Homework

This past week was more of a quiet affair. Monday Mommy and I stayed home the whole day as we just chilled about the house. Well, in all honesty, I chilled, and Mom did some cleaning, as we don’t have a char at the moment. I find this a real bind, as it takes my Mommy’s time and attention away from me. Dad was home in time to bath me and feed me, which, as always, is really an enjoyable occasion.

I sat in the kiddies’ seat section of a shopping trolley for the first time on Tuesday. Normally Mommy puts me in the baby seat that rides atop the shopping trolley, but since I’m sitting really well now it was time to ‘upgrade’. From this angle I could better see the supermarket and also get more involved in the shopping myself. In the evening Dad arrived home without his car; I didn’t really understand why Robin dropped him off. While Dad was bathing me he explained to me that his car needed to be serviced, and as he wasn’t in a hurry to get it back, he didn’t mind leaving it there overnight.

On Wednesday I had my last music lesson of the term, and as homework Mom volunteered to buy me all the Be Sharp Beetles CD’s! Secretly though I don’t mind this type of homework, as I get quite excited and revved up by this music. I have my favourites, and during those I make an extra effort to throw my hands around, sing along in my unique way, and occasionally I just start giggling! This is a common occurrence as Mom and I drive around, as she always plays my favourite tunes in the car. The afternoon involved tea with the other Mom’s, which as always is a really special treat for me. Dad arrived home with his car; clearly he decided to collect it from the service station again. Apparently Dad grudgingly owns a car and even the simple task of putting in petrol is a grudge effort for him. Having it serviced is a major grudge inconvenience, and in the past he’s sometimes left his car at the dealership for more than a couple of days. This last time the dealership actually kept calling Dad to ask if he was planning to collect his car, as apparently it is quite an inconvenience for them, as they then need to arrange for its safe keeping overnight! Also, they cannot understand my Dad’s lax behaviour at not being even a bit demanding in terms of getting his car back. I guess that’s the benefit of his also owning a bike. I’m also led to believe that if he stood on the road long enough in the morning, one of the many colleagues that pass our house would be more than willing to pick him up and give him a lift.

But enough of my Dad’s car ownership displeasures, and back to Wednesday. Bev and Claire have been suffering Jarrod withdrawal symptoms, so they popped around for pizzas and wine on Wednesday night. I was presented with the most awesome wooden toys that they had got for me from Clarens, in the Freestate, when they had visited there in the past few weeks. I was thrilled with the wooden music set and Wiggles puzzle. Part of the visit was supposed to be their being introduced to the bathing ritual my Dad and I share, but I just wasn’t up for company. I think my measles jab of a few days back has started having an adverse effect on me. Through my wailing and just before drifting off to sleep I did promise them that they would still have the chance of being part of my bathing ritual.

Thursday morning we maintained our family custom of having breakfast together on the last Thursday of the month. As per the last few breakfasts, we headed off to Doppio Zero again, as it is en route to Dad’s work. After a great breakfast, where we chatted and visited together, we all too soon we had to go our separate ways; Dad to work, and Mom and I popped into Linden Vet as we headed home. Poor ole Jake’s arthritis is playing up again as the nights get cooler, so it was time to put him back onto a daily Rimadyl. While at the vet, Mom also bought the most enormous bones for Roxy and Jake that I’d ever seen. I noticed with absolute amazement that the bones were also super light! It was then that Mom explained that they were the femurs of ostriches, hence their size, and because ostriches are birds, the bones are hollow. Back home, after giving Jake and Roxy their bones, it looked like they had excavated dinosaur bones!

In the afternoon Opa came to visit, and Mom presented him with a goodies pack, as he was driving to the coast the next day. The goodies pack included some of Opa’s favourite things from the German butchery, which was sure to make his journey easier!

On Friday I went to see Lauren, my OT. After a really good session Mom and I went and did some shopping. Back home Mom discovered that all my reports were finally ready from last week’s scans. Apparently Dad had to follow-up on a daily basis to get the MRI Scan and echo scan reports, but they were worth the wait! So here’s a summary of the good news. According to the MRI Scans there are still some dilated vessels on both sides of my head, with more on the left, but overall, there is a significant decrease than before the procedures. As far as my echo is concerned, my pulmonary pressure is now at 29mmHG, which is 4mmHG higher than it should be, but is considered normal. Furthermore, my heart is functionally and structurally normal now (which is incredible, considering I had four heart failures, and a significantly enlarged heart while in NNICU). Lastly, I do have a small patent foramen ovale (PFO) in my heart, of approximately 3mm. This effectively means I have a hole in my heart, but that it is not a concern, as it may close up on its own. My Mom and Dad sent all the info to all my various doctors, and they have an appointment with Prof Fourie on 15.04.2009, where my next steps will be confirmed.

