Takiri Wikitera, please vote

Please vote for Takiri Wikitera.https://www.facebook.com/AMPdoyourthing/app_388359517893913  if you have a facebook account.

My thing is I most want to be walking and running without my crutches. I have cerebral palsy, it affects the muscles in my legs which is why I need crutches to help me get around. Horse Riding helps my muscles and balance

I do not know Takiri until today when I was told by friends about this New Zealand $10,000 AMP Scholarship when they asked me to vote either for them or their family. I went into the facebook and saw Takiri's page. 

It is just so strange that I should post a photo of the black and white swing for my Friday Shootout Meme. It is almost uncanny that this photo attracted most comments. 

~JarieLyn~ said...

I like the swing too. I don't know why, but I picture a spirit sitting on that swing; a sweet soul.

It is just incredible.

I replied:
But what made me go OMG!!!! I have done it again. It is your comment on my swing b & w photo, and the spirit. I suppose you know that my baby died 22 years ago. I went back to the hospital, and took photos of the playground. All empty equipment. It was only after I went home, and much later, it was poignant. Your comment is another. Thanks so much.

Today is the first day of September. Andrew was born in September. The first thing that the doctors found on physical examination was his legs. Once a doctor even said, "Oh! you are the mum of the baby with funny legs." When I felt melancholy, my baby would never walk.  The empty swing seems to tell that Andrew would never sit and enjoy this swing.

However, as I read Takiri, I sense that life must go on. Andrew is gone with his funny legs, but I can do something for Takiri with his funny legs so they no longer be funny. Takiri wants to go on to Para Olympics. If you have a facebook account, will you help me vote for Takiri.

As I first wrote, I do not know Takiri, I do know two students and a friend who have cerebral palsy. I encouraged one of them, one day, you will be in the Para Olympics, and I will be cheering for you.

Go!!! Takiri. I am getting all my friends to route for you.

Future Equestrian

Help Takiri so he can play on this swing.

https://www.facebook.com/AMPdoyourthing/app_388359517893913

AMP Do Your Thing! | AMPPeoplesChoice

Since 1998, we've been helping Kiwis do great things! With more than $1.5 million awarded across the 

country, more than 130 Kiwis (and counting) have been able to do outstanding things in their fields.

Throughout September all People’s Choice Scholarship applicants are judged by their peers – the applicant with the most votes takes home a $10,000 AMP Scholarship!

Over the last three years the People’s Choice Scholarship has become the most popular part of AMP Scholarships. And this year it’s going social.

Make sure you check out all the applicants and vote for the Kiwi you think has got what it takes! Every vote counts, so make sure to tell, share, tweet, blog, txt and email everyone you know to get them involved in showing their support.

Visit the View Applicants tab and browse for your favourite profile, then click ‘vote for me’. All voting for 2012 will be through Facebook.

Voting closes at 11.59pm on September 30, and the winning People’s Choice applicant will be announced on October 3 (after being contacted by AMP).

We’re all about helping Kiwis ‘do great things’ from rocket-building to taekwon-do to opera singing. With more than $1.5 million awarded across the country over the past 14 years, our scholarships have helped aspiring Kiwis do outstanding things in their fields. Find out more.

Danielle said...

Oh I just love the swing. A perfect subject for black and white.

AUGUST 31, 2012 6:54 AM 

(Queenmothermamaw) Peggy said...

My favorite shot is the swing also. Glad we did this theme.
QMM

AUGUST 31, 2012 8:08 AM 

~JarieLyn~ said...

I like the swing too. I don't know why, but I picture a spirit sitting on that swing; a sweet soul.

AUGUST 31, 2012 10:48 AM 

Rebecca said...

The swing is very inviting.

AUGUST 31, 2012 2:04 PM 

Pauline said...

The swing is my favourite, too. Lovely shot!

AUGUST 31, 2012 5:37 PM 

Ann said...

Hi JariLyn,

I have to post my comment here again. and I will do a post separately. It is just incredible.

But what made me go OMG!!!! I have done it again. It is your comment on my swing b & w photo, and the spirit. I suppose you know that my baby died 22 years ago. I went back to the hospital, and took photos of the playground. All empty equipment. It was only after I went home, and much later, it was poignant. Your comment is another. Thanks so much.

Takiri Wikitera

Region Auckland

My thing is I most want to be walking and running without my crutches.

