I had the night "off" tonight, and went to PCR with Dad to watch some Sprintcar racing. It's been ages since I've been with Dad just to watch and not go in the pits and work on Denis' car...The pic to the left is of Madsen's new car...not sure I like the orange paint..I still like his old Bikebiz blue and yellow...

Anyway, Schatz won - surprise, surprise. Kinser second, Pitman third. Madsen made it into the main despite not finishing his heat.

Took the camera along, still have a long way to go, but not too disappointed with some of the pics considering most of them were at race pace!

Skip Jackson got upside down, Brazier crashed, Sartori and Brady crashed too...Sammy Walsh started off pole after winning the dash...not too sure where he finished though.

Enjoy this pic of a man in his t-shirt...I took this photo for Ian, and surprisingly he loves the shirt!

Season's Greetings...

Christmas was weird this year, I can't quite put my finger on why, but it there was just something missing I guess...maybe it was because it was the first year that we didn't go to Nan's house...

Anyway, we had a nice lunch with Ian's side of the family, then had my sister, Dad and Ian's friend Pato over for dinner afterwards. We sat around and laughed, drank and watched Summer Heights High all night long!

Isla received so many presents, her favourites were her toy camera, Dora tea set and her Dora backpack (this was the big winner). I had a fall coming down the in-laws driveway and must have hurt Isla's foot at the same time (I was holding her) because she complained that she couldn't walk on Xmas day, and could barely put any weight on it on Boxing day but seemed okay today when she went back to daycare, although walked a little gingerly on it.

Boxing Night we went to Mum's new apartment for dinner as we didn't really get the chance to catch up with her on Xmas day, although we did see her briefly when we went to visit my Nan at the nursing home. Mum bought Isla a microphone, and Isla treated us to "We wish you a Merry Christmas" at least 20 times!

Ian's on holidays until the 2nd...I bet we're sick of each other well before then :P

We saw Michael for the first time in almost 6 months yesterday. He's very pleased with Isla's progress. She can now stand up on her own (without holding on to anything) and is walking well and not falling over as much.

Michael agreed with Ian and I, in that Isla walks with more control when she doesn't have her orthotics on, but it's coming at a price. The bottom of her feet are collapsing on the side, and Dr L is concerned that when she's older the bones may fuse together and she'll require surgery. I'll have to take a photo of her feet to better explain...

They're concerned about her legs, she's always had higher tone in her right leg (and it is marginally shorter than the left) but, and here's the curveball, she leads with her right which means it's her dominant leg...she should be leading with her left as it's the less effected leg, but it's weaker.

The plan is this, 1st of May, Isla is on the list to go to the Sydney Children's Hospital for the Botox injections. In the meantime, they're going to lock the hinge on the AFO's so that she can't lean forward as much with them on. She has a tendency to crouch when she walks (only slightly, I'd not really noticed until it was pointed out to me yesterday by Michael) so locking the hinge will make her stand up straighter. We need to do some strengthening exercises for her hamstrings, as the concern is that she won't be able to walk after having the botox (it will weaken her muscles initially) so we need to have her ready for that.

They give them laughing gas, but the mask needs to be held on the entire time and both Michael and I aren't too sure she'd cope very well with that. Dr L suggested pethadine as it's injected and can also knock little ones out, so there's another possibility, but it's a bit much to have to think of right now, and I honestly don't know how she'll react to it all.

When she walks with the AFO's on there's a lot of swivelling in her trunk, which is essentially because her left hand side isn't really working as well as it should, and she has to twist her trunk to swing her left side around. Again, she shouldn't be doing this as the left side is meant to be the stronger side.

We're going to increase physio appointments to every 2ish weeks to try and fix these issues. Poor little mite.

We finally managed a photograph with the man in red! Isla was so wonderful, genuinely excited! Although, she was waiting on his knee for a little while smiling away because the photographer was talking to me about Ataxia, so it's the tail-end of her smile, but it's a Santa photo nonetheless!


