Letters to my Grandchild

Hello my darling Em, I can't believe that you are now a school-girl. One minute you were a helpless babe in arms and now you are this grown up little miss! After a long search Mom found you a lovely school and you have learned to put your hand up when you want to go to the toilet; to say a prayer before your snack and lunch with your eyes closed and hands together, and to sing new songs.  You went on an outing to Mitchell park.  Your carer is away so Michelle Deme has been your carer this month. You get on very well with her and I think she is going to miss you when Shay comes back later this week. My friend Isabel came to stay with me for three weeks in January.  I showed you her photograph a few times before she arrived and when she met you for the first time you met her as though you had known each other for years!  She brought you a lovely little dress and a some make up and nail polish and you had a great time doing each other's nails and brushing ...

Whoo-wheee!!!!  Mom sent a message to say you had taken your first steps!!  You stood up, in the middle of the lounge and took four steps unaided!  If I had been there, I would probably have rushed forward and grabbed you as you took the first step!  We are baby sitting tomorrow night and but I don't think you'll be doing much walking on my shift!!

You copy everything we say - even when we try to emphasize a sound,at the beginning of a word you copy that!  I've been teaching you to say 'More' - showing you the sign for more and saying the word.  You started out by doing the sign but now you just say the word, "mmmmmmmmmmm..muh"  It sounds so funny! We took you to the animal farm at Asagay and you tried to copy the sounds the animals make.  'Gog, gog, gog, gog..." for the ducks  "puh, puh, puh" for the chickens and when you tried to make the pig sounds you just blew a rasberry!! You are afraid of animals.  I don't know why that is but you blink, pull back and clench your hand, and stick your tongue out when an animal comes near.  Even little dogs get the rasberry treatment although you did touch this little puppy when we held it up to you.  You weren't having anything to do with the pony! You actually shouted at the little black pigs when they started snuffling around o...

Hello little Em, Last weekend was a milestone for you, and for your family. Your cast came off on Friday and on Saturday you went into Parklands Hospital to start the first of your years of Pamidronate therapy. What this means is that the doctor inserted a feed line (small plastic tube) into a vein in your foot so that they could put in a drip to administer the Pamidronate over a period of 6 hours. Pamidronate is a biophosphonate - like the one I take for osteoprosis - that should strengthen your bones and help them not to break. It was quite truamatic because they couldn't find a vein large enough in your right foot so they had to try again in the left foot. Tammy said that Dr Roos was sweating after doing this procedure - especially with the right foot as that is the leg which has just come out of plaster.  Tammy stayed in the hospital with you and we visited you each day. On Monday they had to remove the feed from your foot because they couldn't f...

Hello little Em, This morning your Mom and Dad put you into a large oval tub of water to soak off your cast. They thought it would take ages but they soon managed to unroll layers of the POP bandage. You loved it! You hit the water which splashed all over the lounge, onto the sideboard and even onto the sliding doors! Then they bundled your leg into a towel and took you to the Westville hospital to have the remainder taken off. Dr Fraser applied a fibreglass gutter splint from the knee down so that you are now able to bend your leg - and, Mom will be able to take it off and bath you. The splint stays on for 2 more weeks. Everyone is so relieved to have the long leg cast off but now they will worry about how much freedom to give you. Should they allow you to crawl? Should they let you try to stand, pull yourself up against things? Its really scary because nobody wants to restrict your natural mobility but they also want to protect you from any further fractures. In a two weeks time you...

Hello Em, I arrived home from walking (and volunteering) in France and Spain this afternoon at about 3pm. Finn and Patty came to meet me at the airport. On the way home, Finn gave me the really sad news that you had fractured your right tibia on Friday. I was really tired from the three flights home and at first I couldn't take it in. "When?" I asked. "How did it happen?" We were all so relieved when the specialists, Dr Roos and Prof Beighton, said that there was no indication of OI in your Xrays. Just a couple of weeks ago they took you to Dr Roos for him to check your skull because the clinic sister thought your head was a little large. You had a scan done but there was nothing abnormal. Dr Roos told Mark and Tammy not to worry about your blue sclera "Children can have blue sclera up to 2 years of age" he said. I was away at the time and I must be absolutely honest with you Em, I heard alarm bells ringing. Large head, blue sclera and recurrent c...

Hello my darling Em, Its been some time since I posted on this blog. Its been a busy time. Greg and Sharon got married on the 2nd May. It was a very happy wedding. Greg looked so pleased to finally be marrying the girl of his dreams (I'll tell you their story one day) and Sharon looked gorgeous in her designer wedding dress. Your Mom was a bridesmaid so your granny Laura came to fetch you from our place and took you home where they would care for you all day. It was the first time Tammy had left you for a whole day and she shed tears when they drove away with you. Your Mom looked beautiful. Here she is with the flower girl - she is 4 years old and I know that you will be just as beautiful when you are a flower-girl one day. I did all the flowers for Greg & Sharon's wedding and it looked very beautiful. When that was over, it was time to start concentrating on your Mom and Dad's wedding. We've been to look at vases and table runners, tie backs an...

