Classic pic: In the garden

This week's classic photo is a picture we took of Abby when the kids were enjoying the sunshine in the garden at our old house one summer's day. It was taken on the afternoon of 8th June 2004 so Abigail was nine months old. The photograph is significant because it was taken in the very short six week period after Abby had at last come home from hospital but before she went back in due to epileptic seizures.

She'd just been discharged from Guy's hospital PICU after her gastrostomy operation and subsequent seizure episode. We had her home for just a month and a half before she was re-admitted to our local hospital with more epileptic episodes. This was finally brought under control after a week and she came home again on 23rd June that year.

Although it was really only a recent addition, it seems strange looking back at older pictures of Abby where she didn't have her trademark long curly locks!

Classic pic: Disneyland

Clearly this blog will no longer have regular updates on Abby's progress as it once did, but we want to continue adding to the site long term. We intend to post more archived copies of older e-mail updates so that in time, the site becomes a place where Abigail's story can be told, right from the very first update sent three days after her traumatic birth.

In the short term we also want to keep you up to date with Abby's donation fund total and where and how that money will be donated and used. There may also be additional written and audio pieces from the recent Service of Thanksgiving, which astonishingly, was over two weeks ago already!

Finally, we'd also like to add occasionally to the site by posting some of our favourite photographs of Abigail along with a bit about where and when they were taken. Many people have commented on the two videos of Abby and how good it was to see her experiencing so many different people, places and situations. We wanted to show some more of those pics! Here's the first:

This photograph was taken on the morning of 1st September 2005 during our first trip to Disneyland whilst away in France. This was our first family holiday abroad with Abigail and the kids all loved the theme park. Abby particularly enjoyed this little boat trip and really seemed to take in the lights and sounds of many of the rides. She was nearly two years old in this shot.