NiQi and CF...

NiQi had a good sleep last night, getting in more than 12 hours....she obviously needed it and we decided to skip church this morning and let her sleep till she woke.

Since she has been feeling a lot better again she has gone back to helping out at a friends craft shop every now and then.  Not able to work every day she has been trying for about 3 times a week... 2 weekdays and Saturdays.  It certainly keeps her on her toes and she has plenty to do when she is there, but the long hours take their toll on her energy levels.  Every time she goes in to the shop, the oxygen cylinder is carted with her and most days she ends up using it for an hour or so...having the extra oxygen gives her a boost to get her through the day.

This last week she worked on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and by last night she was pretty exhausted...so when she carried on sleeping this morning we thought it best to leave her.

The shop where she works

a card she made....

Johan and I have been living with cystic fibrosis for most of our married life and through all the ups and downs, I still pray that we may have many more years of coping with it.  That may sound strange to some, but when you love someone so much, you will help them through anything.

Mark, our late son for those who don't know, didn't stand much of a chance.  He passed away from this terrible disease, aged 9 in 1995...a time when there was still so little that could be done to help sufferers.  NiQi...although not biologically our own daughter, was born in 1990, came into our lives at 7 months of age and has stayed with us since then.  She is after all these years our daughter and sister to Matthew. She has been blessed to have been so much healthier than Mark ever was when she was younger. and today...although she needs new lungs, she has a far better chance to live many more years.

NiQi and Johan doing the 'Father & Daughter' dance at Paige's wedding

People say that God gives you the strength to cope with life and He doesn't let you go through something that you can't handle.  I think, no I know and I believe that if it wasn't for God I wouldn't have been able to get through any of this.  He is my strength and days that I look at NiQi and just want to cry, I lean on Him more....things are great at the moment, she is happy, she has plans for the future...working for National Geographic as a photographer.... and we live one day at a time.  Life today at Larkwood is good...a peaceful and restful Sunday....