Bell's Palsy???

Hi All,

Hope everyone had a good weekend with your loved ones and friends....

We had a pretty eventful and very stressful start to our weekend....

It all started when I got home on Friday afternoon after work.. I walked into 2 smiling children except there was something wrong with Hannah's smile... Her smile was just not the same smile and I just took a deep breath and sat down on the couch and kept saying to her " look at mommy", "smile for mommy"... It looked as though the entire right side of her face had no emotion and was not responding when she smiled or cried or spoke... My heart sank right to my feet and I started to panic... I was almost sure I was seeing things but my gut instinct was telling me there is something wrong!

My aunt was on her way to me and I thought I would just wait for her to get to me and see if she see's the same... I called Stephan and he said I must just wait till he gets home and he will check her face but he said he is sure its nothing!! My aunt walked thorugh the door and took one look at Hannah and said she see's exactly the same thing!! Now, I was really worried, I loaded Hannah and Ethan in the car and off we went to the doctor...

We finally saw the doctor and all he said was that she has Bells Palsy.... Huh, what is that!! Well, its a tempory facial paralysis that is caused by a virus that attacks the facial nerve and causes damage... Sounds scary!! The paed says the prognosis in children is very good but its very rare to see Bells Palsy in a child Hannah's age.. The doctor does not seem as worried as Stephan and I though! He said we must give it till Thursday and if we see now change by then, he will draw blood and start all the big scans etc, to make sure there is no underlying problems!

All I ask is for prayers that Hannah recovers full and quickly and that there are no other underlying issues.. We are very positive that she will recover nicely and that this is just merely a bump in the road!


God Bless..

Lost of love
Claire

Declan Day

DECLAN DU TOIT - The Inspiration

Stephan, Me, Simon & Gillian

Pet & Caelum

Nadine, Fabienne & Isabella

Liesel doing face painting - I think Liesel did a great job!

Fern and Amy - what a cute baby girl! I loved holding her...

Liesel and Me

Precious Aiden - Kim's little one



Hi All,

Hope everyone is keeping warm in this very cold weather we are having.. I definately think winter has finally arrived..

What an awesome weekend we had, especially on Sunday..

Sunday was an extra special day, it was Declan Day! Stephan and I are part of a charity called All Hands On Dec Friends, inspired by the brave Declan Du Toit, which fought so hard and lost his battle to cancer on 8 February 2009..

So many people came out in the cold to show their support and love they have for this brave little soul and to do a little to help save lives. There were over 60 new Stem Cell Bone Marrow donors and over 60 pints of blood donated.


You could just see Declan smiling down on Gillian & Daryl..


Gill & daryl, what an amazing day it was.. A day to honour your son! It was perfect in so many ways.. Your dedication and love shows and your bravery shines so bright.. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of All Hands On Dec Friends.. Its an honour and privillage!


See pictures above of Declan Day! Everyone was smiling, just like Declan did..

God Bless and Keep you all safe!

Love
Claire

This is why.....

Hi All,

Samm sent me pictures of the Scrub a dub dub handout at Kalefong hospital and I am so glad she did.. I know that there is a lot of you that don't understand why I do what I do!! I don't have kids with cancer so how on earth can I possibly care so deeply for these other kids battling the disease?? This question is asked to me over and over again...

Well, I care so incredibly much because these kids are so very brave.. Braver than any adult I have ever known.. They endure so much... I want to make a difference, be it a small one, at least I know I have tried.. I love children and love seeing them smile and be happy..

I could carry on, but have a look at these pictures and then you will see why I do what I do!! Why I care so much... Have a look at the sparkle in their eyes, have a look at the moments happiness just a few simple things bring, that we take for granted everyday.. Maybe then you will understand!

Lots of love

Claire

Here's to New Friends, Love, Tears and Memories....

Gorgeous Declan... Happy 1st birthday Angel Boy!! May you enjoy your celebrations with all the Angels in heaven!!

My little red haired looker fast asleep in Daddy's arms!!

Stephan sporting the latest in hard hats - when we went to Soccer City Stadium!

Hannah in her new tracksuit Granny made! Thanks mom!

Hi All,

Can you imagine experiencing so much in one weekend? This weekend alone, I experienced so many different emotions at once.... Love, heartsore, joy, admiration, nervousness , I could continue.....

Here is a little on my weekend and how we spent our weekend....

I took a day's leave on Friday, as I had, had a terrible week at the office and needed some breathing space and I was going to Kalefong hospital with Samm, Megan & Choc Pretoria to hand out the Scrub a dub dub hampers...

Samm fetched me round 11am s0 we could all meet at the Choc house in Pretoria.. My stomach started turning and I just knew it was going to be an emotional rollercoaster ride.. The Choc house is beautiful, I was taken from room to room by Megan and Samm and wow what a wonderful house, just what the kiddies need to lift their spirits... Then it was time to make our way to Kalefong.. I could really feel a lump forming and I started wondering how on earth I was going to see these kids without falling apart.. Samm reminded me that we must focus on why we are doing this and its to make the kids happy and try make things a little easier for them.. That gave me something to focus on and I was able to control the tears.. When I felt them welling up, I would just take a deep breath and try focus again..

