Wednesday 5 September 2012

Families of Ocean Ward

Ocean Ward: -

http://www.oceanward.co.uk/index2011.html

This is the peadiatric cardiology ward at Southampton General hospital where Noah was officially diagnosed, had his operation, and is still treated when need be. The ward itself is amazing; they treat all children from birth right up until their later teenage years and cater for everybody. The whole ward is kept to an ocean theme, all the rooms and little wards have ocean themed names, the walls and floors are decorated to be like you are in the ocean and they have fish tanks too, which Noah has always loved to watch. There is a playroom with all sorts of toys and games and craft activities for all ages, run by two play specialists who are both lovely and friendly and welcoming. There are also dvds and portable dvd players available, which was fantastic for the last time we were there in June (just before Noah's second birthday) for a cardiac catheter and to balloon his valve to try and widen it again (which unfortunately was not successful). Trying to soothe a 2 year old who is not allowed to eat or drink in preparation for theatre, and doesnt understand why, only for that to be delayed and having to go even longer is not easy, thank god for this facility and Finding Nemo! There is also a kitchen for the families to make use of, a breastfeeding room with everything needed to pump and store breastmilk for the babies, without which I wouldnt have been able to keep up breastfeeding Noah while he was in for his first op and that was something very important to me as I wanted him to have the best chance possible. There is also a seperate area for teenagers where they have tv and games consoles and their own lounge so they can chill out away from the little ones. All of this costs a great deal to maintain, and then of course you have all of the medical equipment, and the many fantastic staff, who no matter how busy they are will always make time to talk to you if you are worried, and make sure you understand everything going on etc. It all adds up, but has meant so much to us so we would love to be able to give something back.

Donna

Families of Ocean Ward: -
Registered charity number 1145013

Wessex Heart House

The following is a note from Donna, my sister-in-law and Noah's mummy:

Wessex Heartbeat-

http://www.heartbeat.co.uk/wessex-heartbeat-house

This fantastic charity, among other things are responsible for the wonder that is Heartbeat House. This is a house just across the road from the hospital where relatives are able to stay when they have somebody on the ward, and there is a part of the house specifically dedicated to the families on Ocean Ward called Ronald McDonald House. This was a haven for us as the hospital is a 100 mile round trip from home, (although many travel even further) and meant while I stayed up on the ward with Noah, Sean was able to stay nearby too, and we could have our daughter Faith with us so she still got to spend time with both of us and not be back home looked after by somebody and frightened not knowing what was happening to her brother. The facilities at the house are fantastic, you have your own room with shared bathrooms, a well equipped communal kitchen with your own cupboard and fridge space as well as communal lounge and garden. It provides a brief break from the intensity of the ward, and made an extremely stressful time easier to bear as we were all still able to be together. The house and all the running costs are entirely funded by the charity, and without fundraising and donations this wonderful house would not be able to remain open which is why when Katrina first mentioned the idea we were keen for some of the money to go here, as we are incredibly grateful for the house to have been there, and will no doubt need it again in the future.

Minnie, Wellow's free range pony!

01/09/12 Luckington to Wellow

And this brings us up to date at Wellow trekking Centre. Wellow is a busy yard, ponies and kids coming out for your ears, however it is so calm and organised. Everything gets done each day, no drama, no hassle! They have been so understanding and chilled about Cognac and myself hanging around unexpectedly while we resolve his lameness issues. I'm camped on their front lawn and Cognac is out in a field. "You need the farrier on Thursday? Just add him to the list in the diary..."

There is a RDA centre on site and Pat and Anne, who run it rode from Wellow to Land's End a couple of years ago, so are helping me with route planning and accommodation for when Cognac and I get on our way again.

30/08/12 coming into Luckington- the deepest ford I have ever seen!

30/08/12 riding through the arbortorium

30/08/12 mud glorious mud!

30/08/12 Chelford to Luckington

What a contrast in days! After an uncertain start, the day brought beautiful sunshine, it was a comfortable day after a long day in the rain the day before and we ended up at Sue's yard at Luckington. Sue offered us to stay another day and gave me some advice about feeding Cognac, she had a degree in horse management and therefore could explain to me the inside workings of Cognac's stomach and gut, as a result I have slightly changed his feed regime, which appears to have helped. I stayed on Sue's sofa and Cognac stayed in the first night then had a grassy paddock at the front of the yard.

On our day off there was a lot of horses that needed exercising so Sue offered me a horse to ride and showed me around Badminton Estate on horseback! That's not something you get to do every day!

