Hi guys,
For those of you who dont know already, we sadly lost my 8 year old brother, Josh last night at the Royal Childrens Hospital in Melbourne. He put up a great fight, as he always does, but this time his infection got the better of him.
For those of you who dont know his story, Josh was born on December 15th 1999 to Glenda and Peter. For a while everything seemed completely normal, but after a few months, it was noticed that he wasnt developing exactly as a child should. He was eventually diagnosed with the rare condition, polymicrogyria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymicrogyria) which also left him quadriplegic, and if that wasnt enough, he was diagnosed with epilepsy aswell.
As you can imagine, this was quite upsetting for everyone who was close to Peter, Glenda and of course Josh, but it certainly didnt stop anyone loving him. Eventhough he was unable to sit up and support his own body weight, walk, or talk, he was still able to communicate in his own way, and loved entertaining people with his huge smiles and cheeky giggles. Although he wasnt able to talk, it was obvious that he could understand people talking to him. He also loved being read books and watching TV, especially shows like Hi-5 aswell as my preference, the Simpsons, which I eventually got him hooked on.
Due to Joshs condition, he required round-the-clock care, and of course mum and Peter werent going to give up any time they were able to spend with Josh, so they opted to do it themselves along with help from various carers.
Because of his illness and low immune system, he was susceptible to illness, especially pneumonia which saw him spending several weeks at a time, several times a year in the Royal Childrens Hospital where mum and Peter sat by his bedside, urging him to pull through, as he always seemed to miraculously do.
I could go on and write pages about the wonderful but short life that my brother had, and continue to elaborate on the tremendous love that Glenda and Peter had for him, but the main reason for writing this email because I think that my mum, Glenda and Peter need to get away and spend some time with each other, which they havent been able to do. Also, because of the round-the-clock care that was required, it was hard for either of them to work, and hence money was scarce for them.
I would like to try to raise some money to send Glenda and Peter away on a holiday. Neither of them have been able to go away, as most of us do quite often. Partly because of their financial state and also because of difficulties transporting Josh to places far away from the Royal Childrens Hospital and other facilities that he relies on. For the past 8 years, Glenda and Peter have dedicated their lives to loving and caring for Josh, I think some time away is well deserved.
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by making a deposit into the account listed below:
Mathew Elkan
Westpac
BSB: 033 034
ACC: 416 603
Thank you for your support, it is greatly appreciated.
Mat Elkan
0424 316 704
For those of you who dont know already, we sadly lost my 8 year old brother, Josh last night at the Royal Childrens Hospital in Melbourne. He put up a great fight, as he always does, but this time his infection got the better of him.
For those of you who dont know his story, Josh was born on December 15th 1999 to Glenda and Peter. For a while everything seemed completely normal, but after a few months, it was noticed that he wasnt developing exactly as a child should. He was eventually diagnosed with the rare condition, polymicrogyria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymicrogyria) which also left him quadriplegic, and if that wasnt enough, he was diagnosed with epilepsy aswell.
As you can imagine, this was quite upsetting for everyone who was close to Peter, Glenda and of course Josh, but it certainly didnt stop anyone loving him. Eventhough he was unable to sit up and support his own body weight, walk, or talk, he was still able to communicate in his own way, and loved entertaining people with his huge smiles and cheeky giggles. Although he wasnt able to talk, it was obvious that he could understand people talking to him. He also loved being read books and watching TV, especially shows like Hi-5 aswell as my preference, the Simpsons, which I eventually got him hooked on.
Due to Joshs condition, he required round-the-clock care, and of course mum and Peter werent going to give up any time they were able to spend with Josh, so they opted to do it themselves along with help from various carers.
Because of his illness and low immune system, he was susceptible to illness, especially pneumonia which saw him spending several weeks at a time, several times a year in the Royal Childrens Hospital where mum and Peter sat by his bedside, urging him to pull through, as he always seemed to miraculously do.
I could go on and write pages about the wonderful but short life that my brother had, and continue to elaborate on the tremendous love that Glenda and Peter had for him, but the main reason for writing this email because I think that my mum, Glenda and Peter need to get away and spend some time with each other, which they havent been able to do. Also, because of the round-the-clock care that was required, it was hard for either of them to work, and hence money was scarce for them.
I would like to try to raise some money to send Glenda and Peter away on a holiday. Neither of them have been able to go away, as most of us do quite often. Partly because of their financial state and also because of difficulties transporting Josh to places far away from the Royal Childrens Hospital and other facilities that he relies on. For the past 8 years, Glenda and Peter have dedicated their lives to loving and caring for Josh, I think some time away is well deserved.
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so by making a deposit into the account listed below:
Mathew Elkan
Westpac
BSB: 033 034
ACC: 416 603
Thank you for your support, it is greatly appreciated.
Mat Elkan
0424 316 704
