Big boys bikes

After riding a little ride on car for the last year or so,

Landon decided to launch out and try the "big boys bikes".

Although he still can't quite reach the pedals...

even though the seat is all the way down.....

there is no stopping this boy.

And he has no shortage of "helpers"...

just in case

he needs an extra push!

Learning to tackle the stairs

The Clubfoot and the Babies Units are both on the second floor of our facility.

We have a policy

that these kiddos have to

crawl up and down the stairs - purely for safety reasons.

So, time to learn how to do it.

Claire sat and observed a number of others first

before she decided to give it a go.

Our Carers were right there beside each of the kids

showing them just how it was done.

When you have AFO's or a brace on

it's not that easy -

but there's no stopping these little achievers!

What do leaves taste like?

Olivia was fascinated with some leaves she found on the grass.

Not to be left out, Preston was over in a flash!

One for me ... One for you.

You go first....

Ummm, maybe I'll wait for dinner.

Well Done Steven.

Steven came home from school on Friday night with wonderful news.

He couldn't wait to show us.....

His test results......

Wait for it....

90.5%!

TA DA!!!

It's a wonderful achievement for him,

after a long struggle

to catch up.

He is very proud,

and rightly so!

Wonderful Bumbo's.

We were given two Bumbo seats last year.

They are fantastic.

We love them.

They amazingly turn grizzly, whiney babies

into

contented babies

who are happy to sit,

participate,

and see what is going on.

Thank you for our Bumbo's.

Gorgeous!

Sydney came by for a visit with her foster Mum.

She has had her surgery

and I'm sure you would all agree,

her lip looks great.

She rode on the push a long car,

played with toys,

and

was generally

oohhed and aaahhed over

by the Carers.

Frank turns 13!

Excitement reigned!

Frank could not believe it was to be his birthday the next day.

He kept asking everyone,

"Is it really MY Birthday tomorrow?"

By the end of the day, everyone was chorusing

"YES!"

Last year he was

soooo excited

and

laughed soooo much,

he could hardly blow out the candles.

This year,

he was still excited,

but managed the candle blowing easily,

got right into unwrapping gifts,

and ate plenty of cake,

as he celebrated his birthday for the second time in his life!

This little guy arrived last week.

He doesn't have Clubfeet, but because of a condition he has, his hands are turned back at his wrists. He's going to stay with us while we cast his hands and get them into a functional position. At the moment, everyday things we take for granted like feeding ourselves, or having a drink, are huge hurdles for him to overcome.

As he's older, he's going to stay with the kids in the CP/Res Unit, and as you can see, he's already settled into riding on the scooters and playing with the others!

Who got it next?

Well, we know you've been patiently waiting...

so here it is at long last!

The wheelchair's newest owner is

Gabriella.

Gabriella came to us in 2008.

She has severe CP.

She can't hold up her head, even though she has just turned 3.

We have tried everything to make her as comfortable as possible,

as we didn't have anything suitable for her to sit in.

All sorts of shapes and sorts of cushions -

water filled, hollowed out, small, big....

strollers, bathing chairs, special baby chairs...

but nothing worked effectively to make her comfortable

and to give her the support she needs.

So apart from when she was held,

she spent nearly all her time on the floor in different positions.

And

she hardly ever complained.

We started to look at Ruby's chair, as she was outgrowing it,

and yes

it would work!

yeah!!

The big day finally came last week.

All was made ready.

She was one excited little girl,

her first opportunity to sit correctly,

be up with everyone else,

and see everything that's happening.

Gabriella can't speak, although she can make some noises.

We communicate with her at the moment by blinking, 1 for yes, 2 for no

and she knows what she wants!

We sat her in the chair put on all the straps

and

asked her

"How is it?"

She took a deep breath,

and with all her strength,

SAID

"Hao"

(which is "good" in Chinese)

and grinned from ear to ear.

What a moment.

It's not one that we will forget.

This wheelchair is now changing another little girl's life.

The Wheelchair.

In 2005 we received donated wheelchair.

Some ladies organised for a company in Colorado, USA, to custom make a wheelchair for Lyn, one of our children who has severe CP. They brought it with them when they came to visit.

We'd like to tell you the story of this chair and how it has been used.

Before having this wheelchair, Lyn could only lie on a bed,

in fact, her contractures were so bad,

that it took hours of therapy before she could begin to use it.

But, she did,

and it changed her life as you can see from the photos!

But,

Lyn outgrew it,

so we adapted it for another of our children

Jacob, who also has CP.

Jacob loved the wheelchair

and all the freedom it gave him to be a little boy!

But,

Jacob outgrew it also

and we adapted it again.

This time it was for

Zac, a little 3 year old with CP.

Zac didn't have any head control,

so the headrest and other attachments gave him a much better quality of life

and

enabled him to participate in the daily life of the House of Love.

But

yes you guessed it..

Zac outgrew the chair

and so it was time to adapt it again!

This time for Ruby

also one of our residents in the CP/Res Unit at the House of Love.

Although she doesn't have CP, she is immobile,

so the chair has increased her quality of life.

But,

as usual,

Ruby also outgrew the chair...

And Yes,

we have adapted it again!

But,

you'll have to wait till the next post

to see whose it is now!

Right now,

we just want to express our thanks again

to the ladies,

Diana & Lily

who organised the wheelchair all those years ago.

And to the company who donated it,

Thank you

for making a life changing difference

in so many children's lives.

Hooray!

Yippee! We're so happy for Cassie because she had her tenotomy late last week.

She's done really well with all her casts, but as you can see,

she's always happy to get back to the Unit

and

into the swing of her normal routine!

Now, we just can't wait to see her little tootsies in a brace!