water , water everywhere......and not a drop to drink

Hello Everyone

What a day we had yesterday! We attempted to have a lie down with Deqlan as he was not interested in having a nap round his normal time. Without success, we let Dada catch a few winks and i decided to try and entertain Deqlan with something else

As i walked into the kitchen a heard a drip coming from the lounge and i traced it to the ceiling! By the time I heard called Mark to come and have a look the drop, it had quickly turned into streaks going across the ceiling, and by the time i got the pot to catch the few drops, it had turned into the trevi fountain going down the lounge wall! We soon discovered that the waterfall had taken over one side of Deqlans room to! What i had only realised later in the day, was that Deqlans 1st Birthday train we had made for him, was stuck on this specific wall, and something just told me to move it that morning - God works in wonderful ways ! It was soon discovered that our geyser had burst - this had cut our power to! So we had the plumbers come in and shut off a few pipes to stop the water pouring down the walls and eventually gave us some water back but no hot water. Luckily today, they arrived with a new geyser and within a few hours we where back in business- there is definite damage to the ceilings, so we await the insurance people to come around and have a look and decided on what to do. Thank You Lord we were at home, otherwise our whole place couldve been under water and our carpets destroyed!

Back to yesterday, we had our first play date!!! Claire brought gorgeous Hannah to Nannas house for the afternoon. Deqlan was very interested in Hannah when she got there and gave a few smiles and did a few turns around her- was wonderful to see his excitement. But then, Deqlan decided that the new fountain Grandpa and Nanna had put up earlier the afternoon, was way to exciting to watch - he had to dip his fingers, then hands, then arms into the cool water - he had an absolute ball splashing and dipping his dummy into the water while we tried our best to get him back to playing with little Hannah ! Hannah had a great time in the sand pit while Deqlan did a bit of this and a bit of that, and eventually decided to join Hannah in the sand pit - both our kids were so good and loved pouring and shovelling the sand. Nannas gates magically opened when Meggy went home and Deqlan saw his chance to get outside to see the cars he loves so much - Hannah soon followed and the kids enjoyed a bit of a round around in the courtyard and then back in side for a few more minutes of playing in the sand. It was a wonderful afternoon and I am sure as Deqlan gets more play dates the more he will open up and love being around his friends!

We had play therapy today and the girls where very happy to see more progress in Deqlan - they are very excited about him saying car, and playing more with the actual car then spinning the wheels all the time. He also said 'go' when he wanted to get out the room! He is also saying 'um' for come - so his words are growing so lovely - we celebrate each one with so much excitement and pride and will concentrate on developing these. Deqlan was not a happy camper though - he hates being inside - he just wants open spaces and of course, to be able to see the cars and watch them come in and out, so its quite a challenge to keep him in a specific room for a long time. We tried just Deqlan and the occupational therapist in the room, while Nanna and i watched through the one way glass - needless to say he was not happy and so frustrated.but even though its a negative reaction - its still a reaction which we want.He made definite eye contact with her and even took her hand to the door to open it and said 'go' , which we are very happy about. We are going to try this approach for the next 3 sessions to see if we can get Deqlan to concentrate more on the exercises, then coming to nanna or Mamma to open the door to get outside, lets hold thumbs . The centre have also recommended that Deqlan get assessed by a paediatric neurologist who will determine if we are on the right track or if we should look at different options to help Deqlan develop in the correct direction. This will be done 10 June at the centre, please pray for positive results and for ideas to help us help Deqlan!

Wow - we are still continuing to collect pjs by the bags full for snug as a bug - thank you very very much for to Kelly and for all the amazing people that she works with that so graciously helped provide many, many bags full of clothes for our little friends. Thank you to Kelly, Annaliza, Henri and Michael for opening your hearts and your cupboards and for helping us reach our goal ! May God Bless you for your kindness and for keeping our friends warm this winter, thank you!

Hope you all have a great long weekend ( for us lucky folk in South Africa) ! Please , please keep our soldier in your prayers as well as all our friends around the world so bravely fighting nb and other cancers - we need your prayers army!

God Bless and all our love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

Prayers for Gran

Hello Deqlans Army

Please can i ask you to say a very special prayer tonight for one of Deqlans sergeants in his army, Gran, Marks Gran in Hermanus

It seems to be that she has contracted Bells- palsy

Please pray that she heals quickly and makes a complete recovery

We are thinking of you Gran and will continue to pray for Our Lord to place His healing hands on you and Uncle Hank

Sending you lots of love and hugs and prayers
Mark, Samm , Deqlan and Logan

little froggy

Hello Everyone ,

its been a real roller coaster week again, great news and then heartbreaking news of Austin passing last night - please pray for him and for his family, what a brave soldier and what a fight he put up.

I wanted to say a huge thank you again to you all for your support and efforts for snug as a bug! Thank you my dear friends Claire, Stephan and Hannah for the HUGE bag of clothes and pjs - you are always so willing to help others in need and you have been part of our army from day 1! Thank you so much guys for opening your hearts and for always being there for us!

