alone helping her back down and battling it out at the sunbathed portaloos.

I climbed down a floor to the sound engineer’s platform and asked for his advice as to where the closest, cleanest, disabled-friendly toilets were located.

And this is what he said:

“Oh, well there are those portaloos over there, but I wouldn’t recommend using them at all! Here, you can borrow my spare passes and use the toilets backstage.”

Wait. WHAT?!?!

Before he could change his mind, I grabbed the passes and virtually threw Amanda down the rickety metal stairs, plonked her in her wheelchair that was patiently waiting for us on the ground, and as fast as I could dodge our way around to the ‘No Access Past This Point’ gate that we, were actually now privileged to go through.

Bladders relieved, Amanda and I looked on starry-eyed, as some of Australia’s finest musicians mingled around us. Strangely, being there, amongst the gear, the food platters, the band tents, the riders and the people keeping it all together, I felt totally at home.

”Amanda?” I asked, “you wanna go watch some bands?”

Before she had time to say anything (I knew what her answer would be), I wheeled her up the ramp towards the stage just as Grinspoon started serving up their assault of powerful pop rock offerings to the sweaty, steamy crowd.

Amanda and I continued to pinch each other to remind ourselves that this was in fact our reality that day. That an experience so exciting and ridiculously cool, could come out of the previously thought adversities of Amanda’s random and unexplainable illness.

Powderfinger followed and played a blistering set with many a crowd sing-a-long. Every one was smiling. Only I’m pretty sure Amanda and I had the biggest smiles out of anyone that day.

The night was coming to a close and Silverchair were the last (but definitely not the least) to wow the still energetic, though very dehydrated Homebake crowd. I will always remember Daniel Johns’ dazzling purple suit and the pure emotion and intensity of their performance.

I will never forget the amazing adventure my best friend and I got into that day.

Hopefully, I can recreate that high, interviewing and reporting from Homebake this year!