La Famille French

In search of the perfect lake

2012-01-11T22:25:00.000Z

The French Alps near St John Montclar

You can keep sunbathing and sandcastles, my ideal holiday activity is swimming in a warm, freshwater lake. And France is rammed with them.

I decided that my perfect 2011 lake might be found in the French Alps. Having persuaded the rest of the family (not known for their love of outdoor pursuits) that it would be fun to explore a new area we eventually set off for St John Montclar.

The tiny little ski village looked rather sad without snow, but the surrounding scenery was stunning. We spent the first few days ooh-ing and ah-ing at the magnificence of it all until we were fair worn out with it.

Over the first few days we took our bearings and I surreptitiously scoured maps looking for a suitable lake. We were staying close to a huge reservoir which had swimming points indicated, so this was our first attempt at lakey nirvana:

Pretty lovely and we spent a whole afternoon there, but not my ideal. A couple of days later - I had to allow my family some respite - we tried the other side of the lake (pleasant, more shade but still not good enough). The whole man-made reservoir thing didn't do it for me. I was beginning to feel concerned.

I resigned myself to:

Attending mildly deranged local festivals

Going up HUGE mountains

Watching paragliding!

And it was great but not quite perfect. Then, while we were driving through the local village for the umpteenth time, I spotted a tiny wooden sign with 'Lac' written on it. Not on the map! We took a chance and wound down a tiny little track which opened up into THE PERFECT LAKE. Surrounded by trees. Natural. Gorgeous:

And I am pleased to say that it was soon pronounced perfect by all of us. It offered wonderful swimming for me, but was ideal for the children too. The lake serves as an outdoor leisure centre for the village in the summer with a safe area for kids to swim with a lifeguard. We spent our time swimming, eating at the lovely waterside French cafe (enjoying the view above from the tables), fishing for crayfish and relaxing.

Discovering the lake transformed what would have been a great holiday into what will be our favourite holiday for a long time to come. It was utter bliss and we all came home feeling like this:

This post was written for tots100 for a entry into their chance to win a holiday courtesy of Al Fresco Holidays. For more information on how to enter yourself click here!

NB: Earlier entries in this blog contain images of our youngest daughter when she was very poorly as a baby/toddler which you may find upsetting.

Bruce, Ballet and Bobs

2008-07-20T08:16:00.002Z

I finally got a photo of Bruce Jaffray, Anna's surgeon, last week. His knowledge and skills undoubtedly saved Anna's life so, as you can imagine, he is very special to us.

I also can't resist uploading these photos of Ella and Anna to show off a) Ella's tutu and b) Anna's bob.
Janie x

Anna is three!

2008-05-27T13:32:00.006Z

Anna is three - it seems very grown up indeed and we are all thrilled that she has made it to such a great age! She is still keeping us on our toes - we had an admission for a few nights in February and she was ill for much of March and April, but she is getting stronger all of the time. We are still staying pretty much close to home, but planning a holiday in Holland (house swapping our house for my sister's house in The Hague) in August. We have been very lucky with Anna in August in the past and paediatric services in Holland are excellent, so we reckon it's worth a go.

Putting her health aside for a while, Anna is a funny, feisty little ball of energy. She is very sociable and loves a party. Her speech is coming on really well and she makes us laugh a lot (and occasionally cry with frustration!) She has developed a great line in funny dancing and loves to make people laugh. Interestingly, Anna adores medical folk and hospitals in general. In fact, she demands to be taken to see Dr O'Brien (highly-experienced paediatric consulant) if she just grazes her knee. She also asks to go to the RVI when she is feeling sad. Feeling sad is a new emotion for Anna and she does it beautifully with very sweet sighs and lots of leaning her head against walls.

She is an adorable little girl and she and Ella have developed a lovely relationship despite the age difference. In fact, they have chosen to share a bedroom in our new house. They have already made some new friends since our move and are both enjoying their new town-centre life. I wish we had done it long ago.

Janie xxx

Anna update

2008-01-14T19:11:00.001Z

A belated Happy New Year to everyone.

We are pleased to announce that Anna went the whole of 2007 without an overnight admission. Yippee!

Will she or won't she?

2007-10-09T20:50:00.001Z

Anna has been a little poorly again (the week before last), but we managed to keep her out of the RVI this time thanks to the out of hours doctor service (which is very good here I am relieved to report). The steroid tablets really help and she is much stronger than before. We have also been in touch with the dieticians at the RVI as madam has managed to stay the same weight since June despite having grown 6cm over the same period. Nev's one year old weighs more than Anna now!

She is starting playgroup a couple of mornings a week next month and we are hoping that she will cope with that. Obviously, if she starts getting ill more regularly we will whip her out of there and cancel her place .

On a more positive note the photo above is from August and shows Anna with her friend and fellow exomphalos baby Grace, who lives in Edinburgh. They are both little miracles.

J x

PS: Anna has a tan Judith Chalmers would be proud of on that photo. I would like to stress that the antibiotics she is on make her tan very easily - we haven't been basting her under a strong grill...

Anna unwell last week

2007-09-24T12:59:00.000Z

We had a little visit to the RVI last Friday. Anna had a minor cold but it went to her chest and she became very wheezy. I took her in for the day on the advice of our GP. Anna was started on her extra-strong antibiotics (she is till on the weekly prophylactic ones) and was much better by Tuesday of this week.

That Friday was definitely one of the worst (and funniest) mornings of my life. It involved Anna hyperventilating, Andy being away for the week on a course and the discovery that Ella had nits! Compared to that, any job would be a doddle for me now. Lion tamer? Wing walker? Those are jobs for wimps!

Aside from being a nitty nurse, my other occupation has been plotting (with Mr Jaffrey's support) to get some research done on the surgical treatment of exomphalos. Geeps has seen loss after loss of little ones born with giant exomphalos recently. Only three out of nine babies, including Anna, have survived and that doesn't count the ones whose parents understandably chose not to go ahead with the preganancy because the prognosis was so poor. Well, the good news is that the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons is considering carrying out some research and we are doing everything we can to make that happen.

Janie
xxx

Summer update

2007-09-04T12:36:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry that I haven't been updating the blog - it's partly down to the school holidays and partly because there has been mercifully little to report on Anna.

Anna has been doing really well and everyone keeps commenting on how healthy she looks these days (as you can see from the photo). Her new regime of meds really seems to be working and I also think that the damp summer has helped - I may be the only woman in England who was grateful for all that rain.

Andy and I are starting to relax, finally, and to believe that the worst is over. Anna is going to try out a couple of sessions at playgroup next month and I am starting to do some work from home (as a market research transcriber if anyone needs one!). We are enjoying a social life together, which is something of a novelty.

We has a real treat last week as we finally got to meet an exomphalos baby other than Anna! Her name is Grace Campbell and she lives in Edinburgh with her lovely parents, Gen and Mike, who are Australian. Grace was treated in the same way as Anna (conservatively) and is almost the same age, so they have an awful lot in common. It was also really great to finally meet Gen, who has been an enormous support to me via Geeps.

Anna is coming on really well developmentally. She's still very small for her age and very slim, but she is chatting away happily and is a very sociable little thing. She can count up to twelve thanks to tutoring from her big sister. Ella and Anna are very much in love with one another and have lots of fun - long may it continue!

Janie
xxx

A-listers!

2007-06-16T12:21:00.000Z

Just to prove that there is no justice in the world... Some friends of ours through Geeps have had their little girl in Great Ormond Street for ten months with not a sniff of glamour in all that time. Alice finally came home and just after she was discharged, her ward was visited by the most glamorous hospital visitors ever -Rupert Everitt, Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and the utterly gorgeous Antonio Banderas!

Mind you, you don't even get a sniff of Ant and Dec at the RVI...

Janie
xxx

Italia

2007-06-14T11:07:00.000Z

ITALIA 2007

We got to Italy and had a lovely time with a couple of provisos. We had to take Anna to hospital in Piombino (lovely views of Elba from A&E!) and also we had very severe wet weather for 50% of the holiday. This holiday was like the little girl who had a little curl - when it was good it was very, very good but when it was bad it was horrid!

Here are some shots of the holiday. The girls had a great time rain or shine.

Janie
xxx

The bay after the storms...

Anna and Andy on the beach

A very wet Pisa - doing the tourist thing!

Sun! Sun! Sun! On the campsite.

Ella and Anna enjoying the fantastic kids' pool

The bay in sunny weather

Anna is two

2007-05-19T15:30:00.000Z

Anna is two - something which, for obvious reasons, is an extra special celebration for us. We held a lovely little party this morning and I hope you enjoy the photos. The group shot features Ella, Anna, cousins Ruby and Ted, and Evie (daughter of our friends Karen and Sean). The shot should also feature Anna's only friend, Eve's sister Ruby, but she ran off before we could capture her image for prosperity!

Anna received lots of lovely cards and presents. Thanks to everyone who sent them. Proper 'thank yous' will go out this week.

