Most Courteous Boy

I am so happy and very proud that Mikaail got an award from his school for being the most courteous boy.  I am really surprised that the school recognises this.  I dont think he understands what this is about but I told him that since he is very courteous - he never forgot his please and thank you, he was given the award. 

Here is his award:






Our happy family!

Mikaail is generally a very polite child and a very happy go lucky too.  The other day when I told my brother that he got an award for being the most courteous boy, my brother gave him $50 and he immediately said thank you without even having to prompt him.  This gift will also go to his bank account.

Anyway, when my sister teased him about sharing his award with her and buy Macdonald burger or KFC chicken, he said no as he is sharing his award money with mama and dada.  Usually when he gets presents, he will want to open his gifts with me. 

Curved Spine (Scoliosis)

Eversince Mikaail had stroke, his body structure collapsed and the right side of his body is very weak.  As he grows older his spine is noticeably curved.  We expressed our concern to his neurologist earlier this year and he in turn referred us to the orthopaedics (bone specialist).  We have seen the team of orthopaedics about quarterly and so far we have seen them a total of 3 times.  Each time we had to get his x-rays done prior to seeing the doctors.  During each consultation, we were shown that the degree of the curve had increased by about 1 degree.  The latest x-ray taken on 14 September 2010 is at 46 degrees.

After discussing with the orthopaedic surgeon, he felt that it would be better to get the surgery done while Mikaail is still young.  Tentative date is early 2011 as his surgery calendar is packed.  Surgery of this nature is called a spinal fusion, when the surgeon straightens the spine and then fuses together some of the separate bones using a metal rod so that they can’t curve round again.  This operation will take about 4 hours and Mikaail would probably have to be hospitalised for about 1 - 2 weeks. 

Scoliosis is a curve of the spine in a different direction – or perhaps you could think of it as a twisting of the spine so that one set of ribs becomes more obvious than the other as in Mikaail's condition.  His left set of ribs sticks out.  This had also caused him to be seated in an awkward manner although the doctor said that there is no pain for him.

Generally curves in your spine rarely cause pain other than a bit of an ache from time to time – nothing much more than many teenagers get on occasion. They are often mild and some people have small curves in their spines without even realising that they are there.

Teachers Day Holiday - 1 September 2010

As 1 September is a school holiday due Teachers' Day holiday, I decided to apply leave to bring my son for shopping.  I also wanted to go to OG for shopping then to Giant Hypermart in Tampines via the MRT.  Although there are lifts in most if not all the MRT stations, I have not seen the lifts in all the stations able to reach to ground/street level.

I contacted SMRT and spoke to one lady, cant remember her name, and she was very helpful.  She said there are lifts in all the stations though some stations would require a change of about 3 lifts before reaching to ground level.  She said she didnt have the exact location of the lifts in Bugis, Tampines, Bedok and Raffles Place stations and she will check with the respective control stations and then let me know.  As it was a last minute decision to go shopping, I told her that I needed the information soonest.  If there are no lifts that would reach the street level, then the shopping plan will have to be shelved!  In less than half an hour, she called to give me the directions from leaving the control station to the lifts.  She also reminded me to approach the control station staff at the respective stations for directions.

So to get to OG at Bugis, you would need to go towards Exit B after leaving the control station and then look out for the lift signage.  As the lifts were all constructed after the MRT were built, the lifts are installed at the extreme corner end.  It's great otherwise how can the wheelchair bound travel on the MRT?

Upon reaching to street level, it was almost smooth sailing.  There were ramps leading to the traffic junctions and connecting walkways.  The ramp leading to the entrance of OG was blocked by onlookers as there was a demonstration going on. Then to move around in OG, we had to use the cargo lift to get around.  As OG was celebrating their anniversary, there were long queues at almost every cashier and also their membership counter.

Then we went for a quick bite as we didnt have lunch earlier.  Stopped over at QiJi for mee rebus, spring roll and mee siam.  Thought that the mee rebus was a little spicy but Mikaail enjoyed it very much.