Its long weekend YAY! and that means more play time with Mark at home, sorry i mean Dadda and i am hoping and holding thumbs the weather is warm on monday and we can try and get to take Deqlan to run around somewhere outside and maybe have a little friend join us ( holding thumbs Hannah! )

Deqlan saw one of my moms neighbours little grandkids yesterday, Mia, she is 5 days younger then Deqlan - well- i wish you couldve seen the smile on his face - he ran around and around and then back to Mia to try and touch her, probably to feel if she was real and he is not used to kids at all! It was wonderful to see and i cant wait to slowly start introducing friends deqlans own age, that arent sick and not at a school, to play with - i know i always mention these things but they are still so important in keeping Deqlan well

Deqlan has been teething again this week - this time, the left back molars. He was so miserable on Tuesday we had to cancel play therapy! He didnt want food , he didnt even want his juice - then you know, he was not feeling well. He was crying and putting every finger he could possibly fit into his mouth, including trying to bite mine! We gave his some calpol to ease the pain and he then had a lovely 3 hour nap and woke up a bit better!

He is still teething and his appetite not great, his nappies shocking, but every day seems a bit better!

Deqlan is full of new tricks this week - he figured out he could swim in the bath and in the sand! He discovered he could lie on is tummy in the bath and kick and splash - he is even brave enough to try and sample the water! He decided to give it a go in the play sand yesterday and proceeded to sample the sand - it was at this point that we had to say no more swimming little froggie!

Today, 25 April,marks exactly one year ago, that symptoms started appearing. Deqlans eye lid as swollen and i thought it was due to the new food i had tried the night before at Jerans birthday celebration - mixed vegetables - i remember it so clearly. the next few days a bruise appeared on the eye lid which we had a few explanations for - bumping on the camper cot, a toy, Deqlan hitting himself with his dummy om his dummy chain, where we in for a shock on the 25th of May - nothing could prepare us for that day.....but look at Deqlan now, NED , full of life and laughter, and still the light of my life, our universe. Thank You Dear Lord for the miracles you have performed in Deqlans life and in ours - we are Blessed and i cant not thank You enough Dear Lord.

Today, 25 April also marks exactly 6 months ago that the last drop (ever, please Dear Lord) of chemo rolled into Deqlans body.

I am so happy to tel you all that Cadens op was a great success and he was home the next day recovering , thankyou for your continued prayers for Caden and Wes and Elriza

I have also posted a pic from Megs of Keaton, at 13 weeks on his tummy and lifting his head ! Megs says he is full of laughter at the moment and love to talk, like mom like son......ha ha ha just joking megs!

Hope you all have a great long weekend and please spare a thought and a prayer for Deqlan and our friends and their families around the world

God Bless and all our love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

AUSTIN MELGAR

OUR HEARTS ARE SADDENED, PLEASE PRAY FOR AUSTINS FAMILY:



I am at a complete loss of what to say but will write something appropriate later. Austin took his last breath at 9:59 pm tonight. He passed peacefully in the comfort of the family bed surrounded by his family. He had no fear and was in no pain and had no measurable cancer left. Whatever is left will not hurt him now. One of the greatest kids I have ever known is gone but will live on in the spirit of the dozens of other greatest kids who knew him

Happy Birthdays!

Dear Jeran,


A very Happy & special 18th Birthday to you today ! 18 is a huge milestone and something to be very proud of! May all your dreams become a reality and may you reach each star you set your sights on! We hope you have a great day today and a fantastic and unforgetable matric dance tommorow! Please, please send us photos , we are sure you are going to look dashing! We miss you all and cant wait to see you again!


Dear Jelenka,

A very very Happy Birthday my friend! We hope you are spoilt rotten today and that the year ahead , is the best yet! I am so glad our paths crossed at antenatal classes and so happy we continue to be friends, i am so grateful for your support and love and prayers and cant wait for Gianna and Deqlan to play together, i know they will be big buddies!


Dear Graham,

We hope you have a great Birthday today and many many more! Hope its filled with al the great things you wish yourself! Have a super day!


God Bless and all our love
Mark, Samm, Deqlan and Logan

Snug as a bug update

Hello Deqlans Army


Thank you from the bottom of our hearts ,to you all for showing such an amazing response so far for Snug as a Bug!

We will run the project until the end of May, and we hope to hand all the pjamas over to CHOC by first week of June so as to maximise use of the pjs during winter time!

If you are able to help us, please do let us know when you are ready for us to collect or meet to get the pjamas ready for our little bugs!

God Bless and lots of love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan and all the rest of Deqlans soldiers

Happy Birthday Uncle Bill

Dear Uncle Bill

We would like to wish you a very happy 75th Birthday! Congratulations on your very special day and we hope you celebrate it to the full! Thank you for your continued support and above all, your prayers for Deqlan our soldier! We hope to see you all soon!

God Bless and lots of love
Mark, Samm, Deqlan and Logan

Logan the brave!

Car!

CAR! CAR ! CAR CAR CAR!!!

Deqlans new word! We are so excited at this new development , especially its one of the things Deqlan loves the most! He is definitely saying it with meaning and not just a sound, when we get in the car or when he plays with his cars , ITS CAR , CAR OR CAR CAR CAR! How wonderful!

Kit is also definitely for Kitty , he just LOVES cats! Not really interested in the real thing but books and dvds always cause a smile and a laugh and a 'KIT'

If i havent mentioned if before, Deqlan LOVES Clamber Club! Its a lovely programme for kids designed by on occupational therapist - we unfortunately cant go to the actual club till Deqlan can be around all other kids, but they created a dvd of all their songs and dances and actions, and their mascot, Jog the Frog! I wish you could see the smile on Deqlans face when the yellow dvd comes up,,he immediately laughs and gets so excited cause he knows whats coming ! At the end of the dvd, they have a modified version, of THE HOKEY POKEY song called the CLAMBER CLUBBING SONG and Deqlan immediately asks me to pick him up so we can dance and do the actions together - the give such a big laugh and actually runs around in circles saying HA HA HA , shame, its to precious for words!

