Our beautiful daughter Jessica was born in September 2011 with a severe heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This was diagnosed at her 20 week scan and we were initially told that she was unlikely to be suitable for surgery. However, a pioneering in-utero operation at 28 weeks to enlarge a hole in her atrial septum was carried out and she was able to make it to term and get through her first open-heart surgery at just eight hours old. Jessica underwent five more surgeries during her life. Her final surgery - the Fontan procedure - took place in December 2017. She initially made a good recovery but sadly passed away suddenly on 14th April 2018 at the age of 6. This is the story of a little girl whose half a heart overflowed with love. She was, and will forever be, our little miracle and brought joy to all who knew her.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Stepping out on holiday





We have just returned from having ten days away, firstly travelling to Southampton and Bristol to visit friends, then spending five days at Butlins in Minehead followed by a couple of days in Cornwall for a couple of days before coming home via Poole and Shaftesbury where we visited some more friends.  Unfortunately she has had to manage without her glasses for the last couple of weeks as Mummy accidentally broke the frames and we are still waiting for the replacement frames to arrive so they can be mended.

 


Jessica has been thoroughly enjoying herself – particularly the few days we spent at Butlins.  She got to meet Angelina Ballerina and Pingu (and was a bit upset at having to say goodbye to them after having her photo taken!), has been enjoying the various rides in Bob The Builder’s Yard and has had fun exploring the soft play area and the sensory room in the nursery.  She also enjoyed a little dance with Daddy at the tots’ disco and the parent and toddler swimming sessions.






Whilst travelling around the country, Jessica has also visited a few more gold postboxes taking the total of Olympic ones visited to 46 (out of 64) and Paralympic ones to 13 (out of 46). 



The highlight of our holiday was our last day when Jessica suddenly got the confidence to start walking on her own.  She has been doing a couple of very wobbly steps here and there for a while now but clearly spending lots of time walking whilst holding Mummy or Daddy’s hand during our holiday helped her confidence because she is now taking quite a few steps on her own.  She is still a bit wobbly on her feet but is so very proud of herself for being able to walk by herself and it is a delight to watch her.


We had a visit from our community nurse just before our holiday and Jessica has regained the weight she lost last month and is back up to 10.24kg (22lb 8.5oz).  Her sats are staying in the low 80s so all seems to be well at present.  She is due to have another check-up at Oxford at the end of the month and hopefully this will continue to show that her heart is functioning well.

2 comments:

  1. It was so good to see you guys and a delight to finally meet Jessica. Hope we can do it again soon. Love to you all. xxx

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    1. Thanks Sarah - was lovely to see you all as well and to meet gorgeous Charlie. Look forward to catching up again soon xxx

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