NEWSLETTER 2009

This is the Newsletter (or "round robin") that we sent out with our Christmas cards. If you didn't receive yours, here it is!

Greetings from Yorkshire!   27th November 2009

2008 ended on an uncertain note, with Bethany on the active waiting list for a liver transplant. The call came at 9.30 pm on 22nd December, but in the early hours of the 23rd it became apparent that the donated liver was not suitable. The operation was cancelled and Christmas re-instated. After another false start on 30th December, we were called again on 16th January. This time the operation went ahead. It was phenomenally successful – just eight days later Bethany was reprimanded by nurses for riding a tricycle too fast along the ward! Only 19 days after the operation we were home, and the following day Bethany was out in the garden building a snowman! She returned to school in May and we had a summer crammed with all the things we haven’t been able to do in the previous six years. There have been one or two “hiccups” resulting in a couple of nights in hospital this month - nothing too serious, but this is to be expected.

This year we are planning a quiet but happy Christmas together, after staging a spectacular switch-on of the Christmas lights that cover the front of our house on Saturday 5th December. We hope to make £1000.00 for The Sick Children’s Trust, who provided accommodation for us at the hospital while Bethany had her transplant. If you can’t come along, please take a look at our special website - www.christmasinthornhill.com 

We need hardly add that, without the donation of a liver, Bethany probably would not be with us this Christmas. Before and since the operation Bethany has been actively involved in the campaign for more people to sign the National Organ Donor Register. If you haven’t already done so, please look at www.uktransplant.org.uk or phone 0300 123 23 23. Over 800 people die every year on the waiting lists because a donor organ isn’t found in time. Thankfully Bethany wasn’t one of them.

Bethany’s news  (See her website: www.bethany1.co.uk)

Bethany finally received her liver transplant in January and celebrated her 6th birthday in March, though the party was delayed until June to allow her to recover from the operation. In spite of almost four months of absence, she ended the academic year on target with her progress in school. Following her return to public life in May, she has taken part in dancing competitions, winning a few prizes and passing another exam. She was invited back to Donna’s Dream House in Blackpool, so we all went in July. Bethany tells people that the large scar on her abdomen was the result of a shark attack when she fell into a tank at the Sealife Centre. (Several of our more gullible friends actually believed this tale!) If you want to keep up with her progress, please look at this website: www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethanysalmon 

Eloise’s news  (See her website: www.eloise.webeden.co.uk)

Eloise was 4 in March. Like Bethany, she spends a lot of time on the laptop, playing on the cbeebies website as well as her own site. She is making good progress with reading and writing. She likes art, and frequently comes home from school covered in paint! She is showing great talent at dancing, winning several prizes with her troupe and made her solo debut in October. Along with Bethany, she met her heroes, the Chuckle Brothers, earlier this month at a show in Halifax.

Sam’s news  (See the family blog: www.fairenuff-familypficblog.blogspot.com)

Sam has been busy with her photography work and has helped a friend set up a wedding business, raising money for The Sick Children’s Trust with the proceeds. She is enjoying spending lots of time with the girls, especially as Bethany has been off school for several weeks due to illness.

Tony’s news  (See his website: www.bluecoatboy.co.uk)

Tony still does a two-day week driving buses for Arriva and fills his “spare” time as Hon Sec of the Liverpool Blue Coat Brotherly Society, driving vintage buses with the Merseyside Transport Trust and organising enthusiast events with Dewsbury Bus Museum. The highlight of all this was the Arriva Tour – a convoy of four vintage buses and a modern one visiting all five Arriva-Yorkshire depots in May and raising over £700 for The Sick Children’s Trust. He is also available to give illustrated talks about Organ Donation, having made his debut at a Church women’s meeting in Mirfield. If you know a group who could use this, please give us a call.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas – best wishes for 2010.

Tony, Samantha, Bethany & Eloise