Hello Little Em, You have been a little bit niggely lately and then on Thursday your parents told us that they could feel a little tooth on your bottom gum. On Saturday morning I was holding you in the church while Greg & Sharon's wedding rehearsal was taking place, and you kept rubbing your gums on my hand. By Sunday afternoon, a second little tooth had come through! Dear little babe, two front teeth and more to come! On Saturday night you three slept over at our house for the first time. It was Greg's Bulls Party and Mark couldn't drive home afterwards and he didn't want your Mom to spend the night alone. Mark and Tammy brought your camp cot, blankets, toys and food and spent the whole of Saturday and Sunday here. We weren't sure how you would sleep in a strange place but you were an angel and slept through from 7pm to 2:30am without even a beep. You are eating vegetables now. Your Mom only buys organic vegetables and steams them all before blending them ...

Hello Little Em, I can't believe that you'll be 6 months old tomorrow! From a skinny, jaundiced little babe you have grown into a beautiful, peaches and cream, happy little girl. I have baby-sat you quite a bit in the last couple of weeks and you seem to recognize me now - especially if I sing the "Emily Ann" song to you. You laugh and you sing and you talk. On Monday at Patty's I put you to sleep and I also looked after you here while your Mom and Dad had a little rest. You played on the activity mat for nearly 45 minutes, sat in the Bumbo playing for another half an hour without a whimper. You are a perfect baby in every way. Something unexpected happened last week. I went for a bone density scan the week before and when I went to see my doctor she told me that I have brittle bones! Not osteogeneis imperfecta like your Dad, but osteoporosis which causes bones to be fragile and brittle. It happens to lots of post-menopausal women but I didn't expect t...

Hello little Em, I have seen a lot of you this week and the more I am with you the more amazed I am at how quickly you are growing. For the first few months babies are not responsive or even aware of themeself or others. Now you recognize people and respond to everyone. Its been so great to spend more time with you. Tammy has been designing, cutting and compiling the wedding invitations. She has done a really good job and they are looking very professional. And, while your Mom works, I get to walk you in the pram, watch you while you play on your playmat and put you to sleep. You never cry. Even when you get tired. You smile all the time - you are an angel child. Mark has taught you to make an 'ahhh...' sound when he taps two fingers against your mouth. It is so cute because the sound changes to a wha-wha-wha-wha sound and you keep going, even changing pitch! They have got you on video doing it - I'll try to get a copy so that I can post it here. Today I took you t...

Hello little Em, Today I took you for the first walk in your pram around Patty's complex - and I took you with Muffy (Patty's Yorkie) as well. You looked so cute with your little denim sunhat on. You enjoyed the walk but seemed much more interested in your 'Flower' - a soft, felt flower with petals and a face that is twisted onto the handle of your pram. After I left Patty's to go back to Greg's place, Finn took over talking to you - the first time he has baby-sat you. Mark emailed to say that you went to the clinic today and that you now weigh 7.36kg, and that you are in the 75th percentile for your height, weight and head circumference. That means that 75% of babies your age are smaller than you are. I knew you were thriving and growing into your body size. You are a precious angel and I love you. Silly

14th March: Hello little Em, You were introduced to solids today! Your Mom and Dad have taken a delightful video of you trying to shove rice cereal into your mouth with all your fingers. Dear little thing - you obviously didn't know what to make of the spoon and the cereal and managed to get it all over your face! Tam said that you weren't interested in it the next day but that you are happy to try it after you have had your milk. You are progressing so fast now that I see a change in you after just a few days. You are holding your head up and don't look like a Noddy-doll anymore! You smile at everyone and hardly ever cry. You are an angel-baby and I love you. See you soon Little Em. Silly

This photo was taken of you and Mark last week. He had his head shaved in the CANSA Shave-athon. Today I showed you a butterfly and you seemed completely fascinated with the large beautiful creature that fluttered around your pram. Mark had a Microsoft Course to attend to at the Pavilion so Tammy dropped him there and then you two spent the day with us. Last week Tammy dropped her wedding ring in the car. It slipped between the centre consol and the carpeting. She couldn't get it out so she took the car to Toyota and they had to remove the front car seat, lift the carpet and retrieve the ring from under the carpet. You were an angel today. You didn't cry once and, guess what, you even went to sleep on your own in your pram. This is the first time that I have been with you that you have gone to sleep without being held. You were in your pram and I rocked you with one hand whilst I ate my lunch with the other. Next thing your eyes closed and you fell asleep! Little angel c...

