Long overdue post

I'm sorry I am getting so bad at this blogging business :( but things have been kind of busy around here as I have been in hospital for the last two and a half weeks. Thankfully I am getting home tomorrow. Things have been kind of tough this time as I have been struggling with a stupid cough and my oxygen sats are being pretty stubborn and refuse to go past 85 which isn't great but I'm managing and cannot wait to get home and say hello to the world again. I already have loads planned for when I get out so it's going to be hard to remind myself to take it easy lol.
Things are starting to get VERY exciting with Hidden Treasure school. All the land has pretty much been handed over and purchased and this week Basil and Wenford are heading out to Uganda to meet Eugene and hopefully get the school building started. I'm actually so excited if a little jealous cause I really want to go out there so bad but both men have told me there is no room in any of the suitcases so think I'll just have to stay put.
Please pray for the guys as they head out this Thursday that they will have a safe and successful trip and that the ball will start rolling to get the building started.
Also if any of you are on facebook there is now a group called "Charlenes Project" which the men will be keeping up to date while they are in Uganda. If anyone is interested in joining.
Thanks again for all your love and prayers
Charlene

BIG BIG News!!!!!!

Ok I defintley without a shawdow of a doubt think this is up there with possibly one of the best posts I have written. The land has been purchased and all the legal things have been handed over to Hidden Treasure so they will be able to start building really soon. I am actually so excited
I'm back in hospital and at half one last night (yes I'm quite the night owl,pity the same cant be said for during the day though lol) I got a text through from Dad to say he had just received news from Uganda to say everything had been signed over and they are now ready to plan the actual building of the school. Needless to say I was on top of the world.
Now that we are at the next step folk please just pray that things with the building and all of the school go smoothly and the children of Hidden Treasure will get their new school soon. Thanks again everyone for your love,support and prayers for this project. I could never have believed that when we had the dream in the pipeline of embracing all of this that things would actually take off. How AMAZING is God <3

Back to Blogging!!!

Well it has been a while since I updated this thing so I apologise to anyone who has been logging on to read any updates and there hasn't been any.

Things are going really well for me healthwise and I have been able to enjoy the summer holidays. Once again the Barr clan packed up and headed to Center Parcs for ten days and a good time was had by all, with lots of fun competitive game playing and coffee drinking. I went into hospital prior to our holiday so that I would be well enough to travel etc etc and thankfully I managed the whole trip and felt as good as I had in a long long time. Even when I came home I was still really well so God really does answer prayer cause I was worried that I would come back sick and having lost alot of weight like I normally do but this time it was quite the opposite.
So as of now I am still on the transplant list and am still on IV antibiotics but to be honest they are keeping me well so I'm happy enough to stay on them. Also my weight is up to nearly 46kg (I have never been anywhere near this before lol) and my infection markers in my blood are really low as well so everything is going fantastic we just need that phone call to come.

Unfortunatley things haven't really moved forward on Hidden Treasure. There have been lots of phone calls and e-mails back and forward between Uganda and Ireland and right now we are just waiting on them purchasing the rest of the land that is required to build the school. However once this has been purchased the school will be built in no time so we just need to overcome this slight problem and then we can get the ball rolling again. I cannot wait to see Hidden Treasure built and all the children going into their brand new school. I also pray that I will be able to make it out there to see the school in person.

Right now we are just enjoying the last few weeks of "summer" it is so nice just having everyone around home and I'm going to miss that when everyone starts back to uni/school. Becks is in Swaziland at the minute and its hard getting all the texts back from her cause it's bringing back all the memories of Uganda :) but she is in her element out there and is having a fantastic time but please keep her and the whole Elim team in your prayers as they reach out to the people of Swaziliand. Thanks again everyone for your continued prayers and support.

