Home Sweet Home

We are home at last!


Amber is making a good recovery, she is now free from those gory drains she had protruding from her belly. She had the last two taken out on Wednesday. The nurse gave her a sedative 30 minutes before they took the drains out because they were a bit worried about how hard she would fight them while they were trying to remove them. 20 minutes after the sedative... Amber was sitting up in bed chatting, watching TV and colouring in, apparently she was supposed to be a bit sleepy and relaxed! Anyway they decided to go ahead and take the drains out.


I have never seen anything like it before, I have never seen Amber so upset before, it took 5 of us to hold her down while they removed the tubes. She was so strong and fought it so hard - kicking and screaming. It was like something from The Exorcist movie, it was like she was possesed! After a big battle they got the tubes out.


She spent the next couple of days having regular blood tests and being monitored. On Thursday she had more tests - ECG and an Echo to make sure everything was ok before we brought her home. Friday morning she had more blood tests and a chest x-ray - which was clear and we were told we could go home after we collected her 4 different medications from the pharmacy.


It was a very long trip home and when we finally arrived we were all exhausted. I am still unpacking now! I can't believe how much stuff we had packed into our car!


Amber is doing very well considering what she has been through. She has lost a bit of weight and strength, but so far there have been no complications, no signs of infection either! On Tuesday she has to see our GP to have some stitches out, the dressing taken off of her incision, more blood tests and a general check up. And in two weeks time we have to go back to Sydney to see the cardiologist for a check up.


It is so good to be home and have Amber home and well!


.... Just another day ....

Fingers Crossed - We Are Off

We are leaving tommorrow for Sydney. I can't believe I am sitting here blogging rather than finishing off the packing of our things ready to go!

It will take us most of the day to drive there, so I think we will probably arrive sometime in the late afternoon - early evening.

Friday morning Amber has the pre-admission clinic - they want to do blood tests, an ECG, chest X-ray and other delightful things like that, apparently it will take about 3 hours.

Then, the rest of Friday and the weekend we have to ourselves to do what we want. Shopping sounds like a good idea until you remember it is Christmas time soon and the shopping centres will be full of crazy Christmas shoppers, not to mention all the Christmas brainwashing that goes along with it - the decorations, trees and of course that bloke in the red suit that I have been trying so hard for the kids to avoid. You have to remember this is our first year of celebrating Hanukkah and not Christmas and it is a huge change for the 3 girls. They would normally at this time of the year be having their photos taken with santa. Jade has had to deal with all the other kids in her class doing their Christmas drawings (they made Jesus celophane windows the other day!), while she does something else the teacher has prepared. It has been pretty hard for her in the sense that she is the 'odd one out' so to speak - BUT we have Hanukkah that goes for 8 days not 1!! She is very excited about Hanukkah and very proud to be Jewish.

Anyway, back to the topic - it's not like me to get sidetracked! lol!

Monday, Amber has her surgery. I am not sure how long it takes but apparently she needed a 'big time slot', so I am guessing the actual surgery will take quite a while. She will the be in the Intensive Care Unit for about a week and then I am guessing another week or so on the ward - as long as everything goes smoothly and there is no infection or any other problems.

So there you have it, that's what's happening. Keep your fingers crossed for us. I will update as soon as I can, probably when we get back.

I hope everyone has a Happy Hanukkah!!!

.... Just another day ....

At Last Some News!

I have been waiting all morning for the lady from the cardiac department to call and let us know either way whether Amber's surgery had been put off for a week or not. All morning I have wanted to call and ask, but I have shown restraint(!) and not called, she said she would call, so I just needed to be more patient.

Anyhow, at about 1pm today she rang, bearing good and bad news. First up the bad news, Amber's surgery has been put off for another week... the good news is she has re-booked our accommodation at Ronald McDonald House to accommodate the new surgery date - which makes the bad news not so bad! I feel a lot better about it now, at least we know what is going on.

So, now we leave next Thursday the 14th instead of tommorow with the pre-admission clinic next Friday and surgery the following Monday. You all now have the pleasure of listening to me kvetch for another week! Woo hoo! Lucky you.




.... Just another day ....

Surgery Date Update

Just a quick update from yesterdays surgery drama. I rang the cardiac department this morning to try and get an answer (they said they would have an answer yesterday but never rang me back).

When I rang she had to ring the surgeons office to find out the answer and said she would ring me back. She rang back about 10 minutes later to tell me there is no news - they are waiting to see how the boy with the cold progresses before they make a decision. They will let us know tommorrow (Wednesday - the day before we are supposed to leave!) It seems they never were going to let us know on Monday like they said they would.


We have explained out situation (about 20 times - my husband is not as passive as I am!) - how much it takes to organise accommodation and how far we have to travel, but it makes no difference at all. They say they understand how hard it is, but I know they have no clue.

Anyway, there is nothing we can do but wait until tommorrow now, it is in their hands.


***** UPDATE *****

Ronald McDonald house have confirmed our accommodation! Thank goodness!
Now we just have to confirm the surgery date tommorrow.


.... Just another day ....

I Have Been Tagged... Thanks Yaakova...

Alright, so I have been tagged... (thanks a lot Yaakova) maybe this is a good thing, it will give me something else to think about for a while! I am not sure it will be too exciting, I have never been overseas or anything like that... my teenage years were pretty wild though! Lol!

The ones that are bold are the ones that I have done...

