Prayers for a very special little girl

A while back I posted about Ruth Hoffman's daughterNaomi and her pregnancy. Ruth is the president ofCandlelighters and Naomi is one of the first childrento survive a bone marrow transplant (for AML). Shewas believed to be infertile as a result of hertreatment, which included conditioning for the BMTusing TBI.Naomi gave birth to Hope Isabella last Monday, 15weeks early. Below is an email from Ruth about HopeIsabella. Please keep this feisty little girl inyour thoughts and prayers.Jen ClickCarolyn's mom************************************************
Subject: Hope Isabella
My dear friends,
I'm writing to share with you the miracle of thebirth of Hope Isabella, born yesterday at 12:46 pm atGeorgetown University Hospital, Washington DC.Little Hope arrived at 25 weeks gestation and weighs1 pound 9 ounces.Little Hope is truly 'Naomi's Hope,'(www.hope4acure.net). As so many of you are aware, mydaughter Naomi is a 2 time cancer survivor. Diagnosedinitially in 1987 with acute myelogenous leukemia,she was one of the first children to survive a bonemarrow transplant. Treated with intensivechemotherapy, as well as total body radiation, Naomihad been told that she would be sterile.Thirteen weeks ago, Naomi learned that she was 12weeks pregnant. She had actually thought that she hadcancer again and had booked a radioactive scanto see if her second cancer had returned. Routinely,she was required to take a pregnancy test, and lowand behold, she was already past her first trimester.It was quickly determined that this was going to be avery complicated and high risk pregnancy as a resultof secondary late effects from the cancer treatmentsthat Naomi received as a little girl. This turnedout to be the case. It was determined that she had avery shortened cervix as a result of the radiationshe received when 7 years of age. She had a cerclageplaced at 16 weeks gestation. Her already high bloodpressure continued to climb so she was put on betablockers and calcium blockers. She required monthlyechocardiograms due to cardiomyopathy from herprevious chemo. She required weekly blood draws tocheck thyroid levels due to her second cancer(papillary thyroid carcinoma), and bi-weeklyultrasounds. At 23 weeks gestation she washospitalized as she had completely effaced. LastMonday, at 24 weeks, her water broke, and yesterdayat 25 weeks gestation, little Hope arrived. It isbelieved that she came early due to uterine vascularinsufficiency, as well as a uterine infection fromthe cerclage.The neonatologists who are caring for little Hope saythat she's a feisty little one. She does have aninfection in her lungs, is on a trach, and isbeing fed through her umbilical cord. That said,she's beautiful! She has a full head of black hair(like her mother Naomi had when she was born), andimmediately after being born opened her eyes and waslooking all around. Her little feet are the samelength as Naomi's thumb print.I want to thank each of you for your support and lovefor Naomi over the years. Some of you initiallycared for Naomi when she was first treatedwith cancer. Some of you have loved her for herstrength as you've watched her grow, and some of youare new friends as a result of the gala that weorganized last November. Naomi and I are gratefulfor the love, and we ask that you keep little Hope inyour thoughts and prayers as she now fights forher little life. She is a miracle. She's a giftthat Naomi never dreamed would happen in her life.She's also having to fight for her life as a resultof the late effects of cancer treatments of Naomi'slife as a little girl. Once again, I must impressupon each of you, that research needs to continue sothat less toxic therapies can be found to treat thelittlest cancer patients
.... where there is life, there is hope...
Ruth

Happy Birthday Kev!

Dear Kevin,

We wish you a very very happy birthday today and many many more!

May you continue to reach your dreams and goals and may God continue to bless you each day.

Have a great day today and it was wonderful to see you all yesterday !

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for our soldier!

Lots of love

Mark, Samm , Deqlan and Logan

Happy Birthday Dunn Twins

Dear Isabella and Madeline

A very happy 1st Birthday to you both for 4 July!

We pray Our Lord continues to keep you so well and happy and healthy!

You are an inspiration to us and so many others! True Miracles from God! Have a lovely Birthday and many , many, many more!

