It's been a busy day, week, month and year since our second daughter Ada-Marie was born.
As you might know Ada-Marie has Microtia and Atresia causing her conductive deafness in her right ear and a portwine stain just above her eye on the same side. I wrote back in November about our experiences during those early months. Seeing as it's coming to her first birthday this weekend, I thought I'd share some more thoughts on how she is and how she has changed our family.
Despite it being a whirlwind of emotions and feeling like everything travels at the speed of light now, Ada-Marie has helped bring clarity in what we do and focus on the things we care about. Having many appointments and many things that could have been wrong. We have been very fortunate that she is completely healthy, it has made us assess our priorities. Frankly she has helped push me on to work harder in my new role at Impact.com and helped make sure I spend more time with the people that matter to me most.
I've seen my eldest daughter, Evelyn, grow in confidence and become a great teacher. She is so devoted to her little sister It's crazy.
For my wife and I, it's been dozens of appointments, hours of travelling but constant enjoyment to see both our daughters hit all the milestones coming their way. We have had the opportunity to learn so much from some incredible families we have met through and charities like Microtia UK. We have also had the privilege of being under the care some of the finest doctors in the world at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Thanks to those incredible consultants, we now have her Bone Anchor Hearing Aid (BAHA) softband fitted. She has gone from strength to strength with her dancing, bouncing and shouting to her favorite songs. We also have the joy of her walking now so we have all the fun parts that come with a hyper mobile one year old.
Thank you again to all of people involved in her care within the NHS and all those that have supported us so far. You have made us feel at ease and ready for the things to come. And thank you for reading about our experiences, it really does mean the world.
Happy Birthday Ada-Marie and thank you for changing our lives for the better. The final and biggest thank you is for her. Thanks for making this the most eventful year of our lives and my goodness this year has flown by.