TravelStream™ news feed for member dazbo1975 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/dazbo1975 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:46:03 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1194297660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1194297660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1194297660/tpod.html Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:46:03 -0400 Fatherhood. The most exhilarating, nerve-wracking and rewarding journey we can ever make

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tangy, Scotland, United Kingdom

My first trip abroad - spending a week in sunny Scotland with Phil, Net, Gilberto & Brow.The highlights for me were getting totally windswept at the Mull of Kintyre and watching a fireworks display where my Dad managed to hit himself on the back with a stray Roman Candle that almost hit Uncle Phil in the face!It was very windy - so much so that the windfarm next to the mill house we rented for the week was closed for a couple of days.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1204492620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1204492620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1204492620/tpod.html Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:21:04 -0500 Fatherhood. The most exhilarating, nerve-wracking and rewarding journey we can ever make

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Birmingham, United Kingdom

It seemed such a long time since Amy came into our lives.  We've slept (if you can call it sleep anymore?) 464 times since she was born.  Most of them fitful, the odd one tranquil and I've actually woken up earlier than Amy on two occasions.  Our good friends Matt and Immy have just brought Ruben into the world, and when we caught up with them a couple of weeks before he was born Matt asked about sleep a couple of times.  "How often do you get a lie in" he asked.  My response of "what do you mean by a lie in? 7am?" wasn't well received.  He shouldn't be unduly concerned as he's looked old and haggared in the 14 years I've known him....The last couple of weeks have been probably the hardest of my life.  Amy was due to go to Birmingham's wonderful Children's Hospital on 11 February for an operation to close the hole in her heart - we booked her in for this appointment back in November much like we were booking a stay at a hotel - all very organised we thought.  However, having geared ourselves up for this, we received a call the day before to tell us that there was a backlog in surgery, so she wouldn't be going in.  We would instead be on the emergency list and be called up at the last minute.  The call came on Wednesday 20 February at about 10:30am - and we had to be in by 3:00pm.  So, I finished the email I was sending, sent a message that I would be out for a week or two and headed off home in a daze.We tried to be as normal as possible, gave Amy her lunch, then it was time to go.  Everything was a bit of a blur, as we rushed about getting x-rays, ecgs and echo scans done.  We double-checked that Amy needed the op - she looked perfectly well and healthy, we saw the surgeon and he told us all the risks of the surgery.  The most stark was the 4% chance of death.  That's a 1 in 25 chance that our daughter - the most important person in our lives - wouldn't get through the operation.  There was also a risk of brain damage, plus other risks associated with open heart surgery.  This is the third consent form I've had to sign for Amy and the hardest to do.  Once again we wouldn't be able to protect the person we brought into the world and somebody we'd only met a few times would be doing this for us.The walk to the operating theatre was again horrible.  We sobbed as we carried her down the corridor and held her hand as she was slowly anaesthetised.  For the next 6 hours there would be absolutely nothing that we could do.What do you do for 6 hours when you are absolutely terrified, but have nowhere to go?  I can't remember what we did.  We probably walked round the centre of Birmingham and had inane conversation.  Prior to the operation I'd convinced myself that if something were to go wrong then I'd feel it.  I waited for some twinge of pain, but none came.  This didn't help and just made the prolonged wait even harder.After 6 and a half hours of surgery we were told that she'd been moved to intensive care and was stable.  We went in to see her and sat with her for a few hours as she lay motionless,but apparently doing well.  Wires were again attached to her, and she was on a ventilator.  Her heart had swollen during the operation, so they were unable to close her rib cage - she therefore donned a sticker with 'CHEST OPEN' in bright red letters on her torso.  I won't go on about intensive care, but it is exceptionally draining.Once again we were fortunate that we only had to be there for 2 days, as she recovered faster than average.  Back on the ward she was desperate for food, and gulped down milk like she'd ever eaten before.  After one day on the High Dependency Unit she was back on the ward, and recovered wonderfully save for a chest infection that she's still trying to shake off.  On Wednesday 28 February we were discharged, and all signs are that the operation was a success.  The large hole in her heart has been closed and the surgeons also identified a tiny hole in one of her heart valves, which they closed also.I'll try and put this in perspective, something I sadly didn't manage to do in words to the surgeon, the excellent Tim Jones, to whom we said "many, many thanks" more than once.  It still isn't enough.  If Amy hadn't had this operation then she would probably have gone into heart failure at about the age of 8 or 9.  Tim Jones and his colleagues have therefore probably given Amy 50 or 60 years of life that she wouldn't otherwise have had.Thanks to all of you who put us up (Rich & Ranj, our tremendously supportive parents), those of you who sent cards and pressies, and those of you who just spent a second thinking about us and wishing Amy all the best.  She's still on the mend now - her chest is still sore and the scar will take a month or so to properly heal, but the sense of relief we've felt has been palpable.  Coventry City's win over Spurs on the last day of the 96/97 season doesn't even come close.....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1166640780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1166640780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1166640780/tpod.html Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:38:44 -0500 Fatherhood. The most exhilarating, nerve-wracking and rewarding journey we can ever make