30/08/12 GRASS and Sunshine

29/08/12 setting out from Cleeve hill in the rain

29/08/12 Cleeve Hill to Chelford

Where I had originally planned to stay fall through so at the last minute William phoned around and found myself and Cognac somewhere to stay for the 29th aug. Wesley, William's farrier dropped by in the morning and replaced the lost nails on Cognac's shoe and kindly took the time to check all his other shoes. He pointed out a small hole in Cognac's sole on one of his back feet and warned me to watch that he didn't get a stone stuck in it as it would be sensitive. He sprayed it with a hoof hardener to create a seal on it to protect it.

It was the wettest morning for a while and William and I tacked up in the rain and set off in the rain, William and Strider escorted Cognac and myself over the common and we said goodbye at the over side, where they set off back to the yard and Cognac and I continued on our way- alone once again, just slowly walking away...

It was such a horrendously wet day, we managed to find a relatively sheltered place to stop for some food before heading out into the rain again. I phoned Jane, who were staying with and she said that it was quite complicated to get to her yard and that she would ride out to meet us to show us the way.

Luckily the sun came out in time for her to tack up as I would have felt awful if she had had to ride out in the rain, but the sun came out and I was glad of her company as it was very complicated! We passed through picturesque villages, with steep, windy lanes and it was nice to be a passenger and just to follow jane and enjoy the view. We passed over a bust A road, a railway track and a river in one swoop, that would have proven a logistical nightmare on a map to someone who didn't ride or know the area, i.e me!

Cognac got a good feed and went out for the night. We hung my belongings anywhere possible to allow them to dry a bit over night and Jane took me back to hers for a shower. All the while Jane was trying to get hold of her friend Charlotte to see if she had a spare bed for mw for the night as Jane was off to work very early in the morning and although I could camp in the field, the ground was very wet and usually i sleep on my saddle blanket and that was soaked too.

We went and got something to eat at the pub and spread out my maps on the table to plot me a route for the next day. Charlotte got back to Jane and said that I could stay at hers for the night so Jane dropped me at Charlotte's after we had eaten. Although Charlotte was out at dog agility, her husband Chris invite me in and showed me my bed for the night and Jane, myself and he chatted until Charlotte got back and we watched the Paralympics opening ceremony.

28/08/12 photo taken by William, leaving Castlemorton

William and Strider

28/08/12 Crossing the motorway

Sabrina Way stickers placed by William!

28/08/12 Castlemorton to Cleeve Hill

28/08/12 Castlemorton to Cleeve Hill

Jez dropped me off at William Reddaway's house, where we had dinner, sorted out my saddle bags and as much horse feed as I needed for the next few days before Jez set off back to West Sussex and William helped me plot my next days ride from Castlemorton to Cleeve Hill, this was mostly along the Sabrina Way with a few modifications from William. It was great to finally meet William after stumbling across his website a few month before I had set off on my ride. We had plenty to talk about and not a lot of time to do it in!

William Reddaway and Strider, his horse, are setting out next year on a journey to the four corners of England, dropping by at as many cathedrals as possible en route, riding straight through the middle of towns and cities, blowing his trumpet to attract as much attention as possible. William plans to raise an incredible £250,000 to be split between Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre and the Family Holiday association. Visit his website at www.rideroundengland.org to see if he will be dropping by your local cathedral at some point! And offers of accommodation for the night for either horse or rider will be very gratefully received.

William dropped me back up to Sarah's at Castlemorton in the morning, where we discovered Cognac had lost all the nails on the inside of his off- fore, they had come out cleanly and his hoof wall was all intact, although I did have to pull one nail out, which was bent over but still in. The shoe was flat and not bent at all so I decided that if I went steady it would be fine for the day and that we could try and get a farrier for the evening or next morning.

We had a nice ride, the route was easy to follow and although it was a long day at 25 miles it was most flat and William and Strider rode out to meet us for the last five miles of so, which was really nice. Great to finally meet Strider!

William's farrier Wesley had kindly agreed to drop by next morning to replace the lost nails in Cognac's shoe so I fed Cognac and we turned him out in a very grassy field with horses across the way for company.

View from the to of the Malverns- looking to Wales

27/08/12 the girls from Severnacres Riding School escorted us to the top of the Malverns

26/08/12 Severnacres Riding School, Great Malvern

26/08/12 Seven Acres, Great Malvern

We were due to reach Castlemorton on the 27th, when William Reddaway was due back from Devon, so we chose to do two short days while we had Jez with us, to make it easier on Cognac and having Jez with us means that we have access to as much horse feed as we need.

