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 2010

As we write this letter, the display of Christmas lights on the front of the house is under construction for the big "switch-on", which takes place on 4th December, the girls are counting down the days until Santa visits, and the weather forecast is promising snow. It's all very exciting. It is now almost two years since Bethany's successful liver transplant.

We have had a varied year, which got off to a rather traumatic start. To cut a long story short, the headmistress refused to follow Bethany's Healthcare Plan so we withdrew the girls from the school. After a month at home, they started at a small village school two miles away, and we are delighted by the care and concern shown by the headmaster and staff. Nothing is too much trouble, and the girls have settled in well, receiving excellent reports at the end of the summer term. Bethany spent her first night away from us in May at an adventure centre with the new school. Naturally we were a bit worried about how she would cope, but she enjoyed herself.

Bethany's health has given us cause for concern a few times this year. In spite of our best efforts to avoid contact with a local outbreak, Eloise woke one morning covered in chickenpox spots. As chickenpox is very serious for post-transplant patients, Bethany went for injections, then we waited with baited breath, but she never caught it! Prayers answered! However, during the early part of the summer holidays a minor chest infection developed into pneumonia, resulting in her spending three days as an inpatient at our local hospital, receiving intra-venous anti-biotics. But once again she made a good recovery and a couple of weeks later was competing in the British Transplant Games in the city of Bath. She narrowly missed winning a medal, but had a great time. Next year's games are in Belfast, so we must start fundraising in earnest in the New Year.

In July we were invited to the opening of the new Eckersley House, a Sick Children's Trust home-from-home at the Leeds General Infirmary. We had the honour of presenting a cheque, (proceeds of a bus enthusiasts' tour of Arriva depots, organised by Tony), to none other than Michael Crawford OBE - also known as Frank Spencer, or the Phantom of the Opera! He was very good with the girls, picking Eloise up and swinging her around, then sitting on a very small plastic chair to draw pictures with them.

During the summer holidays, Bethany spent a week at an Interact workshop in Leeds, run by Stagecoach Theatre Art Schools. She performed a solo dance routine at the end-of-week show, which we all went to watch. Following on from this, the Daily Express ran a full-page feature about Bethany and Eloise in September, and they were nominated for Stagecoach awards. In November, Eloise was invited to the House of Commons, where she was presented with a "Good Buddy" award by Sir Bernard Ingham (former Chief Press Secretary to Margaret Thatcher), in a ceremony hosted by the Rt Hon Lord Cope of Berkeley. We took the opportunity to ride on the London Eye and visit the Science Museum while we were in the capital.

In September, Tony was "commissioned" to write a poem about Rev Brian Stocks, who had been Minister of St James' Church in Liverpool from 1977 to 1985, and was celebrating 50 years in the Methodist Ministry. As Eloise was performing in a dance competition that day, Tony and Bethany went to the service and presentation in Liverpool, and met up with loads of people that Tony hadn't seen for over 20 years - a very enjoyable (and emotional) event!

In between disappearing to Dewsbury Bus Museum, Liverpool Blue Coat School or Merseyside Transport Trust events, Tony has taken the girls camping in a tent in the back garden - in late October! In spite of the sub-zero temperatures and ground frost, a tent can be amazingly warm and comfy. We might do it again in January!

So we come to the end of another year. 2011 will see Bethany celebrating her 8th birthday, and Eloise her 6th, yet it hardly seems five minutes since they were babies - if only time would slow down a bit!

We wish you all the best this Christmas, and hope you have a great New Year.

Sam, Tony, Bethany & Eloise
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OUR WEBSITES:

Tony's personal site: www.bluecoatboy.co.uk 
Sam's blog: www.fairenuff-familypficblog.blogspot.com
Bethany & Eloise's site: www.bethanyandeloise.com
Bethany's Caringbridge site: www.caringbridge.org/visit/bethanysalmon