Janie
xxx

Good news!

2007-05-02T21:42:00.000Z

Hi,

I'm pleased to say that Anna was discharged late this afternoon! Janie had to wait in the room all day as Dr O'Brien was called away on an emergency and therefore couldn't assess and discharge Anna until then. There was a lovely reunion when we got home - Anna walked in and cuddled Ella with a huge grin on her face! She was delighted to see her lovely Grandma and Grandpa too - who have been an enormous help here over the last few days.

Looking forward, Dr O'Brien did say that he'd be very happy for us to go ahead with our Italian holiday at the end of this month - hurray! - and we're still planning to visit our lovely friends Susie & Heath near Worcester this weekend. Plus, we hope, the Brucie bonus of meeting Anna's fiance Seth and his parents who live in that neck of the woods. We've conversed with Claire & Fran on the GEEPS forum for a long time; they've been stalwart Anna supporters and regular posters on this blog!

Off to bed now - happy!

Axxx

Looking better

2007-05-02T07:56:00.000Z

Hi,

Anna's still in the RVI... Monday night she needed oxygen and a nebuliser, much as expected; consequently Janie had a dreadful night as the alarm on the sats machine kept beeping! However last night was much better and Anna didn't need oxygen at all. So fingers crossed, she might be sprung from hospital today... I'll keep you posted!

Luckily my Mum and Dad arrived yesterday en route back up to Scotland, and are able to stay on for a few days. That's a massive help as they're able to do the school runs for Ella and generally keep our spirits up!

Axxx

One step back

2007-04-30T21:01:00.000Z

Hello all,

Well, Anna's made such wonderful progress - I think the last hospitalisation was in September or October last year - we'd kind of hoped that that might be it... whereas last year almost inevitably a cold would lead to a chest infection, since then she's had plenty of colds and fought them off. With the help of the preventative medication regime she's been on, of course!

Sad to report therefore that the little tinker went back into the RVI at 6 this morning. This time her latest cold has gone to her chest. So far she hasn't needed oxygen, but she's been borderline and may do tonight. She's very cheerful though and still charming everyone around - including Mr Jaffray, who I saw while Janie popped out at lunchtime. Bruce said that given Anna's overall trend is up, and it's been so long since her last admission, he's revising his previous opinion that the next admission would mean doing the fundoplication procedure.

The pity is that Anna saw the respiratory speci alists and Mr Jaffray just last Monday, and wowed them with how well she's doing!

In other news, I had a fabulous time down in Norfolk at a joint birthday do thrown by and for my sister Liz and her partner Harry. We had an impromptu (red wine fuelled!) jam session on the Friday night with various members of the extended family joining in; and although I don't think the record companies will be breaking down the doors to get to us, we had a great time and it served as a reminder of what a lovely family I have! The party the next night was excellent, with lots of family and friends there to celebrate with Liz and Harry in the setting of a fab ex-cinema, now a social club.

Finally, it's been a while so here are some pix.

Here's Anna, on Thursday just gone, difficult to photograph these days as she never stays still! Also as you'll see she's abandoned the tutu'n'wellies look in favour of the bohemian look: dinner-splatted cardie and apparently never-brushed hair...

...and here's our beautiful Ella in her 'schooliform'. How grown up she looks now!

More soon -

Love Andy xxx

New shots of Anna

2007-03-26T15:19:00.000Z

It's a lovely day here, so Anna and I have been out in the garden. I thought that her fans might like to see how well she's looking in her tutu and wellies.

Janie

xxx

Latest Anna update

2007-03-06T17:59:00.000Z

Anna and I went to the General hospital in Newcastle on Monday. This was an adventure as we have never darkened the doors of the General before and it took me 25 minutes to find a place to park. However, despite the best efforts of the hospital planners, we made it to the clinic on time and in one piece to be told that Anna almost certainly has an allergy to egg. Bloods were taken to be tested and and we are to avoid anything eggy for now - I will see a dietician to be trained in this.

She does NOT have a milk protein intolerance. Now a normal mother's reaction would be "Yippee" but I am actually a little disappointed. For the sake of our sanity it would have been great to have a solution as to why Anna got so seriously ill so often last year and then we would know how to stop it happening ever again. However, Anna has been well for quite some time with the help of the antibiotics she takes every couple of days, so we are slowly learning to stop worrying despite the ongoing mystery...

Janie
xxx

Gill is 70!

2007-03-06T17:45:00.000Z

My mum was 70 this Sunday. We held a lovely little party, which is all mum wanted bacause of Molly's recent death.

The first two photos show the blazing inferno that was mum's birthday cake (she made the cake and put ONE CANDLE on it but we added another sixty nine secretly). The third shot features mum wearing the hi tech headset that my sister, Sue, bought mum to enable her to chat on the phone without neglecting her household chores!

Janie

xxx

It's been a while

2007-03-03T20:16:00.000Z

Hi all,

Sorry we've been so slack!

Happy to report that Annna's been pretty well since her allergy/intolerance/whatever it was incident last month. She's had a couple of nasty colds but has fought them off - that's really encouraging as last year it was a case of "she's got a cold - better pack a bag for hospital because it's only a matter of time..."

The only thing is that Anna's not put any weight on or grown recently - in fact she's actually lost a bit of weight. Hardy surprising because she never stops !! We're going to have to up te calorific intake again. Luckily she seems to share my love of chocolate :-)

We've had a lovely visit from my mum while my dad is in Jamaica... the girls had a lovely time with their grandma:

Anna's going into the Newcastle General Hospital for her allerg tests on Monday so we'll keep you posted with the results.

A New Theory!

2007-01-22T14:31:00.000Z

I took Anna to see the resp team today. I won't bore you with all the details, but they have definetely backed off on the fundo and we are now exploring the possibility that Anna may have a cow protein intolerance which caused her resp problems. Chris O'Brien is writing to the allergy consultant so that we can be seen ASAP.

Janie
xxx

Eggy

2007-01-14T18:13:00.000Z

We had a visit to the RVI today, but not for the usual reason!

We had friends to dinner last night and I bought three very yummy 'Gu' chocolate mousses for dessert - one for Andy, one for Al and one for Vicky. Saint Jane of the Slimathon had fruit salad. Owing to the incredible willpower of Vicky, one mousse was left over and this morning I decided to give it to Anna just before we left for Sunday lunch at my mum's. WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE! Anna said "Yum" and then things went raidly downhill with coughing...swelling...dreadful rash...vomiting...dash to Hexham hospital...Piriton...less rash....less swelling...ambulance to RVI.

We were really taken to the RVI because of Anna's complicated history rather than her level of illness and we were finally sent home at tea time. Anna and Ella had enjoyed a lovely play in the Ward 5 playroom and Ella read much of her book on Florence Nightingale (this term's big homework topic). Anna is now to be referred to the RVI alergies consultant. It looks like and egg allergy, but they want to check for any others as she is still a vulnerable little thing.

This was not the lovely, quiet Sunday we were looking forward to (particularly Andy who overdid the single malt last night, bless him!), but at least we know about the egg allergy now and it's great that the consultant will check for any other problems.

Janie
xxx

Hooray

2007-01-08T19:02:00.000Z

Anna and I saw the sainted Bruce Jaffray today and Anna's op has been postponed for now.

Mr J said slightly ominous things such as, "It wouldn't take much to persuade me to do it" and "I don't think she's out of the woods yet", but for now the cloud has been lifted!

We are going to have a quiet couple of months to keep Anna away from germs and then hopefully we'll be able to have some fun way from home.

Janie
xxx

Ella is seven!

2007-01-05T13:38:00.000Z

Ella is seven - how amazing! here she is with her (much-loved) cousin Hugo who was over from Holland. His sister Georgie can just be seen to the left.

After our challenging Christmas to New Year period, we had a lovely few days featuring visits from my sister's family and then Andy's parents.

Ella's birthday party took place on changeover day. The kids made their own birthday tea which they loved and I would highly recommend this to other party givers!

My Slim-a-thon is going well. £606 has been pledged which is unbelievable and I am finding it a great motivator.

Janie
x

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T17:13:00.000Z

Happy New Year! We had a great time seeing Nev and Mel in the afternoon and going to Chris and Steve's for the evening. Here are some highlights!

2006-12-30T14:36:00.001Z

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-29T15:30:00.000Z

Merry Christmas! I thought you might enjoy this festive shot of Red Andy, the infamous pirate, cuddling Anna. I was hoping to share lots of cute photos of the girls and their cousins but all of the shots we took on the day were very poor (I blame the drink).

We had a wonderful Christmas Day at my mum and dad's, which went downhill from Dr Who onwards as Anna started being sick. Over the next couple of days Anna was followed by everyone else as we'd all caught the very aptly named Winter Vomiting Sickness (with the notable exception of my little niece, Georgie, who must have the constitiution of an ox).

