Surgery it is

Us with thw wonderful Dr De Jager

Presents time

Meeting Father Christnas

With my Meggy
With My Nanna

Dad and me!






My dear friend Ruan

I dont do ice cream!

Loving the freedom to walk and go where i please!

Kisses for the baby!

Cool dude!

Hello Deqlans Army

trust you are all well and happy and healthy and looking as forward to Christmas as we are!

Just wanted to let you know that we are going to be going ahead with the surgery next week Tuesday, as we feel it is the best choice fo Deqlan - to remove any doubt from our minds as to what the tumor is doing - to check on the make up of the cells, to do a bone marrow biopsy and to hopefully end the neuroblastoma road we have been travelling, to go into 2008 as NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE , as we continue to hope and have absolute Faith in Our Lord that Deqlan will be healed ,totally and permanently

We ask you all to wear your green or camo outfits on the 11th as support for our soldier - that we are going to end this war on neuroblastoma, we are going to remove the enemy and claim our healthy soldier back!

We promise to continue keeping you up to date with all progress and again, ask for your prayers to Our Healing Lord.

A huge thank you to Kathy and Vicky for the GORGEOUS Mobiles you had specially made for our beautiful boy! They are the most beautiful blue angels dangling in his room at home and at Nannas house - they are really unique and so beautiful to look at and to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas - thank you so much for going to so much effort to have them made - we love them and Deqlan loves to watch them spinning round and round! You are so very sweet to have thought of us , thank you so much!

Over the weekend, got one of Logans old baby dolls out , to lend to Megs and Conrad for their ante natal class. Deqlans eyes where as big as saucers when he first layed eyes on her , and then a huge grin appeared on his beautiful face when he heard the doll say MOMMY MOMMY ! I then showed him that she laughs and cries and even makes a sucking sound when you hold her dummy in front of her mouth - boy oh boy does he love this doll! We seem to think Deqlan thinks she is real - he proceeded to walk around the house with her , holding her hand and even gave her kisses and hugs...shame,to precious for words. We now know for sure , he is going to be besotted with his cousin Keaton and he is sure to take fantastic care of him!

We attended the anual CHOC Christmas party on Sunday at a STUNNING nursery school called Bambolini . It was so beautiful but very emotional . There where a lot of families from the Pretoria area, specifically from Unitas and Little company of Mary hospital, most under Doctor De Jagers care. We saw a few families that we have come to know through our journey - Yolanda and her family, and she is doing great , she has had 2 scans since her last round of chemo and she is still clear! Sarmone and her folks, she looks fantastic, her hair has grown back and she is the picture of health. And our very dear friends Yolandie and Ruan! Still as cute as ever - he is on new medicine now, which makes him retain a lot of water - but otherwise he to, is looking much better then the last time we saw him . We also saw Yolande and Miluska, Yolande has had round 4 rounds of chemo and is not feeling fantastic at the moment - Miluska is looking fantastic and also the picture of health! Was also wonderful to see Dr De Jager and meet his lovely family - his wife and their son and daughter in law brought along their gorgeous daughter, Mia - who also seemed to have a ball! As you can imagine, everyone had to come and say hello to him and we eventually got the photo we wanted for the blog so you can all see who this wonderful man is!

It was so wonderful to see the joy on these childrens faces as they got to be out in the open and have pure fun. It was very emotional for Nanna and Meggy , as well as Mark and myself ..but we are so thankful that Deqlan has done so well and is looking so fantastic. We fell in love with two little girls in specific. Both with retinoblastoma - cancer of the eye. One , a baby of 8 months, has lost 1 of her eyes, and the other round 6 years of age , lost both eyes. They both had such a wonderful time , enjoying the hype and music around them . This is the true meaning of Christmas - not the emphasis on what the present costs, where it came from etc. The real meaning of Christmas is celebrating the birth of Our Savior and the miracles he is performing in our lives. To be so grateful for our family and friends and to appreciate each second we have together.

Deqlan was in his absolute element! You have never seen a school like this! its HUGE and looks like a mansion in an estate never mind a school - the greenest grass and huge garden, huge lapa, stunning jungle gym - they even have their own farm animals!

Deqlan did not want to sit still for a minute - he just wanted to walk and run and explore ! We even got him onto the jumping castle and he loved it! He ate chips and chocolates and all other sorts of wonderful things - but Deqlan doesnt do ice cream! See attached photo!

We then had loads of entertainment to enjoy - a clown made Deqlan a motor bike and a sausage dog out of balloons! They had face painters, candy floss, a live band, a wonderful entertainer singing Christian songs with the kids and of course, Father Christmas . Pure delight shone in these childrens eyes as he entered the lapa and sat on his chair! He read each special childs name out , and Deqlan was third on the list ! He wanted to jump out of Marks arms so we didnt manage to get a photo sitting on Father Christmas lap, but I dont think he would have sat there anyway! We got the most beautiful gifts , a lovely nemo ball and towel set along with a truck and fun goodies to play in the sand with. Deqlan also got his Birthday present - a stunning toy for the bath, with a water wheel to spin!

By this time, Deqlan was way over his due time for a nap and eventually fell asleep in the loving arms of his Nanna and we made our way home...what beautiful memories i will have of this day forever - how amazing this children are and how Blessed are we that God chose us to be a part of this miracle. Please Dear Lord heal our soldier and his friends ..what brave soldiers and what testimony they are to your love for us!

Please continue to pray for our soldier and for all of our dear friends fighting NB and other cancers !

Thank you for all your love and support during this very frustrating time of us having to make the best decision for our gorgeous boy - we trust and pray that we have done so and ask Our Lord to continue holding Deqlan safely in the palm of his hands, and that Our Mother Mary, will continue to keep Deqlan safely in her loving arms to.

God Bless and all our love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan