Monday, December 23, 2013

Looking forward to a Christmas at home

We have been lucky to have the last 4 christmas's away. In Mackay, in Cairns and at the Creevey farm.
So this year a christmas at home.

We have been busy putting up christmas lights, baking, looking at light displays and joining in the fun of a Christmas carols in the park.

We hope all the readers have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and if you are traveling we wish you a safe journey.

Regards Matt, Harri and family

Saturday, December 14, 2013

breaking news

Harri's application for a communication device has been approved. Funding has been organised and the order placed. We should receive the device in the first business week of January. All very excited.

Harri also wrapped up school for the year on Friday. 6 weeks of fun ahead.

The 10 pin bowling league that Harri bowls with also finished the year with dinner and award presentation. Harrison was awarded the runner up in the mens with a average of 151. His team however placing 13th in the team rankings.




Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Harri joins his classmates on year 9 camp.

As a celebration in completing their middle school years and graduating to senior school next year, the year 9's went on a 3 day camp to Tallebudgera. At camp they experienced a variety of activities that Harri was able to participate in. A big thank you to CYC Burleigh and the Corinda staff for their support.

Canoeing, Dragon Boating and surfing / boogy boarding were all great fun. Harri enjoyed watching the karaoke and dance party night. but by far his favourite was the trip to The Stunt Academy. The staff were very enthusiastic and very safe. Harri got the opportunity to fly through the air and kick a stunt man.



Here is 1 of the stunt men falling from the top level.


Friday, November 22, 2013

Harri lets his hair down

Harri is enjoying the last weeks of school for the year. He is working hard in maths and science at Corinda, and working just as hard on communication at Nursery Road.

The Senior students were letting their hair down at the senior dance last Friday night. The seniors joined by girls from Loreto college and boys from St Lawrences. The boys from St Lawrences putting on the BBQ and the schools rock band playing 2 sets, much to Harri's delight. Harri really loves live music.

He also loves getting on the dance floor with those girls.

There was also an opportunity to put on some props and get into the photo booth.



Thursday, November 14, 2013

An adventure with out dad



Last weekend Harri, my mum and I, went on a magical mystery tour to crystal castle. After dad had flown to Cairns for my aunty Chris's birthday party.

It was a surprise to Harri and me, as mum did not tell us where we were going. We just followed Lola's (our GPS) directions. The Crystal Castle is in Northern NSW not far from Mullumbimby. It was extremely exiting as dad was away. It is full with enchanting polished gems, precised sculptures and elegant nature.



The best section for me was the gem shop Harri loved it and we all had fun.

On the way home Lola lost her voice and for some reason we missed the turn off to the new Highway and ended up coming home on the old highway. And bits of country roads that Lola took us down. Quite an adventure. We got to see a lovely part of NSW and Qld. Much more beautiful than the new way. Lots more windy and hilly. A bit scary at times. Not that I would tell Dad! We missed out on the chocolate coated bananas. The shop is still there but was shut by the time we were coming past. I don't like daylight savings anymore.

Cheers Bailey & Kim

 

Saturday, November 2, 2013

fundraising shopping tour approaches

The warehouse shopping tour is finally going ahead. Originally planned to be in May, it had been postponed. We now have a date of 16th November, just in time for early christmas shopping.


Ladies Day Out

Does a day out in the company of other lovely ladies being chauffeur driven around, going to
warehouses not open to the general public sound like a fantastic way to spend a Saturday?
Do all your Christmas shopping in 1 day.
Invite your mothers, sisters, girlfriends and daughters
Come spoil yourself and join us on a fantastic shopping tour.

We will be going to a variety of stores selling everything from handbags, shoes, linen, toys,
home wares to imported giftware and clothing all at bargain basement prices.

The ticket price includes a buffet lunch at the Broncos League Club.

Date: Saturday, 16th November 2013
Arrive early for pick up time: 8.15am
Place: McGregor Park and Ride on Kessels Road
RSVP: Monies and numbers due
Friday, 8th November 2013 (1weeks prior)
Cost: $60
Contact: Matt 3349 4554 or
Rozanne 0432 132 919

MONIES RAISED WILL BE USED TO PURCHASE MUCH NEEDED
COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT FOR HARRI.

We would like to acknowledge a generous donation of a prize for the tour.

Thank you to Auction King Australia, Sherwood.

It will be auctioned off, so advanced bids can be made to Matt or Rozanne.

A limited edition Elvis Presley mounted and framed poster with certificate of authenticity. 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Harri's PT sessions at Sporting Wheelies

I thought i would share with you some short video's of the sessions at Sporting Wheelies. Harri has been doing very well with his sessions and along with putting on weight, the trainers think Harri has improved some strength in some areas. Harri was doing some standing today and watching another client practicing sitting to standing. Harri seemed to register that that's what we hope for him in the future.




Thursday, October 17, 2013

Harrison acknowledged in his school news letter and 10 news segment

Below is a link to Harri's school news letter, where he was given recognition for his ten pin bowling efforts.

He is enjoying the extra notoriety this is bringing.

Corinda State High School

The next link is the link from the Cerebral Palsy League website to the channel 10 news segment from Camp Have-A-Chat

10 news segment

Please also visit the Harri's HOPE web page to check out the changes there.

Harri's HOPE Inc.

Regards Matt

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

A fun weekend for all

We packed up on Friday and went camping at Wivenhoe Dam for the weekend. The idea was that we were taking Harri's younger brother up for a scout camp on Saturday-Sunday. So we left early and had some time to enjoy the lake together. We stayed at Lumley Hill Camp Grounds and we took the Corsair, our newly acquired sailing boat. I had made a specially fitted seat for Harri to enjoy the sailing better. Nathan, Nicole, Conner and Riley came down for the day as well. We had a great weekend and are all tired as a result.

The home made chair was a success and Harri enjoyed the time sailing, even if the winds were a little light most of the time.



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Camp Have-A-Chat

Harri and I have returned from 4 days away at our 2nd Camp Have-A-Chat. Held in the 2nd week of the school holidays, Camp Have-A-Chat is a special camp run by the Cerebral Palsy League, for children who have difficulties communicating.

While at camp this year Harri trialled the latest speech generation device with eye gaze module. Despite the fact that he had not used the language system of the device before and he had never meet his 2 personal aid's ( Alana and Steph - 4th year speech therapy students ), Harri did remarkable well.

He engaged in making decisions based around the theme of this years camp, minnie me in my imagination.

There was some news crews from channel 9 and channel 10 as well as some news paper reporters. The story aired on Wednesday the 2nd of October on both 9 & 10. I don not have a link to these stories or have not seen the final edit yet, but i will post a link as soon as i get 1.

For now it is back to school with a new teacher ( Kathrine ) for Tuesday - Thursday

Regards Matt

Sunday, September 22, 2013

A Gold and a Silver for Harri

We have the results of the State Disability Challenge Tournament from last weekend. This is the unofficial state title. Harri finished 1st place in the A grade mens singles, he also was awarded a 2nd place in his teams event (they were graded a C grade team).

This is an improvement on his bronze last year in his singles, and he is in a good position to make the state team to go to the nationals next year. He was very proud of himself and enjoyed the fuss his regular league players made of his achievement.


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Everyone is pleased with their efforts this weekend

Firstly Harri competed in the bowling tournament, bowling 12 games in 4 matches across the 2 days. Saturday was a good effort in his singles and in the doubles Harri bowled consistently, but his partner bowled well. So we will wait to see the result. Sunday we started with the teams match and needed to improve on Saturday's effort to stay in the chance to make the QLD team at next years nationals. We took a chance and changed our set-up and line, a risk that paid off immediately with Harri leading his team to a 3-0 win, giving them a chance at a medal. Harri then had his 2nd singles match, and instead of fading he came home strong with a 179, a 193 and a 172, that is 29, 43 and 22 pins over average.

This was a bit better performance than at last years tournament where he placed 3rd in the opens mens A grade. The results will need to be tabulated and we will hear a result next Saturday morning at his regular bowling league.

Secondly the other half of the family were headed an hour north of Brisbane for "the Stampede". The team fundraised about $1,000 for the charity and had great fun getting muddy. Good work team.



Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Birthday this week

Harri celebrates his birthday this week. He has already shared some cake with his family after school and also taken some cakes to school to share, where they sang happy birthday, much to his delight. Some young friends will also celebrate with him after school later in the week.