Deqlans eye is looking better , not as swollen and looking better on the whole - still waiting for someone to refer me to the right doctors to chat to about this remodeling of the bone

Logs was in town the weekend and Gaynor was so kind as to fetch her and watch her for the weekend, thanks so much Gaynor , we really appreciate it. Mark got to take Logs for some lunch and a bit of fun stuff on Sunday, so the pic with her jumping on a bunjee like trampoline Mark said she loved it! Meggie and Bev also got to see her quickly and they say she is growing so quickly. We also tried to explain to her that its only another 6 months and Deqlan will have started his vaccinations again and then she can come and stay by us again - this must be so difficult for her to understand, she says she does, but my heart aches the times we cant have her over - but i know that this is around the corner and Deqlan and Logan will have an absolute ball together, of that i am sure , we are so very proud of you Logs and you are the best big sister ever!

A very Happy 2nd Birthday Keira! We hope you had a wonderful celebration and it sounds like you loved your ice cream! Big hugs and kisses to you from all of us!

Please pray for Cadens surgery to be a huge success today, and his recovery to be speedy & excellent. Please pray for patience, comfort and guidance for his parents Wes and Elriza, i know how tough the waiting can be guys, but learn onto The Lord, especially during these times!

Have a great week everyone and please continue to pray for Deqlan and all our friends around the world, so bravely fighting nb and other cancers

God Bless and all our love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Mark and Candice's wedding

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Brits!

It was a spectacular wedding and very memorable! You both looked amazing and your happiness and love for each other just beamed from your faces! As i type this you are on the aeroplane on the way to your honeymoon ...go and enjoy and relax and have a cocktail on us! Thank you for having us, and it was wonderful to meet you Ruth!

God Bless , congratulations and all our love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

A GOOD NEWS DAY

HOLDING TIGHTLY ONTO HIS CROSS AND THE PLASTER ON HIS HAND WHERE THE DRIP WAS







JUST GOTTEN HOME AFTER THE SCAN- DEQLAN GLAD TO BE OUT OF HIS SHIRT



DEQLAN HOLDING HIS 'FRIENDS' ARM FOR COMFORT JUST BEFORE WE LEFT FOR THE SCAN



DEQLAN ENJOYING HIS SLIDE AND NEW BIKE - ARENT THE RAYS OF SUNSHINE JUST ON DEQLAN AMAZING? DEFINITELY SENT FROM ABOVE!



DEQLANS SHIRT SAYS - MEAN FIGHTER - TRY AND TAKE ME OUT! TAKE THAT NB!







Hello Everyone

I have now find some time to sit down and tell you about all the goings on of yesterday.

We started the day off by going to church and have an annointing and blessing for Deqlan done by Father Russell, who was so lovely and kind and comforting.

Deqlan,Nanna and I met Dadda at the hospital at 1130 - we started off with the sedation medicine and Deqlan through it all up - he was in a state because of this awful stuff - it is the worst taste you can imagine, i dont know how the expect kids to drink it never mind keep it down - thats one of the things on my 'what to event list ', event something that actually tastes ok so it can stay down long enough to work! Nanna and I where already so upset seeing Deqlan crying and throwing up we already wanted to come home.

Nanna calmed our soldier down and he eventually fell asleep - after a lot of discussion and back and forth between the sisters, scan department and doctor it was decided to put the drip up while he was sleeping and then give him dormican to keep him sleeping - it can have the opposite effect though and wake them up - i wasnt happy about this at all. Dadda and I convinced the sisters to try and put the drip into his scalp - best vein for Deqlan but none of them where willing to do this (this was at a different hospital we normally go to , so no one really knew us or Deqlan and this caused so much frustration) So i told the nurse she had 1 and only 1 go to get it in his hand - and she was excellent and got it in first time. Deqlan did wake up because it was sore, but Nanna got him back to sleep. We then convinced the x ray department to do the scan without the dormican, that Deqlan was so fast aslseep he would remain asleep for the scan - they where not happy with us challenging their decisions, but eventually went with us . Deqlan was a star and stayed asleep the entire 10 minutes of the scan.

He stayed sleeping for a further hour as we waited for the results. They then came out and asked Mark to go home to fetch the previous scans to compare - that made us very anxious. They also didnt want to remove the drip just yet in case they needed another scan - so a million things where running through our minds and yesterday was really not a great day for me , as Deqlans mom, Mark as his Dad and Nanna watching him go through all of this and then waiting and wondering. Our Faith was always there, and it will always be there, its the worry and wait that get to you.. another hour and a half past and eventually the results arrived.