Anna also developed a severe ear infection and has been really bashed about, but has had NO RVI ADMISSIONS! We have had to reorganise a visit from my sister's family which is a great shame.

We are stating to get back on track and today (29th) we are moving towards normal. Andy and Ella felt well enough to venture out and have gone to see The Snowman with a live orchestral soundtrack at The Sage. Anna and I have stayed at home and recuperated.

I hope that you all enjoyed a healthy and fun Christmas.

Janie

xxx

Cuties

2006-12-18T11:06:00.000Z

Just to prove that we do read the comments, here's a photo of les girls taken yesterday.

Janie
xxx

Anna meets Dr Sturgiss VIP

2006-12-07T20:44:00.000Z

Anna and I went to see a very important man today - Steve Sturgiss, who was our consultant in foetal meds and carried out my c-section. We couldn't go in to the unit while Anna had MRSA but we have called in a couple of times since without any luck. I feel very thrilled to have seen him as he treated us wonderfully well during the pregnancy, but I never got to say goodbye (as I was pretty off my face on morphine!).

Dr Sturgiss was grinning from ear to ear when he saw Anna and thought that she looked fantastic. The last time he saw her in the flesh, she was literally minutes old. I took in a sheet of some photos showing Anna's development (nothing too gory) and a short summary of her history, which is going to be shown to anybody expecting a child with a large exomph. I didn't get to see our lovely midwife-stenographer, Donna, but Dr Sturgiss promised that the whole team would be getting to see the shots including that wonderful woman.

Anna has been well for nine and a half weeks now!

Janie
x

Bruce Jaffray Gives His Opinion

2006-11-23T18:02:00.000Z

Anna and I went to see Mr Jaffray this afternoon. I won't bore you with the details, but the upshot is that if Anna stays out of hospital until January 8th her op will be cancelled/postponed, but if she has any admissions then it will go ahead in mid-January/Feb.

Mr J thinks that it's 50/50 that Anna's problems are caused by reflux, but he has seen children with as few clinical signs as Anna 'cured' by a fundoplication. I think that, ultimately, he feels that the potential for long-term chronic lung damage is too serious to ignore. We trust Mr Jaffray completely, so that's how things will stand.

Janie (having a drink tonight - yes, indeedy)
xxx

An Official Period of Prevarication

2006-11-20T13:42:00.000Z

Hi,

We went to see the resp team at the RVI this morning. The great news is that Dr O'Brien thinks he may have been a little hasty regarding the proposed fundoplication and we have now agreed to enter an official period of "If it ain't broke don't fix it".

We are still seeing the surgeon on Thursday to get his views on the operation, but it would be surprising if he's really bullish in light of the what the resp team have now said.

So, this looks like a good result. We just have to hope that Anna, who has now managed a record-breaking seven weeks without a hospital stay, continues to be in good health. She is now the size and weight of an average one year old.

I'll post the results of our meeting with Mr J on Thursday evening.

(A very relieved) Janie
xxx

It's Grim Oop North

2006-11-04T19:50:00.000Z

We hope that you enjoy this shot of Newcastle Quayside taken this morning on our way to see a children's classical concert at the Sage with some (new!) friends.

On the topic of Anna's health, Mike McKean - ace respiratory consultant - called and we had a long chat. The upshot is that he is going to meet with the other resp consultant, the gastro consultant and Anna's surgeon about her case. Everything will be reviewed and they will revisit the decision to go for surgery and also look at what can be done regarding the "possible reflux" as far as meds are concerned.

Andy and I are very pleased with this development and we should know by the end of the month what the final decision will be. We will, as always, keep you posted.

Janie
xxx

Ella Bella

2006-10-31T16:51:00.000Z

Here is a shot of Ella taken on Saturday (the poor child is very neglected on this blog I've noticed!). I know I'm biased, but she does have a most beguiling face.

Anna can walk (as in from room to room rather than a few steps). Hooray!!!!! She is so thrilled you would think she had invented it and often stares at her feet in amazement as they're moving.

Following on from my last post, I mailed the resp team today with some queries about the reflux. I am hoping that as a result we will be able to try some medication/dietary changes regarding the possible reflux rather than going straight for the surgical option.

Janie

2006-10-28T13:10:00.000Z

Things are going well:

a) I went to an Abba tribute night last night - it was almost a spiritual experience for me. I am thrilled to have finally found a group of girl friends in Hexham who are as childish and into naff music as much as I am. We were the ONLY members of the audience dressed up out of 350 people, but that's rural Northumberland for you...
b) Anna has stayed well for almost four weeks! She caught a cold earlier this week and so we anticipated a trip to the RVI, but so far she is fine.
c) Katie is having a baby in May ( I feel like this entry should be in flashing neon!). We are now moving back to London, so that we can dote on him/her to the required standard (only joking Lucy!).

We have a date in late November for seeing Anna's surgeon, the sainted Mr Bruce Jaffray, to discuss the proposed fundolication, but he must be pretty bullish about it as Anna is already on his list for the procedure. We may be looking at a December op and up to two weeks in hospital, so I am getting my Christmas shopping now!

In the meantime, we have been going through Anna's history to see if anything comes up as another possible cause for her problems. What we can't understand is that if she has reflux (most severe in infants) then why didn't she have these respiratory problems before the age of 11 months? If Mr Jaffrey advises us to say ok to Anna's op then we will go for it, but we currently have real doubts as to whether it will achieve anything. Hopefully, time will prove us wrong.

Janie
xxx

There's No Place Like Home

2006-10-03T07:42:00.000Z

Hi,

I am thrilled to say that Anna and I came home yesterday afternoon. What a marathon that was. However, we were on lovely Ward 6 with some really nice families and also had a room to ourselves, so it wasn't as grim as it could have been.

Following this latest episode the respiratory team are looking again at Missy's problems and are proposing the following:

In a couple of months, she'll have a fundoplication - basically keyhole surgery to tighten up the loose sphincter in her oesophagus. The new theory (and it is only a theory) is that Anna may have reflux which is making her lung problems worse. The procedure might cause her other problems but it is a reversible.

We'll need to see Mr Jaffrey, super surgeon, about the op as it is his call as to whether it happens. However, as the resp team are now concerned about Anna having long-term lung damage if nothing is done, I think it's likely that he'll go for it! The other worrying possibility is that if she has another couple of hospital stays they may take her into hospital until her op to keep her well and protect her from any more lung damage!!!! To avoid that nightmare scenario we'll be keeping Anna away from bugs as much as is possible - I'm thinking of investing in a little baby mask!

Janie

Hope springs eternal

2006-10-02T06:54:00.000Z

Hi all,

Anna's been improving (in a zig-zag kind of way) and we're hoping that she'll be sent home today (Monday)... Fingers crossed!

In the meantime here are a couple of pics from yesterday.

Ax

Here we go again...

2006-09-29T21:16:00.000Z

A belated entry... Anna was taken into hospital again on Wednesday night. The usual trouble - a runny head cold rapidly whizzed down to her chest as a nasty infection, meaning she needed oxygen, nebuliser, strong antibiotics and to be monitored very carefully. She was very poorly yesterday (Thursday) but looked a lot better today. We're hoping she'll be able to come home tomorrow or Sunday latest.

Ella and Anna are really good friends and playmates now so Ella's been very sad about being away from her little sis, as well as missing Janie who's staying at the hospital. Whatever happens we're visiting tomorrow though.

And it was all going so well... !

Anyway, we've been told to expect this kind of thing for the next couple of years, so I guess we'll just have to get used to it.

On a happier note, happy birthday to my lovely big sis Alison!!

Ax

Scan results

2006-09-25T17:23:00.000Z

Hi,

We got the scan results for Anna today. Thankfully she does not have vascular ring and won't need an op. Hooray!

However, she does have emphysema plus some quite extensive scarring on her left lung. Neither of these are reversible and they have reduced her lung function permanently, but at least we now know the full extent of her problems. The respiratory team have put together a plan to keep her well as much as possible this winter and we also have a 'Golden Ticket' giving us instant access into the RVI.

I managed to have a quick chat with our number one hero and top surgeon, Mr Bruce Jaffray. He has a huge smile on his face every time he sees Anna.

Janie
x

Walkie Talkie

2006-09-21T11:49:00.000Z

Hi,

Anna took her first steps yesterday! It has taken her longer to get there than some children because of her weak tummy muscles so we are truly thrilled.

Janie

Scan date

2006-08-29T17:41:00.000Z

Hi,

Anna's CT scan is set for the 11th September. We'll keep you posted on the results.

Those of you who worry about my sanity will be relieved to hear that I have had a lovely few days celebrating my birthday (like the Queen, I prefer to celebrate over a period of time).

I received lots of cards and pressies on Friday and then went on a rare date with my husband in the evening. Saturday was also excellent as I saw 'Volver' - the new Pedro Almovodar film - with my friend Chris. What a wonderful film!

I still have a luxury spa day to look forward to, so I'm sure that you will agree that I am a very lucky girl.
Janie x

PS: Andy and I love this shot of Anna. She looks so grown up and it captures her 'sparkle'!