She's so grown up now, I can barely remember what it was like when she was so little. *sigh*
She's decided that Santa will bring her a pink bicycle, so I found one in an online catalogue and was showing Ian while she was outside playing, but forgot to close the webpage and Isla came in and saw it and said, "Oh, a Christmas bicycle!" LOL She's determined to have a pink bicycle one way or another, look at what she did to her old trike...(you may have to enlarge it to see the full effect!)

Had a busy day today. Went to the shopping centre to finalise Xmas presents, bought two then had to come home to go Fridge shopping with my Mum.

We went to 2 places and ended up getting a really good deal at the 2nd place we went to, and they're going to store it there at the shop until we pick it up the morning that Mum moves into her new home. Isla would have been with us, but she was asleep when Mum arrived at our place and Ian told us to leave her there instead of waking her up to go in the car.

After we'd finished fridge shopping we intended on going home and picking up Isla and choofing off to Ikea, but again Ian said to leave her at home because she was quite happy playing with him. So we did. We headed off for a 'quick' trip and ended up staying for hours! Mum picked up the chair and a tv stand that she was after and I bought a few Xmas presents along the way. Once we'd finished we went to grab something to eat because we'd shopped through lunch. I went up to the car to load all the crap in it that we'd bought while Mum went back down to the shop because they hadn't given her the right meal.

So, I'm loading the car, very hungry for my lunch (it was almost 6pm at this stage) when all this blood started pouring down my throat! I was freaking out! So much blood, mouthful after mouthful, just constant dribble down my throat! Mum was cool as a cucumber and after several failed attempts we made it to the Emergency department of nearby Concord Hospital. Mum was very brave - she's hideously afraid of hospitals, so the fact that she came in and sat in the triage area of the ED was pretty amazing! I thought she'd stay in the car for sure!

Fortunately for me, I fear I am not much braver than my Mum, the place was empty. I only saw 1 person in a bed and another one on a trolley, so I was seen to after not even 5 minutes of waiting after being triaged. The Dr I saw confirmed that it was a blood clot from my tonsillectomy that had dislodged and was now sitting in my throat waiting to be swallowed - yuck! He said the bleeding was normal when they come away and that there was another one in my throat waiting to do the same thing! Should it happen again I need to put Ice on my throat as it constricts the ventricles of the blood vessels and to go to the hospital if the bleeding lasts more than 20 minutes.

Such a freak out! So glad that Mum was with me, and that Isla was at home, I don't know that I would have coped if it happened to me on my own!

Had my tonsils out on Wednesday, came home last night.

Feeling pretty ordinary today, mouth full of gunk, swallowing hurts - painting a pretty picture isn't it?

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and messages, means lots!

BIG thanks to Auntie Kate and Janine for looking after Isla while I've been unable - means a lot :)

A is for arriba! "Arriba up, abajo down" Isla's favourite Spanish song.

B is for bubbles - Isla will often spend hours blowing bubbles, chasing bubbles, drawing bubbles. There's something so wonderful about watching children play with bubbles, to see the genuine intrigue and happiness is amazing.

C is for Chocolate - it seems to be a bit of a vice for Isla (she's so much like her Mummy sometimes *wub*) Freddo frogs are a big hit around here, although she's quite partial to good old Top Deck too :)

D is for Dora - Isla's favourite show. Thanks to Dora, Isla speaks in Spanish quite fluently and insisted on counting meat in the supermarket in Spanish - much to our surprise. "Te quiero mucho little Isla" xx.

Last weekend was very special indeed. To celebrate what would have been my "Papa's" 80th Birthday, Mum, my sister Kate, Ian, Isla and I made the drive to Bawley Point to scatter his ashes. Bawley Point is where we would holiday as children, either with Mum & Dad, or more often, with Nan and Pap. We had a simple set up down there, just a caravan and an annex, but it was the best place on Earth. I have so many wonderful memories from my childhood days spent at Racecourse Beach, like putting on concerts for the grown ups, playing totem tennis with my cousins or swimming for hours while Nan and Libby sat patiently on the beach and waited for us to finish.I'm sure that Papa would have loved the spot that we picked for him over in the rock pools, he has a wonderful view of the beach and the lighthouse at night. The rock pools were chosen because Pap loved to look in them for crabs for his fishing, and once we'd decided on where we'd scatter his ashes, the most wonderful warm breeze enveloped us like a sign from Pap that this was the place for him. When two little crabs scuttled across the rocks after he was scattered, we knew that he was happy.

