HOTDOGS

On Saturday, August 8th, we sold Hotdogs in front of the local SPAR.  We modestly decided to only cater for 100 (for in case our families would have to eat wors for the next couple of weeks )

It proved to be a great success however and within an hour and a half, we sold out.  It might have been the fact that the sizzling wors on the fire had something to do with it…

We made a profit of R 1040.00 for that hour and a half and we will definitely do it again.

 

Thank you to Frans Bezuidenhout and Arina Fyfer for helping with braai-ing as well as selling.  You guys are great.

We will do this again.

Boerewors rolle

8 Augustus 2009 is daar boereworsrolle verkoop voor die plaaslike SPAR.  Ons het besluit om, aangesien dit die eerste keer is wat ons so iets doen, ons eers net 100 moet verkoop.  Vir ingeval ons gesinne vir die volgende paar weke slegs wors moet eet

Die wors wat braai op die kole het egter vinnig ‘n leë kol veroorsaak op menige maag en binne ‘n uur en ‘n half is al 100 boereworsrolle verkoop.  Ons moes selfs ‘n paar mense wegwys…

Ons het R 1040.00 wins gemaak vir die uur en ‘n half se werk en sal beslis weer so maak.

Dankie aan Frans Bezuidenhout en Arina Fyfer wat ons gehelp het met die braai en verkope. 

Ons maak weer so.

Boemelaarsdans

Ons eerste fondsinsameling was ‘n groot sukses. Ons het daarin geslaag om wins te maak van R 3343.00. Nie enorm nie, maar glad nie sleg vir ‘n eerste poging nie!

Almal het die aand vreeslik geniet en het bewusmaking ‘n geweldige hupstoot gegee.

Ons hoop om voort te bou op hierdie sukses.

Nathan Schoonraad 26/07/2005 – 30/07/2008

Everybody involved with A.R.K. is thinking of Carina, Richard and their boys with the anniversary of Nathan’s birth on 26 July (Sunday) and the anniversary of his death on 30 July.

Not all of us knew Nathan personally, but he touched our lives in so many positive ways. We bow our heads in thankfulness for his life. The earth will surely never be the same again, for a significant soul has left it.

In Nathan’s memory, Carina and Richard are helping numerous children. It takes considerable courage to carry on doing good despite grief. We want to thank them.

We will not forget.

Little Angels – Projek een

 Die weervoorspeller het hewige reen en koue toestande voorspel.  Ons het goeie weer nodig gehad om al ons take te kon verrig – en wonder bo wonder…is dit presies wat ons gehad het.  Geen reen, net heerlike sonskyn.  Ons het net voor 10:00 daar aangekom en aan die werk gespring.  Daar was heelwat herstelwerk wat gedoen moes word.  Ook ‘n hoop lakens (wat alreeds meestal vodde is) wat omskep moes word in paslakens.  Ons was minder hande as wat ons aanvanklik gehad het, maar steeds het ons meeste van die werk kon doen.

Die lys sluit in:

Shonabuggy oortreksel ( die ander twee buggy’s se oortreksels sal ek tuis maak en saamneem volgende maand)

Tien lakens omskep in paslakens, nuwe some ingesit, winkelhake vasgewerk.

 

Manier prakseer sodat een van die kinders nie onder sy bed kon inkruip nie deur die opening tussen die bed en die vloer te bedek met hout.

Stukkende gloeilampe geruil.

Vier stukkende kotte herstel en is nou weer geskik om te gebruik. (Carla het model gespeel)

Philip het die stukkende hek by die ingang is weer gesweis en werk nou weer.

Plafon is herstel in die kombuis.

Gordynkappe ensovoorts ensovoorts….

Ons het darem ‘n tydjie vir speel ook gehad

 

 

Tracheostomy – the lesser of two evils?

It was a pretty hectic two weeks for Anja.  As is the case with most profoundly disabled children, Anja’s airway deteriorated to the point where it became an emergency to provide her with an alternative airway.  Her doctor explained that the apnoea incidents will continue because her airway is obstructed – due to her floppy tissue in the throat.  It is similar to what happens when you snore.  Only, in her case, it was turning into a situation where they might not have been able to save her life the next time…

 

Tracheostomy is an operative procedure that creates a surgical airway in the cervical trachea. The traditional semantic difference between tracheostomy and tracheotomy is blurred in this instance because the hole is variably permanent. If a cannula is in place, an unsutured opening heals into a patent stoma within a week. If decannulation is performed (ie, the tracheostomy cannula is removed), the hole usually closes in a similar amount of time. The cut edges of the tracheal opening can be sutured to the skin with a few absorbable sutures to facilitate cannulation and, if necessary, recannulation; alternatively, a permanent stoma can be created with circumferential sutures. The term tracheostomy is used, by convention, for all these procedures and is considered to be synonymous with tracheotomy.

