Letters to my Grandchild

Hello my darling Em, You have gone to 'In-ga-lund' for a three week holiday with your Mom and Dad!  For months we have been preparing you with stories about flying in aeroplanes, sleeping on the plane, visiting Kevin and Jacks, and Graham and Geroge (Georgina). On Saturday afternoon we needed two cars to transport you, Mom, Dad, the pram, and an assortment of backpacks and kitbags to the airport.  I really admire your Mom for taking this on!  She had a real battle trying to find someone to rpovide insurance for you and Mark as most don't cover pre-existing conditions.  In the end she did find someone - at a premium - but at least they will have some cover should either of you have an accident while you are away. At the airport I told you that I was going to miss you terribly and wished I was going with you.  "You can come too, Danny," you said.  I told you that I was also going on an aeroplane - to Spain.  "I go with you to Spain, Danny" you sa...

Hello my darling Em, You are growing tall, like a weed!  At the end of January we measured your height and marked it on the inside of a cupboard in the guest room.  You were 87cm tall.  At the end of April you were 90cm tall.  You also have beautiful blond hair which Mom often puts into a pony-tail.  You look like a little angel! I went to Spain for three weeks to walk the Camino and while I was away you kept asking if you could go to Spain to see your Danny.  I missedyou while I was away but Tammy sent me emails from you.  This is one of them after her 30th birthday party at our house.  "Yesterday I went to Kelsey's birthday party she turned 3. She lives in our complex. We bought her a my little pony doll and mommy wouldn't let me unwrap it :( I have been playing with Craig all weekend and he keeps asking to to say delicious and I won't (but I smile and giggle at him a lot). He is such a nice man and mommy and daddy say he is 'so go...

Hello my Emily princess, You have the most beautiful blond hair - soft like your Dad's.  You still can't say words starting with a 'G' or a 'K' - so my name is 'Danny' and your 'Gumpy' is 'Dumpy'.  Whenever you come you ask to visit my 'darden' and I take you to see the little tomatoes, pepadews, brinjals, lettuce and herbs.  I bought a cute ceramic frog and snail to put in the square-foot box and you love to visit Mr Froggie and Mr Snail.  Your favourite was to eat strawberries from the garden but they have all gone over now.   You have some really old-fashioned ways about you Em.  When you meet new people you like to hold out your hand and say "Pleased to meet you, what is your name?"  It often takes people aback!  You say words like 'fantastic!' and 'delicious!'  and when people are walking down steps you tell them to be careful.  You are very sweet. The other day I took you for a long walk...

Hello my darling Em. You survived your first BIG fall with no fractures - what a miracle - just a very swollen face!   You went to a birthday party with Mom and Dad on Saturday morning.  You were sitting on Dad's lap and as he tried to negotiate his wheelchair onto a concrete path his front wheels caught on the concrete and the whole chair tipped forward.  You flipped off his lap,  face first onto the concrete and Mark had to put his right leg down to stop himself from falling on top of you.  There was a lot of blood from your mouth and Mark and Tammy took you to Westville hospital. The doctor said that you had bitten your tongue and that it would heal in a few days. They had to put a wad of gauze in your mouth to absorb the bleeding. When you got to our place you looked like a very hurt, miserable little girl with a split lip, a fat face and a bloody gauze in your mouth. Mark was still shaken, white in the face.  I didn't know who to com...

New Year's Eve 2010:   This has been an eventful year for you Em.  You started crawling in January and by July you started walking - in spite of a fracture to your right tibia in May.  You also started signing at the start of the year and once you got the hang of it you learned a new sign nearly every week!  Please, thank you, cheese, ice-cream, apple, drink, dog, cat etc etc etc. You have been for regular Pamidronate treatments every two months but from next year it will be every three months. I think the treatment is really helping and although its a bit traumatic for you and your parents, it is wonderful that there is something to help make your bones stronger. In April you started going to the Shongololo Day School with your Mom and you loved it right from the start.  Unfortunately you had your 3rd fracture in May but it wasn't long before you were back at school and then you started standing, and walking, and my hair started turning white! You had a...

What a Christmas season you've had Em! Dad's friend Kevin and his girlfriend Jacqui were supposed to arrive in South Africa last week but there has been a big freeze in Europe with major airports closed and their flight cancelled.  So, earlier in the week Mom and Dad took you to the Emdodeni Lodge and Cat Rehab Centre in Zululand, close to Umfolozi-Hluhluwe Game Reserve. Their aim is to care for wild Cheetahs, Cerval Cats, African Wildcats and Caracal (Lynx), which have been orphaned or injured in the wild and are in need of care and rehabilitation.  Some of the cheetahs have been reared at the centre from young and visitors get to interact with them.  You were able to touch a grown cheetah!  You were afraid at first but eventually you plucked up courage and touched one when it lay down.  On the way home you travelled through the Umfolozi Game Reserve and saw nearly all the animals there excepting for the cats. On Christmas Eve we all w...

