Recovering and Getting Stronger....Nov 9th, 2010

I really wanted to get this blog updated before Ger's sister Denise's 30th birthday, and I finally made it...bang on time. Happy birthday Denise. Hope you have a fantastic time at your 30th birthday party. Wish we could be there with you all. We love and miss you very much!

Well, things are much better here after a very rough couple of months. Ashling is finally pain-free and back to her old self. She has been pretty miserable since the surgeries and very uncomfortable, Over the last week we've seen a massive difference in her form and confidence. She was very nervous and needy for the last while and it took a LOT of patience to get through the last few weeks, but somehow our prayers were answered, as they always are, and we had the patience needed to get through it. Now she's a happy little camper again, with a very vivid imagination, constantly talking about her "other house!!!!" and her other family (who, funnily enough, all seem to have the same names as us, except Jamie is her baby, not her sister! Oh and she's got another baby called....."Mammy"- bet you weren't expecting that one! Ha Ha).

Anyway, back to the serious stuff. Ashling's legs are getting stronger but very slowly. Even though she's not in pain anymore and doesn't seem to feel the plates and screws in her legs, she has lost heaps of strength and flexibility. She can't pull herself into a supported stand again yet and she can't bend her legs much either (not much more than they are genetically bent). So we are doing a huge amount of rehabilition with her and it's working....slowly. I'm taking her to The Wilson Centre twice a week, a rehabilitation Centre in Devonport, where they do gym work with her and then exercises in the hydrotherapy pool. It's fantastic. We also have a girl called Renee coming twice a week to do exercises with her at home and then we do as much as we can, whenever we can fit them in. She has been a trooper. It's just amazing what the child will do....all for a sticker!!!

One problem that arose out of the surgeries was her tummy. The hole from her gastrostomy (the tube that we used to use to feed her) started leaking after the first surgery and then got infected and became extremely sore and problematic for Ashling. We had to go back to see the Surgeon who originally put the tube in. Unfortunatley, the news wasn't good. He said that it's extremely unusual that the hole hasn't closed by now (14 months) and if it hasn't done so by now, by itself, then it won't. He said that she will have to have surgery...yes, more surgery for our little monkey. It would break your heart! Anyway, they will have to sew the skin from the inside out (3 layers, like a mini c-section) and then it shouldn't cause anymore problems for her. We have been put on the waiting list so I assume it will be sometime in the new year. Don't want it before then anyway!

Ashling and Jamie get on extremely well. Jamie is a fabulous little girl, so placid and happy. You'd hardly know she was around the place, she's so independent, except for the mess! She wrecks the joint. She's so so active, can crawl faster than I can walk. And she's knock you over with the strength of one of her thunder thighs! Poor Ash spends more time in Jamie's playpen, trying to protect herself from Jamie, than Jamie spends in it!!!! The first time she asked me to go in Jamie's playpern, I thought I'd misheard her but then I looked over and saw that jamie had knocked over her lego castle, pulled all the assessories off her barbie, and wrecked her little play picnic......then I understood why she wanted to go in there. For peace! I thought to myself - "10 out of 10 for thinking outside the box, Ash"!!!

I have attached a few videos of the two girls. Hope you like them. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Lots of love, all the Collins gang xxxxx

The two girls playing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8vcM41xCTE

The girls having a cuddle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnY0mKcV4VI

The night of the wedding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsgqKHjwazQ

Ger messing with Jamie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q1bSdRM2Sk

Complications!!!

Poor Ash!!!!!! We went into the hospital on Tuesday for a C.T. Scan to check that the plates were in the right place on Ashling's knees. We thought this was a standard practice after eight-plate surgery.
But it turned out that the plates on Ashling's right knee were too high and too small. Apparently the surgeons had decided to put different plates in her two knees???? and the ones on one side weren't sitting where they should have been. They had actually been a bit suspicious of such!

Of course we didn't realise any of this until Tuesday and needless to say, we were extremely upset and angry. So poor Ashling had to go through the whole thing again 48hrs later, on Thursday morning. They took out the two plates and 4 screws on her right knee and then replaced them lower down on the knee. The surgery went well and this time, they had the foresight to actually get the CT scan done while she was still in surgery and make sure that they had put them in correctly.

So now Ashling is trying to recover from yesterday's surgery, with fresh wounds and wounds that had nearly healed on her right leg, as well as the wounds on her left leg that have nearly healed. She has been absolutely amazing and our hearts have bled for her over the past few days. She's the bravest person I've ever known.

Feeling very disheartened with the medical system right now! But I suppose at least the mistake was noticed and rectified now, rather than in 6 months time.

Thanks for reading this xxx

Surgery - done and dusted!!! Yay!!!!

Ashling finally had her knee surgery on Monday, third time lucky!!! And it was, it all went swimmingly well and I can't believe we're only 36 hours post-op and we are at home and Ashling is asleep!!! Woo Hoo!
Ashling's legs are sore but she's on strong medication and it seems to be keeping her pain in control. Obviously she' s bit frustrated about not being able to move her legs, but she's improvising already! She has such a strong will. We're so happy for her that the surgery is done and dusted. We have to go into the hospital next week for CT scans to check that the plates and pins are all in the right place on her knees, so hopefully that will all go well.
Take Care xxx

Postponed Again - 5 minutes before the surgery was meant to start!

Happening on Mon 20th mid-morning........fingers crossed. x

Surgery postponed by a week - Fri 17th Sep instead

Ashling's surgery was postponed on Friday as the surgeon had to take bereavement leave. It's been postponed by a week. It will be happening next Friday the 17th at 2pm instead.

Thanks for your love and best wishes. xxx

Back from Ireland

Well we had a fantastic trip home. We managed to catch up with a lot of our close friends and all of our family. It was just brilliant spending time with them and introducing them to our 2 little munchkins. Speaking of whom, they absolutely loved Ireland, meeting everyone, and being spolit rotten by family and friends.
The main reason we went home was for Ger's sister's wedding, that of Denise and Finbar. It was a fantastic day! An amazing wedding. Ashling was her flower girl, which was just such an honour for her. She and 2 of the cousins, who were the two page boys, went up the church as a little trio, the 2 boys either side of Ashling on her little bike. It was adorable.
Anyway, we're back in Auckland now....with a bang. Came home to a letter from the hospital with a date for Ashling's knee surgery...this Fri 10th of Sep. She is having plates put on her knees and these plates will guide her growth and hopefully help to straighten the bend in her knees. If you'd like to know more about the surgery, have a look at
http://www.eight-plate.com/treatment_overview.php
Please say a wee prayer for her. Will be in touch. Thanks for reading this xxx
Photos and videos from Ireland to follow in a few days xxx

Leaving Tomorrow....for Ireland!

We're so excited...finally heading off tomorrow.

Will be in touch from home. xxxxx