The afternoon of his birthday was enjoyed by the whole family getting out onto the bike track, with Harri in his new bike-chair bike. Older brother Jae having to run along side as his bike is not in working order. He thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.



Overhaul for the blogsite

Hello readers, you would have notice a different looking blogsite. I have been getting some assistance from a tech savy volunteer ( Lesley), in making some well over due changes to the blog site appearance. The appearance may change several time over the next couple of weeks as we try new looks to find a style that looks good and is functional.

Please feel free to comment your feedback.

In the meantime changes are also happening over on the Harri's HOPE Inc. website. There we are also giving things a face lift and expanding the content. Please drop in to that site and have a look. Again feedback is important.




Sunday, September 8, 2013

Tournament looms

Harri has had his last hit out before the 10 pin bowling tournament next weekend. With a solid 42 pins over average in 1 of his games this weekend. Next weekend he will bowl 6 games back to back on Saturday, then 6 more games on Sunday ( 2 x 3 games) with an hour break in between.

We have been trialling a different wheelchair over the last week to see if we can help keep Harri more comfortable over an extended period of time. This has been reported by both his schools as being successful. The added benefit of a recline option and the Roho, air filled cushion seat.

Good luck to Jasmine, Bailey, Kim, Michelle and the rest of the team completing "The Stampede" this coming weekend as well, they are still looking for sponsors. Donations can be made here by clicking on the donate now button.

Please note the new link added that will take you to the Harri's HOPE Inc. page.

www.harrishope.org

A short thank you to all the readers, who have helped take Harri's HOPE blogspot over the 12,000 views since it's inception.

And look out in the coming weeks for the latest fundraiser, "Harri's HOPE wine". This is currently available in a link on the "Harri's HOPE Inc." site. With all the proceeds going to the charity.

Cheers Matt

Saturday, August 31, 2013

More results and changes

We have seen the next lot of specialists this week. The gastro has decided that Harri may improve his weight gain by reducing the anti-acid. Being that Harri in recent months, with dietary changes, has had less incidents of reflux and vomiting. The dietitian has modified Harri diet by increasing the amount of oils/fats and protein. The improvements have been made by reducing the food with gluten and lactose in them as well as fructose and some other foods likely to cause gut/bowel reactions, causing the reflux and gastritis.

We have 2 more weeks before we see our next bunch of specialists.

The signs of progress of improving Harri's comfort are usually seen in participation at school and 10 pin bowling. So i am please to report that Harri today bowled nearly at his best with 2 of his 3 games over average, 41 over and 19 over. Helping his team to a 2 - 1 victory and securing the 6 out of 8 points on offer, putting his team back into the top 10 out of 18 teams. This is good news for Harri leading into the disabled leagues invitational in 2 weeks. This is sort of the state disabled championship, but not officially as teams from throughout Queensland are invited, but most from outlying areas usually save their money for the annual national tournament. But a good result here will make Harri available for selection to represent the state in a team at the nationals.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

important results back from our stay in St Vincent's

We have had a meeting with Dr Harry McConnell, to get the results from our stay in St Vincent's hospital where we had 3 lots of tests done. Although the results were not encouraging, it now gives us some new direction of treatments for a better result for Harri.

We commenced this week a 2 new anti seizure medications with the view to shift Harri from his current medications to the new ones. One of his current medications could be contributing to disturbance of his deep sleep. This in turn could be effecting alertness, mood, pain tolerance as well as metabolism. This could be contributing to Harri's difficulty to gain weight.

We have more specialist appointments this coming week including the Gastroenterologist. So more changes may be in store.

Cheers Matt

Monday, August 19, 2013

Thank you shout out's

I want to take the time to say thank you to a couple of businesses that have helped out in our fundraising drives.

Firstly to Coby Copy at Mt Gravatt Plaza, who supplied photo copying for our mail box drops and posters.

Secondly to Dsignshop on Ipswich Road at Annerly for the decals for the car. The QR scan icon directs people to the blogsite.



Thanks also to all those who sponsored Team Harri's HOPE in the Gold Coast Marathon.