Long Overdue Post

Sorry I am only updating this blog now but I have been quite busy lol. I got home from hospital on Wednesday and seriously with the amount of stuff I gathered after a long 14 weeks I nearly needed a removal van. Things have been going really well since I got home and I have just enjoyed sitting out in the back garden sunning myself :) (long may it continue). I was kind of worried coming home becasue before I would only last a couple of days and I would be back in hospital again but this time I have been out nearly a week and am still feeling great and even have the energy to go out for wee cups of coffee and even a driving lesson. Yeah I know they told me to take it easy when I got home but when did I ever listen to sensible advcie :) )
The cyclists are due to finish sometime today and what a scorchr of a weekend they got. From updates and photographs on facebook they seem to have gotten on well but we will hear the full story soon I'm sure. Please if you would like to support them in their efforts please visit www.charitygiving.co.uk/timothyalexander. Thanks
We are still waiting for the beginning of the school build but hopefully this will happen soon. This week we had Barbara over from Uganda and it was lovely to have her over as I haven't seen her in 2 years and it was nice just to experience a wee bit of Uganda again.
The Barr house is now getting into full competiton mode with the World Cup only days away. We have all picked teams to support out of a hat (yes we are very competitive) so strangely enough I am really looking forward to the World Cup starting. Just as long as England go out in the early stages :)

Yet Another Update

Thought it was time I updated this thing. Finally I have the news that I am getting home from hospital (after 13 VERY long weeks)it was getting to the point where I really was as well as I am going to be and therefore I was feeling frustrated because I really wanted to be home.I have coped ok being stuck in there the last 13 weeks but to be honest I think last weekend was really the straw that broke the camel's back I had been out home on the Friday night and after waking up to such a warm Saturday I really was aware that I was going to be stuck inside while everyone else basked in like 23 degress of pure sunshine. To say I wasn't happy on Saturday driving down the motorway is the understatement of the century.

Things are stable I am going home on IVS and have to go into hospital for 3 days every two weeks just for a change in antibiotics and some physio, but I can live with that. With my bloods being at 29 (the lowest they have being in like FOREVER) I am feeling great and cannot wait to be released properly.
This weekend they are letting me stay home both Friday and Sunday night so I can't really complain. So tonight I just enjoyed a chinese with Bethany and Serena and it really is lovely just to be at home doing normal things with my wee sisters (well sitting on the sofa)
Things have been held up with the building of Hidden Treasure but we are hoping to start building soon. Fundraising is continuing to go well and I think we have hit in and around the £90,000 mark which is just fantastic. Also a big Thank you to the three boys who are in their final stages of training for their end to end cycle next weekend. Please encourage them by visiting their website www.charitygiving.co.uk/timothyalexander
Thanks folks
Charlene
x

Please have a look

I will update the blog more indepth later but just wanted to ask you guys to have a look at this link and to please give what you can.
These three men are going to cycle a total of 387 miles from one end of Ireland to the other in 4 days for Charlenes Project. Please show your support for these guys. Thank You
www.charitygiving.co.uk/timothyalexander

A Wee Update

Just a quick update to say that finally starting to feel better. The last two weeks I haven't been feeling great and my bloods shot up to over 100 but now my new IV antibiotics have kicked in and my bloods are down to 50 (still high for a normal person but as we all know by now I am far from normal and so they are good for me :)) Last weekend was my best in ages with me managing a trip to Nandos(i'm beginning to see a trend throughout this blog!!!) and then home for my first BBQ of the year on Sunday. It was MUNCH. So they are now happy to let me home for a few nights a week. SO excited!!! I am getting home tomorrow night until Thurs and so get to sleep in my own wee bed again. :) The only thing I have to be careful with is that I don't make myself sick again because when I am at home I find it SO difficult to sit there and do nothing and then I get tired and as a result make myself sick so I am just going to have to take it easy, something which I find very frustrating.
Also for all you facebook addicts out there, Charlenes Project has now got its own cause page so please search for it and join and get it around as many people as you can. www.causes.com/4883303?m=266f5cf . Anyway that is all I have to update you all on now
God Bless
Char

