2008 July - Aria MacDonald

It has been a week of ups and downs.  Squeee is the noise we make when something good happens and Boo, obviously, the noise if something bad happens.  You can tell we are the parents of two small children!!  You stop using English goodly. 😛

 Anyway none of those boooos relate to Aria’s health which is great.  She is having such a good run and I don’t ‘feel’ anything coming.  We normally have a 6th sense about these things.  She is happy and doing very well at walking and talking.  Her fave thing to do is kiss her brother and cuddle him.  Thankfully he doesn’t mind to much.  It is so cute.

Roll on the 1st of August!  Two full calendar months untouched by a trip to Starship!!  And it is winter.  I hope to avoid the place for at least another month, I am sure they have enough work to do over these cold months without us visiting!

Thanks for checking in on us!!

Our presentation and Hamish’s sermon went really well on Sunday.  I didn’t get to hear Hamish’s sermon cause I was in the creche with Aria which was a bit of a bummer but everyone told him they where so encouraged.  It meant a lot to us to be able to share our blessings and trials with the church so hopefully they will be encouraged and our journey has some positive benefit to others.

Yesterday I got an email from a friend of mine, Shannon who is responsible for those awesome ads you see in the Property Press.  These ads have been such a huge part of our fundraising success.  Shannon and her husband to be Simon are getting married in about three months.  They decided that instead of a little chocolate/lolly etc (which disappears in 10 secs) as a wedding favour they had a much more meaningful idea!  They are planning to put a little place card with Aria’s picture, story and website and that $3 has been donated on behalf of each guest!  The card looks beautiful with each guests name personalised on it.  Hamish and I were so touched and thought it was a great idea.

We are so blessed to have such awesome people supporting us, thinking outside the square to help Aria.

Well I remember this at about 11pm last night but today it is 2 months and one day since Aria was in hospital!!  YAY what a great run- may it continue for ages!!

Also ever wanted to come to church?  Hamish is preaching and we are doing a presentation on Aria and our journey this Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Manurewa  77 Rogers Road at 10am.  Come along!!  Don’t be shy!!

Aria has been going to daycare once a week for about a month.  She has having a great time and we have noticed some really positive changes in her.

I can’t start to tell you how amazed I am at how perfect this place was for Aria.  Dr E suggested the idea of Aria going to daycare at the beginning of the year.  Of course I can’t exactly drop Aria off at the local ABC (which is on the corner of our street).  Too many bugs and too big of an environment.

Our homecare nurse gave us the number of a place in Papakura that two of the Kidsfirst patients go to.  I gave The Little Playhouse a call and amazingly they had a space. YAY.  It is a homebased daycare with 4 kids at a time.  It is perfect and has amazing facilities.  The teacher Josie is amazing and Aria loves her.

So Aria is having morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea now at home and at daycare.  AGES ago Lisa asked me a question about whether Aria doesn’t eat cause she isn’t hungry or because she doesn’t have the skills.  I think that it is because of both reasons.  We have never told her she can’t eat or discouraged her but she never breastfeed or had solids so hasn’t learnt to chew etc.  But one day we will teach her and she will get it.

But right now she loves to ‘eat’ and take big bites.  This morning we had pancakes and she used her knife and fork and was so proud.  Asher had one too but his mostly ended up on the floor!!

 Sorry it took so long to answer your question Lisa!!!

….if I do say so myself.

  UPDATE- hot off the press (well, out of my inbox from Dr E) EEG test results are normal!!!!

This morning was Aria’s EEG. The test involves putting little probe thingees on your head with wires attached to get a reading of the brain. I was nervous about how on earth we were going to convince Aria to get about 15 of these things on her head.

I shouldn’t have been nervous.

She behaved beautifully and we are so proud of her. And Green Dolly (her favourite doll) did well too. We first did everything on Green Dolly and then on Aria and we had no problems. Aria sat for the whole hour and played. I had her on my knee when she was getting the probes on and then Daddy took over for the final part as the entertainer. I was so proud of what a great team we make, Hamish and I.

Even Asher, who was a bit tired behaved very well, sitting nicely and playing happily. He didn’t make a peep the whole time, not that he peeps much anyway, he is such a darling.

Anyway the test was a success. Of course we still have to get the results but it was a marked contrast to the CAT scan which was a nightmare.

Thanks to all those that prayed, I really felt God in it.

Also- my heart goes out to a fellow mum of a special child, Lucas, who passed away in her arms this morning. Tears for you Maggie and family, we are so sorry.