Even before you were born everyone prayed for you. We prayed for your safe arrival into our world and we prayed that we would be blessed to have you in our lives.
“Sonnestraal” - Sunbeam that is the name your mother gives you and that is exactly what you are to our family, a ray of bright sunlight given to us by a mightier hand to bring gladness and absolute love to our lives.
Your arrival was a miracle and from the first time I saw you in your mother’s arms I have loved you unconditionally and completely. Your beautiful face, your blue eyes and your too big ears are the most exquisite sight to behold. The memory of your happy face and bubbly laughter are thoughts that make me rejoice. That is why I am writing this for you now so that you will know how many people love you and how many people have prayed for your recovery. This is the power of love!
It’s two thirty in the morning on Friday 9th May and I am jolted awake by the shrilling ring of my cell phone. Sonja is in hospital with pneumonia and Boom-boom is on the line. I go ice cold when I hear her hysterical voice on the other end. Between the sobbing all I could make out were words like Code Blue, ICU, and Sonja.
“Calm down now and give the phone to the sister!” I shout at the telephone in an attempt to collect my thoughts and calm myself down. Next thing I hear the sister telling me that Sonja has had a seizure and is a “Code Blue” and that she has been taken to the Pediatric ICU.
“What the hell is a Code Blue?” I yell, “Is my granddaughter dead?”
“I don’t know… The emergency Code Blue Doctor and the emergency staff are all with her at the moment and they are doing the best they can.”
“Tell my daughter we’ll be there in ten minutes.” I shrieked at the phone.
I turned around to find Hubby and saw the huge tears streaming down his beautiful face.
“No, she’s not dead.” I comforted him; “we must get to the hospital quickly!”
When we got there I found Tanya waiting outside the ward. She was as white as sheet and her big eyes looked even larger than normal. “Sonja?” was all I could muster, and shakily she told me that they had her in the ICU and were trying to revive her. The pediatrician was on her way they told her. I put my arms around her and held her tight, it was all I could do. Hubby arrived and when Tanya saw him she began to cry while he just held her tightly.
In the PICU it was like a scene from ER. In an attempt to get her to breathe, nurses and Doctors were poking and prodding and inserting tubes and needles into Sonja’s tiny body.
The Pediatrician told us that she was going to perform a lumbar puncture on Sonja and later confirmed that she had bacterial meningitis and pneumonia. They also detected an increased number of white blood cells in the cerebrospinal fluid and the poor baby had gastrointestinal bleeding. She was given a blood transfusion and that helped tremendously towards her recovery.
An intravenous drip was inserted in her neck and this leads to the main artery to ensure that the antibiotics and medication is fed into the bloodstream immediately. She also had tubes inserted into her small nostrils for oxygen because she was not breathing on her own. The doctor told us that this illness could often have consequences such as deafness, loss of sight or other damage to the brain. So she had scheduled Sonja for a MRI and a CT Scan (brain scan) on Monday morning. She was heavily sedated with morphine to keep her calm and make her sleep so that the drugs could do their work.
Everyone we know and even people we do not know and neither do they know Sonja were praying for her full recovery. I have no words to express the profound gratitude we feel for all the loving support that we received from everybody.
The weekend dragged by slowly and there was no change in her condition until she began to show signs of recovery on Sunday morning. By Tuesday she was stronger and could open one eye slightly. The oxygen tubes were removed and although she still needed the occasional oxygen Sonja was breathing on her own again! From there things were going great and Sonja was becoming stronger and stronger. By Friday she was eating and drinking well and was discharged.
Being the broody granny that I am I went to visit her at home on Saturday and it felt wonderful to hold her in my arms again! She was happy to be home, she was all smiles and full of herself.
At around four twenty on Monday afternoon the 19th May I received another telephone call from Tanya to please go and help her immediately because Sonja was having another seizure!
By four-thirty I had both mother and baby in my car and was rushing through the traffic overtaking on white lines and shooting red lights. I must have broken every traffic law that day but thankfully I got them there safe and sound. By the time we got to the hospital and had Sonja on the bed at the Pediatrician it was just over fifteen minutes later and she was still having the seizure. She was admitted to the Pediatric ICU again. The doctor performed another Lumbar Puncture and happily there was no sign of meningitis, but Sonja still had an infection in the sinuses and would have to be put on medication and receive physiotherapy. She was moved to a normal ward on Monday afternoon and on Wednesday the Pediatric Neurologist performed an EEG on Sonja. We are still waiting for the results.
What the doctors are concerned about is the fact that Sonja did not have a high temperature when she had the seizure, the fact that her seizure lasts so long and that she battles to breathe afterwards.
God’s love guides every moment of our lives and he has shown me the power of His loving care by making Sonja well and I know the same will happen now. It’s simply a question of faith and trust.
I quote once again a verse from one of Brian Finch’s songs:
“One things for certain,
They can’t bring down the curtain,
You’re the encore the ribbons and bows.
Oh, how I love you my little Sonja Sunbeam.”
(Only in the song he sings Ella-Belle Rose)
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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