The report says that the brain and all areas and bones look normal.The bones around the left eye are thickened , which they suspect is due to the erosion , chemotherapy and then remoulding of the bone - Thank Our Lord, I sat down on a bench outside the hospital and cried and cried and cried some more - i was more then relieved - i was so grateful and just kept saying thank You Lord

It was one of the toughest days of our journey and its not going to get easier - each scan date, each blood or urine test, each change you may or may not see in Deqlan is going to un settle us forever. We continue to put all our trust and faith in Our Lord and just ask him to help us deal with it and work through these days better. A very wise , amazing lady, Nanna, gave me a good talking to yesterday - i cant live each day in fear of what may happen cause i will miss the moments. She used a cross road as an example and you are either going to go this way or that way and no matter which way God sends you on he will be there - we just got to ask Him to be there with us! Mom,from the bottom of our hearts, we cant say thank you enough for all you and Dee have done and continue to do for us - i know that this journey is just as hard for you, and you continue to be with us every step of the way - you continue to pick us up on the days we cant carry on, you continue to make Deqlan laugh and smile even when your heart is breaking with worry - we love you more then we could every put into words, I thank God for my guardian angel in the form of you my Darling Mom and Nanna - we love you so very very very much and may God give you all the blessings you so richly pour on others.

A very wise, handsome man, Dadda, aka Mark also calmed me down and brought me back down to earth - i was on another planet for a few days, perhaps another galaxy, but i am back now, Thank you my love and Dadda for holding our little family together and days where it seems i cant and dont feel i am strong enough to - thank you for taking such good care of us and for being Deqlans hero - you truly are - we love you more each day and are so proud of you! We shall continue to get through this journey together.

We where so glad to be home - a had a huge migraine and Nanna developed one later - but the relief , the joy, the thanks we have for Our Lord is more then i could put into words

Thank you to you all for standing with us, your prayers, your support and your love for Deqlan and our family- we appreciate it more then you know and Deqlans army is proof that God answers prayers - ANYTHING YOU ASK FOR IN MY NAME!

Now to the other great news - Kate's scans an other results came back as NORMAL - normal is the best word in the cancer world! Kate and Karen and boys, we are overjoyed for you all and go an enjoy the celebrations this weekend! Thank Our Lord for Kates continued NED status!

More great news, Yolande from CHOC cancer counts are down to zero!!!!!!!! finally after many months of chemo and a hysterectomy, they are normal! She is busy with the second last round of chemo and we pray and have faith she has kicked the cancer for good!

I must wish Ivan a very Happy Birthday for Wednesday - please forgive us Iv , our minds where a millions miles away on Wednesday and i am so sorry we missed the actual day, but trust you had a great day and wish you many many more!

We are off to Mark and Candice's wedding tommorow - so to you guys , Congratulations in the mean time, i am sure the wedding is going to be very memorable and beautiful ! Enjoy each moment, it goes so quickly!

Thats all for now folks - go and have a stunning weekend and please remember to pray for Deqlan and all our friends fighting cancer so bravely

Please also pray for Little Cadens surgery to be a huge success!


God Bless and all our love and thanks
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

LORD WE BELIEVE, LORD WE RECIEVE, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, LORD WE BELIEVE!

PRAYERS FOR CADEN

Please say an extra prayer for Caden as he goes for a hernea op on Monday:

Hi All,

We went to see dr. van der Vyver today and he noticed that Caden has a hernia on his left lower abdomen (Just like his dad). Unfortunately they'll have to operate on him as soon as possible, but this will only be on Monday. The thought of them operating on this little boy sends chills down my spine, but he's so incredibly strong, so we'll just have to learn from him. Atleast dr. Vermaak wil be back from leave, so that put our minds to rest a little bit. Please pray that his hernia stays "safe" until then and doesn't rupture. We also decided to start bottle feeding baby because he wasn't getting enough milk breastfeeding. He's still only at 2.09kg, which isn't great. He'll still get breast milk, but now we can monitor how much he eats, and if necessary we can add some growth powder or what the sisters call "baby-steroids".

Oh well, we know everything is in God's hands, and I can't imagine that he has anything but great plans for this little miracle of ours, so we're keeping very positive. We can't do this without your support however, so please please continue to pray for this beautiful warrior.

I also just want to thank granny and grampy Paul for their HUGE donation and for Caden's savings account. We'll make sure Caden reaches his full potential with it!

Ouma Rina and Ohpaw Zak came to visit our little warrior today and Ohpaw Zak got to hold baba for the first time today, it brought tears to my eyes (both our eyes actually!). I can't wait for grampy, granny, uncle Brendz and the rest of our families can meet and hold him aswell. I think it still takes people's breath away how small he is. Small, but incredible!

Well, I'm off to go feed our warrior so that he can grow big and strong like his dad. This morning I laughed so much at Wes. I told him "Honey, we really are the feather-weights" and he replied "Yip, built for famine!"

Lots of Love
Elriza & Wes

Thank Your Lord

Hi Deqlans Army

we recieved great news, all clear with the scan of Deqlans eye! Thank You Dear Lord for hearing our prayers! I would love to type more but got to run now , so just to let you all know in the mean time. The bone around the eye is thickened and a definite difference to the right, but it must be the bone remoulding.

God Bless and chat later
All our love and thanks and praise to Our Lord and ALL OF YOU
mark, samm & deqlan

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE

SPECIAL PRAYERS FOR DEQLAN

Hello Deqlans Army

We need to ask you to get your camo and green outfits out but most importantly very special prayers for Deqlan

As you know, i have been concerned about Deqlans eye - it actually looks pretty good at the moment, but still doesnt seem 100% . We happened to go to the paed today for his ears, that he is pulling on, and luckily all fine with that, must be a referred pain fromt teething . I mentioned my concern about Deqlans eye and she called our oncologist for me. They decided it would be best to do a ct scan - so we have scheduled it for 12 o clock tommorow at Unitas hospital.

