For me, 13 is surely significant.
Overall, it's been a pretty good year,
with a few little bumps along the way.
Here’s a recap of my 2013:
(click on the green writing for more information)
- January was pretty huge! My little sister couldn’t wait to meet me and arrived a month early. She had a pretty rocky first couple of weeks, until she discovered she liked ‘food’! We were close, right from the start and it was nice for me to be the one visiting the hospital, instead of being the patient!
- An awesome day was the 10th of January, when my oncologists said I was clear of cancer! It was a happy day in our house! By the end of January, my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes were starting to grow back.
- I started to eat cheese and bacon balls, to teach me to chew.
- We got my modified pram, which meant Mum could finally leave the house!
- Mum and Dad were seen on the TV show ‘The Block’… They were woken when Josh set off the alarm, while they were working at the Ronald McDonald House in Randwick.
- I finally got my chemotherapy cancer cords out! (Central Line) Finally, I could really splash in the bath again! The cords did get an infection, right at the last minute, so I was in hospital on antibiotics, again! I was ambulanced to Randwick.
- I moved across the room for the first time! That made me a crawler, or at the very least, a mover.
- We discovered I’d developed an egg allergy, as a result of my chemotherapy treatments.
- I started to learn to sit on my own.
- We wanted to thank our community, so we asked Ellen to throw us a party. She didn’t get back to us!
- March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, so we wrote some blog posts:
- Cerebral palsy and my vision, cerebral palsy and intelligence, cerebral palsy and eating.
- This is a bit embarrassing, but in March, I started to do poos on the toilet!
- I got sick again… back to hospital. First, they thought it was constipation, but it was a bit worse than that! I went in my first helicopter, but was high on morphine, so didn’t get to enjoy the ride!
- We wrote a post for World Premature Birth Day.
- We were getting lots of stares at the shops, so I used a sign for a while.
- I went back to hospital with a fever and breathing issues, but was home quickly. We learned I can now be given panadol, since I am no longer a chemo-patient.
- While I am still mostly non-verbal, I communicate through sounds and gestures and facial expressions.
- Some days are hard, especially for Mum who is with me all day. I don’t give her much chance to have a break! Here’s one of those days.
- I was on TV and in the paper – that was cool!
- I had a birthday!
- I finally got my trampoline! (remember my facebook photo… If I get 1000 likes…?)
- We acknowledged the anniversary of some of my worst days… premature birth, brain damage diagnosis, vision impairment diagnosis and cancer detection. (May and June are hard months for us.)
- We raised money for the Cancer Council, through our Relay for Life and I spent my first night sleeping in a tent!
- We shared a story about my daily physiotherapy exercises and some of the equipment I need.
- I trialled a mobility walker and took my very first independent step!
- I was back in hospital with pneumonia.
- We started collecting Dexter’s Mates names for the 2013 Truck Convoy. (Who’s in next year? Check out the Dexter’s Mates webpage!)
- And, there’s footage of me sitting… all by myself!
- I got good at standing against the lounge chair!
- And, we entered the Sunsuper Dreams contest to win $5000…. My goodness, what a month that was! But, with everyone’s help, we won! Thank you all so, so much for that! I was on the news again and in the paper, too! This shows how much love and support there was for Dexter while the Sunsuper Dreams contest was underway.
- Another post about daily physiotherapy and the painful stretches I have to do each day!
- My website turned 1 year old and reached 36,500 hits. Wow
- My you tube channel was set up… and then I got a twitter account, too!
- My sister was getting cute and cheeky by July… so we wrote about ‘equal love’ for her and I… nothing different, even though I have cerebral palsy and my vision impairment, I still need the same fun and attention.
- I shaved my hair to acknowledge the anniversary of my chemo-shave. Then, we drew pictures on the bald bit for a week.
- I met Melissa, who is a little bit like my big sister.
- I got my own walker, from a generous man. What a day!
- We played around with some shirt designs, to help teach people not to stare at me.
- We wrote about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, common to families who spend time in the neo-natal intensive care unit… and spending as much time in traumatic moments as we have.
- I learned to get myself off people’s laps, so I could play on the floor!
- My cerebral palsy was reassessed, which only made us feel down, again. Nothing changed, though.
- I got my little room – to help me learn to see and to have a quiet place to rest.
- I got my new standing frame, which I desperately needed, from the Sunsuper money and the Kiama Lions Club. I had fun in it!
- Jane and her husband helped raise money for me through a Peace Concert.
- I went on a Camp Quality Camp and Mum got a surprise pampering day.
- I got my own pair of theratogs, thanks to the beautiful Karen! They are to help me learn to use my muscles and we noticed an immediate improvement in my progress!
- I got sick and ended up in hospital again – aspiration pneumonia, this time. I swallowed some saliva in to my lungs and got pretty sick!
- World Cerebral Palsy Day inspired us to write a post about me and how cerebral palsy impacts on my every day life.
- I had my first ride in a beach buggy/wheelchair!
- I was in the paper and on the news again, and Mum went back to work for a couple of days.
- We acknowledged Carer’s Week, although Mum is not officially recognised as my ‘carer’. She should be.
- I showed interest in feeding myself!
- I actually made it all the way to the beach road in my walker, which was awesome for us!
- We asked if anyone had a question about my cerebral palsy and answered the questions as best we could.
- We got brave and trialed my walker at the shopping centre. I loved the smooth surface, and did really well!
- I had a vision assessment.
- This month started with a bang, when we found out I would be needing surgery again soon.
- I had another scan (to make sure my cancer is still dead) and we enjoyed a weekend at the Coogee Bay Hotel, after Mum won a contest through the Randwick Childrens Hospital. She had to share a treasured memory, and shared the one of me in my walker.
- We finally expressed how overwhelming it is to be loved and supported by so many people… saying Thank You is not always an easy thing, and sometimes, those little words do not explain how you really feel. We really are overwhelmed and so grateful.
- I was in the paper again.
- We supported McHappy Day, again. I had my first taste of a McDonalds chip!
- I went to my first Kidz Wish Christmas party and loved the lights and noise!
- Melissa held a fundraiser for me, and it was a lot of fun. From it, I got a sleepform mattress, which I will need after my surgery. I also got a bike and will get some intensive therapy in Adelaide in 2014.
- And, there was a convoy! And another convoy video… And a fight for media attention!
- The Brooding Italian café in Kiama held Brewing It For Dexter Days on each Friday in December. $1 from every coffee sold went into a dish for me. People threw in money and all the staff tips were thrown in, too. It was really incredible!
- A beautiful family in Berry set up some Christmas lights in my honour, and left a tin out the front for people to put money in for me. It was so amazing! We met the family and they are lovely. Thank you!
- We wrote the “Who is Dexter?” post, which summarises my story so far.
- I had to get my immunisation needles again because the chemotherapy killed my immune system… I’ve stopped breathing when I’ve had these needles before, so this was a scary time!
- I got a bike! Can you believe it? A bike!
- My website turned 18 months old, and we reached 100,000 hits! Thanks for reading my story, and for helping us raise awareness about cerebral palsy, childhood cancer and vision impairments.
- We learned tricks to help me learn to see.
- We celebrated my one year since chemotherapy stopped anniversary.
- I went on my first train!
and happiness, love and progress.
Sloppy kisses xxx