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse of the moon.
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football (we don't play touch football but I have played Aussie Rules)
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (BB: came too close to this one!)
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears (BB: Ah, nose, lip and labret/chin)
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair (BB: every colour of the rainbow!)
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head (BB: partially... and was grounded for it!)
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Wow, that wasn't so hard after all! It was kind of fun actually!

Oh and by the way, Mottel has reminded me I was supposed to tag someone else... so I tag Mottle, RaggedyMom, and of course I couldn't go past... BagelBlogger!


.... Just another day ....

Surgery Stress!

Those who read my blog on a regular basis would know that we are taking our daughter Amber(5) to Sydney for open heart surgery at the end of the week. It is a 5 hour drive in the car (with 3 kids under 6 in the back seat!)
Last time we went to Sydney for Ambers previous surgery appointment we had our accommodation cancelled only a couple of days before we were due to arrive which was a major problem, but we found an alternative (which ended up costing us a fortune).


Amber has been booked in for what is hopefully her last open heart surgery for the past 10 weeks. We have had our accommodation at Ronald McDonald House booked for 10 weeks (same place that cancelled last time). They had asked me to ring a couple of working days before we arrive to confirm the booking. So I rang this morning. She hadn't checked the books yet and asked me to ring back later this afternoon. It is quite stressful not knowing for sure if you have somewhere to stay or not, but I thought ok, I can wait a few more hours and ring back.


In the mean time I needed to find out when Amber needs to stop her Asprin (blood thinner), so I rang the cardiac department to ask. The doctor needed to be paged to ask him about the Asprin, so the lady from the Cardiac department said she would ring back with the answer.


A few hours later she rang back and told me the Asprin needed to be stopped today - 7 days before the surgery. Oh and one other minor detail... the child who was supposed to be having surgery this morning was sick (a cold or something) and couldn't have surgery and they might do his surgery next Monday instead of Ambers! Amber's surgery may be put off for a week, she said she would ring back today and let me know either way.


I couldn't believe it. We have had to arrange so many things in preperation for going to Sydney, the accommodation is one of the big things but then there is all the other things like paying bills in advance, taking Jade out of school for 2 weeks to go to Sydney, arranging to have her school report sent to us because she wouldn't be ther to pick it up, taking Amber out of Preschool for the rest of the year, and the list goes on and on. As we will be away for at least 2 weeks it is quite a big task.


I couldn't help but think, why couldn't the child who was to sick today have their surgery in 2 weeks (on the day Ambers surgery might be pushed back to) rather than the day Amber has been booked in for for the last 10 weeks?? Or why couldn't this child take the surgery day of another child who lives more locally? I know this child also has heart problems too, but it just doesn't seem fair. We are under so much stress as it is without having to deal with 'maybe' accommodation and now this.


As it turned out the lady from the cardiac department never rang back today to let us know what on earth is going on. I haven't been able to think about anything else all day. All I have done is watched the clock wondering when she was going to ring... but she never did. I suppose I will have to ring in the morning to find out what is happening.


I think it is fair to want to know what is going on when it is only 2 days before you arrive and I can't ring to confirm our accommodation until I know what day her surgery will be!



.... Just another day ....

Words I Really Don't Like

I really don't like to use the word 'hate' when speaking about someone, I feel that it is such a strong word, so even though I would like to in this post I won't. I will use another word such as:

I dislike the amount of time our landlord spends at this property.

I dislike that whenever I go out the door he is in my face.

I dislike that whe I get in my car he stands there and stares at me waiting for me to wave 'hello'.

I dislike that everytime I go outside to do something I hear 'Hello Danielle' and have to respond - no matter what my mood may be at the time.

I dislike that he said he wouldn't be here very often when we signed our lease.

I dislike that he feels it is ok to come into our backyard whenever he likes.

I dislike that since I started keeping a record he has been here 11 out of the last 14 days.

I dislike that he invades our privacy and our space.

I dislike that he hasn't installed the fire alarms that became law 9 months ago.

I dislike that he hasn't fixed the leaking roof we have complained about for 4 years.

I dislike his attitude towards us and that he is a control freak.

I dislike that he still has his mail sent here - to the same letterbox as ours so he sees everything we get sent.

I dislike the fact that even though he won't fix things/install the fire alarms he will still try to ask for a hefty rent increase in June. (they don't know we are moving yet)

I dislike that whoever we talk to in this poxy little town is a friend of his and therefore every word we say about anything goes straight back to him.

I dislike that everyone in this town thinks he is so wonderful - because he is not when you have to basically live with him in your face.

I dislike I feel like I do and he has such an effect on me.

I dislike him being here ALL the time and I wish he would go away.

.... Just another day ....

Happy 30th Birthday To Me!

Well it's official, I am now 30 years old as of today.
No more being 'in my 20's', I am now in my 30's! Wow, that sounds kind of old! lol!

I woke up this morning with a sore hip and was having trouble walking normally when I thought to myself, 'Is this what it is like being in your 30's?? Imagine what it will be like in my 70's or 80's.'
Anyway, the girls made me some lovely Birthday cards and my Grandparents (from Melbourne) sent me some beautiful perfume and my husband is buying me the necklace I want when we go to Sydney (there's nowhere to buy it around here!) and I have had the Happy Birthday phone calls bright and early this morning. I have all my Shabbos cooking and cleaning done, I have even watered the garden and cleaned the pool, so the rest of the day should be pretty relaxing! It is supposed to be quite hot here to day, so I might go for a swim later.


Have a great weekend!


Shabbat Shalom




.... Just another day ....