It was during the last episode, where the nursing sister from the home she lives in, burst into tears, that Anja’s mom realised that you sometimes have to choose the lesser of two evils.  In this case, preventing Anja from smothering to death. 

The advent of the antibiotic era coupled with great advances in anesthesia have made tracheotomy or tracheostomy a commonly performed elective procedure.

• To bypass obstruction
  • Congenital anomaly (eg, laryngeal hypoplasia, vascular web)
  • Foreign body that cannot be dislodged with Heimlich and basic cardiac life support (BCLS) maneuvers
  • Supraglottic or glottic pathologic condition (eg, infection, neoplasm, bilateral vocal cord paralysis)
• Neck trauma that results in severe injury to the thyroid or cricoid cartilages, hyoid bone, or great vessels.
• Subcutaneous emphysema
  • Appears in face, neck, or chest
  • Readily dissecting air, especially through inflamed or traumatized tissue planes, leading to massive soft tissue edema
• Facial fractures that may lead to upper airway obstruction (eg, comminuted fractures of the midface and mandible)
• Edema
  • Trauma
  • Burns
  • Infection
  • Anaphylaxis
• To provide a long-term route for mechanical ventilation in cases of respiratory failure
• To provide pulmonary toilet
  • Inadequate cough due to chronic pain or weakness
  • Aspiration and the inability to handle secretions (The cuffed tube allows the trachea to be sealed off from the esophagus and its refluxing contents. Thus, this intervention can prevent aspiration and provide for the removal of any aspirated substances. However, some would argue that the risk of aspiration is not actually lessened, as secretions can leak around the cuffed tube and reach the lower airway.)
• Prophylaxis (as in preparation for extensive head and neck procedures and the convalescent period)

Post-operatively, Anja had a fever.  It was a cause for some concern but she was started on antibiotics and her fever subsided.  She is currently still in hospital, recovering from her ordeal. 

End-of-life issues may also come to bear on the decision to perform a tracheostomy because it may represent further mechanization of the patient’s care to family members. In fact, the performance of a tracheostomy does not affect the decision to extend or to withdraw care. Hygiene is improved, quality of life (speaking and eating, if relevant) is improved, and placement in long-term care is facilitated in some cases; however, dependence on mechanical ventilation may not be changed. The patient is still “being kept alive by machines.”

We commend Anja’s doctor who made the decision to improve Anja’s quality of life and not staring blindly at the little girl with a limited lifespan.   She is more than just an estimated lifespan.  She is more than just a neurologically damaged little girl.  She is a smiling, gorgeous, chatty little girl who gives much meaning to the lifes of those around her.  We will continue to help and support Anja and her mother. This is not prolonging life – it is improving life and it is amazing that he sees it that way. 

She will however need to have the cannula changed every four weeks – which is going to cost money. 

Contact me if you could in any way sponsor Anja.

Every bit helps.

 
(Source:  E-medicine)

Little Angels – a project close to the heart

Nestled under God’s wing, is a home for fourteen children.   All of them disabled in different degrees.   Thea Vermaas is mother to them. Some go home to their own families on weekends and holidays, but some live there permanently. Little Angels is not an institution.  It is not cold and clinical. It is a family of fourteen brothers and sisters and five mom’s caring for them. The children get therapy from Monday to Friday and Saturdays and Sundays are play-days.

We got to hear about Little Angels in our search for a home for Anja. During our visit, we realised that they need help just as much as any other family with children with Cerebral Palsy does! Little Angels is renting a house for the children and very few of the children who live there, are private paying. Most of them, Thea and her team have to support financially. She became foster-mom to four of the children so she would be able to get some money from government to care for them. You can imagine how tough it is caring for fourteen healthy children…now close your eyes and try and imagine what it must be like caring for fourteen children who can do very little for themselves. But it is a task that Thea and her team does without complaint. She loves the children, and they love her. The rest is of little importance.

A.R.K has asked Thea to identify some of their biggest needs. At the moment, the house they are renting needs a lot of attention. Cupboards need to be fixed, taps, toilets, roofs ….the list goes on and on. Three of their Shonabuggy’s also need attention – new covers and sponge seating. She also asked if we could help with the lay-out for a vegetable garden, to obviously cut on costs by growing their own food.