God Bless and lots of love

Mark, Samm, Deqlan and Logan

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dunntwins

Our soldier has a cold!

Hello Deqlans Army

Sorry been so quiet - been a very busy couple of days!

Our soldier seems to have a cold, noticed on Monday night after i took him out of the bath that his nose sounded a little blocked - Deqlan has been coughing a little, sneezing a lot and rubbing his watery eyes and nose , and this morning pulling on his ears, shame..I have started giving him vitamin c syrup for kids and acc 200 so that the sinuses dont get blocked, and of course my favorite, putting olbas oil on his clothes for him to inhale and help keep everything open. I thank Our Lord that this is the first real cold he has had in i cant even remember how long , Deqlan has done amazingly well for someone who still doesn't have an immune system that is functioning 100% - he has done amazingly well, thank You Lord! Please pray for Deqlans immune system to do its thing and get rid of the cold asap!

Ok, so lets back track a little to the weekend - we had a great weekend, Deqlan thoroughly enjoyed playing in his tunnel and tent - i even had a go , got a little stuck in the tunnel, ha ha ha. Then Deqlan and I sat in his tent and played with all the goodies he had dragged into the tent- books and tele tubbies! I had to leave the tent after a while as my neck was getting a little stiff trying to fit into the little tent, and my gorgeous boy came out to fetch me and pulled me back in - he was just happy for me to sit with him and watch him play !

Went to mass on Saturday night as it was Monseigneur last mass ever in our parish , before he retired yesterday - it was very sad to hear him say goodbye and the mass ended off with everyone giving him a good old clap - as i mentioned before he was a huge part in our journey with Deqlan and i was honored that he confirmed Deqlan and gave him so many special blessings while he was sick.

Then on Sunday , Grandpa and Nanna, Meggie and Keaton and I went to Monseigneur official farewell and they brought the Welsh Male Choir of South Africa out for the occasion - we really enjoyed the beautiful singing , meaningful songs and their amazing sense of humor which had everyone in fits of laughter.

Our little soldier spent the afternoon with is Dada and when i returned from church saw a huge pile of hair on the counter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i immediately ran to find the two monkeys to see what they had gotten up to , and there was Dada getting Deqlan out the bath, with is brand new hair cut! Awwww! All Deqlans baby hair is now gone and he looks like a real little grown up toddler! He looks to cute , but i cant wait for his hair to grow a little more again. I am amazed that Mark managed to buzz Deqlans hair all by himself, as our soldier doesn't normally sit still - well done my love excellent job! Still battling to get a new photo of him so you can see the new style - he doesn't sit or stand long enough for me to take it!

As you can see from the pics, Deqlan loves climbing up the stairs and another new favorite trick is emptying the dogs water bowls, all over HIMSELF! i had to snap just 1 photo to show you all, then had to take him inside to get him warm and dry again- Logan used to do the same thing and loved taking the dogs pellets out the bowl and feeding to the dogs one by one shame...

We went to speech and occupational therapy yesterday and it went very well - Deqlan doesn't even try to run away anymore or even play by the cars . He wants me to put him down and he runs all by himself down the passage into 'his' play room and starts playing ! Its wonderful and amazing to see - from screaming and crying to get out, he now happily plays ! Deqlan enjoyed doing a new wooden stacker puzzle and of course enjoyed his old favorites - a toy with different shapes and buttons that you need to press to get the animal to pop up, and of course, bubbles! He also tried to climb on top of everything he could and towards the end of our session Deqlan became a lot more clingly then normal - Anri turned this into a game which Deqlan soon got into and understood. But our soldier didn't seem to feel 100% because of his cold, and blocked nose, but he did very very well otherwise! Esedra suggested we try music therapy for our soldier - Deqlan LOVES music , and they say that music therapy really benefits kids whether they just need help in being more social to more severe disabilities, they all seem to get something out of the music therapy, so we have decided to give it a go and hope that Deqlan will love this to- will let you know when we start going!

