Good evening friends 1st of all can I say a huge thankyou to everyone for the comments about Natalie's room they have meant a lot to me & to Craig. Natalie absolutely loved it honestly if you had seen her face I was nearly crying. You know them key moments in your life that you will remember & treasure with all of your heart forever....well this was one of them it was beautiful to see her so sooo happy. She may not be able to talk but do you know what a smile says a thousand words & when you see your angels eyes light up with so much happiness you know at that moment she is truly happy & she loves you.....
Onto this post now you might wanna grab a cuppa for this one cus it may be a bit long I will however keep it as short as I can but believe me it is VERY important that you read it.
Last night I went over to my very good blogging buddies blog to look at her latest post. The fabulously talented
Meeshka (pop over to her blog she does the most fantastic colouring I've seen done with Promarkers) she was actually 1 of my 1st few followers along with the fabulous Crafty Emma (who was my 1st). Anyway she was posting a plea about a charity called Post Pals, now I've never heard of this but when I read Meesh's post I went straight over to look at the website. It is a website dedicated to children with diseases & illnesses, some curable some sadly not but they all love to receive mail, whether it be cards or letters or gifts....they appreciate just the fact you have took time out of your busy life to think of them & them only. Now as most of you know I have Natalie who relies on me & her dad for everything we have been told by doctors that she wont live a long life cus of how severe her disablement is & everything that she suffers with. We really do take 1 day at a time & appreciate every single extra day we get with her. We have lived with this for nearly 19 years I was actually 19 years old when I had Natalie & we didnt find out until 2 days after she was born when they discovered that she had had a massive bleed in her head about 3 months before I gave birth which caused 90% brain damage & was extremely ill. It got worse every single day for the following 4 weeks.....we dreaded each day what we were going to have to face. Try & imagine having to change nappies for 19 years day in day out constantly, feed your daughter through a hole in her belly cus she doesn't have an eating action in her mouth & so constantly chokes. She even has to have medication through her belly. She has to have meds to help her empty her bowels. She has no dignity, she has to rely on others to do something as simple as wipe her own nose to pull the quilt up in bed cus she is cold, to try & let people know what is wrong with her through her crys & screams..... One of my dreams was to have a daughter, to be her best friend, to buy her her first bra, to have her stealing my clothes & footwear cus I've stayed up to date with fashion, to go shopping with. Most importantly to see grow up, walk down the aisle & become a mother herself.......all of these tiny little things that everyone takes for granted I had stolen from me but do you know what she is my best friend maybe not in the way I wanted I cant sit & have chats with her but I can cuddle up & watch movies with her, I can cry with her & most importantly I can tell her I love her & kiss her cheek, this I treasure with all my heart......you can take everything I have from me but as long as I have my kids & Craig I will ALWAYS be content, happy & loved.
Now imagine someone telling you all of that is going to be taken away from you....your angel is not going to survive much longer. Imagine having to watch your child suffer with an illness & with pain that you can not even begin to understand. I've seen what cancer does to adults & children I've have lost a lot of family through this awful disease& still am having to watch a very close family member die with this disease. Yet still I cannot imagine what these families go through. Imagine what them children go through every single day, how they must cope how their families must cope knowing how their precious one is suffering......the problem is we cant imagine cus unless you have lived through something you never truly know the pain, anguish & heartache that is caused. These parents put in 25 hour days, they put all of their strength into this every single day no matter how hurt they feel no matter how lost or how weak.....they do it all for love...the pure love of their child!!! Post Pals is a charity that wants to bring a little happiness to these childrens lives after all the suffering they have to endure dont they deserve happiness & to think something as simple as a little card can really mean such a lot. I have been in contact with or left messages or comments to a lot of different charities in the Uk about Natalie & never even got a reply, no response what-so-ever....how can these charities say they want to help when they cant even make contact with a family with needs they have no right to say they understand when they have no idea a lot of people do it for their benefit to make them feel good. This charity thinks of the child, the one who actually needs the help please I am begging you to just now & again send a card to a child, send them a smile just to let them know they are loved, they are thought of & most importantly they are not alone!!! Here is a link to a boy called
Mathew P who has just a few weeks left to live......please go over & read his story, I did!!
Here is the card I made especially for him today. After reading his story I know he likes the playstation & he's a Ben 10 fanatic so I went through my digi images & found the perfect image just right for Mathew & one that I had not used still. Now you know me & male cards well this has my heart in it!!!
Of course its a Mo Manning image......its just perfect I think. If you look closely at his watch I painted the watch face green the same as Ben 10. The sentiment I cut from the paper pack I used which I've forgot the name of I'm afraid.....at the top tho I wrote 'Ben 10' in gold gel pen.
He has been coloured with Copics, PM'S & Prisma pencils blended with sansador.
The buckle I coloured with a gold metalic promarker & then attached ribbon to each side & threaded it throught each side of the buckle so it looked more like a belt....its actually the 1st time I've done this or even seen it but I just wanted to do something different for Mathew. The card itself is made with A4 Kraft card & all the matting was done with the same card.
I also brought him a Ben 10 keyring of course you dont have to buy these children gifts just a simple little card is enough. I am not wanting to enter this is any challenge cus this is not for me but for Mathew to let him know he is precious, an angel & is loved & thought about......something to bring a little smile to his lovely face which then will bring a smile to his family even if its only for a minute at times like these minutes dont count......but seconds do & that is huge.
I am so so sorry if I've droaned on I feel so passionate about these things. Me & hubby have had no help for nearly 19 years.......we had to wait 5 years for a wheelchair cus her notes got lost & then they forgot about her. Her tube in her belly for feeding took 8 years to get fitted.....so for 8 years at 3 times a day we had to put a tube down Natalie's nostril down the back of her throat & into her stomach so that we could feed her or give her meds.....sometimes it made her nose bleed. It also caused her to bestared at constantly when she was out & about with us. Yes we were offered a nurse at first but we are her parents, we wanted to have Natalie she didnt ask for any of this....we will do whatever we have to & tho its not easy at times I wouldnt ever trade my life...... This is what a parent does for the love of their child. Look at your children,nieces, nephews, cousins, granchildren.....look at them & think to yourself how it would make you feel just knowing other people care, other people are there for you & you are in their thoughts daily......wouldn't you want to know that someone somewhere cares enough to send just a little letter or a little card.
Come on crafters it may not mean a lot to you but it will mean the world to the family who receives it.
Thankyou a billion times if you have read this whole post I truly appreciate it with all of my heart I really do, you totally rock & I love you all. Crafters really are the most kindest people & I know we can put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces.....even if its just for 1 minute.....that is 60 whole seconds....count it & see just how long it really is......time is precious!!!!!!!!
On a lighter note I have posted 2 pics of Natalie with her new tv one is her smile altho she has her hand over her mouth & the other is of the tv while she is lying on her bed. She still has her joggers on bless her lol.
She is watching a princess dvd cant even remember what its called. I then went onto play.com & ordered her another half dozen dvds lol.
Thankyou for stopping by & listening to my plea if this just reaches a few people then its been worth it. I give thanks to everyone who already helps with this charity & I thank anyone else that will help in the future.
Happiness really is priceless no matter how much you think your card is worth in a shop or on a website its worth soooo much more to them kids & their families.....your cards are worth their weight in gold, they are priceless!!!!!!!
All my love & heartfelt thanks to each & everyone of you that has listened to this post.
THANKYOU!!!!