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Birmingham, United Kingdom

Well, Amy went under the surgeon's knife on Wednesday 13 December.  We met the Surgeon, Dr Jones a few hours beforehand, and for those of you that have not had an operation, or even worse had a child who requires an operation, this chat involves going over what will be done.The process was apparently an easy one that doesn't require stopping the heart, but given that the heart of a 3-week old is about the size of a walnut, it makes things more difficult.  So, what they would do would be 'straightforward' and add a little band to the pulmonary artery.  This will limit the blood flow to the lungs, and enable the operation to close the hole in the heart to be put off for a further 12-18 months.  This will then give Amy a better chance of getting through that operation.We had to sign a consent form there and then.  We were told that the risk of death from this operation would be 1%.  As a (supposed) statistician, that represents a very small possibility.  But to put it in perspective, Amy had a 1 in 70 chance of having Downs Syndrome (i.e. just over 1%).The previous week I'd bought Sarah a book called "50 unforgettable places to see before you die".  This was to enable us to be really smug and go through it saying "been there... done that... personally I'd have put there in instead".  Funnily enough it didn't have an entry for 'Operating Theatre, Birmingham Children's Hospital', but that's where we found ourselves, or at least in a room containing ourselves, Amy and a few Anaesthetists.  What then happened was the worst thing that I have ever experienced and it's really hard to find the right words other that, pardon my language, "fucking horrible".  Watching your 3-week old baby girl slowly drift off to sleep having signed a form that says there is a chance that she will die is not a pleasant experience, and unfortuately is one we will have to go through again.  But looking back now, it was necessary.We spent the next 3 hours not saying very much to each other.  We went out to a restaurant to eat, but that felt totally wrong.  We seldom spoke, but when we came back to the hospital we found she was already out of theatre and in the Intensive Care Unit.  I was expecting this to be the worst bit, but it was a big, clean room with 20 or so beds and one-to-one care for each baby.  Fortunately when we arrived we had an excellent nurse caring for Amy and we got to talk with her as well as the surgeon and a host of other medical staff.  It was nowhere near the chaos and carnage that I was expecting.  But, I suppose if it was going to be that bad then they wouldn't let parents in, would they?It was at this stage that we started to realise that we were fortunate.  There were some really, really sick kids in there.  Like the kid over the way who had ben in there for 2 weeks and started going yellow when we were in there.  And at one point we got a visit from the Chaplain, who was apparently 'doing his rounds'.  Just after he left the 3-day old baby in the bed next to us was carried out.  And we had been stressing out over a 1% chance of survival.  It really brought it home to us that we were very lucky.The next couple of days saw Amy in the High Dependency Unit of Ward 11.  She did very well and was then moved on to the ward, and I could go on and on about everything, but to cut a long story short she is obviously a really strong and resiliant kid.  Within 24 hours of the operation she was off morphene.  Within 2 days she was off all pain relief (all she was on was codeine anyway!).  Within 7 days she had been discharged and we were home - 3-7 days ahead of schedule.  This was brilliant for us and meant we were home in time for Xmas, and I was even able to get a week of work in.Can we have 12 months of relative normality now please?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1166985840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1166985840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1166985840/tpod.html Sun, 24 Dec 2006 13:51:34 -0500 Fatherhood. The most exhilarating, nerve-wracking and rewarding journey we can ever make