It was quite surreal to go back to Bawley after a long time away. I was 13 or 14 the last time we went down there and almost everything has changed which is quite sad really. The place itself is still beautiful, we stayed in a Beachfront Villa and the view was great, but all the things I remembered about Bawley were changed or missing. There were no caravans or annexes, no tents or open land that were used as camping fields when we used to go down there. The tractor is missing from the playground, but the tunnel is still there. There's a big in-ground swimming pool, a gaming room, mini-golf and the old tennis courts are still there.

Isla had her first encounter with the surf not long after we arrived on Friday and loved it, although she was a little frightened at first. She squealed and laughed the entire time, it was such a beautiful moment to watch. We built some pretty impressive sandcastles then returned to the Villa to feed some ducks before venturing over to the playground while we waited for Ian to arrive. That night we sat outside and listened to the crashing of the waves and watched a little family of possums running around alongside the Villa, who were tame enough to feed by hand.

Saturday we went over to South Beach (or Shelley Beach as it's formally known) and it was picturesque. The aqua water lapping genlty on the sandy shore was even more beautiful than I had remembered. Isla was keen to get back into the surf, if only up to her knees! She once again had a wonderful time splashing about, alternating between holding my hand and Nana's. Ian and I attempted to take her out a little further, much to her disgust, and she was promptly heard crying "Nana, save me!". We built more sandcastles, collected shells and pebbles then went back to the Villa for lunch and a long relaxing sleep. Later that afternoon we went back to the playground where Isla had an almighty fall off the swing (see action shot!). She let go mid air and landed on her head, the rest of her body collapsing on top of her like a rag doll. I was certain that she had broken something, but after a few tears she was back on the slippery dip, but not too interested in the swing anymore.

Sunday, Ian left early to beat the traffic in time to have some time on his own at home, so we went around to Kioloa for a swim. Kioloa hasn't changed at all the boat ramp and the general store seem unaltered which is nice. We didn't explore the rockpools around the boat ramp like we used to when Nan and Pap took us down there, so unfortunately there were no stingray sightings on this trip. We only managed to stay there for about half an hour because the heat was so intense - all of us were covered in sunscreen and we still went pink! The walk back to the car lasted almost as long as the stay at the beach, with Isla insisting on picking up numerous pebbles and shells and looking for pippi's.

It was a great weekend, I'm so greatful to Mum for taking us down there, it really was what the doctor ordered!

Better late than never! Tantrums are coming hard and fast from Isla these days. Vegemite seems to be a repeat offender, she asks for it on her toast, and as soon as it's on there the whole world is going end.

It's becoming increasingly hard to leave the house, she's stubborn like her father ( ;) ) and doesn't like being told what to do. Kate copped an earful of screaming the other day when we attempted to go shopping last week - I don't think Auntie Kate thought such noises were possible!

Still no progress with trying to conceive.

Ian's had his SA, the results aren't back yet. I've had two lots of blood tests so far with more to come. One lot was just to check for deficiencies etc, the second lot were to see if I've ovulated and to check hormone levels.

Still another 2ish weeks until I see the specialist again, although his office called on Tuesday to say that I have no rubella immunity, so I need to be vaccinated again, then wait another 4 weeks to continue TTC, which is odd, last time I had the injection (Isla was 3 days old) I was told not to conceive for 3 months, so I may have to find some more info or just err on the caution and wait the 3 months.

Still have 2 more ultrasounds to go, just waiting for AF to show up before I can be booked in for those.