Please, please say a very special prayer for Deqlan tonight and tommorow that there is nothing of concern, and that its just the bone remodeling and that he shall continue to remain NED forever

Thank you to you all and i look forward to giving you all great news tommorow

God Bless and love
Mark , Samm & Deqlan

ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE
LORD, WE BELIEVE, LORD , WE RECIEVED, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, ONLY BELIEVE

wonderful mothers

we read this poem from our good friend Charli's site and wanted to share it with all of you..


I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.

Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.

Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.

Yet, I continue to wear them.

I get funny looks wearing these shoes.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.

They never talk about my shoes.

To learn how awful my shoes are
might make them uncomfortable.

To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.

But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.

I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some women ache daily as they try and walk in them.

Some have learned how to walk in them so they don't hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think about how much they hurt.

No woman deserves to wear these shoes.

Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.

These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.

I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has a child with cancer.

I also wanted to tell you about a lovely group called MOTHERS PRAYERS. A lovely friend from school who we havent see in ages , is now living in the UK with her family and has two gorgeous children. She told me about Mothers Prayers, this as formed to help those mothers who wished to pray together for their children and grand children and to find the support they needed. Please visit their website http://www.mothersprayers.org/ Thank you Michelle for getting in touch and leading us to this wonderful group!


I also wanted to say thank you so much to Karen Fisher and her family for the wonderful contribution of lots of pjamas for our snug as a bug project! Thank you Dear Karen, for again, immediately wanting to help us and for being so eager to help others, you are an amazing lady and an amazing mom and friend! Thank you!

We didnt manage to have the normal speech and ot session yesterday as Deqlan fell asleep in the car on the way there! So i just had a chat and got some notes and ideas to try with Deqlan this week.

Go and have a look at Caden's blogspot - fantastic news....CADEN IS HOME! we wish you guys lots of love, happiness, cherished moments and May God continue to Bless, protect and guide you all - we cant wait to meet little Caden! Big hugs to him in the mean time.

Please could I ask you for prayers for our dear friend Kate - she is having her 6 month NED check up this week - she will be having bone marrow biopsies, mibg and ct scans , bone scans and blood and urine testts during the course of the week. Please pray for her continued NED status and patience and guidance, peace and comfort while the family wait for the great results!

A VERY HAPPY 3 MONTH BIRTHDAY TO YOU OUR PRECIOUS KEATON! STAY THE BEAUTIFUL, GENTLE , HAPPY BY YOU ARE ! YOU HAVE ALREADY STOLEN OUR HEARTS AND WE LOVE WATCHING YOU SMILE AND HEARING YOU COO. MAY OUR LORD CONTINUE TO BLESS AND PROTECT YOU ALWAYS - I KNOW YOU AND DEQLAN ARE GOING TO BE BIG BUDDIES WHEN YOU ARE ABLE TO PLAY A LITTLE MORE! WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Also a Happy 2nd Birthday to Adrian in Hong Kong for th 14th of April! We hope you had a fantastic Birthday and enjoyed playing with your gifts! Prayers continue you for you each day, we are so proud of you , stay the courageous soldier you are!

Today also marks 3 months since Deqlan was pronounced NED!!!!!!

Have a great day everyone and please continue to pray for Deqlan to remain NED and for all his friends that are ned to stay ned, those they are having treatment that the treatment is a huge success, those that need miracles, recieved them from Our Lord and that more funding is made availablea and more awareness raised to cure neuroblastoma forever.

God Bless and lots of love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan
FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU, DECLARES THE LORD, PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE JEREMIAH 29:11

CROCODILE HUNTER

Hello All

Hope you are all well and happy and had a great weekend!

Our little soldier is finally rid of his cold and his chest totally cleared not even 1 cough for the past 2 days so he is definitely on the mend, thanks for the prayers and thoughts for him!

We had a lovely weekend - with lots of entertainment, but ill get to that in just a bit....

Saturday Dada and I got straight to work on sorting Deqlans play room out - we had started collecting a whole lot of CARS goodies for the past few months and decided it was time we said good bye to the jungle theme and got all the grown up CARS stuff out ! We think it turned out lovely and feels a lit more cosier , which we are glad about especially with winter coming up. we cant believe the amount of toys and books and dvds Deqlan has - we put some aside to give to a friends project for aids orphans and some for CHOC snug as a bug project

While we are on the topic, wanted to say thank you very very very much for the amazing response we have already had for SNUG AS A BUG - you are all amazing and continue to help us and others in their journeys of conquering cancer.

Then on Sunday, Dada went to play golf - i was alone at home lying on the bed with Deqlan when i heard the Dogs go banana's - i had to rub my eyes twice to register what i was seeing, yip folks, another snake - the same as last time, a rinkals ( looks like a cobra but white on its belly) This one was a lot faster, and bigger then the last - oh boy! Panic stations as Mark wasn't home! So Nanna come over to watch Deqlan for me while I tracked down someone to come and remove our visitor - after 20 phone class i eventually phoned a lovely lady who took 20 minutes to get to us - 'come on little ( she was wearing glasses, otherwise i think she would've saig , come on huge snakey!) snakey, no, dont spit now' she said , very calmly , standing in the grass with her barefeet! I couldnt bare to watch from downstairs and ran upstairs to safety and stood with Nana and Deqlan at the window. 1 snake out our house, but are the chances, but 2 in the space of 3 months- no ways - i really dont feel like taking on the position of crocodile hunter in our neighbourhood anymore and i think we shall be looking for a new place shortly - i am petrified for Deqlan, for Mark and I , for the dogs and cat - i dont feel safe taking Deqlan down into the garden or for walks anymore!