After our late lunch we walked to Bugis Junction to get a car ride to Giant Tampines instead.  Bought some Hari Raya goodies then the monthly groceries.  After shopping, we left for Enak Selera at Simpang Bedok to get some takeaway dinner at Simpang Bedok.

Speech Therapy

Mikaail and his speech therapist, recorded by Aunt Yaya on 30 July 2010. This is to understand his biting pressure. He dont seem to be able to bite his food and possibly that's the reason he is unable to eat solid food.

Recovery: Step by Step

It's been almost 4 months since Mikaail's discharge from the hospital. He seemed to have gone backwards in the sense that he is re-learning to communicate as well as eat solids.

He is yet to be able to eat solid foods. He is still gathering his strength and here he is having his first bite of hashbrown on 9 August.

So far he eats soft food such as half boiled eggs, beancurd, congee, mashed potato with variation of the ingredients.

Today we brought him for some dim sum and he had some congee, egg beancurd, prawns, seafood horfun. He had very small portions like a couple of tablespoon of each. We are very happy to see him eating some solids as these are small improvement he's achieved.

Singapore National Pledge

See how patriotic Mikaail is. He is saying Singapore’s National Pledge during Singapore's 45th birthday celebration - the One Voice Hour 2010 on 9 August 2010.

In case you didn't realize why the pledge was set at 2010 - see the date. Actually I was also unaware when I first heard about the One Voice Hour. So you are not alone.


Here’s the extract of the pledge:

We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

Stroke in Children

"Most people believe that only older people suffer from strokes but this is not the case," said Eoin Redahan of The Stroke Association. "Around 5 strokes a week occur in children which is devastating for all the family concerned. The Association is carrying out the first ever survey to see how many children actually suffer from stroke each year in the UK. We believe it is between 250-450 a year."

Recently in Singapore, there was this child who was warded in the hospital when she was diagnosed with acute myocarditis - a rare condition that results in an inflamation of heart muscles. During her treatment, she suffered a stroke! According to the doctors, the stroke she suffered was serious as there were many white spots on her right brain.

Before my son had stroke at 7 years old, I have not heard of a child suffering from stroke. Seems that stroke is the top 10 killer in Singapore! Stroke robbed him of his vision as if being a cerebral palsy is not bad enough. His neurologist said his cerebral palsy was mild. Yah, right. Mild. So long its others, its ok!

What is CP?

Amongst my family, relatives and friends, none of them have ever seen children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) until Mikaail comes along. In fact, before Mikaail, I did not even know that such things can happen! Every other baby that I had seen before is so cute and normal. Mikaail was very cute as well and that is why it is super disappointing to see him not being able to enjoy his life to the fullest!


The doctor who diagnosed him told us that unlike a normal child where you can leave him/her on its own, you need to give full attention to the CP child or he will hurt himself.

People generally take things for granted. For children with CP, their first step or word is not easy as CP affects the regular things that children do.

Although I still feel "shortchanged" sometimes, as I didnt get to hear Mikaail's first proper word nor taking his first step on his own, I am now better able to understand him through the regular weekends that I spent with him. I'm not sure if it is a blessing though I cant imagine not having him by my side.

Some CP kids go around in wheelchairs and others walk with the help of crutches or braces. Some may have their speech affected or the person might not be able to speak at all. Mikaail is wheelchair bound after he had stroke. Stroke at 7 is rarely heard of actually and stroke robbed him of his vision, speech and mobility. It's been 4 years now and I still cant understand what the medical team were thinking about when they wanted to save his life without the basic quality of life!

A person with CP has trouble controlling the muscles of the body. Our body moves because the brain tells the rest of the body exactly what to do and when to do it. Since CP affects the brain, a person with CP may not be able to walk, talk, eat, eat or play the way most normal children do. This depends greatly on the severity of the damage to the brain and which part of the brain is affected.


Although Cerebral Palsy (say: seh-ree-brel pawl-zee) is a condition that affects thousands of babies and children around the world each year, it is not contagious. You cant catch it from anyone who has cerebral palsy. Cerebral means it has something to do with the brain. Palsy refers to a weakness in a person's movement or the way the body is positioned.