To celebrate the wonderful news, the three of us went to Karma in Greenside for dinner.

Physio with Dianne was the first item on my agenda on Saturday morning, and after some rigorous exercises and stretches we left to have some breakfast. Dad felt like something greasy, so Wimpy was the preferred option. After ordering I had some scrambled eggs and a few chips, while sitting on my parent’s table! I even ate the scrambled eggs off Dad’s adult fork, which is a first for me. It was such fun. To boot, Dad put a Wimpy sticker on my forehead, and I become the centre of attention. Back home we all opted for a snooze, with Dad taking the biggest snooze option! While he snoozed, Mom and I headed to Woolworths for some goodies for Granny and Tammy and then to the green grocer for fruit and vegetables. Later in the afternoon Granny and Tamsin arrived to baby-sit me, as Mom and Dad were going out for the evening. Granny and Tamsin helped Dad with my bathing, and soon after I was fed, Mom and Dad bid farewell. Later in the evening, I remember looking out the window and I noticed that both Mom and Dad’s cars were in the driveway, as well as Granny’s car. I was really confused by this, but then I realised that Mom and Dad went by bike! Apparently they had a wonderful time at James’ 40^th, and as it was held at the Zoo Lake Sports Café Dad even watched the tail end of a cricket game and a soccer game under the floodlights, while noting the rugby scores on the nearby TV. I was really impressed to hear this about Dad, as he’s not into sport, and I’ve been really worried about not getting adequate sports exposure. When Mom and Dad left, they took two of James’ helium balloons with, one for me and one for Tamsin. Unfortunately the speed of the bike and the air resistance of the balloons caused them to be ripped from Mom’s hands and they fled into the night. Alas, both Tammy and I were presented with pieces of ribbon that held the balloons, as evidence that they did try bring us a couple of balloons!

Sunday morning was really awesome as I had Mom, Dad, Granny and Tamsin rally around me. Dad even managed to shovel nine spoons of cereal down my throat, which is an incredible feat as I don’t like breakfast very much. Granny had to leave a little earlier, but Tammy was left in Mom and Dad’s care. As she is a really fussy eater, we ended up going to the Wimpy again, as this is the only breakfast that she likes. There the four of us wolfed down our breakfasts in a corner cubicle, but not before I choked on a chip and threw Dad’s orange juice on both of us! Back home Tammy and I watched the Disney Channel, and then we headed off to Aunty Kim’s place, where Mom and Dad were invited to play some poker. I was put in Tammy and Granny’s care and Mom, Dad, Aunty Kimmy, Ronnie and even Ryan proceeded to play Texas Hold’em Poker. I was most impressed at Dad’s performance as he stacked up the chips in front of himself. Clearly here was a hidden talent that I’d not seen in Dad before. A late lunch was served and as everyone disbursed into various directions Ronnie and my Dad played backgammon. This time Dad did not fare as well, but I do also know that it’s been a long while since he’s played.

Back home it was time for my usual cares as I got ready for bed, but not before I finished my blog to you! The week ahead is going to be very exciting, as Shazza (Sharon) will be landing in Jo’burg on Wednesday, flying in from Oz! Although this is really exciting, I’m also saddened that she’s coming on her own, as Marc can’t make it. It would have been great to meet both my God-Mommy and God-Daddy at the same time.

Ok, its off to bed for me now. Have a great week!

Stax of love,

Jarrod

Figure 1 DJ Jay-Bee mixing some tunes

Figure 2 Grabbing onto my red dragon

Figure 3 Hello Tammy!

Figure 4 Giggles with Tammy

Figure 5 High-Five with my robot

Figure 6 Smilies in my cot

Figure 7 Yummy rice-cake with cream cheese

Figure 8 Someone let the cat (Sonic) out the bag

Figure 9 Happiness

Figure 10 Being naughty!

Figure 11 Feeling ill from my measles jab

Figure 12 Playing catch-and-release with my dragon and giraffe

Figure 13 Have a good week