Family Blog

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

UncategorizedNovember 05, 2015

A Book of Hope

UncategorizedOctober 14, 2015

Guess Flynn's Birth Weight - The Big Reveal...

UncategorizedSeptember 20, 2015

Going Home

UncategorizedSeptember 19, 2015

Flynn has proven himself to be made of strong stuff having fought off a nasty infection, which seems to want to remain a mystery! The quick actions of the nursing staff on the ward and the commencement of some pretty hard hitting antibiotics, no doubt changed the outcome as he has remained ‘well’ and we could have had a very sick baby on our hands.

On this occasion, we were lucky and Flynn’s lumbar puncture and blood culture provided negative results for meningitis, but other babies are not so lucky and although rare, is a reality for some. If, like me, you assumed that the all important non-blanching rash is the key symptom of meningitis, it was not Flynn’s rash (which he did not present with initially) but the following symptoms that raised alarm bells among medics and I thought it prudent to share them with you, in case it sparks a useful memory to help a sick baby in the future to begin treatment quickly.

These include: a fever with cold hands and feet, swollen fontanelles, unusual crying or moaning, drowsiness, floppiness, dislike of bright lights, grunting or rapid breathing, pale blotchy skin, or a purple-red rash that doesn't disappear when you press a glass against it.

Flynn showed all of these symptoms with the exception of the non-blanching rash and floppiness. Whilst not meningitis, he has no doubt suffered a pretty impressive infection of some sort and we are grateful his inflammatory markers are now almost back down to normal. Three cheers for the NHS!

Flynn and I have also both been suffering with a head to toe rash (you don't need to see mine), They have been monitored and with both our fever and symptoms much improved, we are on track for home!

During our stay in HDU, I realised how much milk some premature babies require and have subsequently signed up to be a milk donor. It remains to be seen just how much I will be able to produce with my rather hungry hulk, but if anyone out there feels able to express a little extra for the sake of these tiny bundles then contact Amanda.Wood@ouh.nhs.uk or visit OXFORD MILK BANK

As you have been given a clue as to baby Hall's birth weight you have only 1 day left to place your bets at:

https://www.justgiving.com/flynn-birthday

The man himself will make the big reveal tomorrow when he will be one whole week old already! Well done Flynn for your first ever Blue Skye Thinking fundraiser and thank you to those of you who played along and pledged your £1.

Going home will be, like every other big event in our lives, a time of great excitement and joy but of course coupled with deep sadness that one boy will be missing. In Jesse’s own words “I think Flynn is crying because he knows he will never meet Skye.” Flynn has two brothers, just as Jesse now does - forever and always.

Skye as the proud big brother almost 4 years ago.

Jesse as the proud big brother yesterday - Monday 21st September.

Life Can Change In An Instant

UncategorizedSeptember 15, 2015

Baby News - Take 2!

UncategorizedSeptember 13, 2015

We are proud to announce the safe arrival of our third beautiful son, Flynn Alexander Phoenix Hall. Born at 2.30am today in the water pool at the JR's wonderful Oxford Spires Midwifery Unit.

Jesse is a very proud big brother, and despite him stating that he already had a brother, so would have rather had a sister, he seems to have been won round with the concept of being able to have a matching wardrobe again!

We are very grateful to have Flynn in our lives. We are equally grateful for Jesse, who has been through so much upheaval too in his life so far.

He once again blew us away with his maturity and compassion, when he heard Flynn crying for the first time and immediately said that he thought it was because he would never get to meet Skye! He then went on to say that Flynn could help him with his "very important work" for Skye's Charity and with this in mind we thought of a fun game everyone could play to guess Flynn's birth weight!! Pledge a £1 and have a punt....

https://www.justgiving.com/flynn-birthday

Baby News!

UncategorizedSeptember 08, 2015

"I just can't believe it mummy, Lily and JoJo have had babies!!"

A rather unexpected finding today, but Jesse's rather beautiful Lionhead rabbit Lily, gave birth to 5 beautiful babies. JoJo, a Mini Rex, is the proud father, and for the first time in a very long time I actually felt genuine happiness and excitement! Being rather overdue myself, I feel hopeful that the miracle of new life will bring joy back into our hearts.

Lily and JoJo when they were just wee themselves!

(As an ex Vet Nurse, I know we mustn't handle the babies, but we needed to do a quick house move to accommodate everyone so took a quick snap and all is well. The baby 'hippos' will now have peace and quiet for the next couple of weeks. Three guesses which one Jesse likes best... And no, we won't be keeping any so new home enquirers are welcome!)