 We will therefor be going on June 6th, to do their much needed maintenance. We also received donations in the line of children’s bedding, decor and elementary toys which I have washed and fixed, to be enjoyed by these beautiful children. We have appealed for donations to enable us to buy the material needed to do the maintenance and thank you so much to those who have responded with unbelievable enthusiasm. Your help makes it so much easier to make sure that help is given when and where it is needed.

We are hoping to make this a monthly visit to Little Angels. Repairing, fixing, helping where needed. The children at Little Angel’s are not forgotten, thanks to you.

Thank you to:

 Suzaan Kennedy ( Who responded immediatly with a Very generous donation of children’s toys and bedding)

Roelien Lourens (For an equally Generous donation of bedding and toys)

Flip Geldenhuys Bouers ( Generous financial donation to enable us to purchase materials)

Pikkie Lizamore (Feverishly collecting donations in her hometown)

Anja Erasmus (Who counted over 800 coins to be able to make a donation towards our work)

Estelle Burger (Who promised to send a parcel with toys and bedding)

Melani Rush (Who promised to send a parcel with toys and bedding)

Elaine Kennedy (For making a financial contribution)

Lorraine Duvenhage (Who wants to help)

Maretha Geldenhuys (Who is trying to get hands to help)

H van As (Financial contribution)

J Cruywagen (Financial contribution)

D Breytenbach (Financial contribution)

Anonymous ( Financial Contribution)

A huge thank you also to the following people for being willing to give up a Saturday to help us do all the work:

Ronelle van Zyl (Occupational therapist who will fix the buggy’s)

Philip Geldenhuys (Who helped with repairs)

Mark (Who helped with the garden and repairs)

Gareth and Kyle Schoonraad (Who will do mostly anything asked in exchange for a Big Mac!)

If you can help, let us know. Nothing is insignificant.

Carina and Richard

Angel face

Leon de Nyschen is from the Winterton area in KZN. He lives with his mom Kim, dad Gerhard, big sister Amy and two brothers, Brian and Matthew, on a farm.

Leon was born developing normally, although he was small for his gestational age. At a few months old, he started having seizures. To date there is no real explanation for his condition – which causes him to still have seizures (despite an operation and medication)and which has resulted in Cerebral Palsy. Leon is unable to walk and talk. He is fed via a tube in his tummy and wears nappies. The only doctor prepared to treat him is in Durban – a two-hour drive from home. He is often hospitalized – twice this year. And in times like these, a support system jumps into place. While mom Kim goes with him to Entabeni hospital in Durban, baby brother Matthew goes to grandpa and grandma in Greytown, the older kids stay with dad Gerhard so that they can still attend school. Looking after Leon is undeniably tough sometimes.

But there is one fact that stands out: Leon is loved and his family will do anything to help him. With a grin like this, what is there not to love?

Kim is a soft-spoken woman. A natural mother. She has a lot of artistic flair and has started a project to make an angel quilt for Leon. Every family member got a square of fabric and was asked to paint or draw a picture of an angel. The most amazing ideas emerged. One little girl used her hand prints to make the angel’s wings. I can’t wait to see what it will look like when it has been completed.

Kim describes the interaction between 14 month old Matthew and Leon. Matthew will crawl or toddle up to Leon and “talk” to him. Leon will kick out when he gets annoyed and before you know it there’s a brotherly squabble… Next year Amy goes to high school and she will have to be a boarder. The family is already thinking how much they will miss her.

At the moment A.R.K. helps the family by supplying nappies and other consumables. But the big thing is getting Leon a Shonabuggy – which will be sponsored courtesy of the kind people at the Rachel Swarts fund. Kim will then also donate their current wheelchair to the fund. It is totally unsuitable for Leon’s needs but may help another child.

Never ever judge a book by it’s cover…

Leon gets his chair

Leon is a gorgeous little boy with bouncey curls living in the Kwazulu Natal midlands. A beautiful part of the country.
We don’t have permission yet to publish a photo of Leon, but we need to tell you about a group of people doing marvelous work.
We recently asked in our newsletter for sponsorship for a Shonabuggy for Leon. The chair is quoted at R 14 000.
I approached them, to ask for some help.
And…they did. They sponsored his chair in full. The Rachel Swart fund does marvelous work in ensuring that each and every person that needs it, has access to a wheelchair.

We will tell you more about Leon in a while, but for now, we are greatful that this little angel will be getting his chair. The chair is currently in production and will be given to him soon.
Thank you again Elize, and the Rachel Swart fund for such a generous donation.

I applaud you.