ANOTHER WAY OF COMMUNICATION

An ideal way for Jonathan to communicate with us is through assist technology.  But knowing Jonathan, that way is a slow way haha.

What we usually do is ask him the appropriate questions and he will answer "yes" or "no".

Sometimes, I tend to be lazy.  Actually more of I-don't-feel-like-talking kind of mood.  So I sign to Jonathan.  I spell out the whole sentence using the sign language alphabets and it always amuses him.

So here's a clip of our communication just last week.  Enjoy :)

Thanks for visiting and God bless your day!

HE WANTS HIS FEET FREE

There are a couple of reasons why Jonathan will kick off his sandal whenever he's sitting on the home chair.

1)  He doesn't like the shoe feel while at home.
2)  He wants my attention so he just removes them so that I will come to him.

Most of the time, it's point number 2.

So here he is, wanting me to change a video clip and I kept telling him to "hold on" as I was doing something at that time.  When he was about to "peel" of the other sandal, I gave him a warning and he stopped and crossed his leg instead.

I put the sandals on because the foot rest is made of metal and in his excitement and involuntary movements, he will kick his leg against the foot rest.

Here's a short video....

Thanks for visiting and God bless!

HE HAS GROWN

We recently had to buy a new seat cushion cover for Jonathan's Cruiser.  Price was $480 and included installation.

After the change, the buggy seemed to be a little more upright and that made his head stick out a little bit and soon we have to start using the head extension.

I do admit...our boy has grown so much taller.

I'VE BEEN QUIET....

Wow...I just realised the last I entered a journal here was in July.

Sorry for being absent.  I've been really busy with many things.

2nd August 2013...was a night that I would remember for a long time. An incident that woke my sense up about hygiene for Jonathan.

He woke up that night at 1am, unable to sleep and very jerky and fidgety.  I thought he was hungry.  So upon asking, he said yes to a feed.  While feeding, he just had so much movements that I kept telling him to calm down.  After feeding, I decided to change his diaper.  Only to find the front part of the diaper in dark brown color and there was a little trace of blood on his private part.

It was around 1.30am. The first thought was "he had urinary tract infection".  Initially H was wondering if we could give him panadol and wait till morning.  But my heart was already pounding.

As a woman, I know what it's like to pee blood.  I had UTI before and it's not pleasant.  The pain is excruciating and I know Jonathan was in a lot of pain.

So off we went to KK A&E. Thankfully that night was rather quiet so we were attended to pretty quickly.  We arrived for initial check and he had a temperature of 38.5C.  Obviously his anxiety level was way high. The hardest part was to collect a urine sample.  He was so "active" at the hospital and took us pretty long for him to pee.

To cut the long story short, Jonathan didn't want to be admitted, which was advised by the consultant that night because he had just recovered from flu with a course of antibiotics.  So they were concern that why the UTI could happened even though he already finished that course of antibiotics.

So I requested for him to be discharged and to report back if his condition didn't improve.  The relieved boy's temperature immediately dropped.

A course of 14-day Sofilex antibiotics was given and thankfully it didn't cause any button blockage and diarrhoea.

Diaper change is now more than regular.  Used to let it sit till it's full.  But now, I've decided to change it every 1.5 hours even though it feels like it's only partially full.  Hygiene is more important for him.  Don't want him to go through that again.

We were supposed to go for the review but I ended up going alone which is not allowed.  But thankfully the doctor was kind enough to see and advised that even though the bacteria was killed by the antibiotics, we should still bring him for a urine test.  That which we will do at the GP.

Thank you Lord for taking care of Jonathan.

Thanks for reading :)

DROOLING CAME BACK - AFTER CONSUMING JB MILK

Well...after the drooling stopped, I decided to try the milk we bought from JB again,  First  2 days was ok.  Then slowly the drooling started, escalating each day I continued.  To the effect that even when he was sitting on his buggy, he was struggling with the excessive saliva in his mouth and he kept having this gagging sensation.

I'm just thinking it's odd for this to happen.  So we finally stopped and of course, the drooling did stop too.

