Hello everyone
we are sorry we havent had a chance to update the blog for a bit, we have been kept busy with chrissy festivities, work and a lovely bit of gardening!
despite the circumstances, we actually had a really lovely day. The cows got a few bales of hay in the morning, then we went to our friends 'the pendles' where we stayed for the afternoon and ate like kings. Robyn did a fantastic job and lit 3 candles, one for eli, one to remember family we couldnt be with on the day, and one to give us all good luck for 2009. Nearly 4 and a half hours later, the only candle that remained alight was Eli's candle...funny that and really, not surprising!
Eli also gave me a paperdaisy for christmas (like my ALL TIME FAVOURITE FLOWER in the whole wide world!). It inspired us to go hunting for more, and we walked out with a few plants which we took great delight in planting over the chrissy period, with eli never being far from our thoughts. That reminds me, we will have to start posting pics of eli's cottage so you can follow us with the garden...we are just so way excited about decorating his garden.
We also went to my family in stratford for a bit of xmas tea. Its the first xmas without our nan (eli's ninny) and you couldnt help but think the pair of them were with us the whole time. There was no trifle (nan would ALWAYS make a trifle), but lots of nice memories to share with the family. Pa was well fussed over, ate like a king and had a few quiet beers. Hard time of year for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one. But with heads held high, we all got through it together, as a family. As pete said, the whole day, while painful at times, was one of the best christmas's we have have for a long time. It just reinforced to us that you dont need fancy presents and the best of everything. Good company with family and friends, good food and a nice drop of wine (and great xmas pud/sweets) will do the trick everytime. Heres hoping that you all had a lovely time as well.
Righteo, i best fly...got a bit on for the next couple of day. We would like to take the opportunity to thank EVERYONE for their wonderful love and support in 2008. It has been a shit of a year and pete and i (like many other families) are absolutely gunning for a better 2009. Our thoughts and love are with you all, and we will touch base again soon.
All the best
the simpsons
xox
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Get your running shoes on - oh yeah...and Merry Christmas!
Hi everyone...
ive done a tiny bit of research about the 2 runs pete and i (and hopefully a few of you) can get involved with...They are:
Leg it for Leukaemia - They have 2 runs in 2009,
1. Albert Lake (Melbourne) on Sunday 15th Feb 9.30am - 11.30am or
2. Guthridge Lake (Sale) on Sunday 1st Feb 9.30 - 11.30am
You can download an entry form from www.leukaemia.org.au or just get in touch with me if you are keen. The walk/run is NOT timed, rather a celebration of your own health or for loved ones, survivors, carers or even medical staff - a chance to acknowledge the important people in the cancer journey...
All money raised will assist the Leukaemia Foundation to fund vital research and provied free services to patients and their families.
Cost:
$25 for individuals
$50 team (4 people)
Again, just give me a hoy if you are keen to be involved! Pete and i will DEFINITELY be at sale...
The 2nd Run/Walk:
Sunday 5th April - Run for the Kids.
A chance to raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
There are all sorts of entry costs etc, and you can find out more if you head to:
www.runforthekids.com.au
Again, if you have ANY questions, please give us a hoy and we will help you through it...Thanks again to steph for putting us onto this one as well...
There is another one which is on Mothers Day in Melbourne and raises money for Breast Cancer and is usually a great day. We will post more info on this as it comes to light...
Anyways...lots to think about, run/walk it really is all heaps of fun to be amongst it all, getting out in the fresh air and knowing you are contributing to not only your own well being, but for those that are affected in some ways by these diseases...
we would also love to take the opportunity to wish you all a very merry and safe christmas and new year whatever you are doing. Its going to be bloody tough for some of you (including us). Just do what you feel like doing, and do it in your own time.
Thankyou again to all of you who continue to keep an eye out for us with 'welfare' checks, and messages of love and support, particularly at this time. We really do appreciate it.
We will catch you soon.
luv, hugs, pressies and sunshine (and a bit of rain!)
the simpsons
xox
ive done a tiny bit of research about the 2 runs pete and i (and hopefully a few of you) can get involved with...They are:
Leg it for Leukaemia - They have 2 runs in 2009,
1. Albert Lake (Melbourne) on Sunday 15th Feb 9.30am - 11.30am or
2. Guthridge Lake (Sale) on Sunday 1st Feb 9.30 - 11.30am
You can download an entry form from www.leukaemia.org.au or just get in touch with me if you are keen. The walk/run is NOT timed, rather a celebration of your own health or for loved ones, survivors, carers or even medical staff - a chance to acknowledge the important people in the cancer journey...
All money raised will assist the Leukaemia Foundation to fund vital research and provied free services to patients and their families.
Cost:
$25 for individuals
$50 team (4 people)
Again, just give me a hoy if you are keen to be involved! Pete and i will DEFINITELY be at sale...
The 2nd Run/Walk:
Sunday 5th April - Run for the Kids.
A chance to raise money for the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
There are all sorts of entry costs etc, and you can find out more if you head to:
www.runforthekids.com.au
Again, if you have ANY questions, please give us a hoy and we will help you through it...Thanks again to steph for putting us onto this one as well...
There is another one which is on Mothers Day in Melbourne and raises money for Breast Cancer and is usually a great day. We will post more info on this as it comes to light...
Anyways...lots to think about, run/walk it really is all heaps of fun to be amongst it all, getting out in the fresh air and knowing you are contributing to not only your own well being, but for those that are affected in some ways by these diseases...
we would also love to take the opportunity to wish you all a very merry and safe christmas and new year whatever you are doing. Its going to be bloody tough for some of you (including us). Just do what you feel like doing, and do it in your own time.
Thankyou again to all of you who continue to keep an eye out for us with 'welfare' checks, and messages of love and support, particularly at this time. We really do appreciate it.
We will catch you soon.
luv, hugs, pressies and sunshine (and a bit of rain!)
the simpsons
xox
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Madagascar 2 - Lots of fun
Hi everyone
Just a quick hello and a massive thanks to all of those people who gave up their sunday afternoon to watch a bloody funny movie to help us raise some more dosh for the leukaemia foundation...
A huge thanks too for the bairnsdale ladies auxillary (BLA) who worked hard to get it all up and running, advertised, decorated, collected stuff from local businesses for the goodie bags which were given to the little kiddies who showed up, collected cash for tickets and overall were just fun to be with. I think the final tally was around $382.00 which will be donated to the Leukaemia foundation so thanks again to all those who came along or helped in some way...it really is greatly appreciated...
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pete and i are going ok..drawing closer all the time to christmas, but are trying to prepare for it the best way we can. We are looking to head up to the cows and give them a few bales of hay (the babies are huge now!), then we will zip around to our friends just up the road for some tucker, then finally after a bit of a snooze, down to stratford to spend some time with the family for a christmas tea and a few quite ales...it should be ok.
We still think about eli every single day. We went for a long walk on sunday down along the beach to the entrance. It was just lovely and i guess we are just starting to move forward and remember more of the good times rather than the sickness eli endured.