No More Mr Nice Guy

2006-08-22T15:41:00.000Z

Andy finally cracked and took his frustrations out on a poor defenceless bird... The swine!

Well, Anna fans, since our last post H.R.H has been in hospital TWICE.

The first time was during our trip to Scotland to visit Andy's parents. We took the opportunity to visit our great friends Charon and Dr G in Dundee and, following many, many bottles of Prosecco, (we were on our holidays!), had to take Anna to the local infirmary. We were only in for one night and managed to complete our three-centre breakaway with a night in Beadnell with my fab pretendy cousin, Michael, and then spent a lovely couple of days in Hartlepool with my sister and her children, Hugo and Georgie.

Anna has been discharged from the RVI today having been admitted on Sunday. She is really thrilled to be home. Her consultant has now said that she may be having her CT scan in the next couple of weeks and that they are going to take some cross section images of her lungs as he suspects that something else might be going on with her little body.

Her admission was a real shame as we had a wonderful time on Saturday celebrating Dendle and Margaret's Golden Wedding Anniversary near Sherwood Forest. Andy's sisters did a brilliant job of arranging things and we met lots of very funny, very warm relatives and friends of the family. Many of them have followed Anna's progress closely since her birth so it was lovely to introduce her to them at last.

Anyway, I have survived my first stint on an open ward at the RVI. Anna no longer has MRSA so we've lost our 'instant upgrade' to a cubical. All I will say is that having listened in to a couple of conversations I decided to hide my wallet in a wipes container in my suitcase! All human life is there, but Anna far preferred it to being shut away in a cubical.

Janie
xxxx

Results

2006-08-04T17:57:00.000Z

Hi,

We are not staying overnight in the RVI as Anna pulled her PH probe out on the way down from theatre, so we are back in Hexham. Hooray!

The good news is that the doctors were able to find out what is causing Anna's respiratory problems. She has tracheomalacia and bronchomalacia. I know that most of you will Google this, so a very quick explanation is that her trachea and the airways in her lungs are the wrong shape. They tend to hold onto infection more readily as a result.

She may also have something called vascular ring and that will be checked in a CT scan under anesthetic in a month or so. She would need an op to correct that.

We will get the blood results back soon. We know that she doesn't have cystic fibrosis which is obviously fantastic news.

We have been told to expect another rough couple of years with Anna. However, she should slowly grow out of the tracheomalacia and bronchomalacia. We have decided to take our holidays in the UK within striking distance of a major children's hospital until she is four or five, so at least the environment will benefit!

Janie
xxx

PS: Ella took daily swimming lessons this week and can now officially swim! You can see above her first ever swimming certificate and badge (five metres).

Developments with Anna

2006-07-18T09:30:00.000Z

Hi,

Anna has had a couple of hiccups over the last few weeks and managed to develop an allergy to her antibiotics which resulted in a dreadful rash and a meningitis scare for her mother!

However, the result of all this is good as Mike Mckeen (respiratory consultant at the RVI) has decided that the 'wait and see' period is over and on August 4th she is having a whole battery of tests. Anna is getting the RVI deluxe package of sweat test; blood tests; camera down lungs; camera down tum and overnight PH probe. Luckily all the nasty stuff will be done under a general anesthetic. Our favorite person Mr Jaffray will do one of the procedures and I feel very positive that things are moving forwards. If nothing is found on the 4th then at the very least we will be given a plan to keep Anna as well as possible over the winter (sorry to mention winter!).

So other than that life trugs along. We're managing to enjoy some days out whilst staying close to home and also hoping to visit Andy's parents near Dundee next month.

Janie
x

PS: Ella knows how to ride a bike without stabilisers! She managed it in about 20 minutes and now looks like an old pro as she whizzes around the garden.

Busy Bees

2006-06-29T09:40:00.000Z

Sorry for the lack of cute photos recently - hopefully this one makes up for it!

Anna has stayed out of hospital for a couple of weeks and we took the opportunity to go away and celebrate Andy's 40th birthday in London. Many thanks to Katie for hosting us and making Andy's birthday do possible; to Ally and Howie for their hospitality and, last but not least, to Howard and La Smackie for making it to the do and putting a big smile on Andy's face.

Honourable mentions go to my brother who saved our bacon when our car broke down as we were leaving for London and Andy's sister Alison who gave us a lovely lunch on the way back up the country and also bought Andy a fab watch!

The latest health update on Anna is that the daily, 'continuous' antibiotics plus the steroid inhaler she's on seem to be doing the trick. We're starting to relax slightly...

Janie
x

A First for Ella and Andy

2006-06-11T17:16:00.000Z

Ella went on the rollercoaster at Metroland today. Andy had never been on one before either and they both had a great time. It's a proper full on ride, so I was very impressed by Ella's bravery. You wouldn't get me on a rollercoaster - it's my idea of hell!

We've had a fabulous weekend. Yesterday we went to a lunchtime World Cup party with Vicky, Al, Ed and Sheena plus kids and got home at 9pm. The day was pretty idyllic with perfect weather, lots of splashing in the pool for the kids and a game of cricket and some chilled drinks for the grown ups.

Today, we went to welcome Verity - Maxine and Ray's new baby - to the world and Ella has also had a another session going down the garden slide into the paddling pool. Andy is doing a gig tonight to celebrate the summer solstice (their singer is a white witch!), so it's just me and my gorgeous girls this evening.

Janie
x

Trolley Dolly

2006-06-10T08:26:00.000Z

Those of you who knew Ella at age one will know that she was very attached to her wooden trolley. Well, here's Anna in the garden yesterday taking her first steps with the same trolley. Cute as a very cute thing!

In and Out...Again!

2006-06-08T16:46:00.000Z

Anna and I have had another stay in the RVI. We went in on Sunday and got out last night (Wed). She had the same breathing problems as before and is now being thoroughly investigated by the respiratory team. In the meantime, they have also put her on a preventative regime of continuous antibiotics and daily inhalers, so hopefully we can stay home for a while.

I hope that you like the shot of Anna during her hospital stay - she looks like she was in baby gaol.

We've decided to cancel our holiday to Italy in July. It would be far too stressful being miles from the nearest hospital and we can't take any chances with madam. If you fancy two weeks on an organic farm in Tuscany during the school holidays at a very reasonable rate I can give you the web address...

Other than frequent hospital admissions, life is great. We had a really lovely time at the BBC Springwatch stuff at Kielder on Saturday and it has been really hot for the rest of the week. We even had the paddling pool out this afternoon which is a big event in the normally frozen wastes of Northumberland!

Janie
x

Anna's a Bloater!

2006-06-01T21:24:00.000Z

For the first time in months and months Anna's weight is above the second centile and she weighs almost 18Ibs. Woohoo! All that extra mature cheddar is doing its work.

Here's a shot of her leaning against the sofa and showing off her lovely, chubby thighs. Doesn't she look grown up all of a sudden?

I have also attached a shot of Ella on our day out to a local 'children's farm'. She rode a donkey, bottle fed a lamb, cuddled a chick and saw traditional Northumbrian farm animals such a llamas, guinea pigs and wallabies... It was great fun.

J x

PS; If anyone saw ER tonight please feel free to call me to discuss the amazing end-of-season cliffhanger!

Good news on Gill

2006-05-30T12:13:00.000Z

Mum went back to the hospital regarding her collarbone today and the great news is that she won't need an op. She is mending well and should be out of her sling in good time for her holiday to Spain. We went on a short visit yesterday (she still gets tired easily) and saw her very impressive bruising. She is looking tired but is much more her usual self.

Anna is keeping us on our toes as usual and had me up at 5.30am this morning. She was breathing really rapidly and was very pale, but seems to have made a really good recovery and is now enjoying a lovely sleep. I don't want to go to the RVI any more this month!!!!!!

Not to be outdone, Ella has become scared of insects and keeps getting up in the night (Anna is waking up at about 4am for a feed at the moment as well), so it's 'Hello, Zombies!' for us Frenchies unless we can take action. We are trying some 'poems' which teach Ella how to respond to situations which worry her. This has already worked with cars. She used to hide when they went past in the street as she hated the noise, but now she just shouts, "Whee!" at them. We are trying "Buzz off!" with the insects tonight, so wish us luck.

Now the cute bit - today's photo shows Senorita Ella twirling in her lovely new Monsoon skirt from Charon and Dr G. Girls, doesn't this make you wish you were six?

Janie
xxx

PS: Liz, if you are listening, Andy is really sorry he forgot your birthday. Items have been purchased and will be in the post ASAP.

Toothsome

2006-05-25T14:06:00.000Z

Here's Anna showing off her first tooth and the new hat which was purchased today with Phil & Cath's birthday cheque.

Thanks for helping her look this cute , guys!