A Quick Update

Just a wee quick update to let you know where things are at. I am still in hospital 8weeks and counting :) but things are pretty stable and I am still on that list which is good. They aren't too keen to send me home cause me being me likes to try and do too much when she goes home and shall we say maybe pushes the limits a little bit, and they are worried that if I go home for good I will just detoriate and end up back at square one which I so don't want to happen. Whereas being in hospital I am forced to sit here and do nothing. I don't like to admit this but I do kind of see their point. So we reached a compromise and I'm going to stay here as long as I get home one or two nights a week and then maybe we can look at being home long term. So pretty much I get out for good behaviour lol.
This week has been a good week with me weighing in at 42kg(can we say OBESE!!!!) and then on Tuesday night I was allowed to get out for the evening to go and see my boys (Westlife) I even took Dad along but secretly I think He really enjoyed it (though he would never admit that :)) It was a brilliant night and I must say Shane just gets better looking every time lol. Also my inflammatory markers in my blood went from being like 200 to 42 in the space of a few days which is really good. So that pleased us all. Lets hope it stays there!!
Got home overnight last night and slept in my own wee bed for the first time in weeks. AMAZING.So Im looking forward to my next wee outing home.To be honest its what keeps me going. This morning we had our first Newcastle scare. Mum, Dad,David Poppa and me went out for coffee and didn't mums phone go off with a witheld number, sure enough it was Newcastle so there was Dad and me looking at each other trying to piece together what they were saying to mun on the phone. Turns out they needed a blood sample from me and that was it. To be honest thats ok cause at least it means they are working at my stuff over there and keeping me in mind, and anyway it wouldn't have suited me anyway I was out enjoying coffee thank you very much :)
On Hidden Treasure front things are going really well and we are now up to about £94,000 which is awesome but keep it coming people cause I have an orphange to build afterwards. Also Dad was talking to the folks at Fields of Life yesterday and they are going to start building within the fortnight how awesome is that. God is just amazing and I am so excited to see the things that are achieved through this wee school and all the little kids that will hopefully get the chance to get to school thanks to all you guys. Thank you all so much. You are all legends. God Bless you all <3
Char

A New Chapter Begins

Ok so as you guys know I have been working to get my weight up to the necessary 39kg so that I could be placed on the transplant list.Well yesterday was weight day and I am pleased to say my weight is 39.7kg( I know Im a wee Fatty but aw well) I know this probably sounds strange but I am actually thrilled, I know this probably doesn't say alot for my faith in God but there was alot of time between September(when I was first placed on the list for all of...a week) and then with the stupid abcess and me losing a load of weight I honestly doubted whether or not I would actually get to this stage because for months and months the weight just wasn't going on. Although I was sick when I was away I only lost like 0.4kg which was really good(probably all the good food at Center Parcs) so if anyone from the NHS is reading this Center Parcs trips are fantastic forms of treatment lol :).

Well anyways as of now although I am still in hospital I am on the list and the only thing we are waiting on now is THE CALL which really could come at anytime, which means for once in our lives the Barrs will have to be organised and once I get home I'll have to pack that bag ready to drop everything and go once the phone rings.

I swear people God truly works miracles. To consider that I have went from having a lung abcess(which is pretty serious) to being placed on the lung transplant list all in the space of 6 months is pretty amazing and something tells me He is not done working miracles just yet.

God Bless you all and thank you for your continued prayers
Char
xx

Back After A Lovely Break

Just a quick blog entry to let you know after a LONG 6 weeks in hospital I managed to get away to The Barrs favourite place in the World (Center Parcs) It was so nice to get away with the family for a while and just to chill out and the weather was FANTASTIC. However all I really managed to do was sit and drink Starbucks (who's complaining lol). We got back on Tuesday and I ended up back in hospital the very same day, however things aren't too bad and I think a few days of good physio and rest and I will be flying. On a postive note my weight hasn't budged which is good and now it is starting to go up again. We are getting oh so very close to the necessary 39kg.

On the school front there isn't really much to report other than we are still waiting for them to begin building which we are hoping will begin really soon.

Sorry for such a quick update

Char
x

Back on This Again

Oh my goodness I have just looked back on my blog and it has been a month since I have updated. Oops. There has been a lot happen in that month but one thing that hasn't changed is that I am STILL in hospital.
I came in orginally feeling generally unwell and therefore knowing that I needed rest and a change of antibiotics. However, the doctors and everyone thought it would be best to keep me in here to get my weight up to a suitable level so that I could get back on the transplant list, as I had been sitting steady for like the past 6 months with no progress being made. I agreed to this just because I'm just sick of sitting with nothing happening so I knew if I stayed in it would give the team time to look at different ways in which I could put on weight. This is where the problems started! You may remember way back in October the time I had the abcess after my Portacath got infected I had a PICC line put in my arm for easy administration of my antibiotics, well the doctors thought we could use this to put through TPN which is basically just nutrition that goes straight into the blood stream. This worked well for all of em 48 hours and then my PICC line decided it had had enough and that it would pack in. GRR!!! So I then had to come off my IV antibiotics and I swear I must be addicted to them because the minute I came off them my chest started to go downhill so quickly.