Our thoughts are with all those families who are bereaved or have little poppets still in hospital at this time of year. Its a tough gig for many of the families and our hearts and thoughts are with all of you.
pete and i have started running and are in training for 'leg it for leukaemia' which will be in sale on the 1st of february 2009. I will post extra details when i have them. We are then hoping to get to the Fun Run for the Kids in Melbourne which i think is in April - Steph has mentioned it in the comments section so when i/we get organised, i will post more info...
The other run we are keen to be involved in is the mothers day fun run which raises money for breast cancer...so we will pop that one on as well, and if any of you are keen (mmm, or mad!), we would love to see you...and your entrance money to these events go to a great cause.
we have been ok, we both started work yesterday so that will hopefully help us get through the christmas period as well. We make no excuses, we are still hurting everyday, thats just the way it is...and will continue to be. Like pete says, our hearts will always fly at half mast...
enough of being sad, time to celebrate some wonderful fundraising efforts! Oh yeah..im sorry about the lack of cards this year..just couldnt quite bring myself to do the card thing this year...perhaps next year! We have had heaps of positive feedback about our lights on melons cottage, so we are pleased we could bring some smiles to people's faces this christmas. All the best and will talk with you soon.
love
the simpsons
xox
Just a quick hello and a massive thanks to all of those people who gave up their sunday afternoon to watch a bloody funny movie to help us raise some more dosh for the leukaemia foundation...
A huge thanks too for the bairnsdale ladies auxillary (BLA) who worked hard to get it all up and running, advertised, decorated, collected stuff from local businesses for the goodie bags which were given to the little kiddies who showed up, collected cash for tickets and overall were just fun to be with. I think the final tally was around $382.00 which will be donated to the Leukaemia foundation so thanks again to all those who came along or helped in some way...it really is greatly appreciated...
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pete and i are going ok..drawing closer all the time to christmas, but are trying to prepare for it the best way we can. We are looking to head up to the cows and give them a few bales of hay (the babies are huge now!), then we will zip around to our friends just up the road for some tucker, then finally after a bit of a snooze, down to stratford to spend some time with the family for a christmas tea and a few quite ales...it should be ok.
We still think about eli every single day. We went for a long walk on sunday down along the beach to the entrance. It was just lovely and i guess we are just starting to move forward and remember more of the good times rather than the sickness eli endured.
Our thoughts are with all those families who are bereaved or have little poppets still in hospital at this time of year. Its a tough gig for many of the families and our hearts and thoughts are with all of you.
pete and i have started running and are in training for 'leg it for leukaemia' which will be in sale on the 1st of february 2009. I will post extra details when i have them. We are then hoping to get to the Fun Run for the Kids in Melbourne which i think is in April - Steph has mentioned it in the comments section so when i/we get organised, i will post more info...
The other run we are keen to be involved in is the mothers day fun run which raises money for breast cancer...so we will pop that one on as well, and if any of you are keen (mmm, or mad!), we would love to see you...and your entrance money to these events go to a great cause.
we have been ok, we both started work yesterday so that will hopefully help us get through the christmas period as well. We make no excuses, we are still hurting everyday, thats just the way it is...and will continue to be. Like pete says, our hearts will always fly at half mast...
enough of being sad, time to celebrate some wonderful fundraising efforts! Oh yeah..im sorry about the lack of cards this year..just couldnt quite bring myself to do the card thing this year...perhaps next year! We have had heaps of positive feedback about our lights on melons cottage, so we are pleased we could bring some smiles to people's faces this christmas. All the best and will talk with you soon.
love
the simpsons
xox
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Aunty Becs Poem has arrived...
Hi everyone...
pete just told me he saw three stars last night...and he immediately thought of Eli, Nicky and Chad...little buggers are never far away...
one of the most loveliest bits of feedback we have had is that everytime it rains, lots of people look to the sky and think of Eli...its another wonderful memory...we do the same thing ALL the time...
Now, aunty becs poem has arrived so i will put it down in the celebration part...its called 'my teddy bear' and was written when eli was first born by my sister rebecca who lives in perth...she really has a beautiful way with words and i reckon she should publish a book of poetry...she is very very talented...as im sure you will see.
pete and i are heading back to work on monday...there are no expectations, and we are hoping that these small steps forward will help in our loss...we will still keep writing as things happen, and i will get some photos up of melons cottage very very soon so you can follow our progress...
For those that can, we would love to see you on sunday (tomorrow) at the bairnsdale cinema...4.30pm to watch madagascar...should be a fun afternoon....proceeds go to the leukaemia foundation...
all the very best and i hope you enjoy a very lovely weekend.
luv and hugs
the simpsons
xox
pete just told me he saw three stars last night...and he immediately thought of Eli, Nicky and Chad...little buggers are never far away...
one of the most loveliest bits of feedback we have had is that everytime it rains, lots of people look to the sky and think of Eli...its another wonderful memory...we do the same thing ALL the time...
Now, aunty becs poem has arrived so i will put it down in the celebration part...its called 'my teddy bear' and was written when eli was first born by my sister rebecca who lives in perth...she really has a beautiful way with words and i reckon she should publish a book of poetry...she is very very talented...as im sure you will see.
pete and i are heading back to work on monday...there are no expectations, and we are hoping that these small steps forward will help in our loss...we will still keep writing as things happen, and i will get some photos up of melons cottage very very soon so you can follow our progress...
For those that can, we would love to see you on sunday (tomorrow) at the bairnsdale cinema...4.30pm to watch madagascar...should be a fun afternoon....proceeds go to the leukaemia foundation...
all the very best and i hope you enjoy a very lovely weekend.
luv and hugs
the simpsons
xox
Monday, December 15, 2008
Eli's celebration
HI guys
you will need to scroll down to view our thoughts on eli's celebration held 21st November 2008...not sure why it has placed itself in that position, but it has...im a dinosaur and unfortunately cannot change it!
Its listed under Thu 11 December...
for those of you who didnt attend eli's celebration, have a couple of tissues handy, for those that did, hopefully it captures some lovely memories for you...
love and hugs
the simpsons
xox
you will need to scroll down to view our thoughts on eli's celebration held 21st November 2008...not sure why it has placed itself in that position, but it has...im a dinosaur and unfortunately cannot change it!
Its listed under Thu 11 December...
for those of you who didnt attend eli's celebration, have a couple of tissues handy, for those that did, hopefully it captures some lovely memories for you...
love and hugs
the simpsons
xox
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Fundraising begins...
Hi everyone
Pete and I attended little nicky's celebration yesterday and it was a beautiful goodbye to a beautiful little man...It was also a great opportunity to catch up with a couple of the nursing staff, and some mums and dads that we met while we were in hospital. In all honesty, it was still very very raw, but we are thrilled that we could celebrate the life of a little man.
Now...I received a lovely email yesterday, and im not sure who is the brain behind the idea (although the BLA - Bairnsdale Ladies Auxillary) is the first thing to spring to mind...anyhoo..the email invites those that are interested to attend the screening of Madagascar 2 at the Bairnsdale Cinema on Sunday 21st December - 4.30pm. Tickets are $13 for adults and $9 for children or $36 for a family (2 adults and 2 kids). Some of the $$ made from the ticket sales will be donated to the Leukaemia Foundation, so when and if you can we would love to see you...