If i haven't mentioned it before, Deqlan love BINNELANDERS.Its an afrikaans soapie here in South Africa - dont know what on earth atracted him to it, but when he hears the music, he sprints to the tv no matter where he is in the house - a few times, happens to be when we are in the bath and he cant get to the tv quick enough.I laugh each time and wonder what he loves so much about it? Its very strange come to think of it . When Logan was smaller she loved a soapie called SONG VIR KATRYN - she knew all the characters and could fill you in on the story line! Shelby, our beautiful spaniel, had something he like or disliked about Egoli, the most popular soap here in South Africa. Each time the music came on, he used to howl like a wolf! Shame, we got into a habit of muting the tv when the them music came on so it wouldn't worry our shelby!

Tomorrow, is Ruans golf day and we are all very very excited to go and support our dear friend. Thank you to you my love, Dee, Frans and Bob for all going to play tomorrow to support this amazing cause. If Deqlan is better and if the weather is warm enough, i would like to go past the golf day to say hello to Ruan and support Dada and Grandpa as they tee off! Thank you very much Dee for the fantastic contribution of very rare port and thank you Megs and Conrad for the cases of beer and cider and jack daniels and to you my love for your contribution as well as delivering for us- these will all be used as part of a raffle for the guys to raise money for Ruan - thank you thank you! We pray its an enormous success and we can raise so much needed funds to find the perfect donor for Ruan!

Now for all the notices and prayer requests and wonderful things i would like you to go and check out :

CONGRATULATIONS TO HEIDI AND JAMES AND HANNAH! Heidi has just found out that she is expecting their second little bundle of joy ! We hope you have a safe and easy pregnancy and wish you lots of love and happiness and I am sure Hannah is going to be over the moon with her new brother or sister!

Please go and check Charli Ann's web page out - they had a relay for life to raise funds for cancer research and Charli was the honory member! There is the most beautiful video clip of Charli crossing the finish line - you have to go and check this out - thank you Brenda and Chad for all you have done and continue to do to raise awareness and funds and most of all in teaching us TO EXPECT MIRACLES! http://brenda-chad.blogspot.com/

You also have to go and see Max's Birthday celebration here: http://www.mashedpotatoesforbreakfast.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Max! We hope you had a fantastic Birthday - it looks like you had an amazing party! God Bless and prayers continue for your always, you are an inspiration to us all!

Some time ago, I introduced you to a beautiful boy, Jayden, who is also fighting neuroblastoma - his disease is currently stable and he even started the first grade this year - unfortunately no more chemo will assist him, but he continues to live each day to the full. We happened to come across an article in our local news paper about Jayden , and where shocked to hear that his Father and Jayden himself, received 3rd degree burns , Jayden to his face, after an explosion while using fuel to start a braai !!! ( bbq for our overseas friends) Please pray for his recovery and healing

Please continue your prayers for all our warriors, but please can we ask you to say special prayers today for the following nb friends

ISLA - having surgery today to remove her left adrenal gland and the peach size tumor as well as doing a lot of other testing on lumps on her liver, her bone and marrow to

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/isla

WILL - going to Vermont to get a game plan together for new treatment for Will

www.willlacey.com

KATIE - scans reveal nb has progressed and she is recovering from surgery http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiekrize

MAX - vma/hma counts climbing and needs lots and lots of prayers http://mikulak.blogspot.com/

DAILY FAMILY - Joe Daily became an angel over the weekend after fighting nb for over 18 years - what an inspiration read the article about his amazing achievements http://www.mlive.com/flint/ then type in Joe Daily

Thank you for your continued prayers and support, please always pray for our Deqlan to remain ned always.