So back to our locally purchased Isomil Advance Eye Q Plus 3. I'm still not comfortable switching to cow milk yet as recommended by KK dietitian.

I don't understand why does milk cost cost so much.  This milk per 900g tin cost almost $48!  Well...ten cents short of $48. To get them from the chinese medical shop they do reduce it to $45.50.

If anyone knows of anyone who is working in Abbot or Zuellig Pharma, please let me know.  I need to buy a carton every month for Jonathan's milk consumption.

Thanks!!

STARTING PHYSIO THERAPY

Today we brought Jonathan to the Society for the Physically Disabled (Tampines Branch) for assessment. I was a little  uncomfortable at first because the Indian OT sat there looking at Jonathan for a while and I was thinking "hmmm what is he thinking about".  He was so quiet!  haha.  We'll see what results they have about Jonathan. 

So after everything was over, including asking questions about Jonathan, we have arranged to have therapy every Wednesday, once a week for the time being.

Jonathan said he didn't mind the place. Me too.  It's quiet and nice and not a lot of people.  And most of all, it's at Tampines.

We will start therapy next week at 9.15am!  It's been a while since we get up so early, although on certain days, Jonathan does get up at 8am.  I have to be the disciplined one haha!

We are going to try once a week first.  Therapy session is I think 45 minutes at $54/session.  I have not started applying for subsidy yet because I'm not sure if Jonathan will be able to take PT.  They recommended 2 times/week, ie, one session PT and the other OT.  But I'm gearing more towards PT and maybe will just request for this.

Looking forward to letting Jonathan have proper physio therapy although we discussed that maybe I can do simple stretching and exercises at home.  But the thing is I'm not strong enough to handle Jonathan and the facilities at SPD will be good for him.  So we finally agreed that giving Jonathan an extra activity apart from being at home or taking short walks downstairs would be a good change.

I'm praying that the motion sickness will not affect him at all.

Hoping....

Thanks for visiting and God bless!

MILK ISSUES - SOLVED (HOPEFULLY)

Just recently, I have started trying milk powder for Jonathan from Malaysia.  Not alot because we are not allowed to buy many across the causeway.  But the price is certainly much cheaper.

But last week, after consuming one can, Jonathan started salivating alot.  And I mean really alot.  Small puddles drooling out from his mouth and when he rubs his face on the mat, his face will be wet with saliva.

I don't know if it was the milk so we stopped it immediately and got him started on the Isomil from Singapore.

Two days ago, I called Abbott Singapore to check on the ingredients on the Isomil Advance Eye Q Plus.  The nutritionist said that there is no difference between those imported to Malaysia and Singapore.  The ingredients and nutrition contents are the same. The only thing is all health regulations are different between each country.  So for Singapore that follows AVA's guidelines, the calcium content in this milk may be slightly higher than those of Malaysia.

So after laying off Malaysia milk for one week, I put him back on again today.  So far, after 2 feeds, everything seems fine.

Perhaps that can of milk before this was faulty, I do not know.  Maybe Jonathan could have taken something that cause this mass salivation instead.

Hopefully all will turn out good.

And for talking to the nutritionist for his advice, yesterday I received three $5 voucher for the Isomil Advance Eye Q plus.  That was super nice of him to do that.  Yesterday already used one heh heh

Thank you Lord for this blessing :)

JONATHAN ON WHY HE FELL ILL

I finally had a talk with Jonathan yesterday evening about what happened the day before.  He told me he wasn't afraid of changing his button.  He knew Jesus was with him.  That brought a smile to my face.

Then we went to the subject of him falling ill.  He said he felt giddy in the taxi going to and from KK hospital.  The giddiness was stronger on the way back and he felt like vomitting.  He said long and short journeys are the same.  He said that while short trips to Tampines Central are ok, he doesn't want to go to Orchard Road.

I'm thankful that I got it out of him yesterday.  Although I knew that this was the likely cause for a while already, but when he stopped vomitting at one stage, I thought he was finally over this issue.  Looks like not yet.

He said that next time if we go out, he will need medicine.

I hear you son.  Thank you for being honest with your answers.

