Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Tears

I'm lying in my bed trying to go to sleep but as usual I have too much going on in my head and my heart.

I really love and enjoy making the journals and I know what a difference it is making to families who receive them. We have received a few reviews on our facebook page and they have all touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I have also received alot of emails from families. Mainly mothers telling me of their own personal journeys. Opening their hearts and souls to me. I'm deeply moved by all your experiences. I think about you all and your little angels.

I admit though sometimes it's really hard for me to be confronted with other peoples stories of their child being stillborn or premature and passing away soon after birth - referred to as neonatal death. Death in the first 28 days of life.
Or their child having a disability I can sympathize with them and understand what they are going through. Its easy for them to talk to me about it and for me to know what to say. I have told a few about our journey with Yasminah. It really helps talking to someone who has been through it all.

But In a single moment I can feel like I'm alone back in the hospital room surrounded by doctors, nurses all strangers telling me that they can't find the heartbeat, that they have checked several times and Yasminahs arm is still resting above her head. She hasn't moved she has passed away......

Nothing can ever prepare you for that. I simply have no amount of words to describe it. Only tears..............

Monday, July 26, 2010

on another note, I just realized today's date is the 26th.....Yasminah has been an angel for 1 year and 4 months

Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You
can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it, you can never get it
back.
Harvey MacKay
Hello,

I really need to remember to update the blog. But things and life in general have been so busy lately. I'm busy being a wife to my husband of almost 10 years and mum to my 3 gorgeous children here with me. It's very challenging being a mum to 3 kids under the age of 3 but I wouldn't change it for the world. It's a very rewarding experience I love being a mum and I feel blessed everyday that I got the chance. Most 'multiple' mum's have alot of help from their families, however I do it alone during the day & often only get a break when my husband gets home from work or when my son is at daycare. I cant say I enjoy the day to day things like washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, but really who does? To be honest I would much rather sit and play with my kids. They grow up too fast. Zach our eldest son just turned 3 and our twins Aisha and Aaliyah are now 7 months old. Can someone please tell me where the pause button is...

Then on top of this I'm also working very hard often late into the night or early hours of the morning setting up the Charity Yasminah's Gift Of Hope. We have a small committee comprised of myself as the President, my best friend Maz as our Vice President. We have 2 other committee members who help out when they can. Then I'm also very blessed to have the support of a wonderful lady Emily AKA Em who is our secretary. Em is my sidekick and has helped me immensley in getting things up and running. Without her help I dont think we would of progressed as fast as we have. We are a small group of people trying to make a BIG difference.

We now have a fan page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/yasminahsgiftofhope with 471 members. It is really quite astonishing. I recently counted how many journals we have supplied to families since we began in June 2010 a total of 70 journals have been given to families by either a Custom Order request via email or handed out to patients in Westmead Hospital NSW. We hope to expand to other hospitals and aim to one day provide support to families, create awareness and educate the community about premature birth, neonatal death, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities.

We have recently added a review tab to the page, so families who receive a journal can write about how it helps them, what it means to them and also share a little about their precious child. It also allows others an insight into what our gift means to the families who receive them. I also hope that people who choose to support and help us can see what a difference it makes and make a donation so that we can continue to provide this service. I have been very touched by the recent reviews added from families who have received our journals. It's a nice thought that something as simple as a journal can give people a little bit of hope. I Hope one day that everyone who experiences premature birth, neonatal death and stillbirth receives "Yasminah's Gift Of Hope"...............