It's a bit overwhelming. We started actively TTC some 15 months ago and each month gets harder and harder. At times it feels like the whole world is pregnant (which I know isn't the case) and everyone is so keen to offer their advice.

The worst one is "Stop thinking about it and it will happen" it makes me mad. It's also shitting me to hear people's stories changing, "Oh it took us X amount of months to conceive XYZ" when I know that it didn't...I guess for some it's a competition, but it's one I'd like to no longer be a part of.

I guess this is the spot where I should write a little bit about me - but it's always something that I really struggle to do...where to start...

I met my husband Ian back in 2003, we fell in love with each other straight away. We met at the Speedway, he and his Dad were helping out his Uncle who races Sprintcars, and my Dad and I were pit-crewing for his Uncle also. We've been married since 2005.

I am the mother of a beautiful little girl called Isla, who is almost 3 years old. Having Isla has changed my world in more ways than I could have ever imagined. It's amazing how little you care about things that were once a top priority once you're given a little person nurture. I think that things happen for a reason, and having Isla was what I was put here to do - she is such a beautiful soul, I am prouder and prouder of her every single day.

Isla is such a precious little lady, the walking personification of determination. I had a condition when I was pregnant with Isla called Placenta Praevia Grade IV - which essentially means that the placenta embedded on top of my cervix. This condition, meant that I had a lot of haemorrhages - and as I was bleeding, Isla didn't receive enough bloodflow to her brain, which caused brain damage (specifically Periventricular Leukomalacia or PVL). It wasn't until Isla was 10 months old, that she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Spastic Diplegia. Basically, it means that her brain is missing the part that tells her legs to relax. Isla wears orthotics (AFO's) and they help her feet stay flat - the spastic diplegia makes Isla's leg muscles so tight that she walks on her tippy toes. She's come such a long way since that day in November 2005 when she was diagnosed, and she is a constant source of inspiration.

I'm 1/2 way through a University degree in Teaching which I deferred many moons ago when I injured my shoulder and thoracic spine. I hope that one day I will be able to pick up where I left off. As well as being a Mummy, I also work in Retail for a women's clothing label in a major department store. In the new year I will be starting a new course in photography which will hopefully be a foot in the door to a Photography diploma or similar.

Ian and I have been trying to have another baby for 15 months this month (November 2007) but we're taking a break while we wait for test results/I have my tonsils taken out/Christmas..watch this space.

Well, this is where we're up to in our quest for a little brother or sister for Isla.

I had an ultrasound & bloodwork done, and all have come back normal - although there is a 2cm lesion in one of my ovaries, but it's uncertain what it is - we'll be repeating the ultrasound next cycle. PCOS ruled out which is good news :)

So, I see a specialist tomorrow, will probably have another ultrasound, but it will be interesting to see where we go from here.

My cousin Ashlie and her husband Paul, welcomed little Kemper John early this morning.

Congratulations Ash & Paul, can't wait to meet your little man!

To my beautiful little niece Ava, Happy First Birthday gorgeous girl. I hope your day is wonderful.

Lots of love,
Aunty Allison
xxx

Happy 3rd Father's Day to Ian...this is an old pic that was on Poppy's camera, but I just adore it..I have no idea how old she is in this picture, probably 14 or so months?

Happy Father's Day to Poppy Farr & Poppy Hicks too!

Poor little Isla, she's been so sick today, I should have twigged this morning when she didn't get out of bed until 10.30am!

We're home from the hospital, where we sat for a few hrs waiting to see a Dr - you should have seen how packed it was in there.

Isla's temperature was at 39.5 and she's been vomiting and had an awful nappy (although when are they ever "good" LOL) She'd only drank about 50mLs during the day so the hospital said to bring her down and get her checked.

The prognosis, well, he didn't say much. The vomiting and nappy were "probably" due to the fever, and he listened, poked and prodded her tummy without finding anything, so we're not too sure whether she actually did have the sore tummy she said she had.

Hopefully the little mite will be better after a good night's sleep - cross your fingers!