Invalid Gill

2006-05-22T15:09:00.000Z

I'm sorry to report that my mum broke her collarbone at the party yesterday. She tripped over in the garden and felt unwell afterwards, but she thought she had just bruised her arm when she landed. After a very uncomforatble night my dad persuaded her to go to A&E and it's definitely a break which will take 4-6 weeks to mend. Poor mum.

Janie
x

Party Party Party

2006-05-21T19:45:00.000Z

Well, the party went really, really well with the notable exception of the weather. We had a really beautiful morning here in Hexham and then literally half an hour before the party started the heavens opened and it is still raining heavily.

However, we had a great time with lots and lots of (damp) guests and, most importantly of all, we have now raised a total of Â£1,220 which is amazing. I will be sending letters out, but I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone for supporting the SCT so generously.

The raffle was drawn and the winners are:

1st prize
Â£100 M& S Voucher (sponsored by Sage employees)
Won by Thelma Russell (mum's very good friend from her nursing days)

2nd Prize
Two personal training sessions with Positive Lifestyle Training
Won by Debbie Linkleter (mum to one of Ella's school friends)

3rd Prize
Handmade jewelry set by Fifth Avenue Collection (donated by Charon's mum, Jan)
Won by Katy Warren (lovely friend)

4th Prize
Two tickets for Hexham Races
Won by Mrs Allender

5th Prize
Â£25 of Transcend hair and beauty vouchers
Won by Miranda, a neighbour

6th Prize
Family ticket to the Life Centre in Newcastle
Won by Jeremy, Andy's brother

7th Prize
Family ticket to the ice hockey or basketball at Metro Radio Arena
Won by Janice from Helping Hands

8th Prize
Eight very special cheeses from the Northumberland Cheese Company
Won by Charon and Gav, our fab friends in Dundee

9th Prize
Tickets for the Alnwick Garden
Won by Margaret Claydon, another of mum's nursing friends

10th Prize
Vintage Port
Won by Emma Roberts, my school friend

11th Prize
Mystery Prize - A Quiet Night In For Two
Won by Ally and Howie, who we don't like at the moment because they are in Thailand...

12th Prize
Â£10 M&S Voucher
Won by the incomparable but very, very naughty David Alcock

13th Prize
World Cup Football
Won by the fabulous Eileen Haw, my pretendy aunty

14th Prize
Crabtree & Evelyn Set
Won by Viv from my book club

I'll be in touch with all the winners as soon as possible.

Janie
x

A Perfect Day

2006-05-19T19:03:00.000Z

Anna loves being One, but not being prevented from grabbing her birthday candle (hence the stern 'cake face').

J x

One - the loveliest number in the world

2006-05-19T07:11:00.000Z

Anna is one today! She's already received lots of cards and presents (she's modelling a rather lovely dress from Aunty Alison and Tall Paul in this shot). She celebrated by learning to crawl last night (when I was at the cash and carry getting stuff for the party!) and cutting her first tooth.

We also received £135 in donations for the SCT which brings us up to £700 two days before the Garden Party.

More 'first birthday shots' to follow this evening.

Janie
x

Au revoir, RVI!

2006-05-15T15:06:00.000Z

We're out! Anna had pneumonia, but she seems really well now.

It's back to Garden Party organisation for me.

Janie xxx

Steady improvement

2006-05-14T21:24:00.000Z

Hi All,

It really does look like Anna will be home tomorrow (Monday); she's been looking so much better today, and has managed some normal-sized solids feeds. The staff just wanted the respiratory experts to have a good look at her tomorrow morning.

When Anna's well she'll probably be referred to the Respiratory Clinic again; they'll decide whether she's just been unlucky with getting ill so frequently in the last few weeks, or if there's a physiological problem with her breathing apparatus.

Ax

Looking better

2006-05-13T22:34:00.000Z

Hi All,

Anna was looking loads better today. She managed a bottle earlier; and she's got her sense of fun back. That was the first time I'd seen her smile since Thursday... Janie took Ella out for a lovely lunch and trip to a big soft play place in Newcastle. Ella's been off-colour too and clearly misses her mum and little sis.

If Anna has a good night and manages to keep some more feeds down there's every chance that she'll be home tomorrow...

In the post this morning there was a letter from Mum, stuffed with cheques from various people -all for the Sick Children's Trust. They amount to £237.50 - all resulting from activities that mum's organised, or prompted others to organise by talking about Anna and how the SCT helped us out last year. Just fantastic - thanks a million Mum! And thanks to everyone who's participated in the word quiz and soup lunch that have raised the money.

Ax

No early release this time

2006-05-12T20:38:00.000Z

Hi all,

Anna's still in the RVI - she's doing OK - not brilliantly, but OK - without O2 but until earlier today was not able to keep any food or fluids down. That's led to some worries about dehydration and the possibility of a drip being needed; however this afternoon she did manage a couple of quite large milk drinks via the naso-gastric tube she's now got in.

So, another night in the RVI for Anna and Janie. Last night Janie was visited by our great friend Susie from Worcester and they managed to get out for an hour or so. A welcome break for Janie who is starting to suffer from cabin fever already...

Ax

Here we go again...

2006-05-11T20:22:00.000Z

Sad to report that Anna's back in the RVI again - 3rd time in just over a month. Once again it's respiratory problems. Anna and I had another ride in an ambulance yesterday evening (blues & twos on this time!) as she was really poorly. Turns out she has a lung infection again. Truth be told she's not been 100% since the bronchiolitis before Easter.

She's been on oxygen, antibiotics and a nebuliser (a sort of turbo-inhaler) although she's steadily improved. For most of today the staff have just been keeping a close eye on her and she's done pretty well without the O2.

We had a succession of 3rd year medical students through today, all being assessed while they examined Anna and asked us lots of questions - helped pass the time and Anna seems to enjoy having an audience...

Anyway, we're hoping that she'll be discharged tomorrow - fingers crossed.

Ax

Scorchio!

2006-05-05T18:03:00.000Z

We've raised £203.59 for the Garden Party and not a single scone has been eaten yet. People keep insisting on paying over the odds for their tickets or buying lots and lots of raffle tickets. We've also had more really nice prizes in from big businesses. Hooray! Andy's mum and dad have also been fundraising in Glamis, bless them.

It is absolutely beautiful here in Hexham. We've had days of beautiful cloudless skies and perfect weather. Please let it be like this on the 21st!

Anna is recovering from her horrible chest problem and charming everyone she meets. Ella is at the Splitz show this evening (being watched by her daddy in row J) and she will be modelling a rather lovely dress on loan from Monsoon and dancing to (oh, the shame of it) "It's Chicco Time".

Janie
xxxxx

Back in the RVI

2006-04-29T08:55:00.000Z

Well,, we have another ward under our belts (we've done 1,3,4,5 &6 now!). Not sure what Anna has to do to get on 2...

Andy and Anna spent Thursday night on Ward 1. Anna is fine now, but she couldn't breathe very well on Thursday night and Andy took her down to Hexham A&E. They sent the pair of them to the RVI in an ambulance (Andy was quite thrilled having never been in one before!). She had x-rays etc, but nothing showed up on her lungs this time and we were discharged yesterday afternoon. Anna does like to keep us on our toes, but this was much less dramatic than the last time we were in and she didn't need to an IV drip or the oxygen box this time.

Things are moving on nicely with the charity Garden Party on May 21st. We have had some fab donations for prizes already including a gorgeous jewelry set from Charon's mum and days out at Hexham Racecourse. We've also sold plenty of tickets for the do itself and I have spent this week tracking down bunting, trestle tables, refreshments, gazebos etc. We're all really looking forward to the party and Ella is going to run her own little cake stall.

Janie
x

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T21:31:00.000Z

Hi,

We've managed to have a lovely Easter break despite having to cancel our London plans. We've made a couple of day trips instead and had a very good time. The sun shone all weekend.

On Friday we went up to Beadnell on the coast to meet my pretendy cousin Michael and his family. I also saw lots of folks from my teenage days which was lovely. Ella had a brilliant time sand sledging, paddling and playing with Elena and Lexi, Michael's gorgeous daughters. The weather was windy but gloriously sunny (see blurred photo for proof).

Saturday began very well as Ella was sent a huge bouquet of flowers by Katie in London. We were all thrilled.

Easter Sunday was spent at my mum and dad's in Hartlepool. We had a great day.

Janie
x

Stand and Deliver

2006-04-13T21:13:00.000Z

Anna's health continues to improve and she has now amazed us by learning how to stand up holding on to the sofa for a few minutes at a time. Sylvia the physio will be very impressed methinks.

Ella is finally back. I set out with Anna to go and pick her up this morning, but realised that I was far too tired for safe motorway driving and had to come back home. Oh, the humiliation! Andy picked Ella up after work and I was so thrilled to see her. I know I am biased but she really is lovely to have around. She had a wonderful time in Hartlepool doing lots of Easter stuff with my mum and going to the theatre to see 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'.

