Dexter Wanting Attention!

Hi all.
On Monday night, Dexter was air-lifted to Randwick Childrens' Hospital. Helicopter! Wollongong doctors suspected intussception. Luckily, it fixed itself and surgery was not required - though Dexter's previous surgeon wanted to be the only one to cut into Dexter and made himself immediately available when he heard. While in hospital, our cheeky man had visits from one of the top oncologists in Australia. She just wanted to check in and make sure he was ok.
He's home again today - sleeping and happy again. Thank goodness!

We have entered a Relay for Life team in his honour - also remembering June. xx If you have a spare couple of dollars, the website is http://relay.cancercouncil.com.au/2013/kiama_relay_for_life/Love-Dexter  All money goes to cancer research. 

This is Dexter's Cancer Journey. Thought you might like to hear/read about it. 2012 was a tough year for us. 2013 was looking great - with Dexter's cancer-clear scan in January and Charlotte born on the 2nd January.
Last year,  Dexter was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma (liver cancer). Our hearts broke and we hardly had the energy to face the world. This was just one thing in a number of issues Dexter had faced in his 12 months of life.
Just after Dexter's first birthday, his paediatrician detected his enlarged liver. He sent us for blood tests and ultrasounds. These
indicated he had a mass, needing treatment. We were sent to Sydney for a CT scan, and our worst fears were confirmed when the specialists spoke the word "cancer". Lumps were also detected on Dexter's lungs and he was scheduled for an immediate biopsy. Thankfully, these lumps were cleared as simply enlarged lymph nodes and not additional cancers.

Dexter had surgery (a lung biopsy and the insertion of his central line) in October 2012, which went to plan. Unfortunately, his recovery did not. Dexter was given pain relief, which he was allergic to and he stopped breathing. This was unexpected and Dexter needed to be resuscitated (twice in one day). This meant Dexter spent much longer than the predicted one night recovering in hospital.

Once he had recovered from surgery, his chemotherapy treatments began. Typical liver cancer treatments can cause permanent hearing loss in patients. With Dexter's already diagnosed vision impairment, the thought of him losing his hearing as well was terrifying. We convinced his oncology team to devise an alternate treatment for our son. They developed a very individualised plan for him, consulting oncologists all around the world. The treatment they gave him was relatively new and he was closely monitored.

Dexter had four rounds of chemotherapy over the next four months. His first two treatments consisted of 96 hours of continual chemotherapy and his next two treatments consisted of 48 continuous hours. He became sick with an infection after his first round of
chemotherapy and required four days hospitalisation, isolation and antibiotics.

After the first round of chemotherapy, Dexter's hair fell out in chunks and our hearts broke with every strand. We took him to a local barber and had his head shaved. Dexter now looked like a cancer patient. His beautiful eyelashes and his eyebrows became thinner and thinner, until they were pretty much gone.

After four chemotherapy rounds, the surgeon was ready to operate. His five and an half hour surgery went perfectly. The predicted 24 hour ICU recovery period was drawn out to six days. Once again, Dexter reacted to his pain medication and stopped breathing. He also developed numerous infections, which needed isolation and treatment. All together, Dexter spent 11 days in hospital, recovering from his surgery.

Once he was well enough, he started his final two rounds of chemotherapy. These were both 96 hour treatments. He required hospitalisation for platelet and blood transfusions after each treatment. We travelled to the local hospital weekly for blood tests and line care to ensure his chances of infection were minimal.

Following a scan in January 2013, Dexter was given the all clear and our hearts learned to sing again. He was scheduled to have his central
line removed in February. A day after getting this call and the day before this final surgery was scheduled; Dexter developed an infection in the line. This resulted in an ambulance ride from our local hospital to Sydney. Instead of a simple day procedure, Dexter had another four days in hospital, to overcome the infection.
When Dexter was in hospital, he won the heart of a lovely ward nanny, Margaret. A ward nanny sits with the children for a while, so their exhausted parents can get a few moments of fresh air, or a coffee. Margaret has been a ward nanny for over a decade, but felt extra love for Dexter. She has maintained contact with our family, and we are so grateful for her love of him.

As luck would have it, the day Dexter's mass was detected, we discovered he would be a big brother. His sister, Charlotte was born in January 2013, a week before he was cleared of cancer. The pregnancy was stressful because we had endured many bad experiences with Dexter. To top it off, he was considered "cytotoxic" for almost two weeks during each of his chemotherapy treatments. His body fluids were therefore considered toxic to us and the unborn baby. Extra care was needed just to give him a hug and kisses were out of the question during this cytotoxic time.