This is you in the pram that we have at home for you when you visit here. H ello my darling Em, It will be a long time before you'll be able to read this blog and, who knows, I might not be around when you do! So, I feel quite happy writing about things that you won't understand for a long time to come. When you are old enough to read these posts with understanding, they might give you an insight into who I am and why 'I am'. You have forced me to think of things that Ihave put out of my mind for many years. Like humankind's place on the earth, religion, creation and many other deep thoughts! You came to our house on Tuesday and your Mom left you with me while she went to town to look for wedding dress material. Once again you were an angel! You slept, fed, played on your little mat, slept, fed, played. After Mom got back and fed you, she had a chance to have a lie down. Apparently you take after most of the women in your family - you are a night bird and a...

Hello little Em. On Friday Tammy picked me up and we went to Patty's so that Tammy could use the laser printer. Your Mom is a clever girl - she is making her own wedding invitations and has designed them and downloaded a template for cutting and folding them. We put your play mat on Patty's bed and you lay there talking and exercising your arms and legs for over an hour. Then you got a little bit restless so I picked you up and carried you around the house. Within 10 minutes you were asleep - just like a little angel! You didn't sleep for long - probably 45 minutes - and when you woke up it was feed time. Tammy fed you and then you lay on your play mat again. You seem to be fascinated with toys that have faces, and also with those that have different sounds. There is a mirror in one corner and you get excited when you catch a glimpse of yourself in it! You are very rewarding now - smiling at us, talking away with a serious frown, kicking and waving your arms around. I took ...

6th February: Hello little Em, You'll be 4 months old on the 16th February and already you have become a smiling, chuckling little chatterbox! I have been able to baby-sit a couple of times this week and it is SO rewarding when you smile back at me. I give you a chance to have a good look at me and then I smile and say your name. And you beam back at me! When I talk to you, you watch my face and then you start talking, little brow all furrowed, mouth moving every which way and such a lot of different sounds from it. I love this photograph of you sleeping with your Mom. It just shows how much you have grown in the last month. Many of the little outfits that were given to you no lomnger fit and soon you'll have to go into the next size nappy. I was able to feed you today for the first time. Mark and Tammy want to go to an exhibition tomorrow afternoon and have asked me to baby-sit. But, you might need a feed before they get back so Tammy has expressed milk and today was a trial r...

Good news Em!! Your folks sent the baby scans taken the day you were born to Prof. Beighton in Cape Town and he has sent a report back that there is no evidence of OI, no Wormian bones (like little jig-saw bones) in the skull. This is good news. He is a brilliant man, very clued up on OI, so we hold his opinions with high regard. He has recommended that skull Xrays be taken when you are a few months older, but for now, the signs are all there that you do not have OI. Yipppeee... yahooooo!! I got to help bath you on Saturday - that was very special. I don 't think you knew it was me gently massaging baby soaps on you because Tam was holding you and you only had eyes for Mom. You squawked when Tam took you out the bath and all the time Mark was drying you and putting powder on you. I just laughed! You looked to threatening! I spoke to you and said, "You don't frighten us Missy. You dont have any teeth so you can't bite us. You don't have the strength to hit us and, i...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EM!! Last year you were born. This year you will turn One, next year, you'll be two! Happy New Year little Em. We went to your home on Wednesday to help put up the blind and boxes in your room. It really looks lovely now - such a pretty, pastel bedroom with stripes and polka-dots in soft colours. I was able to hold you today - first time for weeks. You love it when someone talks to you and I told you that in one day's time we would be saying, "Emily was born last year" and "Emily will be a year old this year" and most strange of all, "Emily will be two next year." Phsew - you are only 11 weeks old but when a new year comes it changes all the future statistics. We watched you as you lay in your colourful play mattress with two arches over it dangling with little toys. You are getting plump legs and arms now and you are almost smiling on cue - such an infectious smile! Here is a bit of trivia about your birth date that yo...

Hello Little Em, What a busy girl you have been! On Christmas Eve you went to Patty's for a family Christmas dinner. Jeff and Gail were there with Brian and Craig and their friends Katz and Gunza from Johannesburg. Greg and Shaz came, Michelle Moller, John, Finn and me. Christmas is a time of giving and you got more presents than all of us but you kinda slept through it all! Then on Christmas Day you came to our house and got more presents. We bought you a three-ring blow up swimming pool so that Tammy and Mark can sit in it with you on a hot day. You also got new clothes, toys, and a useful goody to help you learn to sit when you are a bit older. You looked very sweet in your Christmas outfit with a little hat that Phyllis gave you. Your Mom and Dad gave us lovely photos of you in frames. You look even smaller then! Now you have put on weight and have got a beautiful complexion. Here are a few photos of you, your Mom, Mark and me on Christmas day. Your 2nd cousins Craig and...