Thanks for all the good wishes. Janie x

Early Release Date

2006-04-10T16:31:00.000Z

Oh, happy day! Once again Anna has confounded medical opinion and made it home only three days following admission. She still has a nasty cough, but she is almost back to her usual happy self. The RVI is a marvelous institution - I feel a great sense of calm come over me as soon as we get admitted!

We were planning to go to London this weekend to see Katie and little Edward Cruthers, but all that has been postponed. We know how lucky we are to be home so quickly, so won't sulk too much... Ella is in Hartlepool with my mum and dad as Anna needs some peace and quiet for a couple of days more.

Thanks again to D&M for all their help.

Janie
xxx

The little monkey goes from strength to strength... like!

2006-04-09T18:11:00.000Z

Hi all,

Always one to buck the trend, Anna has amazed us with how well she's done today. She's been off the oxygen since this morning, and off the IV line since this afternoon. She's had a couple of milk feeds and walloped down the best part of a jar of baby food this afternoon; and she's been full of fun doing her best to learn how to crawl and playing with her toys.

She's still a bit wheezy and sleeping more than usual but the doctors are saying that if she continues to improve and looks well enough on the morning round tomorrow, they'll think about discharging her.

Here's hoping.

Thanks to Gill & Ted who are looking after Ella for a few days !
Ax

So far so good

2006-04-08T17:47:00.000Z

Hi all,

Anna has had a good day today. If anything she seems better than yesterday - respiratory rate and heartbeat have both slowed down and from time to time she's been sitting up and having a play (see pic). She's also had a little mik from time to time, to take the hunger pangs away - she's still getting glucose and fluids from her IV drip.

The doctors seem happy with Anna's progress so fingers crossed she'll shake this thing in a few days; as we know she's a little fighter!

Mum and Dad headed off today... bless them, it wasn't the visit we'd all hoped for but they really helped us out, and at least they got to see Anna more like her usual self today.

More news tomorrow. Thanks for the lovely comments everyone!

Ax

Back in the RVI

2006-04-07T20:30:00.000Z

I'm afraid Anna's back in the RVI again. It's 99% certain she's got bronchiolitis (a good definition can be found here). I say 99% certain because it'll only be after we get the results of some tests through that we'll know for sure. But the respiration specialist is as certain as he can be.

As generally happens with bronchiolitis, Anna had a cold for a couple of days and then started having real difficulty breathing early this morning. Janie took her to our GP who advised her to take Anna straight to the RVI. So in we went.

Bronchiolitis is viral rather than bacterial in origin, therefore can't be treated with antibiotics. So it's a case of making her as comfortable as possible and letting her body fight it. That means she's got an oxygen mask or sometimes a 'head box' (basically a transparent box that surrounds her head and into which warmed humidified oxygen is pumped), and a saline/glucose drip so she doesn't have to expend effort eating or drinking. She's having to fight to breathe as her lung capacity is severely reduced.

It's a bit like the calm before the storm; we've been told that Anna will probably get worse for 5 days, plateau and then hopefully start to improve. 'Getting worse' might even mean that she needs to go on a ventilator - ie back to intensive care. Fingers crossed we don't have to face that. It's a real shock how quickly this has all happened.

Anna's on a ward where all the respiratory paediatric cases stay, so she's in good hands. She has a 'cubicle' on the ward which is really a room; and it has a bed so Janie is able to stay with her. As it's the Easter holidays now, we're looking to send Ella to her Gran & Grandpa's for a while. Luckily, my mum and dad are staying with us so they have really helped out, looking after Ella while we've whizzed to and fro today; also being looked after by my mum has made me feel a whole lot better!

I'll keep the blog updated as I can!

Ax

She Moves In Mysterious Ways

2006-03-30T09:39:00.000Z

Good news and bad news!
The good news is that Anna has moved. She has learnt how to shuffle on her bum on the wooden floors. She only manages about 2cm in 15 minutes, but it's a start and seems to make her very happy indeed. We were also given a bouncer for her and, as you can see from the shot above, she loves it.

The bad news is that Anna caught gastro-enteristis with vomiting and we all had a very unpleasant week with a baby who kept throwing up on us. As a result, she has lost weight again and is the weight of an average five-month-old. At least we are going to get extra wear out of last summer's outfits - she's the cheapest baby in town.

Still not getting any sleep, but Anna's room has now been transformed into a gorgeous, pale pink paradise with a pale blue polka dot blind. It looks so beautiful and was inspired by the lovely painting my sister gave Anna. We'll put a photo on the blog when we 'launch' it!

Janie
x

Thank you, everyone at Sage

2006-03-13T18:43:00.000Z

Andy arrived home tonight with a box full of money! Sage raised over £1,500 for the Sick Children's Trust last Thursday. Each month the company lets everyone pay to go into work in casual clothes and this was the most they have EVER raised. We are really thrilled. With Gift Aid (we are going to send a cheque off from our account) this will be worth over £2,000 to the charity and that could pay for a family to stay for two and half months in Crawford House.

Calling all Northerners! Date for your diaries: To celebrate Anna's first birthday, we are holding a garden party on May 21st in aid of the SCT.

Janie
xxx

Absentee Parent

2006-03-12T17:22:00.000Z

Well, we girls survived the weekend without Andy who was in Derby getting his ying and his yang aligned. Despite the challenging weather, we had fun visiting Chris, Ben and Aimee yesterday and going out for lunch today. Ella's catching up on "What? Why? Where?" with a vengeance and today's challenge was explaining the different theories on how stars were created. I think I did an even worse job than last week when we talked about who the first man and woman on Earth may have been. I'm sure Ella would much rather have a mother who replied, "Adam and Eve, darling", but that would be far too simple!

Ella had her first stroke of a guinea pig at Aimee's house, but amazingly there have been no demands for small, furry animals as her pets. When WILL she learn the power of the pester?!

Andy has come back much refreshed and ready to take on the world, so mission accomplished.

Janie
x

Cute pic alert

2006-03-08T18:51:00.000Z

Here's Anna having a lovely time with her little musical box today. Full of the joys of spring!

More Health professionals

2006-03-06T19:10:00.000Z

We had a nice time celebrating my mum's 69th this weekend. Lunch at The Dyvels in Corbridge (Ted Parkinson's review, "The best Sunday lunch I've had out for years.") followed by a birthday tea with Ed, Ruby and Ted.

On the subject of Anna, she has expanded her roster of health professionals even further and in the past week we have seen the physio; the speech therapist; the dietician and and, last but not least, the gastro consultant. Anna isn't really putting on weight which is why the NHS has sprung into action.

Lovely Dr Bunn confirmed what we have suspected for ages which is that Anna has a very small tummy. It's great to have that confirmed rather than it being just my pet theory! Dr Bunn's experience of exomph babies is that they are "little and often" eaters as a result of anatomical differences.

I popped into foetal medicine today to introduce Anna to Dr Sturgis and Donna who were both wonderful prior to her birth. Sadly neither of them were around, but it was quite emotional going back there with my lovely girl. The last time I was there the future was looking very uncertain.

Janie
xxx

We're back (boo hoo)

2006-02-25T09:31:00.000Z

We had a wonderful time in Holland.

Suzanne and Sijbolt were great hosts as always and we spent a lovely couple of days in the Hague. Ella, Hugo and Georgie ran wild together.

Centerparcs was also good and we managed to get there using the trains and buses. It was fantastic being able to study the countryside and architecture rather than worry about car crashes, motorway exits and driving through unknown cities.

We had a relaxed time feeding ducks, visiting a children's farm and hiring bikes. Ella (who was towed around in a 'bike carriage' by her dad) claimed to be exhausted by all the cycling! She transformed into a water baby and went swimming seven times going on lots of slides and rapids. The sauna in the villa was a hit with Anady and I once the girls had gone to bed - bliss!.

So we are all chilled out and happy - long may it continue.

Janie
x

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2006-02-16T19:22:00.000Z

We're off to Holland tomorrow for our first trip abroad since Provence in June 2004. Three days in the Hague with my sister and her family will be followed by five days at Centerparcs. We have our own private sauna in our 'VIP' villa, so we should come back feeling very relaxed indeed (and we'll have beautifully clean pores).

We are all still diseased and look forward to spreading this pestilence across Europe.

Janie
x

Love

2006-02-14T11:45:00.000Z

We bought Ella this cool balloon and left it at the bottom of her bed. She was thrilled when she woke up and said, "It is the kind of balloon that a child would get if his or her parents really loved him or her!". Sums it up nicely, really.

As a Brucie Bonus her little sister has spent an hour playing with the Balloon of Love and I have managed to get the house half tidy for the arrival of my pretendy Auntie Margaret and my lovely in every way but pretendy cousin Michael (the London milk tycoon) later today.

Happy Valentines!

Janie
x

PS: I suddenly have a social life and have enjoyed lovely girly afternoons and night sout this week. Following my cinema visit last night I must say that you must all go and see 'Brokeback Mountain'. It is wonderful. I didn't cry as I have a heart of stone!