I then decided Deqlan and I needed a break from the stress of our garden and its creatures and went to see Great Grandpa and Nanna with Nannna. Deqlan was of course very happy as it was outside on the grass in the sunshine! Great Grandpa and Nanna where delighted to see Deqlan and hear his babbling and laughter. Deqlan was enjoying his dried mango and finished it off very quickly, but the clever little fellow, spotted great nanna hadnt had hers yet and before we knew it he had taken it off her! We where in buckets of laughter and i think it really made their day ! We are so BLESSED to have both my grandparents and Deqlans great grandparent - many do not have this gift and we really have to try and treasure it and see them as often as we can!

Deqlan is doing very well otherwise - changing every day and growing leaps and bounds.

He is definitely more vocal with a lot more sounds - the favourite one at the moment is kkkiii -for kitty! He is also saying ta and na, ga and a whole lot of other sounds i wouldnt know how to type!

He is enjoying so many things at the moment - he loves kitties, loves loves loves the, zebra's, mango, choc o break biscuits ( we have had to hide them away now as he knows exactly where to find them and wants them for breakfast, lunch and diner), he loves his new sand pit and slide, he loves driving in the car, and holding keys ( but since our little episode last week, car keys are banned!), he LOVES his bubble baths and we battle to get him out at night! , he loves climbing over and under and on top of things and us! Deqlan loves giving us hugs and kisses and love bites , he LOVES playing peek a boo! Deqlans absolute favorite at the moment is, THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET, played on his toes, its a guaranteed laugh and smile from him and for us ! We are Blessed with the most beautiful son i could have ever have asked for and we love him more then i could ever explain - he is the light and joy , the sunshine, the moon beams and everything in between to us! We love you and we are so proud of you our gorgeous boy!

Hope you all have a great week and please feel free to send any tips you have an keeping snakes away !!!!! ha ha ha !

Please continue to pray for our soldier to remain NED and please say special prayers for our friends fighting nb and other cancers - especially Austin, we is still in a coma at the moment.

Please say a prayer for Lane , as he was also called home to be with Our Lord - please pray for his family to receive peace and comfort during this unbelievably hard time.

God Bless and lots of love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan



BELIEVE, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE
MARK 11:24

Happy Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Celeste for yesterday! We hope you had a lovely day! Next year this time you will be celebrating with your little girl in your arms!

Happy Birthday for today Grant and many, many more! you to , will be in a different place this time next year, Australia! Hope you are all well and have a great day!

God Bless you both and lots of love
Mark,Samm,Deqlan,Logan
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Happy 19months Deqlan

To Our Beautiful Boy Deqlan,

Happy 19 months Birthday today our precious baby boy!

We love you more with each passing moment and second, its a love that is bigger then anything you can ever imagine - you continue to make us so very proud , Dadda and I beam with pride each time we mention your name or see your smiling face or hear your infectious laugh, you are our pride and joy and our world change for the better the day God blessed us with you, our beautiful Deqlan Ross Higgins

May Our Lord continue to bless, heal, guide & love you more each day, know to that Our Lord loves you more then you can ever imagine to, and He will do anything to love and guide and heal you.

We love you our beautiful boy, with our all and everything and even more and heres to celebrating another 1000 birthdays with you!

ALl our love and so much more
Dada and Mamma

FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU DECLARES THE LORD, PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE

JEREMIAH 29:11

Snug as a bug

Hello Deqlans Army,

We have started a brand new project to again support CHOC this year,
SNUG AS A BUG!

This entails giving pjamas to the less fortunate children battling cancer , who have to wear the hospital gowns whilst having chemo.

Wouldn't it be nice for them to feel more like a child, in their own pjamas with bright colours and characters on?

We would love if any of you could help us to give these pjamas to these very special children.

Any new or second hand pjamas for all kids sizes, boys and girls, will be appreciated more then you will know.

We will be running the project for the next few months and hoping to bring a little cheer and normality to these warriors.

If you feel you could help , please let us know and we can arrange collections/ deliveries from you during the next few months.

please also feel free to pass on to anyone who could help!

God Bless and a thank you already on behalf of Deqlan and all our friends!
Lots of love,
Samm and the rest of Deqlans soldiers

Happy Birthday Carol

Dear Carol,

We hope you have a stunning Birthday today and many many more!
Hope you are spoilt rotten and recieve blessings of love and happiness and joy!

Stay the very sweet and wonderful friend you are!

God bles and lots of love
Mark, Samm, Deqlan and Logan
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tyler Stolp

FROM TYLER'S WEBPAGE:

Tyler became an angel and earned his wings just before 2:00pm this afternoon. Please continue to pray for the family.

THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR PRAYING AND FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS FOR TYLER'S FAMILY
GOD BLESS

Hi Everyone

Hello Deqlans Army

Sorry we have been so quiet - its been a whirl wind week with lots of ups and downs !

Where do i begin?