The only catch is....the girls need numbers by Monday arvo. So if you ARE interested, give me a buzz, or ring "Aleisha" on 5152 0641 and put your name down...they will accept money until 19th December...
Thanks to EVERYONE who got this up and running...its a bloody great effort...
Love and hugs
jodes and pete
xox
Pete and I attended little nicky's celebration yesterday and it was a beautiful goodbye to a beautiful little man...It was also a great opportunity to catch up with a couple of the nursing staff, and some mums and dads that we met while we were in hospital. In all honesty, it was still very very raw, but we are thrilled that we could celebrate the life of a little man.
Now...I received a lovely email yesterday, and im not sure who is the brain behind the idea (although the BLA - Bairnsdale Ladies Auxillary) is the first thing to spring to mind...anyhoo..the email invites those that are interested to attend the screening of Madagascar 2 at the Bairnsdale Cinema on Sunday 21st December - 4.30pm. Tickets are $13 for adults and $9 for children or $36 for a family (2 adults and 2 kids). Some of the $$ made from the ticket sales will be donated to the Leukaemia Foundation, so when and if you can we would love to see you...
The only catch is....the girls need numbers by Monday arvo. So if you ARE interested, give me a buzz, or ring "Aleisha" on 5152 0641 and put your name down...they will accept money until 19th December...
Thanks to EVERYONE who got this up and running...its a bloody great effort...
Love and hugs
jodes and pete
xox
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Eli's Celebration
HI everyone...
i know i have promised for AGES to post some details about Eli's celebration.
I will see how i go and i hope i capture the day as best as i can.
The morning started in a whirlwind really, we knew it was the day to say goodbye to our son. But as pete said, we had the most amazing build up to the day that we could honestly be there and feel nothing but an immense pride towards our son. All the stuff he taught us, the joy and tears we had when we put together his photo montage, the pain and pride we felt when we were writing our speeches and the fond memories we had when discussing eli's life with the celebrant Peter Murray who conducted the service.
We took great comfort knowing that eli was being looked after in an amazing way by tom, rachel and peter murray. We took our time and planned a little bit of eli's service every day. Tuesday evening we picked a couple of readings and some 'grown up clothes', wednesday we looked at all our photos and put our montage together and thursday we very proudly wrote our speeches and tweaked his little coffin with wiggles stickers, his toothbrush and toothpaste, an aussie flag, a little superman symbol, his wiggles drum, his little fishy hat, a couple of cows that were given to Eli by his friends, a photo of his little mates and their mums from our mothers group and most of all, a bloody big dose of our love. Friday we said goodbye to our baby boy.
Peter Murray did a fantastic job and outlined the proceedings for the service and invited our friend bella to do a reading for us.
He then talked about eli's life and all the first's that eli experienced which raised a few giggles from the crowd. Soon after we celebrated Eli's life with a photo montage which was just lovely and hopefully it will work on the blog for us. We also heard from Peter Appleford - our big boss which was just the most amazing speech and again, we will post it for you to read. Peter did a fantastic job in capturing EVERYTHING we wanted and needed and for that we thank you. Eli's WAMMA (grandma from WA) stepped up and read a poem that was written by his aunty rebecca when eli was first born and we thought it was a lovely reading for the service. Pete and i also got up with immense pride and recalled some of our favourite memories and the lessons he taught us. We then invited our family and friends to lay a bit of bottlebrush, tea tree and eucalyptus leaves on eli's coffin (we called it the candy bar because thats what it ended up looking like!) and that was undertaken to eli's favourite song "The birds and the bees". After a few more words, it was time to say goodbye to our beautiful son and let him go for the last time. With many tears, we picked up his tiny 'candybar' and walked it to the hearse to the gorgeous song 'In the arms of an angel'. We did not want the experience to end and to us, it was no way a funeral...it will forever be known as eli's 'service' or 'celebration'.
The car carried eli's little candybar away to traralgon for his final trip where he was cremated. As you have probably read, there was no way he was going to be left too long ANYWHERE and as soon as rachel called us to say eli was home, we collected him the following day which was the wednesday after his celebration.
Eli kept his promise and we got the most amazing amount of rain on the sunday (160mm or thereabouts in buchan) and it has steadily been keeping pace since we have been home. Eli is sitting in his cot off our kitchen so he can see everything that is going on, and is within easy reach to talk to. Every sunday is extremely difficult but we are slowly learning to celebrate his life rather than remembering the way he died. We have seen things that no one on this earth should see, and i suspect that it is going to take a while to really get our heads around. But, we will take each day as it comes and surround ourselves with positive energy and know that we have had a truly special little man in our world that has taught us so much about life and ourselves in such a short time. And we will continue to work quietly but passionately for all of our charities (including giving blood!!) and i know it will keep us busy and keep eli's legacy alive.
Rebecca's poem - 'my teddy bear'
Your smile warms our heart
Your gift warms our soul
Your are our son and friend
Your heart is big and true
And true is what we will always be to you
Our love for you
There is no spare
Because you are our teddy bear
You are our wildest dream come true
But never a son as true as you
So dream a dream
As old as time
And it will come in good time
We have always stood side by side
And never put a dream aside
Games we have played
And times we have laughed
Those times will always stay in our hearts
And forever remember
You are our son, and teddy bear
If ever you need us we will always be there.
Reading Bella read-
Ninny saw that you were getting tired
A cure was not to be
So she put her arms around you
And whispered ‘come with me’
With tearful eyes we all watched you suffer
And saw you fade away
Although we loved you dearly
We would not make you stay
So when we saw you sleeping
So peacefully from pain
We could not wish you back
To suffer that way again
A beautiful heart stopped beating
Brave and inspirational hands went to rest
Ninny took you to prove to us
She only takes the best
In life we will miss you dearly
In death we love you still
In our hearts you will always hold a special place
No one else will ever fill.
Peter Applefords speech (inspirational)...thanks peter a...
Eli’s Service
Peter and Jody have asked me to say a few words today about Eli.
I am not here to tell you how well I knew Eli, or all the good times we had together. To be honest I only met him three times – one of those was a haircut appointment.
I am not going to try and make sense of what has happened. I cannot.
I am going to talk about how Eli can make the world a better place. I am going to tell a story of three people – a family. A story of love, courage and strength. A story about one individual that can make us all better people.
The world can be a better place because of Eli and what has happened. And we need to make this happen. We owe it to Eli. We owe it to Peter and Jody.
And Jody and peter need to know this. They need to know that what has happened meant something. So tell them, if not today when you have a chance. Tell them what Eli meant to you and how you are a better person because of Eli.
We have seen three people who no longer coveted the wants of life. It was about the needs - needs of life, for life. The need to be together, to be strong, to be loving, to be courageous. Hours, days, weeks, months of blood tests, results, doctors, hospitals, needles, operations. Away from home, away from family, away from friends – but together as a family. The food didn’t matter, the house you owned, the car you drove, the work, the stakeholders. None of it was important. None of it mattered. All those things we spend so much time worrying about, arguing about, getting upset over and upsetting others over.
