GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS

11th to 17th December 2010

With Nalani off her feet and me still recovering from my cough we have had a fairly quiet week at home playing board games and watching numerous movies.  Our weather has been far more pleasant than the wild rain and winds of previous weeks.

On Saturday Dad and I bought some new plants for my fairy garden, instead of being overgrown hiding my lovely fairies they are now visible and sparkling in the sunlight beside my delicate new flowers.  I moved one of my solar lights to a higher level so that my garden can be seen more clearly at night time.  Dad put clear estapol on my wishing well to protect it from the weather and it too sparkles brilliantly and looks ever so magical.

I remain on my phosphate, which I have to take two every day, I had a blood test on Thursday and see my paediatrician on Monday, he will review my results and inform me whether I have to continue taking them.  I am excited about seeing him so I can show him how clever I have become at using my rollator to regain mobility.  I am becoming quite a speed demon around the house using my rollator. 

Tinkerbelle is extremely amused and entertained by the Christmas decorations we have put up, she sits on our entertainment unit and plays with the various decorations we have placed on the Christmas tree.  We have Christmas lights in the windows and she loves to watch them change colour.  There is a little gift under the tree for her and the other cats, I think she is going to love helping open it on Christmas day.

Nalani's knee continues to heal, she is not very mobile, I am more mobile than she is so that makes me feel terrific.  She sees her surgeon on Monday also and he is going to remove some of her bandaging and readjust her brace so that she will be able to bend her knee a little, that will make a difference for her, having your knee straight all the time would be exceptionally difficult, when Nalani walks at the moment she walks like a chicken.  We have all being taking good care of her, it will be fantastic though when she will be able to be more independent.

My cough has taken a while to improve, I still have it and I am taking my Bactrim to help it, it is more of a broken cough now which is better because before when I was coughing it felt like my chest was going to break, especially my ribs which hurt for a few days.

I still have my tinnitus which is the ringing in my ears, having had it for so long now, I forget what it is like to not have it.  At night to help me go to sleep I listen to music, it blocks out the ringing a little because it is close to Christmas I have been listening to a Christmas CD, my favourite Christmas song is Silent Night.  Mum used to sing it to me when I was a baby and when I was older to help me sleep, I think it is a beautiful song.  I also love Santa Claus is coming to town, it is one of those songs that once you hear it, it gets stuck in your head.

With Christmas so close I have been looking through our cook books and have planned what I am going to cook this year, I am  going to make coconut ice, apple turnovers, chocolate cake pops, vanilla kisses and my masterpiece will be a meringue tower tree. 

Someone on my Blog asked me about making a donation for Christmas to the Brain Tumour Fund, it is The Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation Brain Tumour Fund and the address is The Sydney Childrens Hopsital Foundation Locked Bag 5 Randwick NSW 2031 and you make it attention to Tara Donnelly.  This is where the money that I have been raising from my book, money tins, walk-a-thons, garage sales and paintings goes to, it goes towards research and rehabilitation programs for paediatric Brain Tumours.  Another fund is the one that Dr Teo set up and that is the one that the Train for the Brain Fun Run and Walk raised money for and that is the Cure 4 Life Foundation that money also goes towards research for Brain Tumours.

I had physiotherapy with the wonderful Rhiannon on Friday and she is very impressed with my mobility and has given me some more strengthening exercises to do, I still experience pain from my stress fractures but I don't complain because there are people who are suffering more than I am.

Last night I went to the AIS with Mum and Jarrett to watch Jarrett run at an Interclub meeting.  He ran in the 1500m handicap race, because he is so fast he was the last runner to take off, giving some runners a two minute head start.  He flew around the track and by the final lap he had caught up to almost all the runners and finished fourth but he would have run the fastest time.  There were disabled and wheelchair athletes competing also, I was in awe of their amazing abilities, the wheelchair athletes have so much strength in their arms.  Watching these athletes really inspired me to push myself to gain strength so that I can be out on that track next season competing again.

Next week will be a busy one with appointments and visits from friends and of course it all culminates with Christmas Day a joyous and special time.  I found a quote in a little book that I was given it is by John Greenleaf Whittier and it says "Somehow, not only for Christmas, but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others, is the joy that comes back to you and the more you spend in blessing the poor and lonely and sad, the more of your heart's possessing, returns to you glad".  I think it really sums up that if you give to others freely and lovingly then your heart is filled with joy and your life is more blessed.