Hello everyone!
Sorry for being so quiet the last few weeks. At first there wasn’t much going on – had lots of play dates, I was sick with pre-bronchial pneumonia which took forever to go away, we had rain and thunderstorms (yes, in the middle of winter) and after some really cold days we’re back into t-shirts. Our nation voted in the local government elections with promising results. Last week, Sharon my Godmother from Australia arrived in South Africa for a short but sad visit – her Mom had passed away.
The next few weeks for me are going to be very challenging – I start this week with a full overnight EEG, so Mom and I are staying over at the Sunninghill Hospital on Thursday night. Friday morning its then straight into theatre to have Botox administered into my leg.
As if that isn’t enough, I’m having an ABR – auditory brainstem response test to determine why I have lost all hearing in my right ear. The ABR needs to be done with me asleep – at first we were hoping to do it in theatre after my Botox, but the theatre cannot accommodate me so I get to go under twice! Fortunately, for the second time, the ABR will be with sedative and not general anaesthetic.
Last but not least, I’m having an angiogram done in the last week of August. Mom, Dad and I meet with Doctor Winter last month to review my latest MRIs and discuss next steps and a plan going forward. We’ve arrived at a point that the MRIs aren’t telling us anything – there are too many metal artefacts in my head to allow for a clear enough image. Through the angiogram, which does carry risk, we will better be able to see what is happening in my brain. A further advantage is that in the second week of September all the surgeons are having a peer review of my case, and they’ll have a bunch of current info to work from, such as the EEG results, the ABR and the angiogram. So we’re hoping for some direction and next steps then.
Until then, please enjoy the photos……
Love Jarrod
Photo 1 Ninja Turtle zip line
Photo 2 Lunch with Dad
Photo 3 Helping with dinner
Photo 4 Tea party with Mom
Photo 5 Just Jay-Bee
Photo 6 Playing with Mikey
Photo 7 Aaron and I having a playdate
Photo 8 Taking a selfie
Photo 9 At physio
Photo 10 OT with Lauren
Photo 11 Puzzle time
Photo 12 Captain America
Photo 13 Chilling
Photo 14 Jumping with Mikey and Gracie
Photo 15 Scrubbing black feet!
Photo 16 Me and Mikey at The Spur
Photo 17 The three of us!
Photo 18 Cat attack
Photo 19 My new t-shirt
Photo 20 Milkshake time
Photo 21 Doing some maths
Photo 22 Love swinging
Photo 23 Hammy and me reading a magazine in the doctor’s waiting room
Photo 24 An audio test with Yvonne
Photo 25 An epic battle
Photo 26 DIY
Photo 27 ‘Cap’
Photo 28 Giving Missy kisses
Photo 29 Missy giving me kisses
Photo 30 Dad and I after voting!
Photo 31 Driving…
Photo 32 Excavating for dino fossils
Photo 33 Good progress
Photo 34 Cranky helping with some school work
Great to hear from you. We think of you so often. All the best
Best of luck for tomorrow. Lots of love Carrie