Regards Matt


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Harri enjoys school camp

Harri enjoyed the senior school camp at Camp QLD near Lake Moogerah. Although Harri had a ball his parents were bitting their fingernails, and were pleased to see him on the Friday. I hope to have more photos when we get them from school. But for now i will share the only 1 i have.


Some other photos i wanted to share were of the Team Harri's HOPE at the Gold Coast Marathon. We all had a ball and look forward to next years challenge of the 14Km City2South.

  
 



Sunday, July 21, 2013

A week of tests

Harri is glad to be home after a week of tests. Harri is seeing a new neurologist, who has asked for a series of tests so recommendations for further treatment or treatment changes can be made.

Because the neurologist ( Dr McConnell ) works out of St Vincent's Hospital at Kangaroo Point, Harri was admitted to an adult hospital for the first time. On Monday he was fitted up for a sleep study, Tuesday he was off for a MRI, Tuesday night Harri was fitted up for a 72 hour EEG. Most of the results will take 3 - 4 weeks.

Whilst an inpatient we were visited by every specialist they had to offer, just going over the case looking for anything that may have been missed, and offering some valued advice in several areas.

Harri could not wait until Friday night to come home, have a bath and wash his hair.

This week Harri will be off to school camp Wednesday - Friday, a very nervous few days for Kim and I as this will be the first night that we have left Harri with anybody overnight since his injury in 2001. I am sure Harri is up for it. He seems excited.

Regards Matt

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Harri joins in on adventure

We have always been an adventurous family, even back before Harri's injury we were trekking around north western Queensland while living in Mt Isa, visiting central and southern Northern Territory and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

So it is no surprise that Harri was thrilled to tag along with little brother Bailey on a bush walk to explore some local caves on Mt Gravatt. Up goat tracks, down slopes, up hills and across gullies in his all terrain wheelchair.


I thought i would also post a recent photo of Harri enjoying the Liberty Swing on our recent trip to Mackay.


Regards Matt


Friday, July 5, 2013

All ready for GCM fun run

We are all geared up and ready for the Gold Coast Marathon 5.7km event tomorrow. The fundraising is steadily growing and we will get some more donations come in after the event. Presently we are sitting just under half of the total we aimed for.

I hope to capture a short video of finishing the event from the perspective of the front of Harri's jogging chair.

For those who still wish to donate the link is,

Harri's Hope team

Younger brother Bailey is leading the fundraising.


Regards Matt


Friday, June 28, 2013

Road trip for school holidays to Mackay

We have returned from a road trip to Mackay in North Queensland. We visited relatives and most importantly Harri's Grandma. Because she is unable to travel, Harri has not seen her for about 2 and a half years. She was very thrilled to see us, as was all the other relatives and friends we had the opportunity to catch up with.

Harri got a little uncomfortable towards the end of the trip. I think his tail bone was getting sore. We are waiting to see the spinal clinic to sort out any issues with pain and uncomfortableness generating from his kyphoid scoliosis.

The return trip was longer due to mid week road works on the Bruce Highway and the fact we made a detour through Agnes Waters, the town of 1770 and Bundaberg. A detour we have been wanting to make for many years. We have heard lots of good reports on the area. It was very pretty. especially 1770.

Harrison has a trial of the 3rd speech generation device with eye gaze, for 3 weeks. This will take us 1 step closer to the point of ordering a unit for Harri.

Also during the holidays Harri will step up the intensity of his Sporting Wheelies sessions, attending 4 days in a row and some days twice next week.

Regards Matt

Thursday, June 13, 2013

2nd fundraiser for Harri's HOPE

I have committed to run in the Gold Coast Marathon 5.7km event. I wanted to do the 10km, but safety restrictions prevent us from doing anything more than the 5.7km. I will be joined by Kim, Bailey and Lawren (touch football mate of Matt's). We are using the event to raising money to cover the cost of Harri's sporting wheelies physio sessions ( see last post ). Any like minded fitness buffs/runners are welcome to join us. We have 6-8 other people so far just coming along for the run as well.

If you are in a position to sponsor one of us, just follow the link below,

Harris HOPE G.C.M. team

even just $5 will help. Our target is $6,000, and little brother Bailey is leading the way with the most raised so far. If you are not in a position to donate your self, you may direct someone you know to the blog or even a business (it is end of financial year/ tax time).