It is about a child. A tremendous boy called Eli. The treasure of his parents. The hero to many.
Eli went through a lot. It all happened to Eli. He asked for none of it. But he didn’t complain. He met it all head on. He stayed brave and happy. And he provided happiness and joy to so many.
He was faced with many challenges. Leukaemia, splenectomy, transplants and infections – you name it. You couldn’t blame him if he gave up. But he didn’t, he wouldn’t. He fought on showing strength and courage – the strength and courage of a hero, our champion. Strength and courage we all respect. Supported by the love and strength of his parents. You could see where it all came from. And watched and helped by many.
Eli provided many good times. Peter and Jody cherished the time they had together as a family. And wouldn’t give it up for anything. It is a pity is couldn’t be for longer.
I am better for knowing Eli and what happened. Eli got us all to take action – donate money, send wishes, express love and support, pray, hope – shave our heads. He pulled us together, he made us forget our differences. He brought out the good in us. He made us do things we wouldn’t normally do – I was pretty vain about my hair. And we can’t let that go.
In the future remember Eli. His bravery, his love, his strength, his courage. Keep this in mind in the difficult times. The next time life seems tough, when we feel an injustice has occurred, we aren’t happy about something or with someone – think of Eli. Think of Jody and Peter. Think of the last twelve months and today. Think is it about a want or a need. Think would Jody and Peter let it go to have Eli back – would Eli give up.
We cannot change others but we can change ourselves. Use Eli’s strength in the hard times, for courage in fearful times, to place things in perspective. Do this and the world would be a better place.
Thankyou Eli for what you have taught me.
God bless.
Mum and dads speech
Pete opened
On behalf of Eli, Jodes and myself we would like to sincerely like thank our family, friends, colleagues, doctors, nurses, PSA’s for all your on going support. We would like to thank those people who kept an eye on our house, cows, cat and the girls from the newly formed Bairnsdale Ladies Auxiliary for your very nourishing Red Cross packages. I know that I will be fed and sheltered if Jodes ever kicks me out of the house. We would also like to acknowledge the Dr’s, nurses and PSA’s at the children’s hospital who never gave up on Eli and our employers Fisheries Victoria who never questioned and only gave unconditional support. The Leukaemia Foundation for providing us with a home away from home and support while we were in hospital and ‘Challenge” – supporting kids with cancer for the ‘little things’ we needed. Angel flight also helped us get to Melbourne and back in a day which was just sensational. Without all that love and support we would not got as far as we did as a family.
JODES
Giving birth to a baby is truly the most wonderful experience anyone can have. How proud we were when Eli Charlie Simpson came into our world. Like many new parents, a new world opens up full of amazement, joy and most of all love.
Eli always challenged us. Quite unsettled at times, pretty good on the tooth, a love for my boobs, didn’t like to sleep much through the day and always kept us honest. Like all babies, he grew, ate well and was always loved unconditionally.
When eli was 15 weeks of age, our world changed forever. He was diagnosed with leukaemia and while we were literally heartbroken, we were determined to do what we could to help our son get through the biggest battle of his life.
And so started the indoctrination into a life where medicine, blood counts and isolation takes priority – 4 hours from home and far from any kind of normality.
Eli took most things in his stride. We continued to strive for the most ‘normal’ life we could, having our own routines and always encouraging our son to develop and achieve milestones in his own time – which he did.
I often said it was hard in a medical world to not forget about the ‘baby stuff’. At times eli cried and we thought, is it the affects of chemo, what is happening only to have a tooth pop up a couple of days later. The challenges were many!
As a very proud mum, I could rave on forever about our son. I would like to share a couple of my memories with you.
June 4th this year, a day before his bone marrow transplant, eli discovered he had a willy. One small pull and he was away. I laughed like crazy, not fully comprehending how much joy a doodle could bring to a males life. I quietly left the room knowing that pete was hanging over the cot looking at eli with a belly full of pride saying ‘that’s my boy’. Little did they know we were at the nurses station watching them on a tv screen and both were clearly in heaven. How proud I was.
The other thing I loved was knowing that eli took great delight in watching the wiggles ad nauseum. I think pete and I know every wiggles tune to have ever graced this earth and are thankful for their talents as im sure hospital would have been an extremely boring place without them for eli.
I also will remember the massive carbon footprint left as I account for all the kilometres I did driving eli around so he would sleep for more than 30mins. Ironically, the car we bought to drive eli to appointments about 2 months ago is now on gas!
Even though eli was just 13 ½ months of age, his life was packed full of experiences.
We would like to openly acknowledge the grief and devastation we are feeling for the loss of our son. We both feel very lost without eli being around us. We take comfort in the fact that eli is no longer fighting and that he is truly in a place where he can muck around, not worry about germs and most importantly, he is no longer in any pain.
Our lives will no longer consist of giving medical staff heaps of curry, laughing as eli and pete strategically planted creepy crawlies under thermometers and on drips to scare nursing staff, supporting other families in the same situation we were faced with, giving people knicknames like rae-way, fantapants, the roadrunner, the school principle, band camp, Hannah Montana, the goonie bird, glamourpuss, Cleopatra, fritz, the wee Scottish thistle, muddy waters and the list goes on. You can see we often had plenty of times on our hands to get into some sort of trouble.
We would like to think that our experience at the children’s cancer centre with a baby has left a legacy of continually trying improve processes and procedures. For staff, just trying to be a bit more tolerant of mums and dads with small babies like eli, remembering to open doors quietly when babies were sleeping, and letting mums and dads guide the way with routines and not let hospitals dictate life. We fought hard for these few privileges and hope they assist other families in time.
We know eli will be safe in his ninny’s arms, eating twisties, blowing raspberries, watching the wiggles and continuing to leave his mark on our world.
Eli will have many legacies for us, and we hope he has just one or two for you as well. Some will be very quickly apparent, but some will happen over time. I know I will remember our son as a bloody little legend who fought like hell and was loved unconditionally by everyone.
PETE
When I sat down to pen a few words about our boy, I said where do you bloody start. As Jodes said Eli always kept us honest and always seen things black and white. He had Jodes stubbiness and my cheek and I know in the years to come that Jodes would have been that bad cop and myself the good cop. Even though he was only with us for a short time, I will always treasure the memories of our boy. I will treasure the mornings that we went milk crate hunting in the streets of North Melbourne and how I spoke to him about what would be required when we moved onto larger moving targets. I will admire his ability to attract the most beautiful nurses who would ever find in a hospital into his room. I will miss his little monkeyshines. The way he blew raspberries and how it was music to my ears and most of all, our cuddles and how we played on the swing and how he sang like a canary in the process. I will never forget Eli’s fighting and staying power and how demonstrated spirit of his ancestors who fought the battles of Gallipoli, Western Front and patrolled the world’s vast oceans.
I would like to thank our boy for the new lines in my face and the grey hair that is emerging like weeds in a paddock full of clover. I thank him most for teaching me about life, how simple things are often the best, not to be afraid, what courage and determine really means, how to be strong and most of all the good times we had as a family.