In the meantime, I got a call from the person in charge of enrollment to the Society for the Physically Disabled.  I've requested for the neuro department at KK to help us get Jonathan started on physiotherapy because he hasn't had it for a long time.

They asked if I wanted to apply for subsidy as each therapy session is more than $50.  I told her I wanted to see if Jonathan is able to take the therapy first before I make the decision of applying for subsidy.  Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and effort if everything is done (knowing how many red tapes I have to go through and all the applications that have to be completed) and then Jonathan can't take the sessions.

I'm hoping that he will be able to do it.  Will see when a slot for assessment becomes available.

Hope everyone is healthy.  It's back to work for me now.

Thanks for visiting!

BUTTON CHANGED AND MORE

On 3rd July 2013, button was changed very quickly.  First they applied numbing jelly that also provided lubricant to make it easy to pull out the old button.  After stretching the button straight, ne hard yank and a pop sound, the one one came out.  I purposely timed the appointment close to his next feed so there wasn't much stomach contents.  A little blood but thank God no tear.  Nurse let his tummy rest for a minute then in went the new one with a little groan from Jonathan.

He was brave boy.  Didn't resist when I told him had to go for his appointment.  It's all because of Jesus and I'm thankful to Him for protecting our prince.

Here's a picture of the stoma before the new button was inserted.

This little feeding button, stem height 1.7cm is inserted into Jonathan's tummy.  This tiny gadget that comes with 2 feeding tubes and one flushing tube costs SGD485.  At private hospitals and clinic, one will likely pay for this full price plus other service charges.  At KK Children's Hospital, we have government grant of 50% and they didn't charge us for changing his button.  For this, I'm grateful.

While everything ran smoothly for the day, we ended the day with Jonathan not feeling well.

I'm baffled.  We leave home yesterday morning to KK and everything was ok.  On the way back, taxi ride was ok except that Jonathan showed a little sign of gagging.  Just 2 hours after reaching home, his nose started to act up.  By evening, he was beginning to retch.  Since 11pm, he's been throwing up.  If going to KK was no problem, then it cannot be motion sickness.  And each time we bring him out to town, he always says he doesn't want to come home.  He knows what would happen and he's scared.  That is why nowadays, he is not keen to out but stay at home all the time.

But thankfully, he woke up refreshed at 9am and started talking.  After waking me up, I cuddled him a little and he want back to sleep until 10.30am.

Thank God his fine now.  But I'm going to ask him some questions later to try and dig up some information from him about what happened.

EXPENSES...EXPENSES

Why is it that when you have planned and budget your finances for something, anothwr issue pops up?

Today we had to change my sink piping. Leaked pretty badly.  Thank God no major repairs needed. After changing pipe, they found another leak somewhere.  Total we had to oay: $210.

Tomorroww we also got to change Jon's feeding button. Another $250 plus for this.

While the former is unscrew pipes and replace with new, putting sealant with no major repairs, changing Jon's feeding button is nerve wrecking for him. The pain and anxiety of having the old button that is slightly stiff from long time use to be pulled out from the tiny hole in his tummy. I wonder how am I going to explain to this young man who dislikes hospital visits.

Both seems simple enough procedures. One with ease, the other with anxiety. But both equally expensive procedures.

If tou happened to drop vy, please say a little prayer for my prince that everything will be smooth for him tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting. God bless!

ENOUGH TO MAKE MY DAY

"See you later sweetheart!"  He always says that to his son after giving him many kisses before going to work.  Today, I pretended it was for me and said, "Ok!  See you later!".  He stood up from where his son was, flashed a big smile and left for work.  Enough to make my day :))

YOU CAN SEE THAT

He really really loves his son when he sees tissue paper all over the floor and all he says to the son is : "Who did this ah?" a few times and then just picks up the tissue and throws them into the bin.
No scolding and nagging.

The boy gets away with it aaaalllll the time.  hahaha

And I'm always amused.

PRAYERS ARE POWERFUL

I was feeling down last 2 days.  My body has been having aches and pains.  It's like the calcium in my bones are affected.  You just feel lethargic and all kinds of bad thoughts started forming in my mind.

The aches and pain normally comes after a prolong period of sitting down printing tshirts.