Reagards Matt

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Positive pedal power for Harri

Harri has been working with 2 PT's at sporting wheelies for the last 6 weeks. Each week they give him new exercises and stretches, testing and pushing his flexibility, as well as determining his weakness and tightness. Harri has been more than compliant most weeks.

It has all been heading in the direction of assessing and learning about Harri so that a when we try the more intensive equipment, we can make a educated decision about wether Harri can benefit from the exercise or if there are any potential problem that could cause him harm.

Last week Harri was working with the FES equipment (functional electrical stimulation). The PT's were impressed with the tolerance for the level of amps being applied to muscle groups. Harri was quite compliant with the exercises, although the worst part was the sticky pads coming off. The aim is to use the FES in combination with the bike/cycle seen in the video below. When used in combination Harri can start to learn timing and strengthening of the muscles for functional purpose.


It is weeks like this when it is easier to see a brighter future for Harri. Regards Matt

Saturday, May 25, 2013

New best friend and new bike

Harri has had a big week, now doing 2 sessions of PT at sporting wheelies, Mondays and Thursdays after school. Thank you to Sarah and Naomi for your time and effort.

This afternoon we collected the new bike for Harri from the sunshine coast. Adjusted especially for Harri by " The Bike Chair " and " Stealth Trailers ". So a big thank you to Ken, Bill and Debbie. Harri was thrilled with having a short ride today, but we will venture out for a better ride tomorrow.


After our big day out, we settled in for a relaxing evening, and 2 new best friends come together.




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The puppy arrives

The new puppy "Freyja" arrived on the weekend. Harri was very excited and could not stop smiling. Very quickly she has taken to Harri when looking for a quiet moment. and several times has fallen asleep at his feet.

We also have lifted Harri's work load at the gym. He now goes 2 times a week to sporting wheelies and works with a personal trainer on the gym equipment. This was last weeks session, where was working on a pilates machine.

We also reached a milestone for the blog site, we have gone past 10,000 page views. So thank you to all the followers for visiting the blog, your comments and your support. Have a good week, Matt

Monday, May 6, 2013

1st Fundraising event for Harri's HOPE Fundraising committee

For all you bargain hunters.

Harri's HOPE Fundraising is conducting a Warehouse shopping bus tour as a fundraiser to help purchase much needed communication devices for Harri's education.

The Chauffeur driven bus tour will take us lovely ladies to many warehouses, many not open to the general public. Warehouses you would expect to visit will include merchants selling handbags, appliances, shoes, home wares, clothing, imported gifts and books. Included in the day, a much needed stop for buffet lunch at the Broncos Leagues Club, in Redhill. 

Raffles and silent auctions along the way. So get some friends together or come and join the friendly group of ladies for a day of retail therapy and fun, with a bonus of helping a worthy charity.

Date : 15th June 2013, (full day)
Leaving from and returning to Mt Gravatt (southside of Brisbane)

For more information please leave a comment or send an email to mattcreevey@y7mail.com

Cheers Kim

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Harri's story makes local TV

I wanted to share a story that aired on Brisbane TV last week, for followers of the blog who missed the story going to air. We only caught the story by chance ( no prior warning of when it was going to air). The story was recorded nearly 2 months ago.


Regards Matt

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Harri gets a new perspective of our back yard

The 1st stage of our deck extension is complete. It will make life a little more comfortable and down the track accommodate a lift from the lower level to the upper level. The lift will be essential to Harri getting into and out of the house safely, as he is getting taller and heavier every day.


The deck has no roof at this stage as the lift will need to be installed first, and our winter is approaching, which is generally dry months for us.


We also had the opportunity to visit the new farm for Harri's cousin Nathan & Nicole. Harri was a little sleepy that day. A bit boring, No cows yet. But we are looking forward to helping out when we can get back there.

Lastly the puppies are growing at a very fast rate, it will not be long before we will be taking her home.
While we were there Harri got an up close with the Anne's horse. Harri really loves animals.


