Day 91 - Hair today...

I have had long hair down to my waist for quite a while now (I felt like Rapunzel when it was loose!) and decided that I needed a haircut.  I realised that if I was brave and got it cut short, I could donate my long hair to Little Princess Trust, a charity which helps provide real hair wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment.  Having got a few people to sponsor me meant that there was no backing out and this afternoon I had my plait chopped off and my hair cut into a short bob.  And I love it!

Day 48 - Children's clinic leaflet

Another one of the fab charities we try and support is Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service which supports children with life-limiting conditions and their families.  Lucy, our community children’s nurse, is an Alexander’s nurse and will provide respite care for Jessica should we need it, as well as visiting regularly to check her sats and weight.  The information leaflet for parents and carers produced by Alexander Devine has one of my favourite photos of Jessica taken at the children’s Christmas party in 2012.  It shows her with a duck hat on her head and a big smile on her face.

Day 45 - Coffee morning

Spent most of the day yesterday baking cakes and scones for today’s coffee morning at our church which was a fundraiser for the wonderful Little Hearts Matter.  Little Hearts Matter is a fabulous charity which helps provide information and support to children with single ventricle heart conditions and their families and they are celebrating their 20^th anniversary this year having grown from a local support group to a national charity.  It’s great to be able to support the work they do and we managed to raise £52 through the coffee morning which was quite good considering it wasn’t particularly busy.

Christmas party chez Cameron

We have had such an amazing day attending a children’s Christmas party at no. 10 Downing Street which we were invited to through the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice charity (Jessica’s community nurse is an Alexander nurse). Jessica and Sophie seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day and we got to meet the Prime Minister, children’s TV presenters Dick and Dom and some of the remaining celebrities on Strictly Come Dancing and their professional partners (which we were very excited about, being huge Strictly fans). Jessica and Sophie also got to see Father Christmas – all in all it was a wonderful day.

Little Hearts Matter

There are several charities that we have become connected with since Jessica was first diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart. The first of these was Little Hearts Matter, a charity which helps provide information and support to children who are effectively living with half a working heart and their families. Their antenatal pack, in particular, was very helpful in those early days when we were getting to grips with Jessica’s diagnosis and our options. Since Jessica’s birth, we have also found their other information leaflets helpful, particularly as the information provided is more specific for the type of condition Jessica has.