WORLD AIDS DAY

AIDS AWARENESS WEEK

NOVEMBER 27 to DECEMBER 4, 2005

WORLD AIDS DAY

DECEMBER 1, 2005

Buy a RED RIBBON in support of HIV/AIDS this week and wear it.

In fact, buy several.

Or, simply donate your spare change, or more.

The slogan for AIDS AWARENESS WEEK 2005 is:

"HIV/AIDS Let's talk about it"

"Help STOP fear, shame, ignorance, injustice"

In March of 2003 a cousin of mine, a man I loved and cared about very much, and whose memory I will always cherish, died as a result of HIV/AIDS.

He was 32.

He will always be deeply missed; by his partner, by his immediate family, by his extended family, and by his friends.

It's too late for my cousin, but it's not too late for all those men and women out there living with HIV/AIDS. Every year, research comes up with better and better ways to help lengthen the lives of those with HIV/AIDS, to help improve the quality of their lives, and to get closer and closer to the ultimate goal of inoculation and/or cure for the disease.

HIV/AIDS is a disease which infects both heterosexual and homosexual men and women around the world. A disease that is killing children in Africa every day. A disease the human race MUST find a preventive and/or cure for as soon as we possibly can.

Although abstinence from sex outside of a long term committed loving relationship with one partner, and/or use of condoms, and the non-sharing of needles by drug addicts, helps to curtail the spread of HIV/AIDS, much more is needed than that.

What is required, are people working closely with those who have HIV/AIDS, educating, helping, supporting, encouraging them to be positive, and to live healthy and balanced lives, which in turn then contributes towards extending their lives; an inoculation that prevents the disease; and, above all, finding a cure.

In order to achieve all this, HIV/AIDS support and research needs constant funding, and that's where we can help.

So, buy a red ribbon, a red ribbon pin, or a wrist band, and/or give a donation this week, and help support the ongoing support of and research into HIV/AIDS.

Thank you! :o)

Here below are some links of interest:

WORLD AIDS DAY Official Web Site
International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations
AIDS Trust of Australia
NAPWA - National Association of people living with HIV/AIDS
Gay Law Net
ACON - The AIDS Council of New South Wales
WAAC - The AIDS Council of WA
VAC/GMCH - Victorian AIDS Council and Gay Men's Health Centre
ACSA - The AIDS Council of South Australia
QuAC - Queensland AIDS Council
AIDS Action Council of ACT
Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council, Inc



In loving memory of
Shaun Jason Power
May his soul rest in peace

THANKFUL FOR

First of all, to all my American friends out there and to all who celebrate Thanksgiving in the US and around the world:

H A P P Y . T H A N K S G I V I N G ! ! ! :o)

May your lives be forever blessed!

What am I THANKFUL for this year?

Many, many things:

My family; the birth of my beautiful little niece, Holly and her survival against the odds; all my dear friends in Australia and around the world; food on the table; a roof over my head; a job; money in the bank; my health; and all those people out there around the world who have deeply touched by life, and in so doing, have made it better.

And... I thank the TROOPS... God Bless them all, always!!!

To all of the above I say:

THANK YOU ALL!

THANK YOU GOD!

With love,

Christine.

November 24, 2005

BABY UPDATE

aka. How's HOLLY?

I think that it is time for an update about my niece, Holly.

To refresh, Holly was born to my oldest sister, Annette and her husband, Denis on Friday March 4, 2005 at 9:30 am in Mudgee Hospital. She was born 5 to 7 weeks premature (the original due date was April 20, 2005).

Sadly, Holly was also born with 4 blockages in her bowel, which had to be operated on via emergency surgery only 2 days into her little life, or she would have died.

The fact that she didn't die anyway, is thanks to a number of reasons: the wonderful and dedicated staff of Westmead Children's Hospital; that she's strong willed; she has a strong heart and lungs; she's surrounded by love; and she had many, many people praying for her survival.

They often talk about the power of prayer, but until you see it first hand, it's hard to comprehend. I was so scared by the news about Holly, and so terrified that she would die, I either rang up, or contacted people and asked them to please pray for her. They did, and some passed on the request to others, who passed it on to others, and in the end, there were many, many people praying for Holly - some I knew, some I didn't.

Holly's recovery, and the speed in which she managed it, has been nothing short of miraculous, even the doctor's say that. She should have been three to six months in hospital. It should have been a long haul of ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments. Instead, in less than five weeks she was home, admittedly only for a week, before having to spend three more weeks in hospital due to infection, but still, home, and still an astoundingly fast recovery.

This is one child who is very determined to live and to live to the full, no matter what. Already she has had three close calls with death, all of which she has survived and gone on to thrive in spite of:

The first was when she was born and needed to be operated on, and went on to spend 5 weeks in hospital.

The second was only a week after coming home from the hospital, when she was hit with no less then three severe infections and had to return to hospital post haste for three weeks.

The third was only a couple of weeks after coming home from hospital the second time, when she had a brush with choking to death in her sleep due to being unable to clear a build up of congestion in her little throat. Something luckily picked up on by her father, who by some stroke of luck just happened to be up late that night and saw her distress, otherwise they would have woken up to her dead the next day, (which is an utterly horrifying thought). She was duly rushed to hospital and spent another week there.

In all, Holly has accumulated an impressive amount of frequent flyer points, and all before she was two months old.

Here's where a few organisations need to be deeply THANKED:

TELSTRA CHILD FLIGHT
The ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE of AUSTRALIA
WESTMEAD CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Now, though, Holly is doing a whole LOT better. She's growing, not as fast as other babies, but still, growing. Her health has its ups and downs and that worries and concerns us all, but she's a strong, determined fighter, a happy child who giggles a lot, and she WILL continue to grow and thrive, I just know this.

Holly has also already said her first word, "DAD". A word she says a lot, apparently. Her teeth are also starting to come in, as anyone who's been bitten by her recently can testify to. (LOL). Apparently you have to watch your fingers around Holly, in case she grabs them, puts them in her mouth, and then chomps down on them.

Holly's also ready to get up and go. Although she's not yet sitting up on her own, or crawling, she's rolling around vigorously, and grabbing everything in sight. When she gains her legs, Dad (Grandpa to Holly) reckons she'll be off and running... FAST! I hope, then, that Annette (my sister) has her running shoes all ready! Well, she keeps saying she wants to lose weight....... (big grin)

One more hurdle looms for Holly, though. She has to have an operation soon after her 1st Birthday, (what a Birthday gift?!) Due to the operation on her second day, and the fact that babies kick their feet around and don't know the meaning of "take it easy", the poor kid burst some of the stitches inside of her and a hernia has formed. This needs to be repaired as soon as possible, but not before 1 year old. The hospital has already all but ordered Annette to check Holly into Westmead Children's Hospital for the operation within the first two weeks of March 2006, where she will be for two weeks. They do not anticipate any problems, but one never knows.....

So, any prayers for Holly would be greatly appreciated.

Holly is a great kid! I adore her... can you tell? (grin) :o)

Here's some photos:

March/April 2005 (Westmead Children's Hospital):



Holly and Annette (mum):





July/August 2005 (Home/Mudgee, New South Wales):

Holly and Grandpa (maternal Grandfather):



Holly Vocalising (or so Annette tells me those loud arrhhing noises are):