I have cerebral palsy, it affects the muscles in my legs which is why I need crutches to help me get around. Horse Riding helps my muscles and balance

The nature of my goal

To achieve my goal I need to excerise alot to strengthen my muscles but it is hard work and I need help everyday to do this. I have horse riding lessons once a week, this is important+ helps me with posture, balance, rhythm and muscle tone, It has been a huge benefit to me, I get a good workout, my body feels better afterwards and I am much more confident in myself. I ride my horse really well and I hope to be in the paralympics one day. I need lots of financial support to make my goal happen.

Autumn/Fall leaves.

 drift of fallen autumn leaves

 A little girl enjoys the rustle of leaves.

My son likes the rustle of the fallen leaves when he walks on them. Ever wonder what happens to the leaves in Autumn or Fall if you live in America?

When I was in Canada, I once lived in a road called something  boulevard. I loved the trees that lined on both sides of the road. I remember the rustling of the leaves. Then the road was covered with snow. I never wondered what happened to the leaves.

Down Under here in New Zealand, During our Autumn, (March-June). 

Just this year, I was rudely woken on a Saturday morning. It wasn't rubbish day. I looked out of the window and saw a band of merry men at work. They were blowing up the red and gold leaves. Some were raking them to a big piece of ground sheet. So that what happens to the fallen leaves. I went to take the photos, discretely at first. One of them spotted me, and gave me a big grin. He tells me the leaves are taken to the city's compost plant, to be recycled. Leafmould is made from rotting down leaves . It is a great soil conditioner and mulch.

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Daffodil Day

Daffodil represents hope. 1 in 3 New Zealanders is affected by cancer.





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Marie Curie Daffodil Appeal by downloading The Daffodil Song.
http://www.myspace.com/thedaffodilsong
The album sleeveThe song, specially written and performed by brothers Ian and Gary Smith – better known as acoustic duo Poachers Too - comes from Scotland's thriving urban acoustic modern folk singer-songwriter scene. It also features rising singing talent Vivien Scotson and percussionist Will Purdie.

They officially launched The Daffodil Song at the Marie Curie Shop, The Tron, Edinburgh today (March 2, 2007 ) and treated customers to a live acoustic performance of the number. /thedaffodilsong

 It is the Cancer Society's fundraising awareness campaign. Our school participates in this event everyyear. We are all encouraged to wear green and yellow, staff and students alike. We also raise funds by a gold coin donation and wear a daffodil. At lunch time, students were given free face painting. I had mine on my hand. My green top isn't very green, but my yellow shirt was.

Cancer Control New Zealand, an advisory committee providing independent advice to the Minister of Health, says the day has a positive role on how cancer is viewed and treated in New Zealand.

"Raising awareness about cancer and helping to fund cancer research are real successes from the 20 years of Daffodil Day fundraising,"

Donations help fund education, research and patient and family support and play an important role in helping to reduce the incidence and impact of cancer,"

In many shops, throughout this month of August, daffodils are offered to customers.

My attempt to teach my young students about Father's day was over shadowed by the children's enthusiasm on Daffodil day. It is good they are very aware of this cause.

To all those suffering from cancer and their families, I wish the daffodils will give you a glimmer of hope as they open up the wallets when people donate for cancer research.

For my friend Ellen in USA, I never stop thinking of you everyday.

As for my own family, I recount the time when my father-in-law and cousin-in=law were in excruciating  pain before the BIG C took them away. She was just in her twenties.



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Red: Something some mums don't get to see.

Snakes and ladders, one of the most simple board games children play.  Sadly for some, they never get to play them. More tragic for their mums, they don't get to watch their kids play. 

I was reading Hurting Hope by Charles and Joanne Hewlett. I got the book on Sunday. I think of my friend Ellen Hope, who is thinking of baby Addison's death around this time. Addison is not her first to die, her first, Avery's death was why I got to know her.

I think of another person who will be scattering her son's ashes. A close friend tells me that they are taking his ashes back to the islands. Who would have thought a healthy teenager would be returning to his roots in a vase?

Would you terminate your unborn baby if he has a pre-birth lethal problem?

My answer is "I don't know".  My personal testimony makes me convince that this is not a Yes or No answer.

22 years ago, I gave birth to a gravely sick baby. Because the doctors didn't know his problem, they aided in his first breath, otherwise he would have died shortly after his birth. He lived for almost two months, and I watched over him everyday waiting for him to die.

