Angela Janice Richards

Memorial Service on Tuesday

sirviv — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:54:50 +0000

We woke up this morning to be greeted by this glorious rainbow.

A memorial service will be held next Tuesday.

We have asked the following people to distribute the specific details:

Leigh Windsor
Lionel Windsor
Lisa Tang
Shaun McGregor
Dominic Steele
Paul and Jen Richards

If you have not heard anything by Monday and would like to attend, please contact them directly.

Sleeping In The Arms Of The Saviour

sirviv — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:17:20 +0000

Angela has gone to be with The Lord. She passed away at 10.30am. She was peaceful at the end and her Mum and Dad were both with her.

Up And Down

sirviv — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:05:15 +0000

Angela seemed to be getting better on Tuesday but in the early evening things changed dramatically.

Ange had been sleeping in her bed for a couple of hours when we heard her coughing. She turned blue and took a long time to recover. For the next couple of hours her condition was very serious.

We had another long night and this morning she seems stable again and is sleeping on Jen’s lap, waking up occasionally to cough.

Here are some photos from happier times when we visited the Hawkesbury Show earlier this year.

Sick Day 6

sirviv — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Angela is in the same condition today. Sometimes she is breathing well, sometimes not. We had Jen’s Mum to help us through the night.

Long Night

sirviv — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:56:33 +0000

Angela has become sicker from the virus overnight. Jen and I took shifts cuddling her upright so she could breathe more easily.She has basically slept non-stop since midday on Sunday and at midday on Monday she is still sleeping. She had another temperature of 39 this morning and when she wakes up has a very chesty cough.

We called Bear Cottage where we have visited on many previous occasions for respite. They also provide end of life care. However they are having renovations at the moment and although they were still happy to have us we have decided to stay at home.

We’ll keep the blog regularly updated over coming days.

Here are some photos that were taken in May at Bear Cottage by Caspix Photography in Five Dock who donated their time.

Sick

sirviv — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:54:56 +0000

Angela has come down with a nasty virus in the past few days. Jen took her to our GP on the first day we noticed she was off colour. Ange had a temperature of 39.The doctor put her straight onto Tamiflu and we have been keeping her in doors and resting as much as possible. The virus has given her a very chesty cough, which makes it hard for her to breath when she’s lying down. She is also low on energy and that is affecting her digestion now as well.

Despite this, when she’s breathing well she’s quite perky. After a coughing fit this morning, she was keen to show us her clapping and roly-poly hands. She is such a fighter.

PS Thanks for all the well wishes in the comments. We will upload some new photos soon when we have time.

Delightful News

sirviv — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:43:21 +0000

Angie has been really well, very happy and very cute lately. We put this down to several things: a wonderful God who has been very merciful to us, a run of good health for Angie (she hasn’t had any real setbacks for six months now) and that fact that she knows that soon she won’t be the smallest in our family! Yes we are having another baby! Jen is due with our third child in early November and we are delighted! You can pray for no dramas for either mum or bub this time! But back to Angie…proving that she is a true Richards she is a social little girl. She is at her best when she has a cheer squad around her for encouragement! She has number of ‘tricks’ that are just so charming: chatting (‘bah, bah, bah’), clapping, waving bye bye and, the most adorable, peekaboo. We’ll post some photos soon.

Boofie* Tooth

sirviv — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:09:43 +0000

(*Contraction of ‘boofilul’ – a mispronunciation of Lydia’s from a few months ago. Can be used as an adjective (as in “You’re so boofie”) or noun (as in “Mummy’s got two boofies”).

Angela is growing and changing and it is so lovely to see. She is 16 months old now and quite a little character. She got her first tooth a few weeks ago, but in true Angela style she has decided to do her own thing and get her molars first! This changes the shape of her face and mouth and makes her grin soooo adorably crooked. She still feeds via a tube (a source of constant frustration and sadness for Jen) and shows no real interest or enthusiasm for real food or drink. However, we have changed around her feeding slightly and this appears to have made her much more comfortable and happy. She still thinks her sister is the funniest, coolest, most entertaining person in the world with Nana running a close second.

This past week the girls in the family have all been quite sick with colds. It started with Lydia last Sunday and has spread to Mum and eventually to Angela. She has a bad cough but we expect her to pull through.

It’s hard to explain how her little smiles (once so remarkable by their absence) just light us all up. So I won’t try – I’ll just show you the photos I have collected over the last few weeks of our happy, smiley littlest girl. Enjoy!

A Message to Friends

sirviv — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:30:26 +0000

To all our dear friends in and around Melbourne – caught in fires and generally sweltering – we love you and miss you and are praying for your safety.

Another Side to Christmas

sirviv — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:17:58 +0000

It was wonderful to be surrounded by family on Christmas and Boxing Days. However, throughout this season Angela was actually quite sick. She had high fevers and a couple of other worrying symptoms. On Sunday, I (Jen) spent the whole day nursing her, watching her colour and breathing change wondering if this really was the end. However, since then she seems to have rallied, and though she is not completely herself again, we continue on into another year. Thanks for all your love and messages.