Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

Our daughter Olivia was born 26th September 2006, she arrived without any complications, weighing a healthy 8lbs 6oz.

Olivia is very special, not that our other children aren’t, of course, but the circumstances that brought Olivia to us are quite unusual.

Myself and Olivia’s Mum had both been married before, both had 2 children, which was all we ever wanted, tragically we both lost a son to cancer, they were both treated at the same time, both called Jack and both died in September, just one year apart, 2001 and 2002. We married in 2004 and Olivia was born exactly half way between our boys anniversaries, two years later.

Olivia continued to develop well, she’s as bright as a button, her language development is beyond her age and she loved to draw, colour and paint from 9 months. Despite this fantastic development rate, Olivia could not sit unaided, roll over or walk and we had noticed clunking in all her joints from about 6 months.

When Olivia reached her first birthday she was sitting unaided and rolling over, although she still could not crawl. I was very concerned about the clunking bones, particularly in her hips, knees and ankles.  To cut a long story short, (full story can be read here http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/oliviajane ) Olivia was diagnosed in January 2008 as Hypermobile with Bi-lateral Hip Dysplasia.  We were devasted to hear that Olivia has no hip sockets, not even shallow ones and would need years of surgery.

We were booked in for a 4 week stay in hospital, starting on 28th January.

Olivia spent 3 ½ weeks in traction. She coped amazingly well, twisting, turning, playing, painting, we went for walks in a big Silvercross pram with a traction frame in it, she went in the playroom, my wife stayed with her in hospital for all that time. She had her Closed reduction on 20th Feb and it went very well. Because Olivia has never walked, the heads of her femurs are in perfect condition so allowed for good positioning.

Sadly, we found out in July 2008 that the closed reduction procedure had failed and her Hypermobility had caused her hips to dislocate once again. This felt more devastating than the first news on initial diagnosis. The Hypermobility is making it impossible to stabilise her hips. She had a 6 hour operation for Open surgery on both her hips at the end of July. True to form, Olivia bounced back but we are now facing another 6 months in cast – making it a total of one year. Even then, we don’t know if it will work. She will need bracing and they still cannot tell us if Olivia will walk.

Through all of this there has been one place my wife has been able to turn to for support, advice and friendship. The Steps Charity website DDH Forum. Without Steps, I know she wouldn’t have coped as well as she has, having a child encased in plaster from chest to ankles is not easy, simple things like sleeping comfortably, fitting in a car seat, pushchair or highchair, changing nappies through a small hole in the cast… Steps helped with all those things and more. It has been great for her to talk to other families in similar situations and share our stories, some of us have even met up a few times and we've made some wonderful friends through Steps. 

Olivia is 2years old now, she has never stood up, never taken a step, she watches her friends running, jumping, climbing and playing whilst she lays on the floor. She has never worn a pair of wellies and kicked up the autumn leaves, she has never bounced on a trampoline or played on a slide, squealing with excitement as I catch her at the bottom. She cannot sit on ride on toys because of the shape of her cast, she's never been able to play in the playhouse in the garden or stand at her kitchen she had for her first birthday. She cannot sit on her rocking horse. Yet, throughout all of this, Olivia smiles the most beautiful, heartwarming smile in the world. She sings, she writes and draws, she plays on the floor with her Happy Land and Little People, she watches Peppa Pig, Thomas, Balamory, Doodle doo, In the Night Garden, Fifi and all her other favourites, singing and swaying along to the theme tunes, She really is amazing and we love her so much.

I am climbing Aconcagua for Olivia and for the Charity that has helped us cope with her problems.  There is a small group of us travelling to South America in February hoping to reach the 22,831ft summit via the east side of the mountain and descending on the west side.  Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world outside of the Himalaya, Everest being the highest at 29,036ft.  Whilst not technically difficult, Aconagua is a very large, very cold mountain - so wish us luck!  

Follow our progress here... http://aconcagua-feb2009.blogspot.com/

http://www.steps-charity.org.uk/

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/oliviajane

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Steps Charity Worldwide gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!