So then last week the decision was made to put in another Portacath but until then they would try and get a long line into my arm so that I could recommence with the IVS because by this stage I was feeling yucky and my weight gain just wasn't happening. So I waited and got my new port in which surprisingly went in with no problems at all (lets just hope it stays there). This means I have been able to have IVS again and the difference is unbelieveable I feel so much better than I did when I was off them. However we had to dump the idea of TPN as the infection risk with a Port is too great. This means I have stepped up my feeds through my peg tube so that I am getting about 2800 calories through it a day and also they have increased the dose of the tablets they give me to stimulate my appetite because before this I was eating nothing and just feeling sick. So finally the weight is starting to creep on and I am now at 37.2kg which I know is still a good bit away from 40kg but its a step in the right direction. It has been hard being in hospital for so long but they have let me go home overnight for one night every weekend and to be honest I think it is those litte trips home that have kept me going and back in to the crazy ways of the Barr household lol

On the project side of things, it is progressing really well with our total now being just over £80,000 WOW. Also a meeting was held with Fields of Life both in Portadown and Uganda (the joys of technology egh?) and originally they were going to build the primary one to three block and then the rest but from the meeting the decision was taken to build it all together in wait for it... TWO MONTHS!!!!! This means that we should hopefully see a nice new Hidden Treasure Primary School in as little as FOUR MONTHS!!! WOOHOO. Its all very exciting. Thank you so much to all of you that have contributed to the project it is truley amazing the response that I got.
Anyway I think that is all of the news from the last month. Promise to update the blog sooner next time and hopefully from the comfort of my own home. HAPPY EASTER everyone
Char
xx

Back In

Just a quick blog to let you guys know that I have been back in hospital for the last week just generally feeling rubbish and my weight down to 35.9 kg . However I was able to get home for the night last night so that is always a positive. Don't really know when I will get out however they are talking of keeping me here until I put a sufficent amount of weight on so that I can get on the list. As much as I dont like that idea part of me is telling me to go with the idea because at the minute we are sitting in limbo with my weight not going anywhere. So if it was to move things forward I might just do it for a while. Anyway I will keep you all up to date anyway and thanks again everyone for your continuing support and prayers

Char

xx

Hello

Sorry for lack of updates.

Things are going well. I am just out of hospital yesterday after just being in a week. I just hadn't been feeling great at the end of last week so with some precusion from mum and dad I rang and they were able to see me rather than waiting and maybe getting worse therfore having to spend longer in hospital. So all and all it worked out well and I even managed to get out for a wee while both on the Sunday and the Wednesday. So I can't really complain :)

Everything is remaining steady with the main issue still being my weight but we are working on it. I am still on IV antibiotics but to be honest I think that is just going to be a way of life for me at the minute because as soon I come off them I just go down hill rapidly and to be honest I want to be able to stay as well as I can so that I can work on gaining weight and getting on that list. So now my new hobbie is just going to have to be to eat all around me lol :)

Seriously though thank you so much to you all out there who I know are remembering us and praying for us. I actually do not think I could get through any of this without you, God or my amazing family. Trust me as I have learnt in the last few months it's times like this where you really feel God's hand upon you.

Project wise things are continuing along nicely. We are still pushing towards the £100,000 and I firmly believe that we will reach our new target. Also we are in talks with Fields of Life in Uganda to begin the building of Hidden Treasure. It is actually so exciting and I would defintley say that with in a few months we will start to see the new school coming together!!! Isn't God good?

I Can't believe I'm Posting This!!!!!

Ok I'm not going to waffle (probably the first time ever :)) but what I do want to say is never in a MILLION years could I have seen myself writing this post in January 2010. Let me just tell you a little of how this came about. As a lot of you know my health has detoriated greatly over the last eighteen months or so. April/May 2009 was a particulary bad time and the whole transplant issue had just been brought up (something which I personally really was not expecting) So anyway one evening mum dad poppa david and the girls came and took me out to Nandos @ Victoria Square(seriously in the Barr household food makes everything better!!!) and basically the topic came up of building a school in Uganda for the kids out there that don't have the luxury of going to school. Well let me tell you I went back to the City Hospital that night and could not sleep at all I was that excited about the plans.