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Coventry, United Kingdom

Well, another year has passed and so the familie Bassett would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Xmas and a happy New Year.I hope you have all been good boys and girls and that Santa brings you all that you deserve.  Although you have all been wonderful and fantastic in our eyes, we managed to miss Santa this year, so the cards we bought are still tucked away in their boxes.  I apologise for this, but we have been a little busy recently and had no time whatsoever to get them posted.Still, this is a good thing as the wonderful Edward House in Birmingham received a donation from us instead.  Given that they found a room for us at very short notice we felt that this was a really worthy charity and they give parents of kids who have to stay in Birmingham Children's Hospital a room so they don't need to add the stress of travelling to and from home every day when they have other things to worry about.  Given that BCH is one of only a few specialist Children's Hospitals in the UK, people travel from far and wide.I hope you all have a wonderful time and eat, drink and make merry.  Hope to catch you all in the coming days/ weeks/ months.Love,Darren, Sarah and Amyxxx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1165962720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1165962720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1165962720/tpod.html Tue, 12 Dec 2006 17:55:36 -0500 Fatherhood. The most exhilarating, nerve-wracking and rewarding journey we can ever make

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Coventry, England, United Kingdom

2 weeks paternity leave is not enough.  I suppose I could have been cheeky and taken more, but then again I have to pay the mortgage and feed 3 mouths, so its about time I did the easy thing and got back to some hard work - not that I was any use whatsoever.We alsways thought that Mums did bugger all apart from watching Trisha and Jeremy Kyle, occasionally napping and maybe feeding a baby every now and again.  I take it all back - returning to work is far easier than looking after a 2-week old nipper, even one that is well-behaved and hardly screams and shouts.Oh, before I go any further I really must thank pretty much all of you for the cards, well wishes, gifts, thoughts, prayers, everything.  This has been much different to what we had expected parenthood to be, and you really have all helped, especially our parents, who we probably haven't thanked enough.One little bugbear though concerns presents.  Amy has got loads.  Sarah has got quite a few - flowers, chocolates, bath stuff.  The fathers never get anything.  Fathers for Justice need to get this sorted, and whenever any of you have kids I'll be straight round with a crate of Stella and tickets to a football game.  And maybe something for the baby - Mums, you've had it your way for too long!!!Anyway, I am digressing.  Mainly because my heart is in incredible pain.  A bit like Amy's, really.  We've had more of a rollercoaster ride the past couple of weeks and Downs Syndrome is the least of our worries.  If only that was all that made her "not normal".  I think I mentioned before that she has a hole in the heart - this has now been narrowed down to a Ventricula Septal Defect, with we now think, an added complication in that a valve somehow manages to be pumping blood through the hole in the heart.  So, they not only need to close the hole, but make sure that the valve keeps working throughout.  Each day we hear something different from various hospitals and I will try and put ina  few words what has happened in the past week.Last Monday we registered the birth.  Amy Rhea Bassett now officially exists.  And we can now start claiming child benefit, and I think also disability allowance due to the Downs.  Maybe we can get enough for us to be doleites and stay at home permanently?Tuesday we went to Walsgrave Hospital again and had another scan, which was videoed and sent over to Birmingham Childrens Hospital for them to have a look at.Wednesday I actually managed a full day at work.Thursday we got a call saying that the surgery we had though would be done in 3-5 months would be changed and they wanted Amy in in about 2 weeks.  Blind panic set in as we didn't (and still don't) know if this is because its so urgent it needs doing NOW, or that they're doing something simple to put the bug operation off as long as possible.Friday we got another call saying they wanted her in on Wednesday.  Very scared now.  Don't like this.  Fortunately Mark & Mon came round and talked us through what might be happening - nobody fromthe hospital has done this so far.  And they brought a 3-course meal with them - delicious it was too!Saturday, Coventry beat Burnley 1-0.Sunday, some more visitors come round.Monday we got a call asking Amy to come in tomorrow.  We still don't know why they've changed their minds.Tuesday at 9am I called the ward at Birmingham Childrens Hospital and they said they had a bed and to get there by midday.  Just as we were about to set off they called and told us not to come in until 2pm on Wednesday. So, I went to work and then at 4pm I got a call asking where we were as they had Amy down to have surgery on Wednesday.  I raced home in a downpour, we got ready and drove over to Birmingham.  Now, 7 hours later Sarah and Amy are in the hospital and I am at home, worried and taking alcoholic tranquilisers to help me sleep.I'm still not sure what's going to happen.  They said a few hours ago that they were going to tie off a small duct that functions in utero but should close itself after birth, but Amy's hasn't.  But a scan this evening showed it to be smaller than it was in the past, so now they might not.  And the other thing they were going to do was put a band around the pulmonory artery to reduce blood flow to the lungs - the VSD increases this and that's not a good thing.  But now they're a bit concern about the hole and some 'strands' that are showing up.  I just wish somebody could tell us what exactly was going on.  30 years ago when I was a newborn they probably wouldn't have diagnosed this.  I'm still not sure that would be such a bad thing.So now I'm back at home and need to go to bed.  It will be my first night without having to wake up and change and feed Amy, but I'll really miss her.  I'll probably sleep much worse.Sorry for depressing you all, but not really feeling great at the moment.  I hope the operation goes well tomorrow, if there is one.  This feeling of helplessness is not nice....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1164836700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1164836700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/amyrhea/1164836700/tpod.html Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:30:59 -0500 Fatherhood. The most exhilarating, nerve-wracking and rewarding journey we can ever make