I take solace in the fact that he fought a good fight to the very end and never gave up and how Jodes and I were with him to the very end to tell him that we loved him, how proud of him we were and that he was free to go.
There’s no doubt that we will miss our little man and the flags in out heart will forever fly at half-mast. I know in my own heart as the minutes, days and years pass by his legacy will become clear. It’s not good-bye but we shall meet again my big buddy and can you do something about this bloody drought…
Eli's final farewell speech
ELI
Just before eli passed away, he asked his mum to let you all know that he was extremely thankful for all your support.
He said he felt so lucky getting so many messages from you all and takes comfort in the fact that he knows you will look after his mum and dad for him.
Eli said he felt sad to leave but he was tired from fighting. He said he was very proud that he gave life a fair crack and enjoyed the time he did have here with us all.
Eli was also thankful to all the staff at the royal children’s hospital and dr goss who followed his progress from his diagnosis and visited us in Melbourne when he could.
Eli said that he would like to thank his mum and dad for never leaving his side since the time he was born and understands that there will be a hole in their hearts forever. He also giggles at the times mum got cranky at some of the medical staff which put a new meaning to the phrase ‘fix bayonets!”
Eli said that he knew his mum and dad loved him unconditionally and were his voice when he needed to be heard. He also recalls the time he would pull dads chest hair in the shower and all those times mum copped wee, spew or poo over her and she always took it in her stride. Eli remembered the time when he heard his mum say ‘we started this as a family, and we will finish it as a family” Eli said he was so proud of us all because we did.
Eli said to remember him as a little star in the sky, always looking down and will do his best to bring some rain to us.
Eli would like you to remember one thing…if you think you are having a crappy day, just remember all the little bubbas and their families on the cancer ward at the royal children’s hospital and the monumental fight they have on their hands…those are the things we should be worrying about.
Eli said to say that he loves you all very much.
Thankyou all once again for showing us that there is humanity in the world and for sharing the life of Eli Charlie Simpson with us.
Eli's photos
MELONS SHACK...
Im not sure whether we told you, but we are on a block of land which we were hoping to subdivide while eli was alive, with the intention of building our family home down the bottom of our block. For those that know us, we very eagerly renovated a 'shed' into a little home which has 2 bedrooms, a nice balcony, oodles of mozzies, a bathroom that is on the inside now (instead of a shed outside!)...we renovated when i was heavily pregnant, and we were pleased when we could finally move in (only 2 weeks before eli came into the world)!
We had the intention of building our family home, and keeping the little shack that we currently live in for family and friends to come and visit, and the possibility of holiday renting it...
when eli was diagnosed with leukaemia, we immediately decided the shack was not to be holiday rented, it was a little home that would be made available to not only our family and friends, but those families who have kids with cancer/leukaemia, bereaved families, as well as staff working on the 6th floor as a little bit of respite east of the city. We are stressing its not a HUGE house, but one that is certainly a home and filled with lots of love.
'melons cottage' is a small legacy in honor of our son, as well as all those parents who have walked a mile in our shoes and lost their beautiful children...
It is the absolute least we can do for those who are still fighting these insidious diseases or families who are still trying to grasp the fact that they now have a life without their beautiful son or daughter. Both pete and i acknowledge that we are in a unique position to keep both blocks and offer our small house for just a bit of respite for everyone...
Stay posted for some piccies of melon's shack as we continue to work on the house with loving and beautiful memories of our son. A place where hopefully one day you can sit and take stock of your lives, laugh and cry, and hopefully remember our beautiful son Eli Charlie Simpson...
A bereavement thanks...
For those who live a bit further away, pete and i put a bereavement thanks in the local paper, and feel like this would be a good vehicle to ensure that ALL of you get a thanks and mmmwwwahhh from us...
Bereavement Thanks
Simpson - Eli Charlie
We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped celebrate the life of our son Eli. To all who helped us with our cat, cows, plants and house, thankyou so much. To those who found the time to cook us tucker and get it to us both at home and in Melbourne, we are grateful. To those who sent us messages of love, thoughts and support, we just so humbled to have you all in our lives and your beautiful kindness will never be forgotten. We will quietly continue our passion to raise the profiles of our charities in our community so they can continue helping families like ours.
Tom, Peter and Rachel - thankyou for helping us with Eli's service, a perfect fit for our family and finally, our work colleagues both past and present, for keeping in touch and supporting us so wonderfully.
Eli's legacy will forever live on...
Jodie and Peter Simpson.
i know i have promised for AGES to post some details about Eli's celebration.
I will see how i go and i hope i capture the day as best as i can.
The morning started in a whirlwind really, we knew it was the day to say goodbye to our son. But as pete said, we had the most amazing build up to the day that we could honestly be there and feel nothing but an immense pride towards our son. All the stuff he taught us, the joy and tears we had when we put together his photo montage, the pain and pride we felt when we were writing our speeches and the fond memories we had when discussing eli's life with the celebrant Peter Murray who conducted the service.
We took great comfort knowing that eli was being looked after in an amazing way by tom, rachel and peter murray. We took our time and planned a little bit of eli's service every day. Tuesday evening we picked a couple of readings and some 'grown up clothes', wednesday we looked at all our photos and put our montage together and thursday we very proudly wrote our speeches and tweaked his little coffin with wiggles stickers, his toothbrush and toothpaste, an aussie flag, a little superman symbol, his wiggles drum, his little fishy hat, a couple of cows that were given to Eli by his friends, a photo of his little mates and their mums from our mothers group and most of all, a bloody big dose of our love. Friday we said goodbye to our baby boy.
Peter Murray did a fantastic job and outlined the proceedings for the service and invited our friend bella to do a reading for us.
He then talked about eli's life and all the first's that eli experienced which raised a few giggles from the crowd. Soon after we celebrated Eli's life with a photo montage which was just lovely and hopefully it will work on the blog for us. We also heard from Peter Appleford - our big boss which was just the most amazing speech and again, we will post it for you to read. Peter did a fantastic job in capturing EVERYTHING we wanted and needed and for that we thank you. Eli's WAMMA (grandma from WA) stepped up and read a poem that was written by his aunty rebecca when eli was first born and we thought it was a lovely reading for the service. Pete and i also got up with immense pride and recalled some of our favourite memories and the lessons he taught us. We then invited our family and friends to lay a bit of bottlebrush, tea tree and eucalyptus leaves on eli's coffin (we called it the candy bar because thats what it ended up looking like!) and that was undertaken to eli's favourite song "The birds and the bees". After a few more words, it was time to say goodbye to our beautiful son and let him go for the last time. With many tears, we picked up his tiny 'candybar' and walked it to the hearse to the gorgeous song 'In the arms of an angel'. We did not want the experience to end and to us, it was no way a funeral...it will forever be known as eli's 'service' or 'celebration'.
The car carried eli's little candybar away to traralgon for his final trip where he was cremated. As you have probably read, there was no way he was going to be left too long ANYWHERE and as soon as rachel called us to say eli was home, we collected him the following day which was the wednesday after his celebration.