Friday....oh boy....Nanna was still sick in bed and I needed to come and print a few things here at the office. Deqlans eye looked a little swollen to me but i didnt worry to much about it. When leaving Nannas house , Nanna also commented on Deqlans eye looking swollen and my heart immediately sank....we both had a good look and could definitely see swelling on the bottom of the eyebrow....panic....i called Dr Dejager and while chatting to him, decided that it could be remoulding of the bone , as has happened in the past when Deqlans eye was healing, and i said we would keep on eye on it.

I decided to take Deqlan home again and we put him back in his car chair, holding the keys as he always does, but then we closed both doors at the same time and just as we thought - Deqlan has the keys! , he locked the car , from the inside!!!!!!!!!! More panic! Luckily Grandpa came to the rescue as he always does, and got the window out , yes , it shattered, but that didnt matter as long as it didnt hurt Deqlan, and we got the keys to open the car again and let Deqlan out - what a relief....Deqlan LOVES keys and normally we are so conscious about where they are, but through the worry and panic ..this happened...needless to say Nanna and I where in more of a panic now and just so grateful to get Deqlan out the car ok.

We spent the weekend praying and trusting and praying and asking and being still and we saw slight improvements on the eye.

Monday morning was not good for me - again, panic, worry , a million thoughts through my head....but i just sat with Deqlan on my lap and prayed and read the Bible and other books. I opened a book called Healed from Cancer on a random page, and it said I REBUKE FEAR, FEAR IS NOT FROM GOD, AND I DEMAND YOU TO LEAVE MY BODY THIS VERY INSTANT. So I said this a few times and continued to say it through the day and I started feeling more at peace. I continued to pray and pray and pray and Deqlans eye started looking much better by lunch time.

Yesterday was a definite improvement and today looks almost normal!

Thank You Dear Lord, for hearing my prayers, for healing Deqlans eye , for being by me every step of this journey, every second of every day, every thought & every worry

Deqlan is so active at the moment, and has tumbles and bumps all the time, that this is what happened, he bumped that area of his eye and because the bone is still not completely set, it was disturbed and took a beating and swelled up - looks like we are back in the healing process and all looking great again

Please say an extra special prayer for our Deqlan , that his eye continues to heal and that he remains NED forever

This journey still remains frightening at times - and as we have all realised this week ,every temperature, bump, bruise will cause us to stop and ask - WHATS THAT? Our Faith stregthens with each day and I will not let anything let us doubt Gods miracles in Deqlan and His Healing in our soldier.

As you know, we follow a lot of the NB and other cancer kids around the world, and it seems that a lot of us feel like we just needed a break for a while to let things sink in , in our own heads and minds and to find ways of dealing with our journeys- thank you for continuing to check in on us while i had my little break away!

Deqlan is doing very well! He is still battling his cold, still has a very chesty cough and we are battling to get rid of it, cause he doesnt understand to cough the awful stuff out! We are trying everything to avoid physio, cause that means tying him down and he HATES that let alone them suctioning something out of his nose or mouth - so we got a few excercises from the physio and we have been working on these !

Speech and occupational therapy went well yesterday - but Deqlan is definitely wanting to be around children and it is vital for his further development - it so difficult because he is sick at the moment, but also because his immune system is not yet where it should be , and the chemo cancelled his vaccinations, so he has no immunity to the dangerous childhood diseases like measles and chicken pox etc so we still have to be very careful until we start with the vaccinations again in October. We are going to perhaps work on a plan of trying to get 1 or 2 specific friends of Deqlans age, that dont go to a creche and not around other sick kids and of course are not sick themselves - we are hoping to get some play time together even if its once a week, but we still have to be very careful especially during winter .

I know that this is very important in Deqlans development especially now during his therapy - i know he needs someone to talk with and share with and run with , so praying about this to !

We continue to hear such terrible news the past few days in the nb world of children that have relapsed, those who have lost hope, and today I was so shocked and saddened to read about Kata going home to be with The Lord. Kata was 4 years old and was treated in Cape Town, she had a stem cell transplant and things where looking so good - she picked up a rare virus in march , but then recovered. Apparently 2 weeks ago, she complained about leg pain , they did scans and found there was nothing more they could do and she went home and wend to be with The Lord 3 days later. Please pray for Kata to be safe in Jesus arms, i know she is, and pray for her family to.

Please, please do all that you can to spread the word, to help us fundraise, to come up with funds for more research to be done,more trials to develop , more children to be saved. Please continue writing to Oprah and Ellen and anyone who could possibly help bring awareness and hope and the path to a cure !

Please continue to pray for Deqlan and all our friends in South Africa and around the world , Lord graciously hear us.

Let us know how you are , Gods richest Blessings on you all
Lots of love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Spiderman

Thank Our Lord, nothing serious is up with Deqlan

He has a post nasal drip that is causing the cough and congestion and we are just going to treat the symptoms at this stage and hopefully that prevents and infection - shame it sounds so sore when he coughs and sneezes, but he is fine otherwise, which brings me to the title for today, spiderman!

Deqlan has been climbing on absolutely everything he can - today , he discovered the rocking chair was pretty cool as when you on it you can make it move even more! Another fun favorite is the side tables in the lounge - but Mama wont let Deqlan actually get on to them as she catches spider man just in time! On a positive climbing note, Dada has taught Deqlan how to get on and off his trampoline and jump up and down on it - hooray! I much prefer this to the rocking chair - eyes in the back of the head are definitely needed a our soldier gets busier each day - what a blessing, what a joy to watch!