An Exciting Day

2006-02-09T19:08:00.000Z

Anna put on 5oz this week - all that butter and cream is working...

Today's new experiences included eating naan bread and playing the drums - looks like she may take after her dad.

Janie x

The Joys of Motherhood

2006-02-08T11:26:00.000Z

Still not getting any sleep. I am considering joining a nunnery, but I suspect Andy would want to come too. That might appear to be unworkable, but he's got great legs and 'Mother Angelica' would look fine dragged up.

Wibble wibble.

Janie
x

PS: A belated thank you to Charon and Dr G who came to stay over the weekend from Bonny Scotland with Grace the Gorgeous.

Welcome to the world, Edward Cruthers!

2006-02-07T17:12:00.000Z

Our great friends Ally and Howie (who have been an enormous support over the past few months) saw the arrival of child number three yesterday - Edward Joshua Cruthers! Mother and baby doing fine as they say. Congratulations to all the family!

We have received complaints about the lack of fresh photos of Anna from Andy's colleague Lucy who checks the Blog daily. Lucy is having an op tomorrow so these shots are for her. The one on the left is Anna's very cool passport photo - it was hard to get a photo of her without a smile!

Janie
xxx

Fatty

2006-01-26T21:56:00.000Z

Anna is a porker - it's official! Another 5oz on today and she's back on the second centile. here's a cute photo to celebrate.

Janie
x

Hooray

2006-01-19T13:35:00.000Z

Well, things are starting to look up after our shaky start to the year. Anna lost weight this week but has today had her weigh in and put on an a fantastic 9oz! The health visitor and I concluded that last week's weight loss was caused by dodgy scales and that she has actually put on a respectable 3oz per week over the last couple of weeks. Also the physio, the lovely Sylvia, came to see Anna and is very pleased with how she is doing - Anna is definitely catching up now that her bump has gone.

I have an appointment with the dietician at the RVI next Monday to see whether we can get Anna's weight up. It's still low and as she gets more and more active the danger is that she'll lose the gains she HAS made. Frankly, if we could just stretch that little tummy so that she could sleep for more than 2 1/2 hours without a feed I would be a very happy woman!

So, I am still a busy bee and now know half the health professionals in the North East (and they're all lovely and wonderful without exception).

Janie
xxx

Curses!

2006-01-16T21:38:00.000Z

Well, we went to see Mr Jaffray and the news is mixed.

The good news is that Anna's scar is looking good and he expects it to heal nicely and lose its redness over the next few months. The bad news is that it doesn't matter how well that scar does as Mr Jaffray will need to operate again before Anna goes to school. Here's the science bit: The muscles joined together during the op were not very good quality after all. As she gets older the extrusion (bulgey bit) will get bigger and more prominent and there is no chance (as we had hoped) that it will fix itself as sometimes happens with normal hernias. When she is four or so she will need to go back to the RVI for another op to fix that and her 'disappointing' bellybutton.

Mr Jaffray was concerned about her current failure to put on weight and has referred her to Mrs Bunn (gastro-enterology consultant). No-one could ever accuse the NHS of neglecting our child!

So, not the "Everything is wonderful, go away and never come back!" we might have hoped for, but at least Anna won't be operated on again until she is really strong. After the appointment I got very moist eyed in Marksies in Newcastle which was a tad embarrassing, but I've recovered now.

Janie
xxxxxxx

Party Fears Two

2006-01-15T19:54:00.000Z

Ella's second birthday party was great and we were all thoroughly entertained by Charlie the Magician. Here's a shot of Cinderella and La-La!

Recovery

2006-01-11T14:41:00.000Z

Well, we are all 'well' again although I still feel like I have been run over by a 10-tonne truck!

We go the the RVI on Monday to see Mr Jaffray for Anna's post-op check. We've been trying to come up with a gift idea for him, but nothing seems quite good enough. A card and a box of chocs doesn't seem to quite cut it in these circumstances. We could offer him a liver if he ever needs one or pledge Anna's first-born child to him!

Janie
xxxxxxxxx

Andy finally succumbs

2006-01-05T08:48:00.000Z

It's taken me nearly a week but I've finally managed to infect Andy with this very nasty bug. He is having to stay off work which is the last thing he needs, frankly.

I have added a new level of disgustingness to the tummy upset with revolting 'eggy' burps and, for some unknown reason, very red eyes. What a gorgeous creature I am!

Luckily, Ella and Anna seem really well again and Ella's school reopens today so we have just the one child to cope with until 3pm.

Yours in despair,

Janie
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Ella is six

2006-01-03T17:13:00.000Z

Well, Ella is six. It's unbelievable!

Unfortunately we have been hit by a nasty tummy bug and Anna and I have been really unwell, so this morning we had to make the decision to scale down Ella's birthday party from 17 children to a more modest 2 (cousins who had already been exposed to the dreaded lurgy). Ella was very sweet and grown up about it.

We have rescheduled her big party for the 15th. She received lots of lovely presents today and enjoyed her "teeny weeny" party with Hugo and Georgie.

Janie
x

PS: Later addition - Ella spent the evening of her borthday in A&E as she developed a horrible weird-looking rash and felt awful. We were told to take her in 'just in case' and it turned out to be an allergic reaction to a throat bug she had been harbouring!

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T11:16:00.000Z

Well, we scooted down to Hartlepool yesterday to see Marg and Trev. We were sorry not to stay for the party (I do love a good party!), but it was a very sensible decision as Anna did not settle in the evening. We did however try her purely on breast milk last night and she selpt wonderfully well and is very happy today. So, it looks like formula milk is the culprit as opposed to solids. Hopefully, we will all get a bit more rest now.

Happy New Year to all of you. We drank a bottle of champagne, watched a great film and cuddled our youngest daughter, so it was a good evening.

As you can see from the shot of Anna, she found her first New Year's Eve very thrilling. That's Andy's hairy chest in the shot not mine, by the way!

Janie
xxx

Party pooper!

2005-12-31T08:21:00.000Z

Well, we have finally given in and accepted that we can't go to a party for New Year's Eve! We had planned to stay at my mum and dad's and see their many friends who have been such a support to us, but Anna has other ideas. She is being a challenge at night to say the least (she seems to have digestive problems and Gaviscon - our last hope - did no good last night). It's clear that for now our social life (together) needs to be confined to the hours of daylight and we should stop being over-ambitious.

Luckily we have all been invited to daytime parties over the next couple of days, which will be lovely. We also have Ella's fancy dress birthday party on the 3rd to organise. Lack of sleep forced us to give in yesterday and hire a children's magician out of sheer desperation!

The great news on Anna is that she has rolled over for the first time and the attached photo is of her looking a little bit shocked at her own abilities. What a little (daytime) star. Also, the doctor has referred Anna to the lovely Dr Turmer (consultant pediatrician) to keep an eye on her development. Anna seems to be doing brilliantly and is as bright as a button, but it will be wonderful to have someone to keep an eye on her and make sure that the impact of her bad start is minimised.

This evening I think we will enjoy a glass of champagne and think how lucky we are to have two gorgeous little girls with us.

Janie
xxx

PS: BREAKING NEWS - Nev the Potter and the lovely Mel are expecting a baby in June. Bless!!
Also, we think that Les's partner, Michelle, gave birth to a baby boy yesterday, but the text message was garbled so we're waiting for confirmation!

There's no business like snow business

2005-12-29T14:45:00.000Z

As you can see, Anna really enjoyed her first time in the snow!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-26T21:56:00.000Z

Merry Christmas!

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Day in Hartlepool. Last year was somewhat overshadowed by our wait for test results showing whether Number 2 (as Anna was then known) was suffering from a chromosomal disorder called Edwards Syndrome.

It was wonderful to be able to finally introduce Anna to her Uncle Sijbolt and cousins Hugo and Georgie who live in Holland. My sister, Suzanne, last saw Anna when she was four days old and in Intensive Care, so I think she especially enjoyed seeing her niece looking so happy and healthy. Anna was unimpressed by the festive fare on offer and stuck to fromage frais, porridge and breast milk.

Today was spent with Ed, Sheena, Ruby and Ted also and it was great to have the whole family together.
********************************************************************************

Our thoughts tonight are with all of those who lost loved ones in the tsunami.

Janie

xxxx

Is she really a Frenchie?

2005-12-22T18:01:00.000Z

Well, Anna was in big trouble this morning. I took her to the baby clinic to discover that she had gained...Absolutely nothing. That's a very low return on my investment of night feeds as far as I can see. We have now put her on the Fatkins Diet, so it's extra cream with everything and she enjoyed Heinz Chocolate Pudding for her tea. As I was strictly an 'organic, no added sugar, Guardian reader type of mother' with Ella it will be interesting to see how this nightmare regime impacts on Anna's future tastes.

She sat up for the first time yesterday for about five minutes without keeling over. Her tummy control has come on really beautifully this week.