Eli kept his promise and we got the most amazing amount of rain on the sunday (160mm or thereabouts in buchan) and it has steadily been keeping pace since we have been home. Eli is sitting in his cot off our kitchen so he can see everything that is going on, and is within easy reach to talk to. Every sunday is extremely difficult but we are slowly learning to celebrate his life rather than remembering the way he died. We have seen things that no one on this earth should see, and i suspect that it is going to take a while to really get our heads around. But, we will take each day as it comes and surround ourselves with positive energy and know that we have had a truly special little man in our world that has taught us so much about life and ourselves in such a short time. And we will continue to work quietly but passionately for all of our charities (including giving blood!!) and i know it will keep us busy and keep eli's legacy alive.
Rebecca's poem - 'my teddy bear'
Your smile warms our heart
Your gift warms our soul
Your are our son and friend
Your heart is big and true
And true is what we will always be to you
Our love for you
There is no spare
Because you are our teddy bear
You are our wildest dream come true
But never a son as true as you
So dream a dream
As old as time
And it will come in good time
We have always stood side by side
And never put a dream aside
Games we have played
And times we have laughed
Those times will always stay in our hearts
And forever remember
You are our son, and teddy bear
If ever you need us we will always be there.
Reading Bella read-
Ninny saw that you were getting tired
A cure was not to be
So she put her arms around you
And whispered ‘come with me’
With tearful eyes we all watched you suffer
And saw you fade away
Although we loved you dearly
We would not make you stay
So when we saw you sleeping
So peacefully from pain
We could not wish you back
To suffer that way again
A beautiful heart stopped beating
Brave and inspirational hands went to rest
Ninny took you to prove to us
She only takes the best
In life we will miss you dearly
In death we love you still
In our hearts you will always hold a special place
No one else will ever fill.
Peter Applefords speech (inspirational)...thanks peter a...
Eli’s Service
Peter and Jody have asked me to say a few words today about Eli.
I am not here to tell you how well I knew Eli, or all the good times we had together. To be honest I only met him three times – one of those was a haircut appointment.
I am not going to try and make sense of what has happened. I cannot.
I am going to talk about how Eli can make the world a better place. I am going to tell a story of three people – a family. A story of love, courage and strength. A story about one individual that can make us all better people.
The world can be a better place because of Eli and what has happened. And we need to make this happen. We owe it to Eli. We owe it to Peter and Jody.
And Jody and peter need to know this. They need to know that what has happened meant something. So tell them, if not today when you have a chance. Tell them what Eli meant to you and how you are a better person because of Eli.
We have seen three people who no longer coveted the wants of life. It was about the needs - needs of life, for life. The need to be together, to be strong, to be loving, to be courageous. Hours, days, weeks, months of blood tests, results, doctors, hospitals, needles, operations. Away from home, away from family, away from friends – but together as a family. The food didn’t matter, the house you owned, the car you drove, the work, the stakeholders. None of it was important. None of it mattered. All those things we spend so much time worrying about, arguing about, getting upset over and upsetting others over.
It is about a child. A tremendous boy called Eli. The treasure of his parents. The hero to many.
Eli went through a lot. It all happened to Eli. He asked for none of it. But he didn’t complain. He met it all head on. He stayed brave and happy. And he provided happiness and joy to so many.
He was faced with many challenges. Leukaemia, splenectomy, transplants and infections – you name it. You couldn’t blame him if he gave up. But he didn’t, he wouldn’t. He fought on showing strength and courage – the strength and courage of a hero, our champion. Strength and courage we all respect. Supported by the love and strength of his parents. You could see where it all came from. And watched and helped by many.
Eli provided many good times. Peter and Jody cherished the time they had together as a family. And wouldn’t give it up for anything. It is a pity is couldn’t be for longer.
I am better for knowing Eli and what happened. Eli got us all to take action – donate money, send wishes, express love and support, pray, hope – shave our heads. He pulled us together, he made us forget our differences. He brought out the good in us. He made us do things we wouldn’t normally do – I was pretty vain about my hair. And we can’t let that go.
In the future remember Eli. His bravery, his love, his strength, his courage. Keep this in mind in the difficult times. The next time life seems tough, when we feel an injustice has occurred, we aren’t happy about something or with someone – think of Eli. Think of Jody and Peter. Think of the last twelve months and today. Think is it about a want or a need. Think would Jody and Peter let it go to have Eli back – would Eli give up.
We cannot change others but we can change ourselves. Use Eli’s strength in the hard times, for courage in fearful times, to place things in perspective. Do this and the world would be a better place.
Thankyou Eli for what you have taught me.
God bless.
Mum and dads speech
Pete opened
On behalf of Eli, Jodes and myself we would like to sincerely like thank our family, friends, colleagues, doctors, nurses, PSA’s for all your on going support. We would like to thank those people who kept an eye on our house, cows, cat and the girls from the newly formed Bairnsdale Ladies Auxiliary for your very nourishing Red Cross packages. I know that I will be fed and sheltered if Jodes ever kicks me out of the house. We would also like to acknowledge the Dr’s, nurses and PSA’s at the children’s hospital who never gave up on Eli and our employers Fisheries Victoria who never questioned and only gave unconditional support. The Leukaemia Foundation for providing us with a home away from home and support while we were in hospital and ‘Challenge” – supporting kids with cancer for the ‘little things’ we needed. Angel flight also helped us get to Melbourne and back in a day which was just sensational. Without all that love and support we would not got as far as we did as a family.
JODES
Giving birth to a baby is truly the most wonderful experience anyone can have. How proud we were when Eli Charlie Simpson came into our world. Like many new parents, a new world opens up full of amazement, joy and most of all love.
Eli always challenged us. Quite unsettled at times, pretty good on the tooth, a love for my boobs, didn’t like to sleep much through the day and always kept us honest. Like all babies, he grew, ate well and was always loved unconditionally.
When eli was 15 weeks of age, our world changed forever. He was diagnosed with leukaemia and while we were literally heartbroken, we were determined to do what we could to help our son get through the biggest battle of his life.
And so started the indoctrination into a life where medicine, blood counts and isolation takes priority – 4 hours from home and far from any kind of normality.
Eli took most things in his stride. We continued to strive for the most ‘normal’ life we could, having our own routines and always encouraging our son to develop and achieve milestones in his own time – which he did.
I often said it was hard in a medical world to not forget about the ‘baby stuff’. At times eli cried and we thought, is it the affects of chemo, what is happening only to have a tooth pop up a couple of days later. The challenges were many!
As a very proud mum, I could rave on forever about our son. I would like to share a couple of my memories with you.
June 4th this year, a day before his bone marrow transplant, eli discovered he had a willy. One small pull and he was away. I laughed like crazy, not fully comprehending how much joy a doodle could bring to a males life. I quietly left the room knowing that pete was hanging over the cot looking at eli with a belly full of pride saying ‘that’s my boy’. Little did they know we were at the nurses station watching them on a tv screen and both were clearly in heaven. How proud I was.