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry, United Kingdom

Tuesday 21 November should have seen me going off to Cardiff for a meeting to talk about data matching. Yes, it was due to be an interesting day, but things started moving at about 4:30am. Sarah started having contractions, so by 8am I had carefully negotiated Coventry's ferocious early-morning traffic and we were at Walsgrave Hospital, where some of the world's greatest people have been born, such as Clive Owen and Sarah and myself. 9 days ahead of schedule, bambino was going to arrive! And it didn't take too long - although an hour of pushing felt like an eternity at the time.I'd never previously believed in love at first sight, but it all changed at 1:58pm on Tuesday 21 November 2006. Amy Rhea Bassett came into the world, and we were blessed to have a gorgeous, beautiful baby girl. I have heard from many fathers, most of whom have told me about the wonderful experience of watching their other halves give birth (womens opinions have tended to differ somewhat!). But, it was a truly moving experience for me to watch somebody pop out quietly into the world. However, Sarah had to work slightly harder than I did - all I did was mop her brow, rub her back and eat quite a bit - the packed lunch I'd brought was very nice. However, I wouldn't advise taking tuna pasta salad into a delivery room as it does leave a bit of a whiff.As soon as Amy was born she was placed into her mothers arms and was covered in her mum's goo - the stuff she has spent the last 9 months wiggling around in. Have I already said she was beautiful (still is!) and instantly we knew that she was a very special girl and that having her was a life-changing experience.Very special in fact that she is only one of about 600 babies born in the UK with trisomy-21. Or you'll probably know it as Downs Syndrome. We had known for the past 26 weeks that there was a 1 in 70 chance that Amy may have Downs Syndrome, but if I'm going to be honest, then I just didn't think this would happen.So, something else that I now believe in is that dreams can come true. Just over a week before Amy was born I'd had a dream that we would have a baby girl with Downs Syndrome and that the labour wouldn't be too long. Oh, and I dreamt that it would happen on the exact day. Slightly spooky, but now all that needs to happen is the dreams when I score winning goals in Cup Finals for Coventry City and score the winning runs in the Ashes need to come to fruition.This may come as a shock to many of you - several of you won't even know that we are proud parents. And I can assure you that it came as a shock to us. I went through what I can only describe as the highest highs and the lowest lows I have ever experienced. Becoming a parent is the best experience I have had, but when you're told that your baby has a rare condition then you feel totally, utterly helpless and can do nothing other than burst into tears. I wondered why Amy had Downs - why not the baby of the young chav girl walking about in her pink fluffy slippers, or the miserable Asian woman who never smiled, or anyone else. But, they say that special children need special parents, and we hope that comes true. We are certainly set for the most challenging thing we've ever done. But this is nothing to do with Amy having Downs Syndrome - we're new to this parenting game so we can all learn together as a family, and hopefully you'll all come along with us too.I also want to say something about the staff at Walsgrave Hospital, none of whom will probably ever read this. They were exceptional for the 5 days that Sarah and Amy had to stay there. OK, so we were going through an incredibly difficult time emotionally, but they always gave us time and affection and made sure we were OK - even going so far as to boot out members of our family when they'd come to visit us on Thursday. This visit coincided with the most difficult time for me, as we were told that Amy is going to need open-heart surgery as she has something called AVSD (Atrial Ventricular Septal Defect), or a hole in the heart to you and I (except any doctors or failed medical students reading this!). This means that she's going to have an operation early in the new year at Birmingham Childrens Hospital. But, having spoken with Dr Coe, a lovely bloke, he assures us that this is a routine operation. And as parents we're supposed to panic about our kids, aren't we?So, life has changed, and by a lot, lot more than we had imagined. In the short term, Australia is off, our wedding in Finland is off and it doesn't matter at all? These were big things in our lives 9 days ago and now they are just things we were going to do that have faded away into the ether... there really are more important things to worry about right now. But, we will still get married. And you still won't be invited!Many, many, many thanks to all of you for the cards and gifts. I did try and text as many of you as I could to let you know that Amy was here, but I'm not sure you all got it. Apologies. And apologies for not getting in touch with all of you, or returning your calls, but this hasn't been the easiest time for us. But I haven't cried for the last 2 days now, which is good. I think we're coming to terms with it.This is about 0.001% of what we've experienced in the past week. I hope your week has been slightly more balanced than ours. Once again, thanks for your well-wishes and we hope that you can continue to help and support us as we'll need it. Enjoy the pictures - she is adorable...... and she doesn't cry. She sleeps loads. She's a perfect baby!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1147096800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1147096800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1147096800/tpod.html Thu, 11 May 2006 05:22:27 -0400 Our passages in and en route to India