***Update from a few days later***
Isla was sick again, the fevers, vomiting etc. We went to another Dr who diagnosed her with Tonsillitis and prescribed her some antibiotics, and eventually, she came good again. There was also suspicion of a UTI but once we changed nappy brands all seemed fine. :

Poppy came home from his recent UK/US jaunt on Wednesday, and we went to see him this afternoon. Isla was so excited to see him, and I think the feeling was mutual ;)

Poppy went to England to visit his friend Glennys, and stopped off in Spain because England was too cold - what a life!!

From there he went to the USA for the Knoxville Nationals with two of Isla's Great Uncles, Denis & Brian. From all accounts he had a great time! Isla now has even more speedway t-shirts!! Can't wait to put her in them and go to PCR for some racing!

Here are some pics of Isla playing ball at Poppy's.

$10 + 4 batteries = hours of fun for Isla.

We spent 1.5hrs outside today blowing bubbles! They all disappeared over the neighbours fence, much to his disgust (and my delight!) but Isla had a ball!

For my 26th (eek!) birthday today, we went to the zoo! It was a perfect Sydney day, clear blue skies, no winter wind - just perfect. I told Ian it'd be a great idea to go because Isla would love it, but truth be told, I was hanging to go back again! And what better way to spend the day, than with the 2 people I love most in this world.

Isla had a ball, as she does wherever we go. Her favourites of the day were the seals - or sea-o's as she calls them! I have some cute footage of her saying hi to a seal, it's down below - excuse my voice though, recovering from another bout of tonsillitis!

Not a lot has changed since I was there when I was about 18, they're building new bits and pieces, so maybe next year we'll go back again - we'll see.

Isla and I went for a 2.5 day spur-of-the-moment "holiday" to Tamworth to visit Aunty Helen, Lindsay, Ashlie, Mitch, Sally & Sebastian.

We had such a great time, were both spoiled rotten! Although, Mummy had a terrible case of tonsillitis :(

Isla is madly in love with Lindsay's dog "Dixie" who she's been pining for since we left, "oh Dixie Doodle..."

Here's a pic of Isla and Uncle Lindsay playing hockey, or "hunky" as Isla calls it LOL

It was a really long trip there and back, but Isla was fabulous in the car - although I guess she's becoming a pro at this now! Here's the happy little face that I saw every time I looked in the rear-view mirror

August 5th to 12th is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Week.

Please take some time to read through Isla's site, or visit The Spastic Centre Website or CP Australia to see what's going on in the world of CP.

It is estimated that in Australia alone, a child is born with CP every 18 hours.

Cerebral Palsy is a permanent condition that affects movement. There are three different types of CP, Spastic (which Isla has, which is increased tone), Dyskinetic (Athetoid and Dystonic) and Ataxic.

Please help increase awareness of CP :)

Isla and I drove to Avoca today to meet up with some gorgeous EB girlfriends who were in town for ABR. It's the 2nd time I've been lucky enough to meet Bron and her gorgeous little boy Cooper (from Melbourne). So great to see you both again. Can't wait til you get back home and back online ;)

It was so wonderful to meet Deb too and her little Man William, who is just the cutest little guy in the world! Deb is so funny, I hope that we're able to meet up again in the near future!

I completely forgot to get a pic with Deb & William, so I will have to hassle Bron to take some and send them to me :) Here we are with Bron & Coops (excuse my 20 chins! I'm the one holding Coops!)

Busy next few days for Isla and I again, off tomorrow to visit big Nana, Aunty Helen and Ashlie - and I'm sure there's something I'm meant to be doing on Wednesday too but I can't remember what!

Hi Everyone!


I've decided to blog here rather than Isla's other website, as it's a bit all over the place.


Today was a very busy one for us, we had to collect some hip x-rays before the Botox Clinic with Dr L at 8.30am. We only had a short wait before we went in to see Dr Lowe, Mel, Michael and 3 med students. Isla was observed without her shoes & AFO's initially where Dr L noted that her hips are affected by the way she W sits. Upon checking her hip xray, her left hip is at 3.0 which is within the normal range, her right hip, however, is at 13.8 which is not normal. We need to keep an eye on it as it is partially dislocating.


