Gabrielle

Last Wednesday (18th Aug) was our youngest daughter Gabrielle's 16th birthday. Gabrielle died when she was 6 & a half years old, from complications that developed as a result of a little know condition referred to as Rhett Syndrome. So on Wednesday night we had dinner together with the kids & we each told our Gabrielle stories.  Most of them were a chuckle.

It's always a tough day when her birthday comes around as it is on the anniversary of her death, the 27th December.  Gene & I were chatting about her during the week & she reminded me that when Gabrielle was about 3yrs old Gene had a 5 week break.  I had loads of frequent flier points from flying back & forward to the USA, Canada & the UK & we decided Gene should use them to take a break.  And she did.  She traveled to the USA then to London where she stayed with Pete & then her auntie, then off to Paris & the south of France where she stayed with Robert & Sylvie, then on to Geneva where she stayed with Maude & Roger & finally back via Manhattan, where her plane was delayed & we had to wait an extra day till she came home.All this in 5 weeks & it turned out to be a brilliant break for her.

For some reason I kept a blog (known then as a diary) of the time Gene was away. Gene pulled it out & I read it this morning when I got back from the beach. It's an emotional read as it brings Gabrielle back to life. It turns out Gabrielle was in hospital on 3 separate occasions for life threatening developments in the time Gene was away. It was a chaotic time; running the new business & meeting with clients, looking after business guests from interstate & overseas; managing the kids school & swimming classes, trying to stay on top of the P&C (I was the president), attempting to fit university night classes in, and through all that tending to the little one who was struggling with life threatening epilepsy, severe constipation, breathing difficulties, very little sleep and all the underlying symptoms of Rhett's Syndrome. Life with Gabrielle meant permanently interrupted sleep, which I managed well enough with Gene at home, but struggled with an average of 3 hours sleep a night for the 5 weeks she was away.

We managed to keep all the bad news from home, away from Gene & she had a magic break, coming back looking fresh and about 10 years younger than when she left. Life with Gabrielle was busy, eventful, full of love and heartache and quite amazing. For all the struggles, & they were never far away, I'd have Gabrielle back in a flash if it was possible. I miss her. And I know we all do.