This morning, as I was laying down next to Jonathan after he woke up, I prayed to the Lord:

"Jesus, I know you are the greatest physician in the whole universe.  You are my doctor.  I cannot go to the polyclinic because the waiting hours are long.  Thank you that the aches and pains are upon your body on the cross. In Jesus' name.  Amen!"

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation like goose bumps on my shoulders.  Then the aches started moving downwards right down to to my legs.  And I felt relief.  Although throughout the day sometimes I feel the ache here and there, it was not strong.  By afternoon, I was so much better as if nothing happened at all.  So throughout the whole day I kept praying in tongues.

This evening, I was blessed by my pastor's message about praying short prayers.  So I am sharing the message with you so that you can be blessed:




Thank you for visiting.  Continue to have good health.  God bless!

HEALTH CHECK

A few days after the haze hit PSI 401, I decided to check on Jonathan's health.

Health check:
"Jon, your throat ok?" A: yes
"Your nose ok?" A: yes
"Your eyes ok?" A: no
"Need eye drops ?" A: no
I closed his eyes, rub rub a little.
"Now ok? A: yes
"Breathing ok?"A: yes
"Any smoke smell?"A: no
Praise the Lord :)

Then 2 days ago:

Jonathan cut his big toe after kicking a plastic stool. The cut was a little deep but thankfully it stopped bleeding immediately. He didn't like the plaster on the big toe. Any chance he gets, he will stick his foot into my face whenever I'm near him, asking me to remove it. He tried to pull it off but his fingers couldn't exactly reach his toe. He even tried to scrape it off by rubbing his foot against the wall. Finally, after 2 hours, I removed the plaster only to see that the cut has healed so quickly. It is God's miracle healing. This evening, he wanted to go for a walk downstairs. But when told that I have to put a plaster on his toe because he has to wear his sandals, he changed his mind. haha. That's my boy :)

All in all, I'm thankful that Jonathan is in good health.  1 John 4:17 " As Jesus is, so is Jonathan in this world."

Glad the haze has subsided and there has been rain the last 2 days to cool down the weather.  Hope it doesn't come back.

Hope everyone is well :)

ALMOST TIME TO CHANGE

His BARD button.

Yup.  the last time we had a change was February 2012.

I'm a little nervous this time around.  I don't know why.  The thought of him having to go through it.  I wasn't like these those last few times.  Maybe during those times, it's because we HAD to change due to faulty button.

Trusting the Lord for this one :)

DINNER WITH BEST FRIENDS 19 JUNE 2013

We usually meet once or twice a year.  Come June or December, I will arrange for us to meet.  Just a few regular friends who have become my best friends.  On that evening, the physiotherapist who taught Jonathan when he was 5 years old, joined us.  It was really good to see her again.

Dinner was great at Sushi Tei, service was excellent.  But the best was the fellowship.  Can't wait for the next one.

HAZE

From low to high, the haze was bad especially this morning on 22 June.  Reading of PSI was 400.  Thankfully, H was wise to put wet towels over the window grills.  This reduced the smoky smell in the hall tremedously and we could breath a little better.  Although the towel dried up quickly and we had to constantly wet it, it was well worth the trouble.

I was rather emotional this morning when we woke up to the smell of heavy smoke in Jonathan's room. I don't know why I started tearing.  I guess I was afraid of Jonathan falling ill.  Then I was reminded to keep my focus on Jesus and what He would do.  I prayed for wisdom to help Jonathan as much as I could.  I gave him ventolin puff just to clear his air passage ways.  He wasn't sick. It was just a precautionary measure.  Gave him nose medication because he was snorting a bit and let him drink teaspoonful of water via the mouth and keeping his eyes moist with eye drops.

My trust level in Jesus was pushed up notches and thankfully, he has kept Jonathan safe.  I know I must continually trust Him and each time repeating it in my heart.

This afternoon, I asked if he wanted to put on a mask.  We only have the surgical ones and he said "yes".  But immediately upon wearing it, he asked me to remove it.  hahaha.  It was quite funny.  In the end, he told me no more and I shouldn't wear it too.