The other thing I loved was knowing that eli took great delight in watching the wiggles ad nauseum. I think pete and I know every wiggles tune to have ever graced this earth and are thankful for their talents as im sure hospital would have been an extremely boring place without them for eli.
I also will remember the massive carbon footprint left as I account for all the kilometres I did driving eli around so he would sleep for more than 30mins. Ironically, the car we bought to drive eli to appointments about 2 months ago is now on gas!
Even though eli was just 13 ½ months of age, his life was packed full of experiences.
We would like to openly acknowledge the grief and devastation we are feeling for the loss of our son. We both feel very lost without eli being around us. We take comfort in the fact that eli is no longer fighting and that he is truly in a place where he can muck around, not worry about germs and most importantly, he is no longer in any pain.
Our lives will no longer consist of giving medical staff heaps of curry, laughing as eli and pete strategically planted creepy crawlies under thermometers and on drips to scare nursing staff, supporting other families in the same situation we were faced with, giving people knicknames like rae-way, fantapants, the roadrunner, the school principle, band camp, Hannah Montana, the goonie bird, glamourpuss, Cleopatra, fritz, the wee Scottish thistle, muddy waters and the list goes on. You can see we often had plenty of times on our hands to get into some sort of trouble.
We would like to think that our experience at the children’s cancer centre with a baby has left a legacy of continually trying improve processes and procedures. For staff, just trying to be a bit more tolerant of mums and dads with small babies like eli, remembering to open doors quietly when babies were sleeping, and letting mums and dads guide the way with routines and not let hospitals dictate life. We fought hard for these few privileges and hope they assist other families in time.
We know eli will be safe in his ninny’s arms, eating twisties, blowing raspberries, watching the wiggles and continuing to leave his mark on our world.
Eli will have many legacies for us, and we hope he has just one or two for you as well. Some will be very quickly apparent, but some will happen over time. I know I will remember our son as a bloody little legend who fought like hell and was loved unconditionally by everyone.
PETE
When I sat down to pen a few words about our boy, I said where do you bloody start. As Jodes said Eli always kept us honest and always seen things black and white. He had Jodes stubbiness and my cheek and I know in the years to come that Jodes would have been that bad cop and myself the good cop. Even though he was only with us for a short time, I will always treasure the memories of our boy. I will treasure the mornings that we went milk crate hunting in the streets of North Melbourne and how I spoke to him about what would be required when we moved onto larger moving targets. I will admire his ability to attract the most beautiful nurses who would ever find in a hospital into his room. I will miss his little monkeyshines. The way he blew raspberries and how it was music to my ears and most of all, our cuddles and how we played on the swing and how he sang like a canary in the process. I will never forget Eli’s fighting and staying power and how demonstrated spirit of his ancestors who fought the battles of Gallipoli, Western Front and patrolled the world’s vast oceans.
I would like to thank our boy for the new lines in my face and the grey hair that is emerging like weeds in a paddock full of clover. I thank him most for teaching me about life, how simple things are often the best, not to be afraid, what courage and determine really means, how to be strong and most of all the good times we had as a family.
I take solace in the fact that he fought a good fight to the very end and never gave up and how Jodes and I were with him to the very end to tell him that we loved him, how proud of him we were and that he was free to go.
There’s no doubt that we will miss our little man and the flags in out heart will forever fly at half-mast. I know in my own heart as the minutes, days and years pass by his legacy will become clear. It’s not good-bye but we shall meet again my big buddy and can you do something about this bloody drought…
Eli's final farewell speech
ELI
Just before eli passed away, he asked his mum to let you all know that he was extremely thankful for all your support.
He said he felt so lucky getting so many messages from you all and takes comfort in the fact that he knows you will look after his mum and dad for him.
Eli said he felt sad to leave but he was tired from fighting. He said he was very proud that he gave life a fair crack and enjoyed the time he did have here with us all.
Eli was also thankful to all the staff at the royal children’s hospital and dr goss who followed his progress from his diagnosis and visited us in Melbourne when he could.
Eli said that he would like to thank his mum and dad for never leaving his side since the time he was born and understands that there will be a hole in their hearts forever. He also giggles at the times mum got cranky at some of the medical staff which put a new meaning to the phrase ‘fix bayonets!”
Eli said that he knew his mum and dad loved him unconditionally and were his voice when he needed to be heard. He also recalls the time he would pull dads chest hair in the shower and all those times mum copped wee, spew or poo over her and she always took it in her stride. Eli remembered the time when he heard his mum say ‘we started this as a family, and we will finish it as a family” Eli said he was so proud of us all because we did.
Eli said to remember him as a little star in the sky, always looking down and will do his best to bring some rain to us.
Eli would like you to remember one thing…if you think you are having a crappy day, just remember all the little bubbas and their families on the cancer ward at the royal children’s hospital and the monumental fight they have on their hands…those are the things we should be worrying about.
Eli said to say that he loves you all very much.
Thankyou all once again for showing us that there is humanity in the world and for sharing the life of Eli Charlie Simpson with us.
Eli's photos
MELONS SHACK...
Im not sure whether we told you, but we are on a block of land which we were hoping to subdivide while eli was alive, with the intention of building our family home down the bottom of our block. For those that know us, we very eagerly renovated a 'shed' into a little home which has 2 bedrooms, a nice balcony, oodles of mozzies, a bathroom that is on the inside now (instead of a shed outside!)...we renovated when i was heavily pregnant, and we were pleased when we could finally move in (only 2 weeks before eli came into the world)!
We had the intention of building our family home, and keeping the little shack that we currently live in for family and friends to come and visit, and the possibility of holiday renting it...
when eli was diagnosed with leukaemia, we immediately decided the shack was not to be holiday rented, it was a little home that would be made available to not only our family and friends, but those families who have kids with cancer/leukaemia, bereaved families, as well as staff working on the 6th floor as a little bit of respite east of the city. We are stressing its not a HUGE house, but one that is certainly a home and filled with lots of love.
'melons cottage' is a small legacy in honor of our son, as well as all those parents who have walked a mile in our shoes and lost their beautiful children...
It is the absolute least we can do for those who are still fighting these insidious diseases or families who are still trying to grasp the fact that they now have a life without their beautiful son or daughter. Both pete and i acknowledge that we are in a unique position to keep both blocks and offer our small house for just a bit of respite for everyone...
Stay posted for some piccies of melon's shack as we continue to work on the house with loving and beautiful memories of our son. A place where hopefully one day you can sit and take stock of your lives, laugh and cry, and hopefully remember our beautiful son Eli Charlie Simpson...
A bereavement thanks...
For those who live a bit further away, pete and i put a bereavement thanks in the local paper, and feel like this would be a good vehicle to ensure that ALL of you get a thanks and mmmwwwahhh from us...
Bereavement Thanks
Simpson - Eli Charlie
We would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped celebrate the life of our son Eli. To all who helped us with our cat, cows, plants and house, thankyou so much. To those who found the time to cook us tucker and get it to us both at home and in Melbourne, we are grateful. To those who sent us messages of love, thoughts and support, we just so humbled to have you all in our lives and your beautiful kindness will never be forgotten. We will quietly continue our passion to raise the profiles of our charities in our community so they can continue helping families like ours.
