Isabella has finally sat up on her own

Well i am extremely excited to announce that isabella has shocked us all and yesterday evening she decided she could get from lying down to sitting up all on her own. As you can imaging this is a huge shock for us all but one we are so excited about. It just goes to show that we were doing the correct thing continuing to push her and now more than ever has shown us that its not out of the question that she will walk one day.
She was so pleased with herself and has continued to practice. She was awake last night until half one in the morning practising and everytime i tried to get her to lie down she would giggle and pull herself back up. To be honest as tired as we were we had waited six years for that moment so we ended up sitting up with her and laughing at how naughty she had become.

Before isabella was born i had alot of expectations about what i would and wouldnt do and i guess we all talk about how our children will never misbehave. But we take  for granted the ability it takes for a child to be naughty and cheeky and how it shows their personalities are developing and how they are able to make decisions for themselves and have an understanding of the world around them. I am by no means saying we should allow our children to misbehave but just take a second to appreciate every achievement they make no matter how big or small. Life goes very quickly and we are all under so much pressure that i think sometimes we all need to take a step back and look around us at all the amazing things that are happening every single day, isabella has taught us so much and she has an amazing way of bringing out the best in people. through isabella we have met the most amazing and interesting people and it has shown me that there are a lot of extremely kind people around and there is although sometimes it can apprear hidden a great sense of community that we should all be proud of. IT doesnt take any extra time out of your day to wish some one a good morning or to say hello to that person you see on the train every morning but could make all the difference to them.

and so the fundraising begins

Well the fundraising has officially begun this weekend my family who live in the lake district have been bag packing in the local morrisons. The support they have got from staff and customers has been amazing. I am genuinly humbled by the support and generosity of people, I guess its time like these that i wish i was a natural writer as i never seem to be able to find the words to express my gratitude or explain how humbling all the support we have recieved is. We have a huge challenge ahead of us with the amount of money we need to raise but the community has given me hope that it is possible.
I am genuinly excited about what the future may hold for my adorable daughter and am looking forward to the fun day it will be lovely to meet everyone and shuold be loads of fun. Dont forget to contact me if you want to enter your child into the little sponsored toddle as i will need to send sponsor forms to you. Fancy dress is optional, think isabellas going as a bumble bee lol

Isabella's in the paper

Well we have just bought the Essex chronicle and after loads of pictures they chose one in which mummy looks like she has been caught in headlights. Everyone is making fun of her but at least I look really cute in it. Just for any one that has seen the article there was a few bits that weren't accurate so thought we should clarify a few points. Isabella used to be fed for twenty hours a day but after her last trip to America they have helped us reduce this to five feeds a day which gives her organs time to recover in between each feed. It also means she is not connected to the tubes overnight as we always worried it would get wrapped round her neck. The hope is that now she is used to this we can return to America and they can work and making her mouth less sensitive and trying to get her to learn to swallow and to realise her mouth and stomach are connected. This is a step they couldn't do on the last visit due to being so dependant and constantly attached to the machine.
The centre we are attending is called therapist 4 kids and they run an intensive physiotherapy program which was initially designed for astronauts returning from space with low muscle tone. One of the little girls we met on our last visit is now walking, it's so great to see. We know they can't work miracles but they have taught us with a lot of hard work commitment and their advancements in treatments things you never thought possible can happen. There was a time I feared Isabella wouldn't make it to six years old let alone be laughing sitting and playing. Just shows that you have to never give up and always try to achieve and be the best you can

Isabella is now awake but there is a lot if coughing and spluttering, she is on anti biotics now for a chest infection. Hopefully she will start to feel better soon as we are meant to be visiting family in a couple of weeks. There is no real way to know whether the chest infection triggered the seizure or if the seizure caused the chest infection as it can cause fluid on the lungs. Either way looking forward to her being her happy cheery self again as she is exhausted at the min bless her x x x hope your all well. Planning is still going into the fun day and hopefully the newspaper article in the Essex chronicle this week will help generate some new support as we have a long way to go to get the amount if money we need.

Just a little update

Just thought I would put a quick update on the blog for those that heard Isabella hadn't been well. Thank you for all your support. She is getting much better and is currently home on the sofa having cuddles and sleeping. Her temperature is a lot better and hopefully once she has slept off the effects of the seizure she will be back to her happy smiley self.
Thanks to everyone and we hope to see you all soon

Hi everyone cant believe how quickly time is going . To think this time next month karen and suzy will have hopefully completed day one of their walk. they will be feeling the pain and we will be keeping our fingers crossed that they have no blisters at this early stage.

Sorry not updated much lately but htings have been so busy and hectic with trying to get the fundraising going, thankfully the fun day seems to be going full steam ahead now with the bouncy castles and soft play all sorted and finalised we will be having a bouncy castle for disabled or very young children so all can be involved in the day. I know how frustrating it can be one your little one cant go on the bouncy castle because of the bigger ones having so much fun this is why we are going to have more than one so everyone can have loads of fun. Just got a few smaller stalls and attractions to sort out now, children are getting involved in the sponsored toddle which is great and the first lot of sponsor forms have been sent out which is great. Think it would be great if the little or big ones came in fancy dress, am sure i can find a prize for the best outfit. Just need top sort isabellas outfit out now. we can go either bumble bee or cinderella.

As well as all this i am busy sorting out getting our house adapted for isabella, the plan is that the garage will be converted into a bedroom and bathroom for isabella with hoists installed which will help getting her in and out of the bath. Have to be honest my back is starting to suffer with leaning over the bath to get her in and out lol. I have had two builders rounds and the quotes are in so i am busy completing the application form to the council for funding for the adaption although i have already been told that they will not fund the whole job so just have to wait to find out exactly how much money we need to find to complete the job. Unfortunately the way the grant works is that you have to complete work within twelve months from when its approved. I am sure it will be fine and just keeping my fingers crossed that the amount of money we need to find isnt too high.

Hope your all doing great and thankyou for taking such an interest in my amazingly inspirational daughter. Just got to keep everything crossed now that we manage to raise enough to get her back out to america, she is trying  so hard and definately has the motivation now. The world is her oyster and there is so much possibility for her, its amazing how although she doesnt speak how she teaches so many people whats important in life