the local namibian Easter bunny will find himself confronted with very different conditions this year: firstly it will have to hide the eggs in the trees wrapped in watertight packaging and use a boat to come and hide them! we have passed the 1200 mm watermark, the highest ever recorded rainfall in history. living in a semi-dessert environment makes us appreciate every drop of water, but it is enough now. our farm animals are suffering from various rain-associated diseases and it must be terrible for them to be outside in this constant rain. the other condition that the easter bunny will have to get used to is Cara....she looks so different now and he might not recognise her anymore. her complexion has changed, her health and energy levels. we have a completely changed child now. we are very humbled to be able to witness this miracle transformation first hand. from her 5 kgs lost she has regained 3, so we have 2 more to go and beyond when the muscle build up through more exercise will kick in. we are 11 weeks post-op now and are scheduled for another check-up with the pediatric cardiologist next week. the 20 cm long chest scar is healing very nicely and the last Dermabond piece has just come off. she still coughs and we really hope that she process of lung expansion will be over soon and that it is not something else causing it.
Dana and family....Cara still sleeps with her red hearted dog pillow you brought her to hospital. she loves it! her 2 cats Tipsy and Tapsy get a lot of attention and she is sooo happy to be back and able to cuddle with them. Alec is getting used to the idea of having a normal sibling relationship and that his sister is a lot more active now. she has been at school for the past 5 weeks and 4 of them in boarding school and is coping very well. she is now able to walk over the school bridge without any assistance at the same pace her classmates are walking. such an achievement for her! previously somebody had to walk her across the streets through traffic and that was always risky and tiring for her. she has missed more than 2 months of school and has still managed to bring home 86 % in her maths test where the class average was 76 %. with the other subjects the teachers are helping her and we are very grateful for their support and extra efforts. so what more can we tell you? we as parents are extremely relieved that we have made the right choice for Cara with Dr. Hanley and his team. they have advised us that she will need another open heart surgery in a couple of years to bring the homograft to adult size, but that will be relatively minor compared to what she has been through. the big operation on 2 february 2011 would not have been possible without the tremendous support and response received in various forms from all over the world for which we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. it feels to us as if we also got a second life now, we are able to plan for the future and have so much more energy and hope for years to come. Life is beautiful.....
