Here is Miss Lara’s story from Madonna’s blog:-
Lara May Dunn, my fourth child, was born on the 5th of November 2008.
The first sign that something was not right were Lara’s feet which were twisted and turned. At 6 weeks she was back in hospital for failing to thrive. A gamut of testing was started to try to find out what was going on…blood tests, x-rays and even an MRI. Her head hadn’t grown – Microcephaly was diagnosed. Nothing could be detected. There were no answers to be found in the genetic testing.
At 5 months Lara was back in hospital. This time the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane for laser surgery on her floppy voice box. Another gamut of tests and a diagnosis of severe reflux and Cerebral Palsy. This time they put a nasal gastric tube in and all her feeds were directed through there. By October of 2009 the NG tube had been replaced with a “button”, which is a direct line into her tummy for feeds. She will never eat a meal with our family conventionally or “normally”.
Over the last {almost} two years, Lara has been in and out of hospital with many different complex medical issues. She is so fragile and yet has a core of steel and is such a fighter!! She has grown so much!
With her growth has come a need for more specialised equipment. One of which is a Leckey Hi Low chair. A specialised seating system that can be adjusted to fit Lara perfectly. It’s on a wheel base which means she can be more a part of our family. She is able to be moved to where we are. She is not limited to where we can take her in and around our house. She can be exactly where the action is at any given time!
We are trying to fundraise the money to purchase one of these wonderful chairs – how much money?? They are upwards of $6000. We are trying to get funding for some of it but I am working with other stampers and dear friends to find ways to get the rest.
I don’t want to limit where Lara is able to go in our house. She will never walk or run or play with her siblings in any conventional way and yet she can still be present as they do those things. Your help in our efforts is very much appreciated.
Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators will bring you a month of tutorials for you which you will have access to until the end of December.
Come and join this worthy cause
I hope to see you there
Any questions just leave a comment and I will get back to you
Michelle
