Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Anglais. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Anglais. Afficher tous les articles

samedi 6 janvier 2007

Guess What We Got For Xmas



Not quite as flashy as an MP3 player, considerably slower than a Vespa, not quite as sexy and à la mode as a pair of stilletto heels, this pair of green wellies brought Our Lass to tears on Christmas morning. I should say tears of joy. The wellies were part of a treasure hunt.

The riddle that went with the wellies was in French, and led us all to the river Cruzinu and the water's edge. You'll soon know why.

mercredi 20 décembre 2006

Jennifer Gwen is an Angel


Jennifer Gwen is the first Angel I met on the Teratoma Support Forum. Like many SCT Angels, Jennifer Gwen lost her fight against her tumour and she passed away in her mummy's tummy, this autumn, on the 11th October. Before leaving, she whispered a message in my heart.

The Rainbow Angel

Jennifer Gwen is an Angel
Who came down from above,
Nestled herself inside you
To teach you how to love.

Jennifer Gwen is an Angel
Who filled your hearts with hope
And despite all the diagnoses
Taught you how to cope.

Jennifer Gwen is an Angel
But Angels can't stay long
And she knew that the road would be difficult
So she helped you become strong

Jennifer Gwen is an Angel
As such, her stay was short.
Just enough to share with you
Those beautiful things she taught.

Jennifer Gwen is an Angel
And Angels cannot die
That is why Jennifer Gwen
Must return to the clouds on high.


My kind thoughts to Keryn and Adrian, mum and dad to their Rainbow Angel, in Australia.

SCT - Angels and Miracles



SCT is the usual abbreviation for a Sacrococcygeal Teratoma. These very rare tumeurs happen in a ratio of 1:35,000 to 1:70,000 live births.

I happen to be one of those rare specimens called an SCT Survivor. Up till October of this year I never knew that anyone else in the world had ever had one. I never dreamed I would find people who could understand the different difficulties and problems induced by it. I thought I would have to go this one all alone.

Jen's Teratoma Support site and the Teratoma Foundation forum have been such a revelation to me, and have helped me enormously over the last two months, and for once in my life I find that I can be really, truly, helpful. Expectant couples who have had their unborn baby diagnosed with an SCT or one of the other, even rarer, forms of teratoma find precious information and very caring psychological support.

I hope that my presence on the SCT Forum, still alive and kicking, almost 45 years after having gone through the same experience, albeit "from the other side", helps them maintain their hope in a situation where the initial prognostics are often very bleak.

The majority of SCT babies are born by planned premature cesarian deliveries, and undergo major surgery only hours or days after birth. Some have even been operated on 'in utero'. Some babies do not manage to overcome their tumeur. These babies become SCT Angels that leave their strength and their fighting spirit to our small, but growing community.

The strength and fighting spirit necessary for a baby born at 33 weeks, and weighing less than 2 kilos, to undergo a 9 hour surgical intervention. The miracle of life triomphing against such terrible odds.

My Angels and Miracles poems relate these magnificent Stories

mardi 19 décembre 2006

An Early Christmas Present


Camomile gave us an early Christmas present, by having her calf this morning. When I found her hidden in the bushes this morning, the calf was still sticky. I've already seen him suckling. You'll have to wait for the photos though, as the digicam is in Ajaccio until the weekend.

Stilbestrol


They gave my mum a molecule
“To dry your milk” they said.
They gave it too, to other mums
Because their womb had bled.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
And passed into her son.
Born with a split epiglottis,
Of an aneurism he is gone.

They gave my mum a molecule
After he was born.
They gave it to sell more baby milk
And another life was torn.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
And passed into the next.
He was born for alcohol
And took his own life, vexed.

They gave my mum a molecule
That had never been through tests.
They gave it too, to other mums
And now they lose their breasts.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
And passed into the twins.
One born for anorexia
The other believes he’s a sin.

They gave my mum a molecule
Though the test mice had all died.
They gave it too, to other mums
And our organs are shriveled inside.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
And passed into her daughter.
She has had autistic boys,
So where will end this slaughter?

They gave my mum a molecule
That the body could not shed.
They gave it too, to other mums
And of cancers they are dead.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
And it became my turn.
Born with a teratoma,
In hell I’ve sought to burn.

They gave my mum a molecule
“In very small proportions”.
They gave it too, to others as
A chemical abortion.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
Another sister got her share.
A hysterectomy at thirty-five.
It really is not fair.

They gave my mum a molecule
With a quadruple half life.
They gave it too, to other mums
And now we live in strife.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
Into another child it crept.
My sister lost her babies
And never more has slept.

They gave my mum a molecule
Though the dangers had been proved.
They gave it too, to other mums
Now we have our breasts removed.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
Into her last girl child.
Lost to hallucinations,
Secret terrors in her mind.

They gave my mum a molecule
Between each pregnancy.
It would seem that this suffice
To wreck a family.

And still the beast rolled in her veins
And entered my little brother
Who’s on alcohol and Prozac.
She didn’t have another.

They gave my mum a molecule.
Now they refuse to take the blame
For this poison distributed with
So many different names.

And still the beast rolls in our veins:
Her children’s children show
All the signs and symptoms of
Iatrogens in utero

They gave my mum a molecule
All it’s poison now unfurls
They gave it too, in Australia,
To stunt the growth of girls.

And still the beast rolls in their veins
And her children’s children’s
Children?


Tantine
DES Daughter

My blog is almost ready

As you can see, I've managed to put some photos on here. Haven't worked out for my profile photo yet. So the one under
here will have to do for now.

Anglais or French

I've realised I can separate my messages into English and French, so this is going to be easier than I thought at first. I have to download a "thingy" for my photos though, and with my 52k pedal driven modem this is going to be a bit long. See you. Tantine