Dr L has decided that Isla will definitely require Botulinum Toxin injections this year. His Clinic is booked out until November, but he says she will have it after then. The reason for Isla needing the botox is that she still has quite increased tone in the calves and her hamstrings, which, despite her walking quite well, is putting extra pressure on her little hips.


So, now we wait and see whether Dr L is returning to the Hospital in the next 3 months, otherwise we need to book in to see him in his private rooms to organise for the Botox in late November/December.


We left Campbelltown Hospital and set off for Westmead Childrens Hospital, where we had to see Professor O regarding possible blank seizures.


It took forever to find a parking spot, then a good 15 minutes walking around the hospital only to find we were in the wrong building (despite being given directions from Enquiries). In the end 2 maintenance works had to take us to the right spot with their security passes. Once again we were on the wrong level and couldn't find the right suite.


Once we finally found where we were going, we saw Professor O, who is really lovely. Nowhere near as nutty as the other Neuro's we've seen. He gave Isla a full check, head circumference of 48cms, he's concerned about her weight and height, so we'll have to go back to see Dr F about. Isla was a bit cranky by this stage, and didn't take too kindly to having her shoes and "helpers" taken off again! She walked a little without them, but not too far. He checked her eyes, her reflexes, palette - everything, he was very thorough.


Isla had one of her "turns" while he was examining her, he doesn't think there's anything behind them, rather he thinks she's just "daydreaming" which is good news. He's going to schedule her in for a EEG in the near future, have to wait for his office to call us with a date.


Isla sang and danced for him, she counted to 16 which he was impressed by. He said that her overall cognitive abilities & language skills are well above average, stating that she is very smart.


So all in all not too bad, considering!


Happy birthday to Aunty Helen for today!

I'm bringing these over from Isla's old website. Just little things that I'll want to look back over one day and remember just how little she was!

POAS confirmed Pregnancy - Tuesday, 8th June 2004

Felt First Movements - Tuesday, August 17th 2004

Ultrasound showed it's a girl! - Thursday 16th September 2004

First time I heard your heartbeat - Tuesday 28th September 2004 (I will never forget this amazing and wonderful sound)

You were born - Thursday, January 6th 2005 at 4.39pm weighing 2585g, 49cms with a head full of dark hair. Most fulfilling day of my life ever.

Your First Bath - Saturday, January 8th 2005 with Daddy and midwife Jan. You screamed the place down! Your first bath at home with Daddy was on the 11th of January 2005.

You came home from Hospital - Tuesday, January 11th 2005. The hospital filled up overnight and Mummy had to share her private room with a very loud lady! Nanny drove us both home, but not before we got lost in the hospital trying to find the carpark :P

Your first smile - 24th of February 2005

Your first Laugh- On Nanny's 50th birthday, Tuesday March 22nd 2005

First time you slept through the night - Thursday, March 24th 2005. You were 11 weeks old and you slept for 11 hours straight! Mummy thought it was wonderful, even though she continually got out of bed to check on you (and still does ;) )

Your first solid food - Wednesday, July 6th 2005. You had some Farex Rice Cereal but weren't too impresed! You were six months old.

Held your bottle on your own - Sunday, July 10th 2005. Mummy had just gone back to work at this time. Daddy and Uncle Pato must have shown you how to do this!

Cut first tooth - Monday, October 10th 2005. 2 teeth came through together over the October long weekend. Gummy smiles quickly became a thing of the past!

Your first word - was Isla (or I-yah as you say it!) Can't remember exactly when you said it, but I think you were around 8 or 9 months.

You Crawled - Late November 2005. I can't remember the exact date, but I remember it was after your Paediatric Physiotherapy assessment with Michael. I was so proud of you :)

Your first swim - Sunday, December 25th 2005. Christmas Day. You had your first swim with Daddy in Nanny & Poppy's pool.