Since my announcement of our impending new Hall baby, I have to thank some very special friends, some of whom have been through extremely tough times themselves, for all their support, long and rather dark conversations. You all mean the world to me! I also need to praise the NHS yet again, for taking my very dark thoughts seriously, and have put in place a number of safeguards prior to birth and post birth to make sure such an emotional time is made as secure and as possible.

The 29th was a very difficult day but of course every day is empty without our beautiful boy. Re-living every second of Skye's last day was utterly heart breaking. Watching him draw his last few breaths after saying he loved me to infinity brings tears to my eyes while I type this and every time I think of him saying it. I love you too, to infinity and forever.

A very magical moment happened on the evening of the 29th, those of you in Abingdon may have seen it also, but at Jesse's bedtime, we looked out of our bedroom window and there was the most magical full rainbow in the sky. Jesse then dashed through to the front of the house to see if he could see it from his window, which of course he couldn't, but what he did see was even more spectacular and to his squeals of delight and urgent appeal for us to rush through, the three of just just gazed at the most beautiful pink sky. Jesse finally broke the silence by saying the thought is must be Skye making it pink because he knew we were thinking about him and Skye knew how much Jesse just LOVES PINK! Whatever one's beliefs are, it was a truly magical sight.

Without wanting to send another blog post out too soon, we also wanted to let all the Loom to the Moon helpers out there know that BBC's Blue Peter on CBBC, will be doing a feature on Skye's record breaking bands THIS THURSDAY at 5pm, so do tune in if you can and see if you can spot your band!

If you missed it, you can watch again 8 mins in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06b955k/blue-peter-world-records-chart-toppers

SEPTEMBER is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - Win an APPLE watch!!!

UncategorizedSeptember 01, 2015

The Last Goodnight Kiss

UncategorizedAugust 28, 2015

Personalised World Record Certificates

UncategorizedAugust 23, 2015

Tilsley Children's Fun Run

UncategorizedAugust 18, 2015

Dancing in the Sky

UncategorizedAugust 15, 2015

Prime Minister's 'Points of Light' Awarded on summit of Sgurr Alasdair, Isle of Skye

UncategorizedAugust 05, 2015

Leaving Blenheim Palace with 16 other cyclists, Andrew set of on this epic 2Skye4Skye adventure! The 636 mile journey will include a combination of cycling, kayaking, swimming and hill walking, taking in some of the United Kingdom's most stunning scenery.

Skye is buried in the same cemetery as Winston Churchill in Bladon next to Blenheim. Whenever we visit, we remember Winston's famous words "When you are going though hell, keep going." That is what Andrew and the other cyclists will be thinking at times during their gruelling cycle ride and what we will probably be doing every day for the rest of our lives.

It was wonderful to have been so incredibly well supported on the Premiere 2Skye4Skye and we hope more keen cyclists will join this biennial event in 2017.

After leading the boys out of the gates, Jesse opted to stay in the support vehicle for the rest of the morning but made it very clear that Daddy must get all the way to the Isle of Skye in order to meet his hero Danny MacAskill.

After a week of laying loom bands and being 8 months pregnant, I handed over the unenviable task of 'support team' to Sandy Hall (Andrew's mum) who made it all the way to Fort William where she was relieved of her duties by John Hall (Andrew's Uncle). Without their help, the trip would have been very much tougher, so we owe them a huge thank you!

It is now, I hand over to Andrew for his thoughts and feelings during the trip...

It seems like an eternity since we left Blenheim Palace on Saturday 25 July, so much has happened. It has truly lived up to expectations, and despite the often inclement weather, the team have met some amazingly kind and generous people. The Forest of Bowland proved challenging and spectacular in equal measure, with its incredible scenery and rolling hills.

Horatio definitely getting down with nature!

Elliot - The Go-Pro man himself!

The variety of cycling on sometimes obscenely busy roads, kayaking the length of Lake Windermere in all its beauty with the intermittent rain, taking on the rigours of the West Highland Way on mountain bikes, the paths that had become rivers in the torrential rain, the tumbles, the conquering of Ben Nevis, the sunshine and the calm and serene evening along the edge of Loch Duich, have made this one of the most exciting and humbling adventures. At all times remembering how privileged we are that we have the physical capacity to achieve this feat, while children across the country are suffering the effects of the rigours of treatment for brain tumours and other cancers.

Not all smooth sailing when I managed an impressive forward flip over the handle bars of my bike (not after visiting The Wee Train). Despite the huge personal disappointment of having to miss a day cycling in order to have a trip to the local hospital, Jesse insisted on a photograph and it reminded me that it wasn't as bad as Skye's scar!