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

The first thing that I noticed about the wonderful city of Edinburgh is that I have developed an allergy to cats. A city of elegant old buildings and wonderful cobbled streets all hidden behind runny eyes, sniffles and sneezes. And all due to a bloody cat. A nice, friendly cat, owned by our lovely hosts, Sarah and Chris, but an irritating cat that left me wheezing like Darth Vader at night and meant I had to be pumped with anti-histamines each night so I could get at least a bit of sleep.The safest thing to do was to go out. And with a plethora of pubs nearby, there was plenty of encouragement.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/china0405/1115109300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/china0405/1115109300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/china0405/1115109300/tpod.html Tue, 15 Nov 2005 09:57:38 -0500 Journey To The East. Monkey and Pigsy embark on cultural imperialism through teaching English as a Second Language

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Xi'an, China

Went to Xi'an with Sarah, my Mum and my stepdad.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1129730400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1129730400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1129730400/tpod.html Sat, 22 Oct 2005 14:24:49 -0400 Our passages in and en route to India

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Vatican City, Vatican City

The Pope was out and about today, blessing all and sundry as it's All Saints Day. We missed Benny 16 though as we had made an early start to get to the Vatican Museum. The most notable exhibit here is the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michael Angelo, but also excellent are the Raphael rooms. I don't think anyone could deny that these were by far the two most talented turtles. The style was kind of Raphaelite and has inspired me somewhat - check out the ceilings next time you come round to our house!!The papal presence had ensured a big crowd of expectant Catholics, so the museum was busy, but nothing compared to the crush experienced to get St Peter's. We suashed and squeezed our way to the front, forgiving people for their occasional elbows in the ribs and treading on our toes and finally managed to enter the centre of Roman Catholicism. Sadly, the volume of visitors affected the visit and the whole experience felt more like Disneyland than some kind of holy land. But we are on holi day, so we carried on, walked down Reconciliation Way and back into Italy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1129644120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1129644120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/dazbo1975/india2005/1129644120/tpod.html Sat, 22 Oct 2005 13:39:30 -0400 Our passages in and en route to India

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Rome, Italy

In the sun, Rome is a fantastic, romantic city. However, Rome in the rain is a lot less fun. In two days in the Italian capital we have experienced both sides as we came, we saw and we took lots of photos of the Colosseum, the Palatine, the Piazza Navona, the Panthenon, an array of jaw-droppingly beautiful churches and the Forum. Nothing funny happened on the way to the latter. One really intersting place we visited was the Church of the Virgin Mary which has, for some reason, 4 chapels underneath the church that contain the bones of about 4,000 Cappucin Monks. But they are arranged in a very unusual way and have been turned into arches, light fittings and some dead monks have even been hung from the ceiling. it is gruesome and well worth going to see - what is it with the Cappucin order, as it reminded us of the church we visited earlier on this trip in Brno. I've narrowed my potential order list down to Franciscan, Benedictine, or even this one: http://prayerfoundation.org/become_a_monk.htmThere is a lot to see in this city, and often you just stumble across a sight that is thousands of years old, or a palace formerly inhabited by some nobility. Before we came here though, we thought people would be pretentious and aloof, but we haven't experienced that at all. We have also avoided the tourist scams that we were warned about and the people on scooters that go past you, robbing you. We haven't been robbed in Rome, although paying €70 a night to sleep in somebody's damp cellar is pretty close to robbery.
]]>