PS: Some of you (sorry anyone abroad) are yet to receive a Christmas card. They are on their way, but you can see above what it will look like when it arrives!

In the swim

2005-12-17T17:33:00.000Z

We enjoyed a family trip to Slaley Hall this afternoon and Anna had her first 'swim'. Slaley Hall is a local (very plush) hotel with a lovely pool and we were given some vouchers for entry by our lovely family friends Marg and Trev who often put comments on the Blog.

Anna seemed to enjoy herself wearing her baby wet suit and Ella had a grand time too. We rushed back to see ourselves on the news, but it looks like we won't be on until tomorrow.

Janie

Media domination!

2005-12-16T17:56:00.000Z

There was a lovely article and photo about Anna in our local paper today which resulted in my having rather a strange Friday to say the least...

A news agency picked up the story and I returned from the Baby Clinic and a coffee at my friend's house to be greeted by a journalist. We had a chat and he said that lots of magazines had been in touch. As they would donate a few hundred pounds for the story to the Sick Children's Trust I heard him out, but unfortunately they were all of the ilk of 'Chat' and 'Closer', so I said no to him. He called back later to say that the Daily Mail and Express wanted the story, but I again said no as I'm not a big fan of tabloids - you never know what kind of spin they're going to put on a story. They cheekily sent a photographer (just as Anna was about to have an injection), but I sent him packing (politely, honest!). We'd much rather raise the money through other means.

We are, however, going to be on the local news tomorrow as a heart-warming Christmassy story for the end of the bulletin. All we want is the chance to get some positive publicity for the SCT and to say thank you to all those who have helped us, so hopefully we won't be bothered by the nasty nationals again!

Janie
x

PS: We'll scan the photo into the Blog ASAP. It's sweet!
PPS: Anna only put on 2oz this week. Had lovely chat with the lady at the Baby Clinic, so hopefully we'll do better next week.

The joy of fromage frais

2005-12-14T16:32:00.000Z

Anna continues to do really well. Our lovely physio, Sylvia, came to see her yesterday and reckons that Anna is only a month behind average as far as sitting up and so on is concerned - I think that's very encouraging considering the circumstances. Anna tends to curve over very easily when she's sitting, so she needs her back muscles building up. We'll pop her onto her front as much as possible over the next few weeks on her gorgeous flat tummy.

Another piece of good news is that I have discovered that Anna loves fromage frais and that has a knock-on effect on her sleeping, so I get a nice four-hour block every night. Bliss!

By the way, Anna will be a media star on Friday as her story is going to be featured in our local paper. I wrote the piece to get some publicity for the Sick Children's Trust. Keep an eye out for the Hexham Courant if you can - we will scan the article into the Blog for those whose lives are lived without the 'Rant.

Janie
x

Santa and scars!

2005-12-12T11:58:00.000Z

As it's nearly Christmas, here are two festive shots - one of Anna's tummy and one of Ella with Father Christmas. Both make us feel very happy!

We had a lovely family weekend visiting Hexham Christmas Market and going to see Father Christmas at a local National Trust property followed by a nice walk in the unseasonably warm weather. Ella also enjoyed a bonus second trip to see the Happy Gang with her friend Alex as she was brought in as a last-minute reserve.

Andy and I both felt a bit down at times this weekend. I think we are still reeling from the shock and relief of Anna's surgery going so well. I guess it will take a while for us to get over 2005 and we are still very tired out. It seems very ungrateful to have even a shred of unhappiness left when I think how things could have turned out.

We need to go sky diving to finally release that tension - I am booking now!

Janie
xxx

Anna's progress

2005-12-06T09:19:00.000Z

Well, this morning Anna seems to be almost back to her old self (minus the bump, of course!).

She has been very subdued over the past few days and in need of constant cuddles. This morning she is full of fun and smiles and that's without any pain relief of any kind so far today.

Anna spent a couple of days exploring her tummy, trying to find her bump. but seems to have given up hope of finding it now!

Janie
xx

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...

2005-12-03T12:36:00.000Z

Well, it's just 2 days after the op and we're all home again. We're all a bit incredulous but absolutely thrilled as you can imagine !! The marvellous Gillian, my mother-in-law, has looked after me and Ella wonderfully over the last few days, and is headed off home today. Huge thanks to Gill.

I'm off work for the next few days so Anna can take it easy at home without having to go out. But right now Janie can hopefully have a well-deserved sleep, and I'm going to get the champagne (well, Cava) on ice for later !!

Ax

You've come a long way, baby

2005-12-02T18:37:00.000Z

12th June 2005...

...1st December 2005...

...2nd December 2005

Anna has a transparent dressing under which you can see a bit of blood that's been there since she came out of Theatre yesterday. The dressing should be coming off tonight! Anyway, just LOOK at that flat stomach !!

Friday

2005-12-02T14:08:00.000Z

Thanks for everyone's lovely comments over the past couple of days - I am logged in at the hospital and this was my first chance to read them.

Anna did really well last night and even woke up at 3am for a play! She is now happily in her cot without oxygen or any morphine. Amazing! She still hasn't had a feed, but she doesn't seem hungry and is, understandably, sleeping far more than usual.

Mr Jaffray popped in to see her last night in his scrubs (it was past 8pm and he had been in theatre from 9am as far as I know) and seemed very pleased with her progress. Andy is waiting for Mr Jaffray back on the ward - he hasn't seen Anna yet today as he is carrying out an emergency operation.

She looks so wonderful minus her bump - I can't quite believe how well she is and I couldn't sleep last night I felt so excited and happy.

Janie
xxx

Post-op and relaxed

2005-12-01T22:01:00.000Z

Anna's Op - update

2005-12-01T13:18:00.000Z

Hi all,

Greetings from the library at the hospital. Anna's op went really well. She got back from Theatre to her room at about 12pm. It's amazing - she has a flat stomach !! There's a transparent dressing over the wound so you can see exactly what it's like. She's morphined up and other than the odd jitter - a side-effect of morphine - is very comfortable. She just has a whiff of oxygen from a mask put at the side of her head. Other than that she's got a saline drip to keep her going and a sensor to monitor her oxygen saturation... and that's it. She's got great colour in her cheeks, and looks really well.

Mr Jaffray was very happy with how the op went; he did get muscle closure and he did create Anna a belly button of sorts. He mentioned that there might be a hernia of some sort just below Anna's ribcage, but that he wasn't worried about it. We haven't spoken to him about what, if anything, he would do about it. I guess it'll probably wait until Anna's older.

Anyway, I'm off to get chocolate and then back to the ward!

Ax

All set for the big day...

2005-11-30T20:04:00.000Z

This is Anna in the bath this morning --->

She's been admitted to the hospital now, and seems very at home! She's been giving lovely smiles to the nurses and doctors who remember her very well from the summer.

We saw Mr Jaffray the surgeon late this afternoon, who gave us some detail on what to expect tomorrow. Anna's second on the schedule for her op, so should be in at around 9:45. He and the anaesthetist expect the op to be over by about 11 - 11:30.

Having had a good prod of Anna's bump, Mr Jaffray is very confident that the op should be straightforward and succesful. He said that he expects everything to go back inside pretty nicely, and that if there IS anything untoward (eg if anything's sticking to the wall of the bump) he'll be able to deal with it there and then. Mr Jaffray is hopeful of getting complete closure - ie muscle closure - although if necessary he will insert a small piece of goretex to cover any remaining hernia. Mr J may also create a belly button for Anna during the op!

Anna will be under a general anaesthetic for the op, then on mild morphine sedation for the rest of tomorrow. Mr J hopes that she will be sedative-free after that. She'll come home when she's fully able to digest food properly (3-7 days); until then she'll just be on a saline drip so that'll be one hungry baby!!

We'll update the blog as soon as we can tomorrow. In the meantime, thanks for all the messages of support - much appreciated as always!

Ax

Off to the hospital

2005-11-29T17:43:00.000Z

We'll be off to the hospital tomorrow and Anna's operation is still scheduled to take place some time on Thursday. I will be staying with Anna, but unfortunately Andy can't stay on the ward overnight. My mum will be looking after Andy and Ella.

Thank you for the many messages and cards we've received. Hopefully, we will have web access from the hospital again and so we'll be able to update the Blog daily.

I'll leave you with a very cute shot of Anna taken this afternoon. As you can see SHE hasn't got a care in the world!

Janie
xxx

Operation rescheduled!!

2005-11-14T16:37:00.000Z

We had some bad news today - Anna's operation has been rescheduled for December 1st. We were mentally prepared for next week, but we will just have to 'stand down' and try to enjoy the next couple of weeks as much as possible.

Speaking of enjoying ourselves...the attached photo is of us on a hay ride (the occasion being Elinor's sixth birthday party). It was a fabulous experience rolling through the beautiful Northumberland scenery. Mr Dodd's horses had been ploughing the fields that morning. They work the only farm in Britain still relying purely on horses.

Janie
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