Day 100 - 100th Blog...How apt for: Toby Dowling - Olympic Run

Been a while, had problems with signing into my Blog account....

Wow.... crazy times - my head is swimming!!

Work backwards..

Cassidy not well again! She has a raging temperature and sleeping now.  I was supposed to be at Hillingdon Hospital watching my Toby run with the Olympic Torch - spent a good hour crying feeling very sorry for myself as I was unable to get to see his run as Cassidy was so poorly.  This boy has amazed medical science and been an inspiration to everyone around him.  This is his Olympic Nomination Story of his life so far.

Toby Dowling Olympic Run
2012

Toby suffered a previously incurable kidney cancer when he was a baby. GOSH fought hard to treat the tumours with massive chemotherapy and 7 weeks of daily radiotherapy under general anaesthetic which finally defeated the cancer just before his 2nd birthday. Numerous other complications beset Toby and the little guy inspired everyone around him, including the doctors, with the way he kept fighting back and getting over such complex ill health. Over the years Toby's health gradually improved and we moved to live in Athens in 2002 and saw the Olympics there., In October 2008, after a nasty virus, Toby aged 12 went into sudden heart failure, resulting from the chemo. Whilst in the Onassis Heart Hospital he also suffered a stroke, giving him right side hemiplegia. Sadly he has been left with a damaged right hand and arm and some cognitive issues, although he is still very intelligent. I had to move him back to GOSH ostensibly for a heart transplant but the experts there have managed to improve it's condition, allowing Toby to live a normal life. Sadly, at the end of April 2011 he was admitted as an emergency to St Thomas' where he had a burst appendix, peritonitis and septicaemia, which has again left him very ill. However, even though he has been battling with depression, now that he is a teenager of 14, he still inspires those around him with his many victories against adversity. I would love to see Toby with something positive and exciting to look forward to in 2012. 


(I love you Toby - today and every day, you are special in my heart and always will be xxx you are not so bad either Max - love you both xxx remember boys.... you owe it all to your amazing Mum)




Took Pumpkin to the vet as he is poorly too, just had an antibiotic injection £80 later!!!  He is now sitting wondering where Savannah is.  We spoke to Savannah on skype last night, Pumpkin sat with his two paws on the corner of the keyboard listening and watching her intently wondering when she would be home. Craig did the same!

She seemed in good spirits after spending most of the day in Abercrombie & Fitch and buying me some VERY LOVELY UGG boots!!!! and shopping for her BF... The house she is staying in look amazing and I even got a quick glimpse of my friend Ruth with cocktail in hand and relaxing on the veranda!  Oh, what opposing lives we are leading at the moment.  She is now on a lilo in the pool and I am scooping out cat poo.

Craig was so so upset about Savannah leaving that he spent the night with mates in the pub... coming back "home" very late and slightly inebriated he slept on the couch.  In his sleep he decided to wee all over my electrical equipment, yes, that's right, he did a wee on my Wii and remotes and the TV and the DVD player and the Sky box.  At first we couldn't figure it out, but after much sniffing, touching and examining, it came to light that he actually walked around the lounge, bumping into all the candles by the fireplace, knocking over just about everything and then urinated on the TV... it was lucky that Richard was here at the time, we actually laughed so much that I too almost wet the couch!!!  It was even luckier that Craig had managed to switch the TV off before he went to sleep, otherwise, Richard said, the flow of urine would have given him a very nasty electric shock right back to the source!!!!  Richard has now discovered that being an electrical engineer is actually a piece of piss!!! lol.  The innuendo's flowed "plug in the wii, see if it works" and on it went for HOURS!!!!  I don't think I have ever laughed so much about something that really wasn't funny.

Nigel has now sailed away with Luke (Jim & Jim)... I think they are in Aylesbury now, Nigel was a little upset in Rickmansworth, he hadn't seen a sheep in ages and ages, the only sheep he saw was one on a spit with a stick going up it's bum at the local Kebab shop!!! So he headed off towards the country to feel more at home.  Luke has been fishing and having a great time, at this rate I will be collecting him from Northampton. They came across a fishing rod when one got caught on the end of the boat, the fisherman was asleep and they couldn't attract his attention... I suggested that he may have been dead, either that or they didn't really call that loudly!  I asked what they were using for bate and apparently, there were still a couple of maggots on the end of the line!

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine, long may it last... love you all and enjoy the holidays.

B xxx