Feb 25th 2011-update on Ash

Sorry it's been so long since I've written a decent blog. Hope you are all keeping well and happy.

We are all keeping well, though very shocked by the earthquake in Christchurch.

Ashling is doing very well now after a rocky few months. She had been doing really well at Christmas time, starting to look a lot stronger when walking with her walking aid. But then she had a wee accident on her trike after Christmas, which resulted in a fracture in her leg. This put her out of action for a couple of months and unfortunately, this put her progress back quite a long way. It's been such a rollercoaster for her. Everytime her legs get stronger, something happens. Her legs are still not as strong as they were before her first knee surgery last September, but we know she'll get there again soon.

Otherwise, she's doing so so well. Her arms are getting very strong from bum shuffling and moving around the place. She's doing a huge amount of rehabilitation and she's highly motivated so it's really easy to do it with her. I'm taking her to a rehabilitation centre 2 days a week and she does lots of gym work (walking, learning to kneel, tummy time etc). She also does aquatic therapy in the pool after that. It's a big day for her but she's getting a lot out of it. Poor girl falls asleep in the car within minutes of leaving the place! We also have a girl called Renee who comes round to the house 2 afternoons a week to do more rehabilitation with Ashling. We do as much as can in between. So she's getting lots of opportunites to get stronger and she's really happy about that. I think watching Jamie flying around the place has been a great motivator for her. They get along so well, it's just gorgeous to watch them playing together. We just adore Jamie, she's been so great for our family.

The last bit of news about Ashling is that she finally had the hole from her gastrostomy repaired. As you know Ashling had a gastrostomy for over a year and after we stopped using it, it continued to leak and was very sore and problematic for Ashling. She had been on the waiting list to get it repaired. On the 17th of January she had it done under anaesthetic. It was like a mini c-section. It all went really well and Ashling is so much happier now that the scar has healed. We have finally been able to get her to lie on her tummy (after 3 years), though she still doesn't last long in that position.

She is such a happy little kid though and has a dynamite personality, making friends everywhere she goes. She goes to PreSchool 3 mornings a week and has a teacher's Aid helping her to get from A to B. She loves it there, in fact she never wants to come home!!!!

That's all for now. Lots of love xxx

Feb 6th 2011

Hi Guys, these are some recent videos. I will write a proper note on the blog over the next few days, giving you an update on Ashling's progress. Cheers, Caroline

1. Ash having a play with Renee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzKpFuBZQWY

2. Ash and Jamie playing in the Pools
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ed9FOFdSJA

3. Daniel playing with Jamie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiVZPn42uyQ

4. Ash sharing her ice-cream with Jamie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff7a4T2ElMA

5. Ger taking the girls out in the wagon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE8PmGecJ7k

6. Sisterly love- watching Tv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHlJ3m2-ZJY

7. Jamie playing with my mobile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHt38Ju5bng

8. Ash's first camping experience
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKinIThH3rA