Would it have been helpful if I was told? In hindsight, the doctors would have known about my baby's problems from the numerous ultra sound scans I had since I was sixteen weeks pregnant. Because he had such a rare syndrome, they did not pick it up. 

But what if they had, how would it have helped me. Abortion is not an option for my religion. A personal friend said, it would be terrible for a woman to go through labor knowing she was delivering a baby who was going to die. At least I was spared of that. However, if I was told, at least I would be mentally prepared.

It took me a long time to recover from my loss. I often ask myself, what if I have known, and asked the doctors not to resuscitate him when he was born, he would have died shortly after he was born, would my grief be less. Sometimes I tell myself yes, I didn't have to wait painfully everyday for two months for his demise and feel his pain. But on the other hand, I had that two months to hold him and love him.

Each woman's situation is different, some opt for a quick fix like therapeutic termination. But they are unaware that all terminations have side effects and they affect the women for the rest of their lives.

This is an excerpt from my book. This is a real case scenario. A mother carried her twin babies to full term. Ome was very sick and one was normal. The mother chose not to abort the sick baby in case the procedure affected the "good" baby. After delivering the babies, she went home with the "good" baby and left the sick baby to die.

Do you remember Dr Bobby Tsang? He was our friend who told me about this twin who was abandoned by her mum on the day. Baby Lo had spina bifida and had hydrocephalus. She was in Nursery 5, the cubicle just before Andrew’s. The cubicles were partitioned on the top by glass and her cot was diagonally across from Andrew. I could see Lo’s cot from my chair and the nurses didn’t mind me popping over to see poor Lo because she had no visitors. Like Sina, the fluid was building up some much that the head was very big. Unlike Sina, she had no operation to insert the shunt to drain the fluid to relieve the pressure. You might think she was a space alien or ET. Lo was just waiting like our little Andrew. The only difference was that Andrew was surrounded by love and lots of people. Lo had that wait alone.  Andrew and Lo were the two oldest babies there and were “hopeless” babies.

Each time I felt moody, the doctors and nurses told me to look up across to poor Lo and reassured me that I was a very loving mum and Andrew and the whole hospital knew it. Indeed, just looking at her gave me this warm fuzzy feeling. I did not abandon Andrew. I wasn’t self-justifying or glorifying myself. When you are in a disastrous situation, you cling to anything that gives you hope.

When I went back to the hospital to say thank them after Andrew had died, I asked how Lo was. Though her mum had abandoned her to die, she still came to give her four woollen gowns. Most of the times she came in for a fleeting visit to pick up her soiled woollen gowns. They needed to be hand-washed and the hospital would not wash for her. I had seen her couple of times and I asked the nurses who she was. They told me she was Lo’s mum.

What’s the profile of a mother who abandons her dying baby?  Was she a grotesque person or an ogre? She was a slightly older Pakeha, not a young mum. No, she was your ordinary person who made her choice of not wanting her dying baby. Her reason, only she knew. But I think I had a good idea. She didn’t want to form an attachment and when the tragic time finally happened, the separation wouldn’t be so painful. Besides, God had given her a healthy twin. I am not quick to judge people now. She was also a kind woman. She told the nurses to give the knitted gowns that Lo had outgrown to another baby. Or was it? Was it that she didn’t want anything to do with things used by Lo? You wouldn’t know.

Andrew wore Lo’s hand me down knitted lemon gown to meet his coroner. Her head had grown too big for her to pull the gown over it. His nurse Daphne gave it to Andrew.

Lo’s short life impacted me in a way that nobody would understand. God put Lo in my life to gently remind me that I am not a failure. She constantly told me that I was a good mum, I did not abandon Andrew the way her mum had abandoned her.

During the Christmas holidays, Dr Bobby Tsang came to our house and told me that Lo had gone to play with Andrew in the Heavenly gardens. No more pain, no more big head. He said he knew I would want to know.

Gruelsome isn't it. But here is one that is worst.

Tragic mix-up in which a baby was mistakenly aborted in Melbourne will be investigated

• BY:PIA AKERMAN AND JOHN FERGUSON 
 
• From:The Australian 
 
• November 25, 2011 12:00AM

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A TRAGIC hospital mix-up which saw a healthy 32-week-old fetus accidently aborted instead of his seriously ill twin will be the focus of at least two official inquiries.