Friday, April 19, 2013

A new addition to the family

Last weekend we went to the Siberian Husky breeder to choose a puppy to become part of our family. The pups are just over 3 weeks old, but showing some important traits that make selecting a suitable companion dog to suit our family. It will be about 5 more weeks before the puppy is ready to come home, but preparations around the house and yard have already begun. As yet we have not decided on a name for the little girl, but feel free to post any suggestions. Enjoy the pictures.

This is our selected puppy.


 Here with the full complement of siblings ( 3 M, 3 F ) our little one is at the top end of the line.
 
The beautiful mum of the puppies, Taz. when not looking after her puppies, she was sitting next to Harri. Dogs just have that sense.   

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

More equipment trials

We visited the Sunshine Coast today to trial some more equipment. This one meets Harri's approval. It is a special bike with a seat for Harri in-front of the the handle bars. Some modifications are necessary but we should get this before the end of the financial year. This will make it possible for the whole family to go bike riding together. Younger brother Bailey is very excited about this prospect.


Tonight we were invited to a 70th birthday dinner for Nanna. Harri sat to close to the birthday girl when she was cutting the cake.




Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Short hospital stay for Harri

Harri had a short hospital stay over the last week. Primarily to find the cause of his restless sleep and cramping episodes.

Some gastro and neurology tests were conducted as well as a full review of his current medications. The discharge plan is to make 3 changes, first to increase the muscle relaxant, Baclofen. Second is to double the dose of the new anti reflux medicine Harri has been put on for Gastritis, Zoton. Lastly is to reduce the intensity of the trial of Stilnox, as it may be having an inter-reaction with some of his other medicines.

It was not all bad, on the weekend we had day passes to go home, and we used one of these days to go and see the new born puppies we are interested in purchasing. Also while we were in hospital we were visited by the "Ruby" a dog from the Delta Pet companion dog program.


Monday, March 18, 2013

Harri receives his new wheelchair

After a long wait and at times getting uncomfortable in his old chair, Harri's new wheelchair arrived this week. bright and yellow were the choices he made. This chair has a comfortable backrest and gel seat, as well as having the added advantage of a tilt in space. So recent i will have to add the photo in later.

Also arriving this week was the trial of the 2nd eye gaze device. Maybe because we had the previous on or maybe this one is just that little bit easier to use, but Harri is having a ball when he gets the chance. He does get tired quickly though. I will attempt to capture some video of him using the device and post it this week.

Regards Matt

Sunday, March 10, 2013

2nd trial about to begin

Harri has been waiting on the arrival of his 2nd speech generation device with eye gaze module. Following this trial we hope to be in a position to order 1 for Harri to build his communication skills. The next 2 weeks will be very interesting.

We had confirmation from the Siberian Husky breeder that puppies are due to be born around the 19th - 21st of March. This will make it about late May or June that we will bring our puppy home.

It has been raining quite a lot lately, and we have found it difficult to test out the alterations to the all-terrain wheelchair. We have adjusted the seating to make it more comfortable for longer periods of time. Our hope to be able to do the Gold Coast Marathon ( 10km ) event, will depend on being able to get out there and train.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

More hospital appointments and results

We had confirmation of the results of Harri's gastostomy from last Friday. As we expected there was signs of acid burn and a looseness of his oesophagus at the stomach. It was not severe enough to warrant corrective surgery, but it may be an option further down the track. What was a surprise is some evidence of gastritis lower in his stomach and at the beginning of his intestine. A change of medicine is hoped to correct the problem.

We had a appointment at the RCH today to see rehabilitation specialists. The aim was to come up with a plan to combat Harri's cramping and the associated pain. We discussed some more long term solutions, but the short term plan was to increase the amount and frequency of the Botox injections, as well as increase the amount of sites it is administered to. We should have an indication within 2 weeks if this new plan is going to work.

In combination with the new plan Harri has new AFO's and standing will become an important addition to the potential success of plan to achieve standing transfers.