Pulled yourself up alone - Wednesday, January 4th 2006. 2 Days shy of your first birthday, you surprised Daddy and I by pulling yourself up next to Dadddy for a chat.

Naming Day - Sunday, January 8th 2006. We combined this with your first birthday party. You received lots of presents, and had a lovely day! Your guardians are Aunty Leane and Uncle Graham.

Said Dadda - Thursday, January 26th 2006 - Daddy was SO proud of you that you said Daddy first :P

Said Mumma - Saturday, January 28th 2006

Took steps holding on - Tuesday, February 14th 2006

Walked holding hands - Monday, April 17th 2006. Down in Victoria, at the 12 Apostles of all places! You held Mummy's hands and walked around on the viewing platform!

First independant steps - Tueday, January 30th 2007. You took 6 steps at Michael's office during a physio session!

Happy Birthday to Ian!

Have a lovely day! Only 22 days until Mummy's birthday ;)

Happy Birthday Uncle Clayton!!

Monday, July 02, 2007


Welcome to the world little Chelsea Grace!


Congratulations on the safe arrival of your newest little Princess, Elle & Clint!


Can't wait to hear all about you!

Sunday, July 01, 2007


We've stopped going to the Spastic Centre - it's over for this term anyway. I just don't feel like it was doing anything for us except for upsetting Isla. Maybe we'll go back when she's bigger, but for now we'll stick to seeing Michael and Mel.


It's a hard decision to make, but I just don't really find that there's any real focus on Isla as she's the most advanced of the group - I prefer one on one treatment.


Will see whether they offer a place for us next term.

Thursday, June 28, 2007


Happy 4th Birthday Elias!!


Hope you have a wonderful day with Mummy!!!


Much love to you

Tuesday, June 26, 2007


Happy Birthday Brandon!


I saw the cake Mummy made you - she's too clever! Hope you had a fabulous day, sorry we couldn't be there to share in your celebration.


Much love to you!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007


Big day today! We took Poppy to the airport this morning. He's off to England and America for 2 months and Isla was fitted for new AFO's this afternoon as well!


Rob (the orthotist) couldn't believe how much she's grown since October! The AFO's she has now should fit her for another year but she's already busting out of them! Only 1 more week and we'll have a brand new pair - which means new shoes, I hope we can find "flashy shoes" in bigger sizes!


Casting went well. Isla didn't kick or pull which was what we were worried about. She cried a bit though, but once she was able to put one of her helpers and shoes back on she was fine while Brendon did the other cast.


Isla is such an entertainer these days, she has us in fits of laughter all day long. Her vocabulary is incredible, she has so many words and loves to sing and dance :o)


Isla is walking everywhere and it's amazing! Her walk is a little unconventional, she can't really go in a straight line, but it's so wonderful to watch. We've had to ditch the pram (Isla's choice not ours!) and she does her best to walk everywhere we go.


A few weeks ago we were part of a Paed training exam at C'town Hosptial. Isla and I went down for some "short exams" where some Paed's in training from Westmead and Sydney Children's Hospital. Over 2.5hours, Isla was seen by 4 different Paeds who had to determine what condition she had. All they were told was "Isla is 2.5yrs old. She was born at 35 weeks and has only just learnt to walk in the last month. Please assess"


It was really good to see the different ways Dr's worked, they all came to the same (and correct) conclusion but they all came to their answer differently, it was really interesting. One of the Dr's being assessed was amazing, and I wished I paid attention to where she was from because she had the best bedside manner - she was unreal, I wish there were more dr's like her!


Isla was weighed and measured on this day too - 10.2kgs fully dressed :o( And 79cms tall so she's in the lowest percentile for height and weight. It was strange to hear them say she was short because we get so many comments on how tall she is.

Saturday, June 23, 2007
Happy 2nd Birthday Llandyn!

Hope you have a lovely day little man!

and

Happy Birthday Aunty Leane!

Tonight we ventured up to the freezing Blue Mountains to visit Aunty Leane for her birthday. It was first time in ages that we've seen them and the first time Ian has visited their place - and he was suitably impressed!