But I do understand how he feels.  It's very hot wearing it.  I guess Jonathan has more faith than I do :)

Thankfully the PSI has gone down by this evening and I hope it will go further.

Lord, you love your people.  Send rain to bring it all down that we can have fresh air again.

Thanks for visiting and continue to stay healthy!

iDOODLE

My friend whom I met throught scrapbooking has encouraged me to start doodling.  She has been doing it a some time now and I find inspiration from her work, which are almost like a professional artist.

So here's mine for the last few days.  I did 2.  Hope to do more.  I draw when my boys are asleep and I have just finished my work in the middle of the night.  Fun and relaxing actually.

These are what I used so far.  Simple color pencils (bought by H), gel pens (from my sister Arina) and Sharpie Markers (from my sister Sally).

My first doodle....to remember Bryant who just passed away.  He was 10 years old with special needs.  Rest In Peace Bryant.

Second piece I finished today.  Didn't know why I did this but it just came to my mind today.

Hope I will be able to continue doing it from time to time :)

Thanks for visiting!

MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATION

At 12 midnight on 12 May morning, a card was given to me just before Jonathan went to sleep.

H always has this ready whenever it's any of my special occasions.  It's easy for him to just go out and get a card.  But it's very thoughtful of him as he's a man of little words :)

I can imagine what it's like for him to hold Jonathan's hand to write on the envelope and card.  But the best present is always seeing Jonathan's handwriting on anything, whether it's aided or not.

Thanks Dear!

And....

the night before, we were invited by my brother-in-law to join them for Mother's Day Dinner.  My sister Leanne always wants to have dinner with my family but we never had a chance. Reason being : Jonathan doesn't want to go for long-waiting-kind-of-dinner-while-you-all-enjoy-your-food.  LOL!
But I went to represent my family.  It was fun and I got to meet my eldest niece's boyfriend.  The food was nice, but the company was the best.  Here are some pictures of how much my nieces and nephew (one is in Taiwan now for army training) have grown.

Thanks Gus & Eng for inviting us.

NEURO DEPARTMENT REVIEW

Thank God the meeting on 9th May 2013 went well.  All miscommunications resolved.

Neurologist thought we wanted to transfer to CGH until we had a pre-meeting today when she found out that it was the dietitian who told me that Jonathan has been discharged from KK.

She called in the senior consultant from the Orthopaedic Department to check on Jon's bone structure. A physiotherapist was also there. Spine is ok. His hip is in good placement. The only thing he observed was that Jon went into positioning a few times. I was confused so the explanation was that positioning is when they get into one position in a twisted way, then lock in this position for a short while. Sometimes the pain is very severe and in some cases the children will cry badly. Thankfully Jonathan is ok because he is very mobile. And he doesn't do this at home. Orthopaedic doc almost wanted to prescribe relaxant which I didn't want because I don't see Jon doing this at home. But his advice to us was never allow anyone to perform bone operation on Jon to correct any bone structure because he's very mobile and it will not help.

Other than this, everything else is fine. We should be getting a referral for physiotherapy soon to start him exercising again and get to keep the appointments with the dietitian. There won't be any transfer to adult hospital. I'm happy because all of Jon's records are at KK. I hate to have to start all over again. Moreover at KK, so long as we get the first appointment time, waiting is only about 15 minutes compared to adult hospital.


Thank you Jesus for being at today's neuro appointment. Next review Match 2014.

CHANGE - LITTLE BY LITTLE

For the last few days, I've noticed a little change in Jonathan's control over his movements.

On any day, whenever he watches this particular Wheel of Fortune game show, he usually gets all excited and will be kicking hard, not controlling his movements and his involuntary movements goes to the overdrive. By the time the show ends, which is like 15 minutes later, he would be drenched in perspiration and tired. It does look like he's just had a full workout.

But of late, when he requests for this game show, I will tell him to control his movements and he does it. He still get all excited. But his movements are controlled. He doesn't kick and bang his legs on the floor (that he does as a result of involuntary movement) as much and he doesn't droll as much too.

