Natalia on CityLine

Even though she is not blogging anymore, i am writing when she does important things. Today Natalia was on City Line which is a local Toronto talk / info show. She was on at 9am and 2pm. Here is a link to the interview she gave. The full interview is not yet available, i will update when i get that link.

Enjoy.

http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/74467268001.000000/Natalia-s-Story-Mar-30-2010/

PS - looking good sis.

Lamaze toys - Trotter

Ok, here is Trotter, another pretty damn good toy. If you notice, he is a horse with every part of him in a different Lamaze pattern (more on the genius of these patterns in future posts). He makes 3 sounds, neighing, galloping and shuddering. By the way, i could never name the sounds a horse makes, but it can all be found here. Sophie loves him, especially the pattern on his butt.

The downside to Trotter is that he is very very sensitive, you look at him wrong and he makes a sound, so do not touch him if the baby is asleep. He is personally one of my favorites for sure. Good for many years to come.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Next the Flutter Bug.

John

Lamaze toys - Polly

For those of you that know me, you will laugh when i get so impressed with a company especially a baby company. That's mostly because i think there is so much junk out there as far as baby stuff goes and it is easy to get all wrapped up in it and shop like crazy for toys that your child will use twice. BUT, these Lamaze toys seem to work. We have a bunch of them that were mostly gifts from our friends. Here is a few of them that Sophie really loves.

So to the left is what we call "Polly the Peacock", not the official name, but that's what we call it. This thing does absolutely everything. He has a mirror, all kinds of patterns, some of the fabric crinkles, some is soft. He sits on the back of the feeding chair and Sophie stares at him while she gets burped. Loves him. He was one of her first toys and she wasn't impressed with him at first, but now he is for sure earning his keep. Ranking 8 out of 10.

Next Trotter.

Goodbye Eva

Sad day today, (Eva, 65 red roses) passed away today while waiting for her lungs. That statement really saddens me. It shouldn't be this way. Last year we came so so so close to losing Natalia mostly because of a lack of organs. I know anyone that reads this blog understands that this is a very solvable problem. Just so sad and unnecessary. I wish her peace and hope that wherever she is, she breathes easy.

John

Laughing laughing laughing

Still a bit sad about Natalia not blogging anymore, really miss checking it each day.... Don't worry sis, i will survive.

On our front, all is going great. Just today as our baby smiles and now laughs at everything I told Angie that i cannot recall a happier time for me. Life is really good right now and when our little Sophie just laughs and smiles at everything so are we. I am sure all of the readers with kids will recall this stage with a lot of great memories. 4 months old and just smiling and laughing, i love it. Seriously my heart literally melts when she starts laughing when you kiss her belly, her arm, her neck. I hope it stays like this for a while!!!! I will be capturing this on video and posting, it is way too cute not to.

Also i want to mention that i saw a very very good documentary called "The Cove". It won an Oscar this year and it is for sure a must see. Little tough to watch at times. Angie is a vegetarian and every day i am a little bit closer to it. ... Something to think about.

thanks for reading.

John

Back at TGH.

So today I was back at TGH for the first time in a while to help Natalia with the removal of a filter they put in to prevent clots. I never actually heard her say that she had one of these, but I always think it is good news when doctors want to remove installed medical equipment. I met natalia at the hospital and we had a really nice time while we waited. We talked about the girls and also talked about how crazy last year was. One day sis, we won't have this conversation, but it is probably still too soon. We shed some tears, but in general we were just happy to be in the spot we were.

The actual procedure went well, they were able to remove the filter and after another hour or two I drove Natalia home. To be honest, as far as the last year goes, pretty uneventful day at TGH and that is pretty much all any of us ever wants. Also Natalia shared the news with me today that she won't be writing the blog anymore. I was kind of surprised, but also not really. Completely understand what it was for and it has ran its course. I have no doubt though that all of us will hear from Natalia again and I consider myself not just her brother but also an avid follower of her blog.

It also saddens me, that Natalia had to deal with some of the things she did, the comments, the judgements. Since I was heavily involved in going public with the story (out of desperation for getting the word out about organ donation) I also feel like I should respond to it. Natalia said it well enough, if you don't understand why we went public and you in some way think that we did it for publicity, well, you are just missing the point completlely. We simply did it to get the word out, get the conversation started and move the cause along. I think that part for sure was accomplished. Natalia's transplant story was one of the most read stories done by the Toronto Star, and that is for a reason. People connect with it because they feel like it could be them or their child, that is in this situation. And that is the way we should think of it, it wasn't about Natalia, but about a few thousand Canadians who are waiting for organs and hopying and praying that they come. Some like Natalia get lucky and the organ arrives, but many (a quarter) are not so lucky. All of us, Natalia, Martin. Me and the rest of our family wish that everyone should get a chance at a new life. That simple, give people a chance to live, and organ donation can provide that chance to thousands in Canada.

Ok. Onward.

John

PS - I will make periodic updates about Natalia on the blog.
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Toronto Star... again

Well done Barbara, bringing the Transplant Story full circle. This will give me plenty of topics to write about, lots and lots to discuss here. I know i have said this many times to her, but thank you Michelle for making the toughest decision anyone should ever have to make.

Finding Hope in a mother's death.

As always I would say say go buy the Toronto Star (sunday) in print, nice pictures.

John