KEEP DREAMING

I feel like I've neglected my blog in the last week but there has been so much going on I just haven't had the time. But, I'm back!

I can't believe that Ashton's 21 st party has come and gone. What a night it was! One hundred friends and family gathered together to celebrate my daughter's birthday. It was amazing.

First I have to show you the cake! Oh my goodness this was more than what we expected - stunning to look at , tasty ( caramel and chocolate layers) and those flowers were works of art. I am showing you the photo from the business page to give them a free plug! Thank you +Sugarplum Sweets . I couldn't think of anyone better than Flavia and her staff for all my cake needs. Don't even try arguing with me about cake not being a need until you've tasted their lemon meringue cupcakes. It's a need!

Now, I have to show you the birthday girl. It's hard to believe that two days before the party, she woke up on her actual birthday in hospital. It's hard to believe that she endured a six hour procedure three days before the party. Why is it hard to believe? Because she looked like this...

I love my gorgeous girl and I was so delighted to see how happy she was all evening. After everything she has been through ( and unfortunately will continue to go through), she thoroughly deserved her night and to be made a fuss of.

Here's a few more happy snaps for you to enjoy!

Ciara and boyfriend Joel

Ashton, me, Ciara and Mark

Pride and Joy

Heaven on a stand

Oh yeah! Did I forget to tell you we also had a macaron centrepiece also made by +SugarplumSweets - flavours were redskin, blueberry and white chocolate. My eight year old niece kept asking all night if it was time to have one yet?

 Finally got home to a Geraldton two days after the party, after having been away from home for almost three weeks. I thought the weekend had been great but one more good thing was about happen!

When I started this blog back in October 2013, it was all about me and my condition. It was a way of coping with a diagnosis which nobody had ever heard of. I never realised how much I had missed writing until I started blogging. 

Then it seemed that others enjoyed my writing despite the story line being sad at times. People started telling me to write a book and slowly I warmed to the idea. It took a while because the subject matter is so painful and so tender, but I eventually put a collection of my best blogs together and sent them off. Nobody was interested!

Around New Year, Ciara took me to task. She told me that if JK Rowling could get turned down
many times, who was I to give up after a couple. My interest re-ignited, but this time I spent ages writing the blogs in a story format. This is how I coped waiting for Ashton's February 6 appointment.

The first two replies where rejections - again! Then I received a letter from a publisher in the UK. They wanted to see more!

Its been a long time since I have been this excited about anything! This letter does not mean they will publish the book. It just means they want to see more. It means that a group of editors across the world in the UK, think I might have a story to tell and that I CAN WRITE! WOW!

Even if it doesn't get published I will always have this moment. If it does get published, seeing my name on a book will be a childhood dream come true!

Till next time....xxx

HAPPY 21st TO MY F.E.D

Twenty one years ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She gave me quite a shock because she arrived five weeks and one day too early on a very humid night. When I woke her father at 11 pm to tell him my waters had broken, he didn't believe me at first. But he had no choice really and soon we were flying out the door to the hospital. We were so young and so naive and so inexperienced that we forgot to take a bag of anything with us. You know what I mean - clothes, toiletries, baby stuff! We had nothing with us. Looking back now it was hilarious!

That night a new midwife was doing her first shift in a new country hospital. She was told to expect a quiet night for her first night and within two hours she got an emergency. I remember her ringing the doctor who was not too pleased to be woken up. Apparently she made the huge mistake of ringing the doctor before examining me herself. The poor woman got yelled at but there was no doubt my baby was on its way, so she managed to squirrel out of any more doctor tongue lashings.

Like her sister two and a bit years later, she was too early to be delivered in a country town hospital and the Royal Flying Doctor plane had to come up from Perth to get me. Ashton was born the following day at 2.59 pm in between calls to my closest girlfriends.I have never seen such a look of delight on my husband's face as I saw that day.

The feeling of holding your first baby in your arms is quite inexplicable. The sudden rush of love
Iand wonder when you look down and finally meet your child can be compared to nothing else. You love all your children equally but the wonder of the first birth is just so special. It was so interesting to read another blogger #Lysa Wilds from #Welcome to My Circus describe exactly the same feelings in her recent post about her son, who coincidentally has a birthday this week too.

My daughter woke up in hospital on her 21 st birthday. She had surgery the day before which did not achieve what it set out to do, so it could have been a downer. But with the help of the nurses, doctors and friends and family we still made the best of the day. Eventually Ashton got discharged and home we went for flowers, cake and visits from family.

The health sagas are not over. We had hoped for the best of 21st presents. We had hoped to be de-fistulised. However, it wasn't to be this time.Once again I thank God for a doctor who knew when to stop rather than take risks.

So now its time to concentrate on a 21st party and on life. She will be reviewed by the doctors in a few months and a new plan of action will be made.We hold our collective breaths but till then life goes on.

Happy birthday to my favourite eldest daughter. 

Till next time...xxx

FESTIVAL OF ASHTON

So it's Sunday afternoon and I am having a lazy time. Last night a group of us went to see Ciara in her production called "A little rain must fall". It was lots of fun but with a message to take away about risks and consequences . I loved the colour, the activity, the loudness and the general storyline. The production is part of the "Perth Fringe Festival"and because there are so many acts going on, Ashton and I are going back tonight to see another production. We're actually going to see a comedian because I think before this week starts we  need a good belly laugh.


So let me catch you up on this family's sagas. This week as I've mentioned already is Ashton's  21st birthday. Her birthday is on Thursday and her party is next Saturday. We have approximately 90 to 100 people coming and it is going to be a fantastic night.

Only one thing stands between today and the rest of the week. No, it's not the fact that the uni year starts tomorrow. No, it's not the fact that some people still have no idea what to wear to the party. It's all about the fact that on Wednesday her surgery has been brought forward. What the hell!

You might remember that she still needs another operation. There is still some fistula in her jugular vein and the doctor (please bow) wanted to get her back into theatre as soon as possible to finish the procedure. The original date scheduled was March 20 and though it was a bit of a distance, we sort of got used to the idea.

Which is why we're all a little in shock that the procedure has been moved to Wednesday 25th February. She was given the option of saying yes I'll have it on the new date or no keep March 20. Rather hard call to make isn't it? Whichever decision you make it is full of negatives and positives. We all eventually decided health must come first, so she has opted to have the surgery on Wednesday 25th and will therefore be waking up in hospital on her 21st birthday. Never in my wildest dreams did I see my child waking up in a high dependency unit on her 21st birthday after her 15th major procedure. She has told the doctors that she expects flowers and cake. The bets are on as to whether they will follow through.

Just to see a smile on her face, Mark and I have already given her our birthday present. If you are not on my Facebook list you will not have seen these photos so I will include them because they have made made a lot of people smile and a couple cry. It's just so nice to see her happy.

We are so hopeful that this procedure will be the last BUT all we can do is hope that this will be true. This June it will have been two years since her diagnosis. That's a huge chunk out of her life and out of ours.

See you in the hospital.

Till next time… Xxx