This to me is an improvement. He not only did it once but a couple of times.  There are times if I don't remind him, he does go overboard. But I'm happy it seems his brain is registering the instructions given and put into action.

The other is when he tries to help me pass his shirt. Most times, he will swing his arm quickly just to try to grab the shirt. But when I say "do it slowly", he does slow down and eventually able to grab hold of the shirt.

I'm pretty sure his brain is improving. May be just a fluke but I'm looking forward to see more improvement.

On the note of improvement, I'm starting him on 7 scoops of milk today. Doing it gradually. I will see if he's able to take the first milk feed today with the increase.  Just only one feed first to allow his body to adjust.

Thanks for visiting.  God bless!

DIET REVIEW - 27 MARCH 2013

Jonathan had his diet review today at KK.

Weight:  24.9kg (up by 300g in six months)
Height:  137cm

He looks tall.  I was surprise it's only 137cm +/-

But I'm happy he's gaining weight.

Dietitian KY said that it's good he's gaining and growing.  The ultimate weight to achieve this year is 29kg.  That's 90% of the 32.9kg that he's supposed to be at his age of 16.

She also recommended that we increase to 7 scoops of the Isomil Advance Plus 1-10 yo soy milk.  I did ask about switching to adult but she's more concern about Jonathan's health as when he used to take Pediasure he had a lot of secretion and most adult milk are cow milk base even though they may be lactose free.

It's ok for him to keep taking the Isomil so I'm happy with it because this milk regulates his bowel movements and is soothing to his tummy.  We just need to up it because he's growing and it's only 1kal.  So his weight will not gain so quickly.

The new vitamin supplement she introduced was ProPhree.  It's powdery form and has a more balanced of all vitamins with sodium and potassium compared to those bought from health stores.

Have pre-ordered a can from KK (yes...you can only buy from there).  We shall test and see if it's good for Jonathan as Ms KY said that they have tried it on young patients with protein problem and it worked well.

The other matter I discovered today was that at KK, the maximum age limit for boys is up to 16 years old.  Last year, we were given a discharge by the neurologist with 2 years of open date and a letter briefly describing Jon's condition in case we needed it for future referral elsewhere.

This moring, the Dietitian told me that by right, they should make the necessary transfer for us to the adult hospital because of Jonathan's disability.

Thank God for Ms KY who said she will check for me.  She has taken care of Jonathan's diet since he was young.

I'm hoping that he can be transferred to Changi General Hospital which is just 15 minutes away by cab from my place.


Thanks for dropping by.  Hope everyone is well.

God bless!

URINARY TRACK INFECTION

For someone who takes in more than 2 litres of fluid everyday, it's highly unusual that Jonathan's diaper is dry for 3 hours.

It started on Thursday 22nd March.  I noticed his diaper only had a small amount of urine. Got me a little worried. But then the weather was so hot and he was perspiring a lot, I thought it was probably due to this that's why he was not peeing that much.

On Sunday 24th March, he did pee but diaper was mostly half full. There was no pungent sell or discolour.  This morning, I changed his diaper at 9am and for the next 3 hours, his diaper was totally dry and I noticed he made jerky movements. He also told me pain when peeing.

Brought him to the clinic. Doc said there are symptoms of UTI. But since it was hard to collect urine sample, would treat him just the same.

He prescribed antibiotics and potassium citrate to give him the urge to urinate. He said UTI in male is rare but when it does happen the pain can be quite bad. So he told me to give Jon panadol.

Through the next few days, he said peeing was not as painful as before.

I felt totally bad that I didn't bring him to the doctors early.  Little boy was in a lot of pain but he was really bearing it.  I was totally surprised that when I mentioned about bringing him to the clinic, he was all for it!

Still one more day to the 5-day course of antibiotics.  But thankfully, his diaper is filled up again and now I really have to be careful about his hygiene down there.  And he's happy again.

SIMPLE CONVERSATION

When I ask Jonathan to pronounce words, sometimes he does it and sometimes he doesn't.

But I do notice that the best time to get him to speak words is before he sleeps.  I don't know why but he does it pretty well.

Just a few days ago, while changing him before his bedtime, I had a short conversation with him about trying to pronounce words cos I was teaching him how to say "hello".