So many people who we have met and chatted to along the way, have been touched by what we are doing and spontaneously donated to the Charity. To all of those people who have helped us, we are truly grateful. The Isle of Skye with all its mystique and raw beauty provides us with the final challenge as we seek to conquer the highest peak on the rugged Cuillin Ridge, Sgurr Alasdair. Our ascent starts at 10am on Wednesday the 5th August from the Glen Brittle Campsite. With over 1000km completed, the final objective is tantalisingly close.

Mind how you go Olly!

Making to to the sheer elation of making it to the summit was made an even more emotional when Matt, the guide from Skye Adventure presented me with the Prime Minister's Points of Light Award which recognises outstanding individual volunteers and people who are making a change in their community. For Sally and I, finding the emotional strength to to continue is so much harder now than when Skye was alive. We certainly don't feel any more deserving than many other people striving to make a difference in the world but we are honoured to have been chosen as 'Points of Light'. Winning this award will further bring to the public eye how much more we intend to do and how everyone's support can really help.

If you have a Twitter account, please 'favourite' or re-tweet David Cameron's comments about us, as it will demonstrate to him just how much you all want to help us make a difference too. @Number10gov

I have almost hit my personal fundraising target of £2,000 through https://www.justgiving.com/2Skye4Skye-2015/ and I would like to thank everyone who has donated to our very special and life saving Charity.

Loom to the Moon - Mission Complete

UncategorizedJuly 24, 2015

Want to see what 56,250,000 record breaking loom bands look like in one room?

UncategorizedJuly 23, 2015

Skye Hall, you are OFFICIALLY AMAZING (but we already knew that!)

UncategorizedJuly 23, 2015

Blood Sweat and Tears for #LoomtotheMoon, but will it be worth it...

UncategorizedJuly 22, 2015

INVITATION - World Record Attempt Loom Bands - Friday 24th July-Abingdon, Oxon

UncategorizedJuly 21, 2015

Loom to the Moon - Great things come from WORKING TOGETHER!

UncategorizedJuly 12, 2015

Skye's Bench

UncategorizedJuly 11, 2015

Despite an emotionally challenging day, we felt so loved and supported by the children, parents and staff at Long Furlong Primary School today. Skye adored his teachers Buzz, Leslie and Faith in the Nursery Class and Jesse has almost completed a full year under their nurturing and watchful eye. I couldn't have wished for a better place for both my boys to have started their school life.

The school held a little ceremony as part of the unveiling of 'Skye's Bench' which will be situated in the nursery garden for future children to use - it is beautiful, complete with an engraving. Many of Skye's nursery friends were there, including two very special girls; Ellie (also known to many of you as Mrs E Hall) and Evie-May. Both were great friends of Skye's and have kept me full of hope over the past year by telling me little things they remember doing with Skye and how much they love and miss him. I cannot begin to tell you how very touched and lucky I am to still have them in my life.

Ellie wrote this song for Skye and gave it to me today. She said I could share it with you:

'Skye, oh Skye, I wish you did not die

Cause you are, my sweetie pie

Cause I love you so much I do

Because you are my Skye'

It was lovely to hear some stories about the cheeky Skye including how he used to hide his shoes so 'girls' would help him put them on! Only a few weeks before he died, he was adamant he wanted to take Jesse and show him where his secret hiding place had been.

The other girl trying out Skye's new bench today was Erin whom I will always fondly remember as the Nativity Donkey! Skye was the only boy trusted to be given a line in the Christmas play, and as the Innkeeper, I do not have to spell out what he was expected to say! It was rather unfortunate therefore, that the donkey sat on his fingers just seconds before his big moment so all that came out of his mouth was "my fingers are broken." Luckily Belle, aka Mary did manage to find a suitable stable.

I wanted to share Skye's end of year report with you as it truly sums up Skye's personality, which didn't waiver even on his last day. Although written when he was quite well, the words hold such a deep meaning and leave my in tears every time I read them.

"Skye is an intelligent boy; he is always meaningfully occupied in nursery, spending time engaged in play with friends, investigating or initiating games. He has a fantastic imagination and his play reflects this. Skye makes the most of every opportunity, often adding his own twists to activities, adapting them to suite his own requirements. It has been a delight to have Skye in nursery; his unique personality has left a mark and his absence will leave a hole." Buzz McKenzie

Skye with his teacher - Buzz McKenzie

Thanks to a sponsored charity walk and scootathon, the school has raised a whopping £3,245.36 for Blue Skye Thinking and we are extremely grateful.

A truthful account of our journey as a family
during and after the loss of our dear son, Skye.

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Family Blog

A truthful account of our journey as a family during and after the loss of our dear son, Skye.

Family Blog

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A truthful account of our journey as a family
during and after the loss of our dear son, Skye.