God Bless you all and let us know how you are

Lots of love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Thabang Thabong

We were so delighted to recieve a parcel from my second cousin, Hayli, addressed to Mr Deqlan Higgins! Inside,was a Thabang Thabong t shirt and cd for our soldier! Deqlan LOVES this programme and not a morning passes where Deqlan, Nanna & I stand waiting at the tv at 9am for our show to start! The best part of the show for Deqlan is the exercises performed by the zebra and lion characters! He dances round and around in excitement - Nanna and I try and join in the exercises, but half way through , we are out of breath! But we continue to try and do them with our soldier with as much enthusiasm as he as for the show! Hayli used to write the script for Thabang Thabong, and we eagerly await the end of the programme to , to watch the credits role, to see if that specific episode was Hayli's and we usually guess right! Now, our very talented Hayli is the director for a new show called Jakals Jol, mondays sabc2 at 10am! Its fantastic and your little ones will love this one to! Thank you so much Hayli, Deqlan loves his gifts!

Before Hayli so graciously offered to send the package to us, i had entered the shows daily competition every day for the last few months, and nearly fell off my chair yesterday to see that we were one of the winners for the day! Hooray! So we will get another parcel and will be happy to hand over to Keaton!

Deqlan and Keaton got a few new goodies i wanted to share with you all - Deqlan got a lovely caterpillar tunnel and tent which HE LOVES to crawl through - i am so pleased! All he wants to do at the moment is climb and he is very very good at it! We definitely want to get him onto a jungle gym as soon as we can as the rocking chair and high chair are getting a little boring for him to climb and jump off of! Deqlas has mastered the 30 plus stairs that lead up to our apartment to. We had supper at Meggie during the week and DeqlAn even worked out a plan to get on top of Keatons play house! We got to watch him like a hawk!

Meggie got a lovely sling to carry Keaton in and he seems to love it very very much and it calms him down really well - great idea and you can use up to 3 years of age - dont think Deqlan would agree to it though, he is FAR to busy and no time to be still!

Keaton and Deqlan also enjoyed their very first bath together last night - it was to precious for words and they both had a ball. Keaton did not like Deqlans wind up lobster, sebastian so he wanted to get out when we showed him, but they had a great time together and i look forward to many many more baths together!

Its Monseigneur last service at our parish this evening, as he retires from tomorrow. So we will be honored to attend this service tonight, and then his farewell tomorrow, which includes the Welsh Male Choir performing and then snacks afterwards. I am going to be very sad to see him go, as he was there at the start of our journey and has been with us every step of the way. We wish him only the best and thank you Monseigneur Hill for all you have done for Deqlan and for our family, we will never ever forget you. The new priest taking over is Father Russell, he is just as lovely and we look forward to getting to know him very well.

We are getting the boxes out this weekend to start packing for our big move, on the weekend of 25 July - we have LOTS to sort out, so better get cracking!

Have a very blessed weekend, please continue to pray for Deqlan to remain NED always. Please pray for all his friends around the world. Extra special prayers today for Dyllan Diedericks, just over 1 week old, & Katie Krize fighting nb and healing from surgery http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiekrize

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

Happy 60th Birthday Sophie

Dearest Sophie!

We would like to wish you a very happy 60th Birthday today and many many more!

May this be the year youhave been waiting for! Enjoy the month long celebrations which you so deserve !

Enjoy your trip to Europe in celebration of your 60th Birthday - we know you are going to have an amazing time and will create many magical memories with Issue!

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for our family, especially for Deqlan - you have been a huge part of Deqlans prayer army from day one, and i thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the love, support and prayers you continue for Deqlan each day

God Bless, have a fantastic celebration

Lots of love

Mark, Samm, Deqlan and Logan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACEY

Dear Tracey,

A very happy birthday to you today and many,many,many more!

I think we should declare the entire month of June a celebration as their are so many birthdays , especially on your side of the world in Canada!

We hope you are spoilt rotten and enjoy a day of pampering and love

Thank you for your continued love , support and prayers for our warrior, i know you follow his journey every day and cant thank you enough for being a part of Deqlans army

God Bless and lots and lots of love

Dad & Bev,

Mark,Samm, Deqlan & Logan,

Conrad, Megan and Keaton