Sunday, February 24, 2013

Queensland team bid unsuccessful

Harri had the final roll off for selection in the Cole Cup Qld team this weekend. He bowled courageously but was unsuccessful. He has however qualified for a place as an individual bowler at the national disabled tournament in June, in Canberra, having placed 3rd in the mens A grade at the state titles. We will consider this opportunity before making our discussion.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Harri's day surgery goes fine

Harri had a day surgery procedure on Friday. The gastrostomy was to investigate the cause of recent vomiting and uncomfortableness. The procedure went quickly and Harri woke well in recovery. While there was some unexplained areas of interest the gastroenterologist will be unable to shed any further details until biopsy results are back later this coming week. There was also the expected signs of gastroesophageal reflux at the base of his oesophagus, so for the time being he will remain on omeprasol.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Big weekend for Harri

Harri is recovering from a big weekend, we drove to Sydney on Thursday and Friday to attend the latest ABR clinic on Saturday and Sunday, then returned home on Sunday and Monday. Harri was back at school on Tuesday and has been active in more of his classes as the year clicks into gear.

The report from the ABR clinic was as good as can be expected, we have seen a lot of development in his shoulders and neck control leading towards purposeful weight bearing. There is more visible definition of his spinal column and better division between hip hips and ribs , especially on the right side.

New techniques and apparatus have given hope to more efficiency with the same amount of hours. I am happy with this, as i am a bit disappointed in the amount of hours i can give to ABR exercises as Harri is spending so much time with school and school work.

Harri still has time for his 10pin bowling and other interests. The final roll off for the Cole Cup (QLD) team is this Sunday, good luck Harri. Also i have attached some of Harri's latest art work. He really enjoys making choices and producing the art pieces.


Friday, February 8, 2013

Harri in good form

The state selection roll off was on last weekend. Selection is for 3 different teams. A scratch team ( no handicap ), a categorised team ( for bowlers with average scores below 140) and a Cole Cup team.

The scratch team and categorised team have been announced, the cole cup team will be announced in late February.

Harri was in good form and went into the day with an average of 144. He needed to have his bowling action accredited to qualify for selection ( as he is assisted with placing and aiming the ramp and ball). He bowled a morning session of

game 1                160
game 2                151
game 3                138

and an afternoon session of

game 1                177
game 2                159
game 3                149

so an average score for the day of about 155. There will be 1 more bowling day for the Cole Cup team later in February of 1 session ( 3 games). He may need to bowl an average of around 170-175 to make the team.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Try-out's are upon us

Try-out's for selection to the Qld team for the national tournament, are on this coming Sunday. We are wishing Harri well with the trials.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wild weather, but we are OK

We have been on our annual holiday at the beach. We stayed 10 days, with activities like going in the surf, the pool, heated spa, the sauna, fishing ( we did not catch anything except toad fish), a massage and lots of board games. Harri laughed a lot at watching everyone play tennis.

The last couple of days were rainy, as bad weather moved down from North Qld ( ex tropical cyclone)
but we just used the spa more. Harri got a great tan, even though we plastered him with sunscreen.

We arrived home in the middle of the wild weather and heavy rain. after arriving home for less than 2 hours, we lost power, when a larger gumtree was blown down across power lines. We were without power for more than 50 hours.

This made things difficult to prepare for returning to school. Amid all this we receive the 1st of several trials of eye tracking communication equipment. We will have this device for a 2 week trial. The first week has been very exciting, as has been returning to school.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A big 1 day adventure

We enjoyed a big day out on Tuesday. We got up early to make the 7am ferry to Moreton Island. Our destination was Tangalooma Resort, about an hour across the bay from Brisbane. We cramed in a whole bunch of activities. But the ferry ride was the first part of the adventure.


2nd & 3rd items on the list were a dip in the pool then training on sailing a catamaran. We checked into the VIP lounge where Harri had an early lunch then off to the buffet.

After lunch we went to check in for the snorkling tour of the Tangalooma Wrecks (Harri and mum, would stay on the dive boat and feed the fish) little brother Bailey and Dad were all set to get wet.


After snorkling we had just enough time to catch a 4WD tour bus out to a place called the desert for some sand tobogganing. The giant sand dune was to step for dad to get Harri up the top for a turn, But Harri did not seem to mind not getting sand in his face like Bailey.


Back to the resort for sunset, 


Before the evenings main event, wild dolphin feeding. Harrison had a very long turn with the dolphins courtesy of the excellent staff. No really good photos were available because you can not use a flash that close to the dolphins. Harrison fed a dolphin named Tinker-bell. We all had an excellent day.