Throughout this eight month ordeal, Dexter rarely complained and never made a fuss. We can see how sick Dexter really was because we can see how much energy he now has.
My webpage http://lovedexter.weebly.com/index.html

You can also find him on facebook - he's got a big fan base!

 

Here's to a fantastic rest of the year. Hope everyone is well and happy.

60 year old tradition continues!

The Christening gown was once again taken out of the cupboard for Dexter’s baptism.

We weren’t too sure if he would fit it, but he did us proud!

Wendys lot

From our screwed up face little boy.... to our chubby cheeked fighter.

From our spread eagled breeched baby.... to our little kicker.

And from the nervous, scared and anxious family.... to a more relaxed and happy family.

Sarah - Nanna Payt's mum

My great, great grandmother

Sarah Ann Bridget Moore – later Baker.

(9/4/1889 – 16/4/1953)

Lawrence and Mary’s girls were all quite
different from each other in appearance. Amy was very tall (5 feet 10 inches) with light brown hair and fair
skin. She had greenish hazel eyes. Sarah was almost as tall as Amy with a full
figure. Her eyes were probably grey. The other girls were several inches
shorter. Kate had dark brown or black
hair, hazel eyes and a very small waist. Maude was as small, with long, dark hair. She had a 16 inch waist.

Sarah was a very modest person. In her teens she was thrown from a horse onto
a jagged stump and injured her buttocks. She had gone into what she thought was an empty room to put on some ointment. She was so intent on watching the door to
make sure no one came in while she had her skirt lifted that she failed to
notice her father had come in before her and was sitting on the bed. He coughed to announce his presence and she
was so embarrassed she ran away.

Sarah and Herbert Seymour (Bert) Baker were
married at her father’s house in Goodooga on 12 August 1905. She was 16 years old. Sarah’s children included: Amy Edna Mary
(Edna); Charlotte Cicily (Lottie – Nanna Payt); Herbert Henry (Harry); Merlean
Sylvia; John Lawrence (Laurie); Sylvester Clyde (Clyde) and Cynthia.

Lottie (Nanna Payt) was born on 3 August 1907.

One night, in 1915 – let’s say, Bert went to
Sarah’s sister Amy’s house, and asked her to go and get Sarah. He said he had been set up on a cattle
stealing charge, and they had to leave that night for Queensland. He was unable to return home because his own
house was too close to the police station.

(What a great story!)

He regularly sent money to Sarah, who stayed in
Goodooga, where she shared a house with her mother, Mary.

Bert wrote on a postcard to his niece on 3 July
1915: “I saw some of your uncles yesterday. Dick hasn’t got a beard yet but all the others look like bush rats. Frank’s beard is red. They only had about ¾ of a mile of fence to
put up and bore and about 3 miles to wire and then they will start a horse
paddock. I haven’t got a beard. I shave now. I look too grizzly with a beard”.

(It’s incredible to think

that these words were written

by my great, great grandfather!)

Nanna Payt said Bert drew a block of land,
probably near Morven in Queensland, and agisted stock on it. He built a mud hut out of ant hills and
wanted Sarah and the family to come and join him. She did not, probably because she had been
urged against it by one of Bert’s sister’s who considered life there would be
too hard, with no school and little food. The property was later bought by one of Bert’s sisters. (I wonder if it was the one who told Sarah
not to go...)

Bert took up droving and managed properties
around Hughenden.

Bert died on 18 August 1951 after being knocked
off his bike. He was buried in St George
cemetery. Sarah died at Bathurst
Hospital on 16 April 1953 and was buried at Bathurst.

Now we are up to Nanna Payt –

Charlotte Baker...

Could someone finish the story?

Convict Lawrence's Grandson

My great, great, great grandfather Lawrence

was born on the 18^th of June,

in either 1844 or 1845.

(This Lawrence is the grandson

of our convict Lawrence.)

He died on the

28^th of November in 1924.

It seems he was born in Newtown.

This Lawrence was a little elusive

and has caused some headaches

for our researcher, Melanie O’Flynn.

(And not just because

of name confusion...

Lawrence married a Mary,

just like his grandfather! )

It seems this Lawrence

filled in forms using

a slightly different name each time.

(Makes me wonder

what he was trying to hide!)

There may have been a

family scandal or argument,

because he doesn’t seem

to have had much connection

with the other members

of the family in Ilford.

(Of course, this could be

absolutely wrong – but I love

the thought of a

good old-fashioned scandal

in the 1840’s and 1850’s!)

Once Lawrence married Mary Anderson,

on the 5^th of June 1869,

he was traceable again.

They married at the Police Office

in South West Queensland – at St George.

(The fact that he was married

at a Police Office

suggests that he hadn’t

been changing his name

to evade capture for criminal activity!)

Lawrence was 24 when he married

and Mary was 19.