Tom, Peter and Rachel - thankyou for helping us with Eli's service, a perfect fit for our family and finally, our work colleagues both past and present, for keeping in touch and supporting us so wonderfully.
Eli's legacy will forever live on...
Jodie and Peter Simpson.
More heavy hearts...and the best present you can give...
Hi everyone
sorry about the delay in getting back to everyone, we have been busy just doin 'stuff'...lots of gardening, bit of sewing and just generally trying to keep ourselves out of trouble!
We heard a couple of days ago that one of Eli's little mates "nicholas" passed away last sunday from his cancer. Nicholas was 2 and a bloody corker of a kid...we shared a room with nick and his mum belinda when we were first admitted to hospital back in October...
He was cheeky, very very bright and just loved his mum and dad. Nicholas will never be forgotten by his friends on the 6th floor or his mum Belinda, dad Michael and big sister Holly and the rest of his family and friends. We take comfort in the fact that he is now playing with Eli and Chad and the rest of the little poppets who have lost the fight with their disease.
Pete and I are still taking one day at a time and are often taken back to beautiful memories of our son. We thank everyone who still messages and calls us to give us a 'welfare' check to make sure we are going ok. People say time heals, but we are still struggling like it was yesterday...
I heard the blood bus was in town a couple of weeks ago, and decided that i would finally donate again (i hadnt been able to for over 2 years because of being pregnant and breastfeeding). So it was with great anticipation i walked up the steps, took my seat and remembered all the blood, platelets and plasma eli received when he was in hospital. 'full on' does not justify how i was feeling. But in saying that, i knew that my blood would help little people like eli and once i cried a few tears, i was actually proud that i could hopefully help kids and adults that rely on blood products. A needle and an hour of your time is NOTHING compared to knowing you are helping a life.
So, if you do feel like giving something a bit left of centre this christmas, head down to the blood bank and see if you can help. It really is easy. I must admit i did head down the path of "ewww...needles" then i pulled my head in and thought...why am i bloody whinging? A needle is nothing! Just make sure you drink heaps of water (makes yer veins all juicy) and have a good meal and it should be an ok experience. You can donate every 3 months...a very small price to pay to keep people alive!
i will get off my soap box now and hope that i have inspired just a couple of you to consider donating blood if you have not done it before. It really does make a difference! The blood banks number is 131495 or visit their website - www.donateblood.com.au
love to all and i will try and get eli's celebration stuff up soon.
the simpsons
xox
sorry about the delay in getting back to everyone, we have been busy just doin 'stuff'...lots of gardening, bit of sewing and just generally trying to keep ourselves out of trouble!
We heard a couple of days ago that one of Eli's little mates "nicholas" passed away last sunday from his cancer. Nicholas was 2 and a bloody corker of a kid...we shared a room with nick and his mum belinda when we were first admitted to hospital back in October...
He was cheeky, very very bright and just loved his mum and dad. Nicholas will never be forgotten by his friends on the 6th floor or his mum Belinda, dad Michael and big sister Holly and the rest of his family and friends. We take comfort in the fact that he is now playing with Eli and Chad and the rest of the little poppets who have lost the fight with their disease.
Pete and I are still taking one day at a time and are often taken back to beautiful memories of our son. We thank everyone who still messages and calls us to give us a 'welfare' check to make sure we are going ok. People say time heals, but we are still struggling like it was yesterday...
I heard the blood bus was in town a couple of weeks ago, and decided that i would finally donate again (i hadnt been able to for over 2 years because of being pregnant and breastfeeding). So it was with great anticipation i walked up the steps, took my seat and remembered all the blood, platelets and plasma eli received when he was in hospital. 'full on' does not justify how i was feeling. But in saying that, i knew that my blood would help little people like eli and once i cried a few tears, i was actually proud that i could hopefully help kids and adults that rely on blood products. A needle and an hour of your time is NOTHING compared to knowing you are helping a life.
So, if you do feel like giving something a bit left of centre this christmas, head down to the blood bank and see if you can help. It really is easy. I must admit i did head down the path of "ewww...needles" then i pulled my head in and thought...why am i bloody whinging? A needle is nothing! Just make sure you drink heaps of water (makes yer veins all juicy) and have a good meal and it should be an ok experience. You can donate every 3 months...a very small price to pay to keep people alive!
i will get off my soap box now and hope that i have inspired just a couple of you to consider donating blood if you have not done it before. It really does make a difference! The blood banks number is 131495 or visit their website - www.donateblood.com.au
love to all and i will try and get eli's celebration stuff up soon.
the simpsons
xox
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Hold tight!
Hi there everyone
I have been a little puzzled as to how to go on with Eli's blog...and im sure it will come to me in time. I would be happy to take advice/comments/suggestions. I was thinking it might be a wonderful tool to keep Eli's memory alive, particularly for fundraising events or any major things that happen for the Simpson family. The only reason i am wondering is that it is clear that we are still getting hits on the blog which means there is still some interest around.
I am hoping to update the blog soon to have a chat about eli's celebration which was held on the 21st November in bairnsdale. We are hoping to put on a picture file as well as petes and my speech we made.
Without going into too much detail, it was an awesome day and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our son's life. While it was clearly sad at times, it was also full of smiles and some laughter which is exactly what we wanted.
Pete and i are still very very lost without our son. We miss him terribly but are determined to take tiny steps forward. We decorated our house with our christmas lights today...something we have done each year we have been together. While a teeny bit sad, we are looking forward to sharing the experience with all the little kids around the town who love looking at christmas lights, just like we did with eli. We would invite any of you to pop around and have a sticky beak any time...
Eli is home with us now and we feel a great sense of relief. All together again.
Best go and get some grub...and we will try and write about eli's celebration early next week.
Have a lovely weekend and keep the rain coming eli!
love and hugs
the simpsons
xox
I have been a little puzzled as to how to go on with Eli's blog...and im sure it will come to me in time. I would be happy to take advice/comments/suggestions. I was thinking it might be a wonderful tool to keep Eli's memory alive, particularly for fundraising events or any major things that happen for the Simpson family. The only reason i am wondering is that it is clear that we are still getting hits on the blog which means there is still some interest around.
I am hoping to update the blog soon to have a chat about eli's celebration which was held on the 21st November in bairnsdale. We are hoping to put on a picture file as well as petes and my speech we made.
Without going into too much detail, it was an awesome day and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our son's life. While it was clearly sad at times, it was also full of smiles and some laughter which is exactly what we wanted.
Pete and i are still very very lost without our son. We miss him terribly but are determined to take tiny steps forward. We decorated our house with our christmas lights today...something we have done each year we have been together. While a teeny bit sad, we are looking forward to sharing the experience with all the little kids around the town who love looking at christmas lights, just like we did with eli. We would invite any of you to pop around and have a sticky beak any time...
Eli is home with us now and we feel a great sense of relief. All together again.
Best go and get some grub...and we will try and write about eli's celebration early next week.
Have a lovely weekend and keep the rain coming eli!
love and hugs
the simpsons
xox
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