Our very dear friend, Ren, is out from the UK, but leaves tommorow already! I am so glad we got to see you Ren and can see the happiness radiating from you! Hope you continue to be as happy and say hi to Grant from us! SO glad you got to see the boys to! We already missing you again, but take comfort in knowing you are happy where you are! Lucky fish, going into spring, while we approach autumn!

I forgot to mention, i had a little accident last week Thursday - i stopped at a robot instead of chancing going through and the car behind me didnt stop in time and hit the side of my car - Thank Our Lord, Deqlan was not in the car, and Thank YOu Lord i was not injured - the damage is around R11 000 - thank goodness for insurance!


Before I say goodnight for the evening, i wanted to request more prayers for our friends fighting cancer. I was so heart sore to hear of how many of our friends from Little Company of Mary have relapsed - please pray for all our of friends, but especially the following at their time of need and miracles from Our Lord:

RUAN, YOLANDIE, AUSTIN,MARINDA, CHARLISE, BENNY, SARMONE, TYLER, KATIE, IMMOGEN, ISLA, ADRIAN, GABRIELLA, EMILY, JAK, YLARIA AND ALL THE OTHER BRAVE FIGHTERS - WE SALUTE YOU AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PART OF YOUR PRAYER ARMY, ALWAYS

Lots of love and God Bless
Mark, Samm and Deqlan

SACRED HEART OF JESUS WE PLACE OUR TRUST IN THEE, ALL FOR THEE OH LORD, OH MY JESUS ALL FOR THEE

Our Soldier has flu!

Poor little monkey, is coughing and sneezing and sounds terrible!
Deqlan had a little cough yesterday but by last night, wasnt so little anymore!.

He seems to be feeling fine and appetite great ( hooray! ) just battled to breathe last night , so we are off to the doc this morning

Please pray for Deqlan to get over his cold and to get the right medicine!

Nanna is also in bed with flu - and for Nanna to be in bed, means she really really doesnt feel well - so i have put here on strict bed rest until she feels loads better!

Let you know what doc says, have a lovely day
Love and God Bless Samm!

The Sea!

Deqlan was looking much better by Saturday morning and temp had come down a lot! A huge relief for us all and we where so pleased as we so desperately wanted to take Deqlan to the beach!

Straight after breakfast we all headed down to a nearly compltely isolated area of beach , the weather was not hot and it was over cast so perfect for our soldier! He ran on the sand and looked down to see what this new texture was crunching between his toes! He soon got used to it and walked with Dada down to the sea!
His face lit up with joy as he felt the water rushing over his toes! What a memorable sight - Deqlan loved it !

He giggled and gurgled and smiled and got braver and braver as he tried to venture into the water himself, but the current was very very strong so Dada, Nanna and Mama all had turns holding our soldier as the waves rushed to him.

We didnt plan on getting as wet as we did, but it was wonderful and i hesitantly had to wash the pants i was wearing - i thought i could hold onto the sea smell for just a little longer!

After quite a while in the water Deqlan decided he wanted to check this squishy sand stuff out and had great fun playing in the sand and tasting the sand to !

We headed back to the hotel after lots of coaxing to get Deqlan out of the sand, as it started to rain. We thought our soldier would have his morning nap - but there was way to much for Deqlan to do and enjoy! He discovered riding the lifts and pressing the buttons was a fun activity and we all had a turn riding in the lifts as we discovered each floor! Deqlan loved the movement and the feel of the lift moving and stopping

We then decided to go for some lunch and watch the boats, which Grandpa was very happy about as he just loves to sail!

I must say our food was incredible - the best calamari and fish i have ever tasted i think - was great!

Eventually, our soldier starting getting a little tired and we retired back to the hotel for a very cosy afternoon nap!

When Deqlan woke up we all wondered back to Ushaka shops to get a few things we had spotted the previous day - it was perfect timing as it was cool and hardly any people - this was so impressive for Deqlan as he had the entire shopping centre to run around. There was a group playing drums and this spurred Deqlan to start running in circles, he laughed and giggled and had an absolute ball! It was so wonderful to see Deqlan enjoying the open space!

We headed back to the hotel and had a few snacks before packing and getting ready to leave the next morning - its the worst part of the holiday, knowing you have to leave the next morning! But , it makes you start planning for the next one !

We stopped at the beach on the way home to let Deqlan have a quick run on the beach and toes in the water - the weather was stunning - it was awesome to watch the surfers catching waves, people walking their dogs and most of all Deqlan enjoying each second...makes you want to live by the coast more each passing second!

Eventually had to get back into the car and make the 6 hour journey home....Deqlan was an absolute star - he only slept for 20 minutes the entire trip, but was so well behalved , only started getting a bit claustrophic, i think, half an hour from home.

It was very strange to be back home - after all being together for 10 days - and just knocking on the door next to you to say hi or having tea /guiness for the boys and laughs every day was priceless - what an unforgetable experience - what amazing memories, what an honor and blessing it was to share it with Deqlan and our family - thank You Lord we are so fortunate to go away as a family and that we are able to go on a holiday together!

Heres to many more unfortgetable holidays, memories, dolphins , smiles , love and laughter - we love you all and miss you!

God Bless and all our love
Mark, Samm, Deqlan and the dolphins

FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU, DECLARES THE LORD, PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE
JEREMIAH 29:11