Great, great, great grandmother Mary

was unable to write her name

on her marriage certificate.

(There is information on Mary’s family –

which I can write about later.)

Lawrence worked as a labourer

and a stockman.

He became a selector

when he took up “Dhuroo”,

a block of land on Brenda Station.

(June used to talk to me

about Brenda Station!)

Lawrence and Mary had eleven children

and only lost two as babies.

Their eldest child was a son.

He was aptly named Lawrence.

He was born in St George.

The next five children were born

in different places, suggesting

that the family moved around

while Lawrence worked as a stockman.

The last five children were born

at “Dhuroo”, on Brenda Station,

on the Culgoa River near Goodooga

in northern New South Wales.

The baby of the family

was born on the 9^th of April in 1889,

when her mother, Mary,

was 40 years old.

At the time, Lawrence

was working as a labourer.

The baby was apparently christened

Ann but was known as Sarah –

Sarah Ann Bridget Moore.

Sarah was Nanna Payt’s mother.

Thanks to Nanna Payt,

there are stories about life on Dhuroo...

stories about Sarah –

my great, great grandmother

and stories about

Sarah’s mother, Mary.

More to come...

Again... Thanks to Melanie
O’Flynn for her incredible research and dedication. Because of her, we know our family.

Great, Great, Great Grandmother Mary

My great, great, great

grandmother Mary Moore

(Mary married Lawrence. Because these memories and stories come from Nanna Payt, they are about
her mother and grandmother more than her grandfather Lawrence, who seems to
have been away much of the time.)

Sarah was very young when the famous flood of 1890 hit.

This flood was remembered over a wide area of
Southern Queensland and northern New South Wales as one of the highest floods
in the Darling system since European settlement.

Brenda Station alone lost 26 000 sheep.

Lawrence had taken his dray to pick up supplies
and because of the heavy condition of the country following the rain; the trip
took longer than expected. The flood in
the Culgoa arrived while he was away. The house was on one sand hill and their animals on the other, both
surrounded by water, and Amy, Sarah’s sister, who was about 12 at the time, had
to wade through chest deep water to milk the cows. The family was left with very little to eat,
except for flour and a dish of rendered fat. When Lawrence returned, the first thing he did was to set up camp and
bake a damper. After a while on reduced rations,
this was very welcome.

The Aborigines used to stop at “Dhuroo” on their
way to Goodooga from a big camp. Mary
and the younger children could speak with them in their language, Murrawarri. (Today,
having lost so many Australian Aboriginal languages, I’m so proud that my
great, great, great grandmother could speak an Aboriginal language!)

Later, when Mary was living in Goodooga, Nanna
Payt remembers Mary sitting on the verandah every Thursday and speaking to the
Aborigines in their own language while they waited for the policeman to issue
vouchers for their rations.

Mary used to spend a lot of time sitting and
talking to an Aboriginal woman called Kitty who was employed by Sarah to help
with housework. Nanna Payt recalled that
when Sarah engaged Kitty’s services from the police she was told she was not
expected to provide meals, but Sarah shared whatever food the family had –
bread and fat, golden syrup, plum jam and “a limited piece of meat sometimes,
mostly goat”.

The Moores left “Dhuroo” and moved to Goodooga,
probably in the early 1900’s. Sarah was
married in 1905 at her father’s home in Goodooga.

As an old lady, Mary lived with her daughter Sarah. Although the house was very small, it was
comfortable; the men had nailed boards over the joins in the rounded timber
walls to give the walls a smoother finish, and Sarah’s husband Bert had lined
the walls of the sitting room with floral floorcloth to resemble wallpaper.

“Granny Moore” had a little room where she slept
and kept her few possessions (e.g. the boy’s war medals and things they had
sent home from overseas) in a little wooden box in the corner. In later life, Mary had learned to sign her
name and read.

Sarah Payton remembers Mary, her mother, as being
kind and quiet – not shy, just didn’t talk much. She was short (about 5 foot 3) and round, and
she could only shuffle about because of her rheumatism. She had white hair down past her shoulders
and liked to sit outside while Nanna Payt combed it.

Mary died at the house in Goodooga on 9 March
1923 and was buried in the Church of England section of the local cemetery.

When Lawrence was living in Goodooga he used to
bathe up to 5 or 6 times a day at the artesian bore head, apparently to relieve
rheumatism. He used to rise early and go
down and soak until breakfast time, and would go back after breakfast and again
at lunch and, if it was light enough, after tea. He was a tall, thin, white man who rarely
spoke to the children, or even his wife.

When Lawrence returned, after being away for many
years, he was suffering from dropsy and had to keep both arms bandaged because
of fluid seeping from his skin. These
bandages had to be changed and washed frequently.