Was great to see Leane, Glenn, Danielle, Aaron, Kane and Max again! We won't leave it as long next time!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Happy birthday to my Mum for today, and for my big sister Kate for tomorrow!

We had breakfast at the Chocolate Dog Cafe this
morning for Nana and Aunty Kate's birthdays.

Hope you both get spoilt rotten (and don't party too hard Kate ;o) )

Sunday, May 27, 2007


Just arrived home from Brisbane where I stayed with the Narelle and her beautiful family.


Wonderful but short trip away, I was finally able to meet with Bron and Coops! You guys rock!

I "met" Narelle and Bron through the EB CP support group in 2005. Such beautiful and inspiring women.

2 good flights, read a good book and had a wonderful time all round.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007


Today we saw our Paed again. We haven't seen him in a very long time. Isla was so good when we saw him, although she didn't take too well to him giving her a stamp on her hand and made him wash it off LOL


The things we discussed:


*Walking - He had only met with Michael that morning, and Michael was telling him how well she's doing. Isla can now walk unaided for about 10 or so metres, it depends on what's in front of her. The more excited she is, the more likely she is to fall over. Isla is also able to stand unassisted with bare feet and can even take a few wobbly steps without her AFO's :)


*Toilet Training - He asked where we were at with it. He's of the same thinking as me, we need to get her balance sorted out before we can contemplate a potty. She won't be able to handle it if she's uncomfortable. We'll get there :)


*Weight - He's convinced that she's just petite, she's only just reached 11kgs so it's taken her about 18 months to gain 1.5kgs. He's not concerned about her weight.


*Seizures - We were given a referral for Liverpool Hospital for Clinical Neurophysiology. There she'll have a "Sleep Deprived EEG" to see whether these "episodes" are infact seizures or simply Isla just zoning out. He seems to think the latter as there's no convulsions etc associated with them. I do hope he's right.


and finally
*MRI results - I informed him that we'd been waiting since October for the results, so after a quick phone call to the Sydney Children's, his receptionist appears with the report in her hands :) It reads as follows:


CLINICAL HISTORY:
Spastic Diplegia. Born at 35weeks gestation. Second Trimester antepartum haemmorhage.


TECHNIQUE:
The following sequences were performed through the brain:
T1-weighter sagittals
T2, FLAIR and gradient-echo axials
Diffusion on weighted imaging
Axial true IR
MPRAGE


REPORT:
There is excessive abnormal signal (hyperintense on T2 and FLAIR and relatively hypointense on T1) in the peritrigonal periventricular white matter and centrum semi ovule bilaterally. There is also a reduction in the volume of the peritrigonal white matter bilaterally. Ventricular size is normal but there is a slightly wavy contour to the lateral wall of the trigone of the right lateral ventricle. The surface CSF spaces are normal in size and appearance. There is no shift of midline structures or other evidence of mass-effect. There is no structural abnormality. Myelination is appropriate for age. There is no evidence of space occupying lesion, extra-axial coillection or past parenchymal haemmorhage.


COMMENT:
The appearance are consistent with periventricular leucomalacia.


So there you go.


From the way Dr F explained it to me, it basically means that parts of the brain that supply the spinal column with fluid aren't perfect in Isla's brain. She has some tissue missing. It is most often found in children born prematurely (Below 37wks), with birth weight under 2.5kgs (Isla was 2585g). It could have been caused by those two factors. I may be because of a virus I had while I was pregnant (which I had while in hospital). It may have been caused by the placenta praevia - or a combination of all of the above...we'll never know.


Anyway, good news is that it won't get any worse. Also, if there are to be any more little people in this family, we are at the same risk level as the rest of the population :) He also said that I was a slight risk of PP again, although some other OB's have said that I'm at a 90% - who knows!

Happy Birthday Poppy! Hope your day is wonderful!

Friday, April 20, 2007


Happy 80th Birthday Big Nana!!


Wishing you the most wonderful and happy birthday!


Love you lots!