Me: Kai Ming, you must listen to the words and try to say it. You know?
Jon: "ah d no"

He confirmed to me that it was "I don't know"

Could have been a spur of the moment but me happy :)

JONATHAN TURNED 16 ON 6 FEBRUARY

Happy birthday our sweet son.  16 years old, what an achievement!

The Lord bless you with good health and give you supernatural healing of your body.  We love you and adore you forever!

 "Happy birthday to you...Happy birthday to you!"  He was surprised :)

 Mummy help to blow out the candles.

He held the cake knife so well :)

JON-ME-PILLOW

I would like to think that the reason why I'm so roly-poly is that I'm meant to provide cushion for my loved ones.  LOL.

True in this sense :

Whenever I lie down next to Jonathan to rest for a little while, he will move his body closer to me, roll over and plonk his head on my back, and continues to either listen to music or watch TV.  He's so relaxed in this position and I don't mind it.  I kind of enjoy it :))

The warmth from his head gives me some sort of relief for my tired back actually.  LOL

Love it :)

BUGGED BY FLU BUT NOT DEFEATED

Yep! Jonathan came down with blocked nose 2 days ago and triggered what seemed like endless phlegm accumulating at his throat. We were disturbed by the sound. No matter what medication we gave, treatment that should show immediate improvement was a little slow to react.

Then off we went to the clinic yesterday afternoon. H wanted to get something prescribed to make him more comfortable. Doctor asked if it was because we fed Jonathan Chinese new year's goodies.
LOL how I wish!

The phlegm problem became little more intense. With each cough, it generated a retching sensation. I admit I was near panic. I didn't want him throwing up again!

Jonathan was so tired that he asked to take a nap at 8.30pm. So here we were in his room and he tried to sleep but the phlegm was just too much. I got really frustrated and prayed: "phlegm be plucked out by its roots from Jonathan's body in the name of Jesus!"

A few minites later, Jonathan decided to sit up and suddenly started coughing and with a deep gagging cough, he coughed out the whole chunk of white phlegm, almost to the size of my palm!
Relief took over me! I kept asking him to breath so that he will not start retching. His throat was clear for a a short time and the sound came back again. Then half hour later, he gave another big cough and a smaller amount of phlegm came out. After this, his throat was totally clear!

I was more relief for him than perhaps him himself!  He was so tired that after his last milk feed, he slept right through till this morning.

And his throat is clear when he woke up. I thank the Lord for teaching me how to pray this way and for that miraculous healing!

CHINESE NEW YEAR ANG POWS (RED PACKETS)

I've decided on a very simple ang pow or red packets this year.  I'm so glad I could find really nice red themed pattern papers from the scrapbook store.  I was thinking of what I should be doing this year that doesn't need cutting (well....there has to be cutting LOL), but more of less gluing and taping.

I decided on folding, ie, origami.  Searched Youtube and found a video clip folding origami red envelopes.  Note:  can't find that link.

So there I went...embarking on cutting the papers and folding them.  Some are difficult because the papers are thick but some edges tear because they are glitter paper and small bits start to peel off.  But nonetheless, I'm happy with the results.

Here's what I did :

 

 The beautiful pattern papers were trimmed to size 19cm x 19cm.  The word "福"
was printed using my tshirt vinyl transfers and heatpressing them onto the papers.

 

The back of each pattern paper.  That's the reason why I chose to use

scrapbooking papers that are more expensive.  Its because of the double-side

patterns.  This makes it more pleasant than to see a blank one color side.

 

After cutting the paper to size, they are folded this way.  The video clip gave a more

descriptive way of folding but I reduced the folding lines to just 4.

When th epaper is opened up, it looks like this.  Sometimes it's not aligned

properly but still it's ok.

The folding starts.

You keep going until it looks like a square envelope (below)

The final product, fastened with a ribbon.  This was taken under yellow light.

The actual color of the paper is like above pictures.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome.  They were easy to make and quick too.  Time to wrap the money!

