The Paralympics and Rosh Hashana

The London 2012 Paralympics have finished and left indelible memories of incredible athletes reaching the summit of their fields and leaving us, well me anyway, frankly gobsmacked.

We were lucky enough to make it to the Olympic Park to see Aled Davies (amputee) win discus Gold in the Olympic Stadium and Josef Craig win the S7 400m freestyle Gold in the Aquatics Centre, where we were also privileged to see Josef receive his medal and to be part of an ecstatic crown singing the National Anthem.

In the Aquatics Centre it was one jaw-dropping performance after another.

In particular the S4 50m where a Chinese athlete with no arms and only one leg demolished the field to swim to victory and the S1 50m where the fact that any of the swimmers (all with paralysis in multiple limbs) finished at all was amazing enough let alone that they were all competing at an unbelievable standard.

We came away with our understanding changed of the limitations of the human body and spirit – simply put, there are none.

Little S was not with us at the Olympic Park (she was asleep!). Although she currently has no disabilities, she may grow up having to grapple with her own perceived and actual limitations. Given her ‘condition’, she may not be able to run as far or as fast as her brother or to bounce for as long as her sister or to play all the games that her friends play. But then again, given how fast we’ve seen Jonnie Peacock run with one leg and how far David Weir goes at top speed with none, this is really the wrong way to look at be thinking - Little S should be able to approach life without limits, without reduced expectations and without pity.

As Stephen Hawking said in the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, ‘there should be no boundary to human endeavour’.

And, as we approach the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashana, it’s a good time to consider how the sentiment of pushing back the boundaries of what we can achieve could apply to all of us and the limitations that we consciously or unconsciously place on ourselves.

Wishing everyone reading this a Shana Tova and a year ahead full of sweetness and joy.

Another check-up

Back at GOSH again yesterday (Mon 4 Sept) for another check-up (and two hour wait!) for Little S.

 

Dr D was on good form – blowing bubbles to keep Little S (and Not So Little T who was also with us) occupied – apparently J is the second best bubble blower he has ever met!

 

And Little S is still doing really well – Dr D said we should get an angiogram scheduled in the next month or two to check her arteries in more detail – which means another general anaesthetic for Little S. They would then use the results to make some decisions about when she might have her operation to close the VSD (hole-in-the-heart) and replace the goretex tube with a proper valve. This could be at the beginning of next year but, if Little S is doing really well, they may delay by a few months or even up to a year or two as it is easier to do this kind of surgery on a larger child (which makes sense – the intricacy of what the surgeons do is mind blowing so anything that makes their job easier has to be a good thing – although, if she’s older, it would mean a lot more difficult conversations with, and probably questions from, Little S).

 

We also talked a little about whether we should try to find out the cause of Little S’s heart defect – Dr D said he’d make sure that the appropriate genetic testing was done at the same time as the angiogram which would let us know if the condition is genetic or if it was just very bad luck. ‘Very bad luck’ would be a better outcome really as a genetic condition would mean that there’s a chance that our grandchildren could have the same condition. Either way, the rest of the already born family have nothing to worry about – Little S’s condition does not increase anyone else chances of heart problems later in life.

 

So we headed home again – having Not So Little T with us kind of took our mind off Little S’s ‘condition’ - we can put off our concerns about major operations and heart conditions for another month or two – until the angiogram comes around. (Update: now scheduled for Tuesday 16 October)