July 2009: I was unable to go to Uganda with the rest of the family and instead spent a lovely summer in the city hospital. This is where they found the school Hidden Treasure and between facebook, emails and telephone calls between us we knew that this was the right school to build. I mean just take a look at the classroom

So I then started this blog at the end of August with a view to keep people up to date with my progress healthwise but also with the fundraising efforts and the building of Hidden Treasure Primary school.

So at present I am just home from hospital today after just a ten day stay and am feeling really good. Thanks to everyone on this blog it is thanks to you that I am feeling as good as I am because I was coming home to the news that....

Charlene's Project has raised the necessary £70,000. I actually do not know what to say apart from a MASSIVE thank you to every single one of you for your prayers, donations and support I could never in all my life have imagined that we would have the money in in the space of just five months. Isn't God great. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

So what now? Well we have been in talks with Fields of Life who are ready to start building right away. However we have been advised that it is best for the school to have a well so that the children and community can have an outlet for water and also teachers accommodation so we have moved the goal posts and are now aiming for £100,000 to meet these extra requirements and I know we can do it.

Thanks Again to absolutley EVERYBODY

God Bless as the Ugandans would say God is good all the time All the time God is good.

A Quick Hello

First of all thanks to my dad for finishing the blog that I had started before I went back into hospital.

I am indeed back in for a little while but cannot really complain as I enjoyed a lovely 2.5 months out of the place :) My best record in well over a year. Unfortunately I had to come back in as after just a week off IV antibiotics my lungs decided they didn’t want to play that game anymore and enjoyed the way the IVs made them feel. I was quite hopeful when I came off them but unfortunately my chest declined rapidly without them which is a bit disappointing but I guess it just means I’m going to have to stay on IV antibiotics pretty much until I get my transplant. Also in that week that I was unwell I lost a load of weight so I have been working on that and am as determined as ever to reach that 40kg.

I do have to say that the time I enjoyed out of hospital was fantastic and I had the BEST Christmas ever with my family even managing (as dad has said) to get to Center Parcs which right up until we were due to go was looking doubtful but I managed it and had a fabulous time.

The school project is just going from strength to strength with the total at around £62,000 seriously a MASSIVE thank you to each and everyone of you out there when I was starting this project I could have never imagined it would come together like this. God truly works miracles. We recently had a meeting with Fields of Life with the view to start building pretty soon. I am seriously so excited and just have a mental picture of all these little children walking into a proper building of a school for the first time ever and its thanks to the generosity of you guys.

Ok its probably time I headed to bed but as I leave you tonight I ask that you please remember the people of Haiti. These people had nothing to start with and there country has just been turned upside down by such disaster. Just please pray that they will continue to find more survivors. Thank you and goodnight

Love

Charlene

Christmas and much more

Firstly I am SO sorry that this blog has not been updated in what seems like forever.I promise with the new year that my blog will be updated more frequently. However the reason for this is not that I have been in hospital but that I have been busy with Christmas and that.

I am just looking back on the blog and realising that my last entry was the night before the Dolly Walk.

Well what a success that was with 150+ women turning out to walk around Lurgan at midnight with over £12,000 being raised on the night.Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the walk and I think it is safe to say a good night was had by all. Also a big thank you to Lurgan college hockey teams who on the morning of the Dolly Walk postponed their scheduled matches in order to the their own walk. Thank you.

Waringstown Primary school also hosted their own successful walk which rasied over £5,000. Amazing.

So many other individuals, schools, churches and businesses have supported me and sent donations or done fundraisers.
Christmas has come and gone and we had a lovely Christmas at home.

I was even well enough after Christmas for us to make the trip to England with the family. We all love Center Parcs and the weather was brilliant with plenty of snow making everything beautiful. We had a great time.

I cannot thank you all enough for all your support.
All your help in so many ways is appreciated more than I can say. God bless you all.

PS Charlene was readmitted to hospital after writing most of this. She had her longest spell out of hospital in well over a year - 8-9 weeks. She only had about a week off intravenous antibiotics after being on them 3 months and unfortunately was getting more chesty again and all the hard work of getting her weight up was quickly being undone. She is back on intravenous antibiotics so hopefully will pick up again quickly. Thanks for your ongoing thoughts and prayers. Dickie