On Sunday we were all invited to Dennis and Rita's 40th wedding anniversary lunch in Kloof.  Dennis's sister Dawn, and her son and daughter-in-law were there with their little boy, Connor.  They had told him that you would be there and that you were a special little girl and that he must be very gentle with you because if you fell you could break your bones. Connor was smitten by you!  He held your hand and walked you around the garden (with an adult hanging onto the back of your shirt, of course!)  He shared all his toys with you and was quite happy to oblige with a hug and a kiss when asked to do so.  It was very sweet!       You didn't object!  You played 'hide and seek' with him and played with all his 'boys toys' - cars, trucks, Buzz from Toy Story. Sharon sent us this email from Connor's mother: "Hi Last night we were chatting before going to sleep with Connor. We were just telling him again how proud ...

You are two years and one month and this Christmas is going to be very special.  You understand about presents and parties.  On Saturday your Mom and Dad invited me to the children's Christmas Tree party at Derivco (where Dad works).  I was a bit worried about you being afraid of Santa because when I took you into Checkers at the Pavilion about a month ago you screamed hysterically when you saw a mechanical Santa playing music and saying 'Merry Christmas... ho. ho, ho!"  I had to rush you away from him and calm you down.  When I went back to the shop I saw that the Santa had been moved!  Maybe you weren't the only child terrified by the large man in a red suit waving his arms about ringing a bell and shouting out Christmas ho, ho, ho!? At the Christmas Tree party Santa arrived in a little train engine.  You didn't mind the fairies but you weren't too keen to get close to him.  Inside, there were displays of food - snacks, ...

Hello my beautiful child, You had your last Pamidronate treatment this past weekend.  From now on you only have to go in every three months so the next one will be in February. Mom managed to persuade the Medical Aid that treatment at Parklands was cheaper and easier for all concerned to you went into Parklands on Friday.  When Mom and Dad brought you here afterwards I met you at the door.  You had a bandage and a pretty pink, floral bandana on your head.  "What's this?" I asked, touching the bandana.  "My hat, Ganny" you, replied.  Looking at me as though I was a bit dim!  How could I not know that it was your hat? On Saturday I releived Mom and Dad at the hospital for a while so that they could get a cup of coffee in the hospital cafetaria.  You sat on my lap and we read books, played 'hammer the ball into a box' game and watched Micky Mouse and friends on the portable DVD player.  Mom and Dad came to us after your treament and you we...

You just LOVE it when we sing Happy Birthday to you!  We started singing it to you about three weeks before your birthday and you started to join in - pursing your lips, "...tooo-yooooouuu.  Happy buffda toooooo... yoou!"  And, as soon as we get to the HIP HIP HOORAY you throw your arms up in the air and shout HOORAYY!!!!  Every day, for a couple of weeks, we spoke about your 'Par-tee!'  "What are you going to have for your party Em?  Balloons! YAY!  Fweeties, chips, joos - YAY! bistits, tate, ice teem, YAY!"   Your birthday party was lovely.  It rained on Saturday (the day of your birthday) but was bright and sunny on Sunday when we had the party.  Mom chose a barn-yard party theme so the paper cups, serviettes and cake decorations on your number two cake she baked were farm animals.  She bought you a gorgeous new outfit - denim dungarees and a checked blouse.  There were coloured helium balloons with lon...

Hello my noo-noo, I am so sorry that you have had another fracture baby. On Tuesday night you slipped in the kitchen at about 6:45pm and sustained a hairline fracture on your right tibia.  We didn't know about it until your Dad phoned us at 9:15pm to say that you were in a cast again.  They had taken you to Entabeni, had the x-rays and you were home already.  It took me back to the days when I did that with Mark. I didn't tell anyone when he broke until after he had been treated and brought home.  It was so much easier and less traumatic to do it that way.  Tammy put the old gutter splint from your last fracture onto your leg and Dr Stead agreed that it would be fine not to apply a new cast.  Patty and I popped in to see you on Wednesday night and you were quite subdued.  When I asked you what that was on your leg you said, "Emmy boom. Ouch!"  By Thursday when you visited me wearing a gorgeous polka dot dress and matching cerise pink ca...

Hello Em, Last weekend we all went to the Umfolozi Game Reserve.  Gumpi and me, you and your Mom and Dad, Greg and Sharon and Sharon's parents Rita and Dennis.  Its the first time we have all been away together and it was great fun!  The Umfolozi Game reserve is the oldest game park Africa and it used to be the favourite hunting ground of the Zulu kings, especially Shaka.  The Hluhluwe/Umfolozi park was established in 1895, mainly to protect the rhinoceros which had become endangered. 280km is a long way for a little one like you to sit still in a car so Mom and Dad left very early, straight after you woke up. They attached the portable dvd player to the back of the driver's seat and you were able to watch Barney - your favourite dvd - on the road. We left at about 6h30 and finally caught up to you at the Petro-port where you had stopped for a nappy change and something to eat.  We drove north to the Memorial Gate at the Hluhluwe entrance and drove ...