 The mistake at Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital on Tuesday has left the twins' family in shock and numerous questions over how such an error could occur.

The woman carrying the twins had decided to abort one of them on the advice of doctors who told her the baby had a congenital heart defect which would seriously threaten his survival.

Despite earlier checks by an ultrasound technician, the wrong baby was terminated.

The baby with the heart problem was also then terminated after the mistake was uncovered.

Victorian Health Minister David Davis yesterday foreshadowed as many as three inquiries into the mishap and flagged the potential for compensation for the affected family.

He said the hospital would hire a senior interstate clinician to investigate what happened and the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity would also review the incident.

The council provides advice to the Health Minister of the day on perinatal, maternal and pediatric morbidity and mortality issues.

Mr Davis also said that Health Services Commissioner Beth Wilson would be involved to assist the family on conciliation and other issues, analysing what happened and how the family could be helped.

This could include possible compensation.

"There's no question that this is an incident that everyone would have preferred had not occurred," Mr Davis said. "And, indeed, may need very, very thorough investigation."

The hospital has apologised for the error.

"This is a terrible tragedy and the hospital is deeply sorry for the loss suffered by the patient and her family," a spokeswoman said. "We are conducting a full investigation and continue to offer the family and affected staff every support."

The family yesterday issued a brief statement requesting privacy in their grief.

Ms Wilson said the investigations should aim to prevent similar tragedies.

"It doesn't sound like it's some terrible systemic error; it just sounds like it's one of those ghastly mistakes that human beings sometimes make, unfortunately," she said.

"I don't have any clinical information on this particular case, but there is no such thing as a medical procedure that doesn't involve some risk.

"I guess the existence of two fetuses in these circumstances does mean that there is a risk."

 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/a-tragic-mix-up-in-which-a-baby-was-mistakenly-aborted-in-melbourne-will-be-investigated/story-e6frg8y6-1226205411782

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Red: Mushroom

what is the difference between a toad stool and a mushroom. When I was little, my grand dad said, a mushroom is plain looking and OK to eat, a toad stool is colourful but deadly.
The term "toadstool" was often, but not exclusively, applied to poisonous mushrooms or to those that have the classic umbrella-like cap-and-stem form. 

During my recent trip to Singapore, I forgot I was in Singapore and went for long walks, and I saw these mushroom/toadstool.
 I was so hot that I wanted to faint. I don't think it was due to touching the toadstools. My maternal grandma would say," Silly girl."

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A bud about to be nipped. Camelia camellias are known as cháhuā (茶花) in Chinese, "tea flower"

I once wrote a post about nipping in the bud.

This morning, I joked with my friend Chang Yi. We both posted a photo of the fallen Camelia flowers. She was visiting Perth and was philosophical about the waste that they still gave enjoyment for a few more days. Previously, I found out about Camelia oil and had joked with her that we could produce the expensive oil together. I wrote, what a waste.

In actual fact, I am in no mood for jokes. This Thursday, I was told that a 7 year old kid  was dying. I had not met this girl, and she had cancer since she was 3. I offered myself to talk But with protocol  I didn't know if it is  appropriate. I wanted to tell these kids that it is ok to cry, and with death will come to the end of pain and suffering for their friend. She had suffered so much that  it was better to let go. But for her mum, she will always miss her and suffer a lot time.

Last night, I face booked a new friend K who has a child in remission from Cancer. I told her about the kid.

I didn't know the child and her mum's name, but reading K's post, I connected the dots. I asked her if we are talking about the same person and sent her mum  a message. This morning, the mum messaged me, Now we have made a connection.

Here is a mum facing the prospective of becoming a bereaved mum. I am having a mental journey with her and holding her hand.

My heart is grieved, here is a bud about to be nipped. What can her poor mother do? I recalled the days when Andrew was dying, I wanted to spend every minute with him. Friends ask me to rest, but how can I, know my child was dying. I can imagine the mum walking the same road as me, wearing the same pair of pinching shoes.

Don't be strong, It is Ok to cry. I love you, KS.





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Scenic Sunday/bridge: at Sia villa

At the Sia Villa, a little roofed bridge spanning across a tiny creek. There are seats, I suppose for townies who are tired after visiting the resort. The torrential rain can swell the creek, and water hyacinth grow in abundance.

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