Special Cuddly Friends

Yesterday, I took the children to the 'Build a Bear' workshop to make some special bears with messages for each other for when we are apart in hospital. Hope and Ellie have wanted to go for ages and the one time we did go they were only allowed a very megre budget. We had some Christmas money to spend on a special treat for them so I suddenly had the idea to make special bears. It went down very well with all of them. They had such a good time and it was lovely to be able to let them choose exactly what they wanted (within reason!). They recorded 'I love you' with Hope and Ellie saying it for Wills and he and I for them onto the sound buttons. We put them into the bears so they can be heard when cuddled. Ellie chose to put red sparkly shoes, a bit like the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz so she can imagine them taking her home in her mind. William chose to make his bear into a surgeon. 'Monty the Operation' as he calls him has already performed a number of procedures on Manny the Duck.

It was very strange timing as I had a call on the mobile from William's consultant just as we were making the bears to say that Birmingham were bringing William's transplant assessment forward a week. We never had confirmation of his original date but are assuming that it will now be a week on Sunday on August 3rd. It is a strange feeling as it all becomes more real. We don't yet know if William will be accepted but, if he does, it could all begin very soon. We have clinic on Friday so, if we don't know sooner, we should find out then.

Hope, Ellie and I are off to Brighton tomorrow to have a girly day. William has a nurse so we are going to do all the things we can't do with him like paddle in the sea and go on a couple of rides. If William and I are going to Birmingham a week on Sunday, they will have to go to their Dad's early a week on Saturday and won't be home until the end of August - another Summer holiday apart. We have a lot of fun to fit in next week and will also have to do school shoes and uniform as there won't be much time when they get back from their Dad's.

We also don't know what the Birmingham team will want to do about William's gall stones. His liver numbers are up a bit again this week and he isn't quite himself. If he is accepted for transplant, they may not want to operate on him and may just want to monitor it and take it out when he has his transplant. Or, they may want to operate before he goes on the list. All will soon become clearer.