We rode from Clifton- upon- teme to the Malverns and stayed at Sevenacres Riding School for the night, thank- you Janet Jones for having us at extremely short notice (we phoned her at lunch time!) We camped by the stables and overnight we shut the front gate and Cognac had had the roam of the yard overnight, with lots of grass to pick at. Janet had horses at Castlemorton for a while so helped me plot on my map the best route over, which was mostly off road. Three girls from the yard escorted us to the top of the hill, from there we rode along the top of the Malverns( the views stretched all the way to Wales) and back down the other side onto Castlemorton Common, from there we rode other to Sarah's house, where William Reddaway had arranged for Cognac to stay for the night (he had offered to put me up for two nights at his house as tomorrow day I was to ride from Castlemorton to a yard near to his)

Wide forest tracks at Wyre forest

Flash flood damaged bridge at Wyre Forest

24th and 25th August 2012

We stopped over at Clifton-upon- Teme for two nights. Jez came up to meet us again and Cognac made us laugh when upon spotting his car came marching over to it neighing for his dinner! As far as he is concerned Jez's car is just there to carry his feed! It absolutely poured with rain the first night and the morning of our day off, to the point where the ground was absolutely saturated with water. Cognac just got his head down and ate grass.

24/08/12 Wyre Forest to Clifton- upon- Tyne

After Cognac had a big bowl of beet pulp and mix for breakfast, thank- you to Graham, we set out through Wyre forest. Really pleasant forest tracks. We thought we had hit a dead end a one point, we wiggled a long way down a little single track country road to the very end, where we were planning on following a bridleway into Wyre Forest, however at the very end of this road, at the start of the bridleway was a notice to say that the bridleway was out of order as the bridge has been broken during recent flash floods. A wave of annoyance flushed through me as I thought about the long, windy road I would have to go back along to find a detour around, but seen as we had got this far and considering what we had traversed already I figured it was worth a look and that we may be able to avoid the bridge and ford the river instead. Indeed we could and we soon got onto a lovely, wide forest track that wiggled along the river bank.

That afternoon, the weather really started to change and it was threatening to rain any minute, we pressed on and it held off. We stopped at the Bridge as their overflow car park was full of lush grass and Cognac was telling me he was hungry (dragging me to a verge at every opportunity. We then planned to follow a bridleway straight up and over the hill and to drop into Clifton- upon- Teme. However it was so over grown we got lost in the woods, which was so steep and over grown, I started to worry we would ever see daylight again, this conveyed to Cognac and he started to get edgy too, at this point I was worried he would knock me out on a tree branch of trip over a tree root, or get tangled in brambles and panick and, and... anyway we survived with just a few scratches and managed to cut across a field back onto the road. The only alternative was to go all the way along the road to the bottom, along a busy road and then back up the over side of the hill, this added a good 3-4 miles onto our day and that rain we had managed to avoid all day had started to fall. The annoyance I felt soon subsided as we found a bridleway further down (still an extra 3 miles on our day) that took us to the top of a grassy field and we could turn and back South on the land still to cover and the Malvern hills rising up in front of us in the distance- We wouldn't have seen this glorious view if we had got over on the original bridleway.

23/08/12 Shifnal to Wyre forest, old railway route.

23/08/12 Shifnal to Wyre Forest

From Shifnal we rode over to a farm, Little Meaton farm, near Wyre Forest, I were still following the Sabrina Way but as I had found it very over grown and impassible in places at some points we varied away from the route, or chose to ride down a short section of B road to avoid a lengthy detour.

Quite a few good sections of bridleway today, again pretty uneventful except for riding along a bendy, fast B road (that I would like to point out that a lot of bridleways crossing it and the beware of horses warning signs) and getting yelled out out of a passing car window by a lady: something along the lines of "use a bridleway"

We stopped at a pub about three miles away from the farm as I was hungry and needed to use the conveniences. I turned out to be a good stop as not only did i receive sponsorship I also managed to convince a gentleman to bring Cognac a bowl of horse feed for breakfast to the farm (Jackie had offered me as much horse feed as I could carry as I knew that I wouldn't be able to get any at the farm, however this meant that I could give him a good evening feed, instead of having to split it between a night feed and a morning feed).

When I reached the farm I was greeted by a lovely, jolly lady, Mrs Guest who showed me to the orchard, where i could put Cognac for the night. There was plenty of grass, however it wasn't enclosed so I asked if there was anywhere else that was enclosed, so she then showed me to the orchard, which was enclosed and had sheep and goats and alsorts in. I un- tacked Cognac and let him loose, but the dogs next door kept barking at us and Mrs Guest said they were her sons dogs and went to talk to him.

Mrs Guest then came back with her son and he said that he was sorry i couldn't park my horse in that field overnight as his dogs would bark all night, he was also worried about him eating the apples and plums off the trees and getting sick, so Mrs Guest showed us to a field at the bottom of the farm, which was perfect- lots of grass and enclosed! A this point I was offered a bed at Mr and Mrs Guest's house and also a shower and something to eat at their sons house. Both of which was greatly received after a long day!

