29 April 2012

This morning we brought Charlene to Suntec City Mall to attend her friend's first year old birthday celebration. Charlene must have been too excited again and didn't sleep till 3am last night. So, she was sleeping through the party which was sad (cos all the children were awake except for Charlene).

26 April 2012

Charlene had her physio session at KKH this evening. She was responsive and quite happy. She made her Daddy, Mummy and therapist very happy indeed.

25 April 2012

Charlene was awakened shortly after her class started. Just as she was about to enjoy herself in her favourite songtime, the senior teacher came in and took over from me. She wanted Charlene to do some work and so did not support her head fully. This clever girl refused to cooperate and was in defiant mode with her head hanging down and hands dropping off the teacher's legs. She did choose the toys that she preferred.

In the playroom, I refused to help her down the slide and she used her leg movements to "slide" herself down the slide. And she whined loudly to indicate that she wanted more (so that I will carry her to the top of the slide again).

Her physiotherapist wanted to help her in her breathing and articulating. As she was working on Charlene's head control and bringing her rib cage down, she was also engaging in a conversation with Charlene. This little girl will make sounds and sighs to "communicate" with her therapist. Using this way of communication, she "told" the PT she wanted 2 angry bird stickers and which one she wanted. I was very amused.

23 April 2012

Thank God for the hot weather today! Charlene managed to go for hydrotherapy. I put the baby neck float on her and she was able to float by herself in the water. So besides doing the hydro exercises, I took her hands and made her do frog style. Her body and legs were just floating along (her teacher said she looks like a puppy). It was the first time that Charlene is so relaxed in the pool and she did not whine at all!

P/S: Wish I could have taken photos or videos but I was in the pool with her.... ;(

21 April 2012 - Cleansing stream retreat

This post is by Dez on behalf of our family, testifying to God's goodness and reassurance for us at the cleansing stream retreat.

Originally me and Mummy didn't expect much from the retreat as we are physically tired from the caring of Charlene. Also we didn't know whether she would kick up a fuss for long hours outside home. On Friday evening, we wondered whether we made the right decision to attend cleansing stream together; it may have been better if we rejected our cell leader suggestion and attend it individually a year apart.

But God's way is higher than our way. He has His own plans for us.

We were late for the Friday retreat so we missed out the worship, the part that we were most looking forward to. After we had settled Charlene in a separate room, we had missed out part of the workshop. The 2 of us didn't expect much as we took our assigned seats.

As the session went on, I felt a strange tugging of the heart. It was subtle, a strange nagging feeling that I usually get after a lifting worship song. It was strange as I missed the worship and the sharing of the Word was something I already knew about. The only reason I can find is that the Holy Spirit was present in the room. (post event, I asked Mummy how she felt about the evening retreat and the first thing she said is that she felt the Holy Spirit presence). The sense of the Holy Spirit lifted us, and after the retreat, me and Mummy spoke about our spiritual life till 1am.

More was to come from God on Sat retreat.

Nancy, my intercessor for 2 of the session, came up to me and asked me whether she can pray for Charlene. I was not at all surprised because I know she saw that Charlene milk was tube-fed. I agreed and asked her to do it later, together with Mummy.

During the lunch break, Nancy came in with Kim and prayed for our family. They prayed for Charlene healing, for Charlene to 'wake up from her slumber', for 'angels to come and give us respite', for 'release about worry on finances'. We were stunned because the contents of their prayers were exactly what we struggled with. And me and Mummy only told them that we struggled with family responsibilities, with no mention about the difficulties we are facing. We knew that God was telling us that 'He cares about us' through Nancy and Kim.

It was God's plan for our cell leader to nudge us into participating in the cleansing stream together, for Nancy to be my intercessor, for Nancy and Kim to pray for us and Charlene, and for them to pray for what our hearts yearn.

Thank you Cleansing Stream ministry for the 2-day retreat.

'No eye has seen,no ear has heard,no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.' - 1 Cor 2:9.

20 April 2012

Charlene had her rodeo chair fitting in school today. She was quite cooperative. We thank God that DnR is doing all the customisations and adjustments to ensure Charlene's needs are fulfilled. Now we just need to be patient and wait another 4-6 weeks for the new one to be shipped in from US.

16 April 2012

Charlene woke up in the middle of her sleep and smiled happily at us after being carried.

15 April 2012 - Charlene at symphony orchestra concert

Charlene was sleeping through the day. However, the moment we boarded the taxi, she immediately woke up and smiled happily at me (though she fell asleep halfway through the journey).
She really likes car rides. We were on our way to our church fund-raising event - Elite symphony orchestra concert.

Charlene awakens at the start of the concert

Before the concert starts, Charlene was still not awake. We were mulling whether to leave her in her pram or to carry her. Daddy was telling me "Since she's not waking up, let just leave her to sleep in her pram." Almost immediately, Charlene 'forced' herself to wake up.
During the symphony orchestra performance, she was awake and listening attentively, showing different expressions on her face as well. It was nice watching her in the midst of noisy kids and teenagers. Twice after the music stopped and the emcee was introducing the next piece, Charlene made a sound "Er...". She wanted more music. At the closing prayer, she again said "Er".
We thank God that Charlene enjoyed herself as we did too!

8 April 2012

I held Charlene's hand to color and draw a birthday card for my friend. Charlene didn't manage to choose the colors despite me using the same trick previously. She only chose once - the blue color for the balloon that was drawn with her name instead of pink.

After we brought out the cake and sang the birthday song for my surprised friend, Charlene made a sound. That reminded me of the birthday card. She might be upset that I have forgotten to give Aunty Audrey the card that she "had made". What a clever little girl!

4 Apr 2012 - Charlene recognize her photo

Charlene woke up at 5am and went to sleep at 1030am. I was struggling whether I should bring her to school (starts at 1pm). I am glad I brought her there. When the bus turned into the school, Charlene woke up. As her classmates haven't reach yet, Teacher Adeline could afford to spend more time waiting for Charlene to respond.

The teacher is training Charlene on the use of a communication device. At the count of 1,2, Charlene is to raise her hand and pressed a buzzer which would say 3 on her behalf. She did that twice. Teacher Adeline put Charlene's left hand on her photo and her right hand on her classmate's (a boy) photo. Charlene surprised all of us by swiftly dropping her right hand. Her teacher was very impressed as this is the first time that she has done 'this exercise' with Charlene and she wasn't sure that Charlene is up to it.

Thank you Jesus! Glory be to God, our Father!
We are really pleased that Charlene can smile, can recognize her parents and herself, can understand what is being said and can indicate her preferences (through choosing and whining). It is a miracle considering what the neurologists said about her being a vegetable, unable to recognise her parents.