For other ang pows (red packets) that I have made in the past, please refer to the following links:

1. Ang Pow 1 
2. Ang Pow 2
3. Ang Pow 3
4. Ang Pow 4

Thanks for visiting.  God bless you!

WHAT "HE WOULD BE" WILL SOMEDAY BE "WHAT HE IS"

Jonathan will be 16 come 6 February.  Just 2 days away.  We haven't thought of getting him anything or bringing him anywhere although I have told H that we can bring him to the new aquarium at Sentosa.  But we shall see how he is first because he has caught a cold last night.

Everyday, I have been reminded of the promises from God about Jonathan.  I do look forward to the recovery but sometimes I'm just too impatient that I lose patience with Jonathan when our communication breaks down.  Then that's where I start complaining to the Lord.

This year, Jonathan would be taking his O levels.  I always, how should I say, "fantasized" about what it would be like if he didn't have the aphyxia episode 16 years ago.

1. He would be a very intelligent boy.  Excelling in his studies and getting good grades.  I know...even now, he's shown us his intelligence in his special way.  I would be worried about his work, how he would do and whether he should go to any of the junior colleges or the polytechnics and what university courses he will take.
2. He would be very articulate.  He just goes on and on when he has the mood to "chit chat".  I look forward to the day when we can hold conversations and sing together.  I would love to know his thoughts, how he feels about issues, what his needs are and so much more!  And sometimes with him oohing and aahing in falsetto (like head voice) when he listens to worship music, I would believe he would be a great singer and accompany me in singing to the Lord.
3. He would be able to play violin so beautifully just like his daddy.  His daddy's dream was to train him into a classical musician.  A dream that was dashed so long ago.  He would excel in his music and maybe embark on a music career that his daddy wasn't able to do so.  Just a few days ago, while cleaning his hands with a towel, H casually said "your fingers are so long and beautiful.  They were made for playing musical instruments for the Lord."  That brought tears to my eyes.  The sadness of seeing H unable to fulfill his long desire of teaching his children how to play the violin really broke my heart.
4. He would be a runner.  His daddy loves to jog and so he will follow his daddy on their daily exercise.  And with that, perhaps I would do that too and get my trim body. LOL.  But this would have to wait.

I don't know what he would have turned out if he was a healthy normal child.  I would be like any mother of a normal child who would be anxious, angry, happy and joyful about her child's journey in life.

I'm believing that one day, what "HE WOULD BE" will become "HE IS" and the Lord knows my heart.  He knows I pine and yearn for the day to come and I will continue to cling onto and confess the promises that His word will not return to him void.

Isaiah 55:11
"So shall my word be that proceedeth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

God bless everyone!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy new year to all!  Hope the start of the new year was good for everyone.

Nothing really has changed much since we stepped into 2013.  Jonathan, as usual, was more chatty and quite a teen.  He was a little emotional towards the end of 2012.  Not sure what triggered it.  The slightest things like playing the wrong Wheel of Fortune video clip will set him crying

Thankfully, after I gave him a pep talk, he became better and have since stopped the tantrums.

I'm happy that he understands when we explain to him.  And more importantly that he's able to carry out instructions.

We started the year with a field trip to the Gardens by the Bay again on 4th January 2013.  We didn't get to visit the Cloud Forest on our first trip to the Gardens last year, and besides, the Flower Dome had the Christmas theme dispay.  We went for both which I was glad we did because the entrance fee for both conservatories was cheaper when  you buy both at at the same time.  Moreover, with the SAFRA card, there was a further 10% discount.

Alas we ended the day with him falling ill.  Our fault actually, for deciding to take the "hot" route from the Gardens via the bridge connecting to Marina Bay Sands,  It was too hot for him and we only had the cap but that didn't shield him much.

Still, I'm thankful that he did like the Gardens again and was pretty relaxed during our time there.

Here are some pictures:

FLOWER DOME CONSERVATORY - CHRISTMAS DISPLAY

CLOUD FOREST CONSERVATORY

The first thing that hits you with splashes of water is this waterfall (above).

We went to level 7 and slowly walked our way down.  By the 4th floor, the only way to go down was via the escalator or lift.

Thanks for dropping by.  God bless!