Lawrence died on the 28^th of November
1924. He was buried the next day at
Thallon cemetery. He was 81.

Taken
from “Lawrence Moore Of “Dhuroo”, son of Daniel” – Notes Compiled for the
descendants of Lawrence Moore (1845 – 1924), compiled by Melanie O’Flynn in
2005.

My Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather - Daniel

Daniel was Convict Lawrence’s second son.

He was born in Ireland in 1811...

Or, at least...

between 1811 and 1813.

(What’s a year or two?!)

He travelled to Australia

on the Thames in 1826

with his mother, Mary

and his brother John.

In 1828, 17 year old Daniel

was apprenticed to a blacksmith

in Sydney’s George Street.

The first of Daniel and Margaret’s

children were born in Maitland.

Their next child was born

at Paterson’s River.

He also worked at

Brandon and Abbotsford.

By the time our next Lawrence

was born, in 1845,

Daniel was living in Sydney again.

Soon after Lawrence was born,

Daniel moved to Mudgee.

By 1860, Daniel settled in Ilford

(luckily – the moves were making me dizzy!).

He was a blacksmith,

on a village block he had purchased

on the 7^th of May 1860.

His brother, Michael,

owned an inn in the area.

Daniel and Margaret’s children were:

Daniel (born in 1835),

Mary (born around 1837),

Ellen (born around 1840),

Catherine (born around 1842) &

Lawrence (born around 1844).

There were another two sons

and two daughters,

but they were not living

at the time of Daniel’s death

and nothing is known about them.

Only Daniel’s, Mary’s and Lawrence’s

births were listed in the

NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages index,

suggesting our Daniel was not

a stickler for formalities.

There is no other information

in the Family Book –

which just proves that the

convict stories are more interesting!

Daniel died in Ilford on 15^th July 1868

of a ruptured blood vessel.

He was buried at Round Swamp.

Daniel’s gravestone

has been restored and reads:

Sacred to the Memory of Daniel Moore

who departed this life July 16^th
1868

aged 52 years.

May he rest in peace.

All you that my grave do see,

prepare yourselves to follow me

repent in time

make no delay,

for I in haste was called away.

Erected by his affectionate

sister-in-law, Maria Moore.

Daniel and Margaret’s son

Lawrence - who was born on

18^th June 1844 or 1845

and died on 28^th November 1924,

was Nanna Payt’s grandfather.

He’s the next chapter

of our family story.

(Once again, many thanks to Melanie O’Flynn, for her incredible work in
researching our history!)

My Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather - Daniel

Daniel was Convict Lawrence’s second son.

He was born in Ireland in 1811...

Or, at least...

between 1811 and 1813.

(What’s a year or two?!)

He travelled to Australia

on the Thames in 1826

with his mother, Mary

and his brother John.

In 1828, 17 year old Daniel

was apprenticed to a blacksmith

in Sydney’s George Street.

The first of Daniel and Margaret’s

children were born in Maitland.

Their next child was born

at Paterson’s River.

He also worked at

Brandon and Abbotsford.

By the time our next Lawrence

was born, in 1845,

Daniel was living in Sydney again.

Soon after Lawrence was born,

Daniel moved to Mudgee.

By 1860, Daniel settled in Ilford

(luckily – the moves were making me dizzy!).

He was a blacksmith,

on a village block he had purchased

on the 7^th of May 1860.

His brother, Michael,

owned an inn in the area.

Daniel and Margaret’s children were:

Daniel (born in 1835),

Mary (born around 1837),

Ellen (born around 1840),

Catherine (born around 1842) &

Lawrence (born around 1844).

There were another two sons

and two daughters,

but they were not living

at the time of Daniel’s death

and nothing is known about them.

Only Daniel’s, Mary’s and Lawrence’s

births were listed in the

NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages index,

suggesting our Daniel was not

a stickler for formalities.

There is no other information

in the Family Book –

which just proves that the

convict stories are more interesting!

Daniel died in Ilford on 15^th July 1868

of a ruptured blood vessel.

He was buried at Round Swamp.

Daniel’s gravestone

has been restored and reads:

Sacred to the Memory of Daniel Moore

who departed this life July 16^th 1868

aged 52 years.

May he rest in peace.

All you that my grave do see,

prepare yourselves to follow me

repent in time

make no delay,

for I in haste was called away.

Erected by his affectionate

sister-in-law, Maria Moore.

Daniel and Margaret’s son

Lawrence - who was born on

18^th June 1844 or 1845

and died on 28^th November 1924,

was Nanna Payt’s grandfather.

He’s the next chapter

of our family story.

(Once again, many thanks to Melanie O’Flynn, for her incredible work in
researching our history!)