The real Royal Oak

22/08/12 lunch in a housing estate

21/08/11 new shoes at Cannock

20/08/12 Cannock

22/08/12 Jackie's House

We rode from Cannock to Jackie's, it was a pretty uneventful day, country lanes, a few busy A road crossings. We stopped for lunch on a patch of grass in the middle of a housing estate and being in a busy area I had to tie Cognac up outside a public toilet as I was desperate to go! We also rode passed the actual real Royal Oak along the Monarch's Way, although when I rung Jez to tell him he wouldn't believe me and was less than impressed! I also had a moment when I very nearly lost my pony! We stop for an afternoon break down a bridleway and it was so hot I lay down on the grass and shaded my eyes from the sun. Cognac was grazing loose not far away when "clip clop, clip clop" I opened my eyes and he was calmly but purposefully walking back off up the track! I thought back to try and remember if we had come through a gate at the top of the track or whether there was the possibility I would be following him all the way back to Cannock, when he stopped. He had just wanted a drink and had remembered that there was a puddle a few hundred yards back, once he was done he resumed grazing, blinking up at me with his big eyes, would I ever leave you...

Jackie was so lovely and it was great to meet her daughter too, who had just returned home after a stint abroad. Cognac had a big feed and went out in the lushest grass I have ever seen for the night. Jackie had set up her husband's fishing bed in the back of her lorry for me and had provided me with hot water and tea and squash and chocolate biscuits, in case i got hungry or thirsty overnight- which was impossible after I had had plenty to eat and drink in her kitchen before I went to bed!

20/08/12 Cannock . Rest and recuperation with Robin and Catherine.

I really enjoyed my stay at Cannock with Robin and Catherine. We had meet, by chance, a few days earlier when we had stopped at a pub for a mid day rest and Robin and Catherine had very kindly offered us to stay when we reached Cannock. So a couple of days later we phoned and it was all arranged, we had originally been invited to stay for one night, but that soon turned into two and subsequently three nights.

Robin and Catherine had a horse each and the rest of the stables we rented out, it was a lovely yard with a very friendly, calm feel. Cognac went out in a paddock on his own with lots of grass and horses over the fence. We were allowed as much hard feed as we needed, so Cognac got a few days of good hard feed in his belly and some much needed rest.

While we were there we took the opportunity to get Cognac shoes redone. Catherine had to ring round about five farriers to finally get one who was available for the next day.

Everyone I met during my stay was so friendly and really interested in Cognac and my journey and we received some very generous sponsorship money. It was arranged for me to stay with Jackie for the next night. When the morning came for us to leave it was tough to stay good bye. We had both been made to feel so welcome and comfortable and I really hope I get chance to visit again soon (minus pony!)

03/09/12 Wellow Trekking Centre, nr Bath

Cognac and I are currently at Wellow Trekking Centre, 7 miles south of Bath. We are held up here as Cognac is trotting up lame on his off fore. He is fine in walk (with shoes on) and has been striding out as usual, although he has been a bit touchy on stony ground.

I had the vet out to see him on Sunday and he has had his front shoes off to allow the vet to hoof test him and to par away some foot to look for any infection. He only found a bit of bruising, but thought that there was a chance that there was infection brewing, but not yet visible. I was therefore advised to apply a hot, wet poultice to the foot 2-3 times a day to draw out any infection. Dara, the vet was very reassuring and said that he hoped to get us back on the road by mid week. He also had a look at Cognac's general condition and put my mind to rest about his weight. He said that his condition was good and that he looked healthy and well and very fit. He compared him to a racehorse and said that although he wasn't holding any excess weight, he had just walked 1000 miles, so it was all relative. Dara's only words of warning was to watch that he didn't tie up in the next few days, as he wouldn't be working.

The poulticing failed to produce anything so we saw a colleague of Dara's on Wednesday, Tamara. Tamara watched Cognac trot up and hoof tested him again, noting that it was the bulb of his heel that was particularly sore and looked slightly swollen. I asked if it could be anything higher up the leg and she said that as there was no swelling or heat on his legs that she was 99.9% certain that the lameness was coming from his foot and not higher up. The advice now is to stop poulticing the foot as there is nothing coming out and this is leading to his hoof tissue softening and the potential of thrush. Cognac is on a course of Penicillin to clear up any infection that may be present, a sachet of Danillon a day for pain relief and he is to have his shoes put back on on Thursday, in the presence of the vet, so we can work to get him comfortable.

I also took a trip down the road to Totally Tack Ltd, in Frome, to look at the possibility of hoof boots for his front feet. The lady in charge said that she kept her horses a few miles up the road from Wellow and one of her horses has the same size feet as Cognac, so kindly offered to bring them over after she finishes work to try them on Cognac and see how they felt.

While we are stationary I hope to take the opportunity to update the missing days on my blog.