I had photos taken with a few children and what beautiful children. The joy and sparkle in their eyes is enough to know how much they appreciate these gifts.. Samm, you continue to inspire me and I am truly honoured that I was able to go along and see for myself first hand what these tiny souls endure.. Thank you Samm for caring so much...

There was another thing working on my mind though and that was the thought of giving Gill & Daryl the photobook I made with pictures of gorgeous Declan in and all the messages from everyone that supports Gill & Daryl... I don't know why I was so nervous, I don't do well with reality and was just scared of what Gillian & Daryls reaction will be.. I put my brave face on and we arrived at Gillian & Daryls... And handed the special cargo over to Gill! We had such a great time with them.. Gillian & Daryl are truly amazing and inspiring people.. I admire them for all they have been through.. I am sure this weekend was tough for them but there is such comfort knowing that Declan is in heaven and is smiling down at his mommy & daddy!! Gillian & Daryl, I hope and pray that the memories in your photobook will always remind you of how truly precious and special Declan was and is to so many people.. Declan is a light that has lit up an entire nation.. Declan is pure love, pure joy and pure happiness! Declan is your miracle and that, I tried to capture in the book, showing you that Your miracle, Declan, has touched my life and so many others in such a special way! Gill & Daryl, I wish you both endless happiness and lots of laughter... I pray that you are comforted every night and I hope you know how much you are loved! I hope we can have many good years of friendship!!

On Sunday we had a relaxing day, we spent it with the kids, just being lazy and I even managed to take a nap with Hannah... When I look at my children, I know I am truly blessed and when I look at my husband I know that I am loved! I just hope that my family knows how much I appreciate and love them... Especially Stephan, I am kinda hard on the guy sometimes..


Hannah is 30 months today!! Happy 30 months my gorgeous baby girl! You are growing up so fast.... Love you madly!!

Hope you all have a fantastic week!! God Bless you and keep you all safe!

Lots of love
Me

What a day.....

Hello All,

What a day we had yesterday... Not just yesterday but it all started on Saturday...

On Saturday morning we met Gillian, Daryl, Kerry and Theo and their kiddies at the zoo for a picnic.. It was so nice to be out and about with the kiddies, Hannah loved all the animals and Ethan just loved crawling around everywhere... But Ethan was starting to get niggly, I put it down to him just being tired... In the afternoon we had some friends over for a braai to watch the Rugby and everything seemed well..

Shortly after our guests left, it all began, Ethan woke up crying and I battled to settle him. I sat on the couch with him on my chest and he was incredibly restless.. I just thought his nose was blocked so he was battling to breathe.. I sorted his blocked nose out but he still didn't settle. There was no fever just the constant crying and unhappiness..

I left the kiddies with my mom on Sunday because Stephans work colleague arranged a trip to Soccer City to see how the stadium looks so far... It was very interesting.. When we returned to my mom, my mom showed me that Ethan had a tooth.. His eye tooth made an appearance, I thought it was odd that that tooth was coming out first.. But Ethan just got worse.. I took him to the doctor yesterday, only to find out that he has middle ear infection and that he is cutting 8 teeth at the same time.. 3 are through the gums, just 5 more to go....

So Ethan is on antibiotics and a whole bunch of other medicine... To make the day a little more stressful, Hannah's school phones to say she has a fever.. I immediatly got her a doctors appointment and went back to the doctor with Hannah in tow... I thought Ethan had it bad, turns out Hannah is slightly worse... She is battling to breathe as her lungs are playing up again and she has severe sinus... The poor child has so much medicine to take and to top it off she had to go to physio...

Further to the kiddies being ill, I have a lot of other stresses at the moment and just feel like hiding or getting away... But I know thats not possible so I will just smile and bear it.. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just venting... There are so many people out there worse off...

Anyway, now that you all have the low down, I better go and attempt the day... Have a great on everyone..

Love
Me

Happy 9 months my boy!

To Our Baby Boy!

Happy 9 months for yesterday Ethan... You are growing so quickly..

Just the other day I was commenting on how you don't have a single tooth and now you are busy cutting 8...

We love you tons..

Love Mommy and Daddy....

An update... At last!

Hi All,

It has been such a long time since I posted a message on our family blog and it makes me feel so guilty.. But I am here and posting..

The last 2 months have been hectic, we have been busy with all sorts of things...

Ethan is doing well, he will be 9 months on Monday, cannot believe how fast he is growing. He crawls everywhere now and doesn't leave me alone for one second.. Best I enjoy it while it lasts..

Hannah is also doing very well, talking up a storm and she is very very very busy, keeping me on my toes always..

Just wanted to give you a quick update on the family and hopefully I will be able to post pics real soon.. (My camera is broken)

Hope you all have a wonderful day & weekend.. Will post more detail soon.

Love
Us