30th June 2009

Well it's been over a week since we've been home from the hospital, gee I wish that the children's ward at Keneperu was still open.
I actually thought that on the weekend just gone we would be heading back in there, but she has come right and is slowly getting back to her normal self.
She is due to have her hernia operation on the 22nd of July, which isn't far away now. Fingers crossed she keeps well in between otherwise it can affect her operation.
She is starting to want to play with toys now, well toys she can hold. She loves playing on the floor with her play gym. It's great because it has different toys attached to it and there are parts on it that make crinkly noises. She is a bit behind in her development, well everything really. Her feeding has gone back downhill since she has been unwell. She hasn't wanted to drink her bottle for over a week so everything has been going down the feeding tube. I think she is quite used to the fact that she can just lie there and she gets food. She lost a bit of weight in the hospital so she is still very tiny. She is currently weighing around 4kg, so yeah about the size of a newborn, well she actually weighs what my daughter Nimeesha weighed when she was born. I don't mind her being so small, it's just her development can be affected by her size. She isn't eating solids yet maybe we should give her some taro and coconut cream and she might fatten up!!!

19th June 2009

Well we are finally home after 8 long days at Ward 19. She had an xray today which showed her lung has inflated itself. I honestly thought we were going to be there for much much longer.
We will be going back in about 1 months time to get her hernia operated on and then hopefully we don't have any more of those hiccups. I just hope she is well then otherwise we will have to wait longer to get it done.
Well I am tired and it's been a long week so I will update this next week to let you know how our weekend goes.

18th June 2009

Yes well we have made Ward 19 our home for the next couple of weeks at least. We were told yesterday that it could take 2 days or it could take 2 weeks for her lung to reinflate itself. And at the moment her breathing isn't that great so we are nowhere near to going home. If all that wasn't bad enough, I gave her a bath today and what did I found, a hernia in her genital area. Immediately the doctor came and said it was very uncommon for girls to get it, but nothing is simple with my girl. He pushed it back in and it was fine, when it comes out we just have to push it back in. If it doesn't go back in then she will need emergency surgery, which at the moment she is too unwell so fingers crossed it stays okay. Mr Pringle will come and check it in the morning. Eventually she will have to have it operated on otherwise it can cause problems. Just when I thought all of her surgeries were over.
Sometimes I feel like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall!!! My kids haven't seen me for over a week now and they are starting to wonder whether or not I am going home. I spent quite a bit of time upstairs in the Ronald McDonald room today. I never knew we could help ourselves to the food up there. It's a lot better than eating 2 minute noodles for dinner. All I want is a home cooked meal and my own bed to sleep in. I might need somebody to swap with me for 1 night so I don't go insane. I am working on Saturday at the stadium so my Mum will come in and be with her, Antz has to referee on Saturday so he can't come in. At least I will get to go outside and be part of civilization for a few hours. Then on Sunday Freda is going to come in and I will go and watch Devante play league. He is playing just up the road from the hospital so at least my kids can come in after the game and see their sister.
Oh yeah and Swine flu is in the ward above us. Won't be long and we will probably all have it as well, Just another thing we don't need.
Anyway time to go and try and get some sleep before her next feed which she just mostly cries through and then cries for the next hour after it. Fun times!!!!

16th June 2009

Well everybody we aren't going home in a hurry, we could still be at the hospital in the weekend. Today I actually went outside. I needed to go and get food that doesn't cost a fortune, so I braved the rain and went to the takeaway shop and the dairy. OH MY GOSH!!! It was so cold.
My baby is having a sleep right now, she gets really tired. I feel like I've had no sleep what so ever. She was up for a feed at 12 midnight and didn't go down to bed until 2am. Every time I tried to put her in her bed she would cry and cough and wake herself up. She just wanted to sleep on her tummy. Poor baby, it must be really hard to breathe.
She had some physio done on her lungs and I know how to do it for when we go home. It's pretty easy stuff really.
I had my Mum come in for a visit yesterday and then my friend Pania came in and brang us some dinner. I can't thank the people enough that have been there from Day 1 helping us out, it really means a lot. As for the others well they know where they can shove it. Thanks for all the nice comments and get well wishes for her as well they mean a lot.

June 14th 2009

Well we are still in the hospital. She is improving but her breathing is still too erratic for us to go home. We have had to move rooms so that a sicker baby can be closer to the nurses station. I suppose that's a good sign. Fingers crossed we go home tomorrow.
I am quite upset at the moment because people in my extended family think that it is funny to abuse me and talk about me behind my back. They are saying things about me that aren't true and some of them are true but what does it matter to them. So what if my family struggles from time to time and asks for help from others. I think they would struggle too if they were a family of 8 and living on one income and had a very sick child like mine. We don't always ask for help because we try and do things on our own, but when we do oh my gosh the knives start coming out and it's all my fault. The thing I don't understand is why they direct things at me and never at Antz. Maybe because he will tell them exactly where they can shove it!! Anyway I think that those people that are gossiping need to get a life and stop trying to ruin mine and have a bit of compassion for our situation. It's not like we've had it easy in the last year and they certainly haven't been there to help. Thanks to all of those that have helped us out you don't know how much you mean to us!!
Anyway that's my moan for now, I'm sure once I get home there will be more dramas.

12th June 2009

Well I am posting this latest message from Ward 19 of Wellington Children's Hospital. Unfortunately my daughters lung has collapsed again and she also has an infection in her lung. We came in yesterday and it looks like we are here for the long haul. She is doing remarkably well considering the circumstances. We were here just over 2 weeks ago with the same thing. She seemed to come right so we were sent home. Well because she had bronchiolitis they said the cough would last for quite some time, so she has been unsettled and quite grumpy for a few weeks now. She is having iv antibiotics and is having fluids. Her milk intake has been reduced, which she is not happy about at all. We have the same room from the last time, so I've told them to reserve it for us!! We are bound to be in here a few more times over the winter season. Roll on summer weather I say!! Fat chance of that happening.
I felt really sorry for my son Cassius yesterday, it was his birthday. I did however manage to make him a cake and cook him butter chicken for his dinner. I think he was quite happy with that. I told him we will do a proper birthday with his friends in a couple of weeks. Touch wood Trinity is okay then.
Until later that is all my updates for now, so feel free to come and visit us over the weekend, I am going to be rather bored!!!

we went into hospital on Wednesday with what we thought was pneumonia, her right lung had collapsed. They needed to keep an eye on her and make sure her heart rate didn't drop and to monitor her oxygen requirements. She had to sleep with her right side up so her lung could have a rest. By Friday it had corrected itself and we were allowed to go home. They kept doing blood tests and wanted to keep us in there a bit longer but I asked why and they couldn't answer. So I politely told them that her father would be coming in and they'd end up having to call the police to restrain him. They gave me answers after that and let us go.
I came home to a house full of people because Antz had organised his granddad's unveiling for Saturday. Family from Auckland and Gisborne had come down and half of them stayed at our house. My sister came to my house and watched her so I wouldn't have to take her out. The weekend went really well and all I can say is I'm glad it's over!

my girl in hospital