Seems time has slipped by
once again & we find ourselves in mid April. Easter has been & gone
& finally, apart from the bloody freezing wind, the sun is making an
appearance every once in a while....
A huge blow we had to the
family however, was the absolute devastating news our (now 4 year old nephew
who is celebrating his birthday today) was recently diagnosed with Metachromatic
Leukodystophy (late infantile form) this is a rare condition that affects
mainly the white matter of the brain, causing a progressive loss of physical
and mental skills. Jack will keep deteriorating as there is currently no cure
and nothing can be done to slow the process down. Eventually the combination of
the diseased brain and the physical weakness will become too much and he
will pass away.
We don't know how
much time we have with our Jack. Doctors say it could only be 10
years or it could be just 2. I fear with how poorly he is becoming so
very quickly, it could be the latter. A lot of people have been extremely generous
with donations to make his dreams come true & he is off to Disney, Paris next week to see some of his favourite characters
whilst the doctors said it was still okay for him to fly. He is unable to walk
now & his speech is incredibly difficult, he is in a lot of pain pretty
much all of the time, so we are doing
all we can to give him some incredible memories & Stef & I would like
to spend as much time with him as possible.
With the help of the
bezzies, we were able to give him an awesome, very stimulating experience at
the exotic shop with all the animals after closing, which you can see by the
photos he absolutely loved... He even had a reptile party on Saturday just
gone, as he just loves animals. It went down a treat, so a huge thank you to my
amazing friends for making him smile :) The next coming months will be
extremely difficult for us all, as long as Jack is comfortable & still
smiling that's all I could possibly hope for.
I am having a series of
hospital appointments & sessions that are ongoing & am back to
Harefield in the early part of May, lung function seems to be staying
reasonably stable around 35% depending on my 'good' days. As long as I stay out
of hospital that's all I care about!
I am keeping very busy at
home with my little zoo, the dogs & Cookie are doing very well & we are
soon to welcome a few more little additions into the home which I will show you
next time once they have settled....
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| Kaos |
 |
| Bo |
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| Cookie |
I have baby geckos coming
out of my ears - it's the most beautiful sight to see tiny little things emerge from
their eggs, I am in love with my hobby more now than I ever have been &
it's certainly giving me something to focus on with all the shit going on...
It's a passion that will continue to grow as I learn even more, I could never
get bored.
I'll leave you now with a
few more pics & sign off until next time. Apologies I am not writing as
often as I once was, but things are strained & can be a struggle as I am
sure you understand....
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| African Cape File, Ophir |
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| Moomin, My Egg Eating Snake |
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| Female African Cape File, Maia |
Thank you for taking the
time to read as always xxxxx
HI Kimberley, we are all there for Jack and it has been a hard time for us all, but I didn't realize that you also have your own difficulties. I had a lovely day on Saturday and it was lovely to meet you as you are such a gawgus lady. I enjoy meeting the animals and will be coming up with Lou on Sunday to see the babies (and to make sure she doesn't come home with one!! ;) ) Take care my love and look after yourself xx Jane
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