Hi Sam from Vermont!

 

 

This is my new best friend who I met in Vermont, New England where I’ve been photographing the Fall. It’s also Halloween season so everyone had Scarecrows and Pumpkins decorating their gardens and houses, some of which were very funny. The Scarecrows, not me!!

 

Jenny

 

Cakes 4 Sam

On Friday last week, the Peterborough office had a cake sale to raise money for Sam. The total taken was £128.90!  Thanks to everyone who contributed to the  event.

If you are having an event or want to contribute something to the Peterborough scarf sale or London Christmas Craft Fair please let us know at stuff4sam@gmail.com

Thanks!

Message from Sam’s dad – Sam’s new bike!

We have received Sam’s bike!

We went to the hospital last week and had the last assessment and it all went perfectly. Sam has excellent stimulation and can now cycle for 30 minutes for almost 3 miles!We are absolutely thrilled. We are actually seeing Sam exercise; his muscles get warm, his heartrate and breathing increase and he absolutely loves it. It is beyond words for us.

We have seen Sam sit and lie down for 15 months and do absolutely no active movement. All that time his muscles have gradually wasted and he has missed all those days of being active. Now Sam is exercising! His little body just feels more alive and we are actually doing something to strengthen him… not see him gradually waste away. It is so wonderful for us all.

We lie Sam down and fit place electrode pads on his hamstrings, quads and gluts and then sit him in a chair where we connect the leads to the computer on the bike. Once Sam’s little legs are strapped in and in the right position we start the program. The computer connects to a remote database where it pulls down settings for Sam’s exercise and then it starts.

His legs move around slowly and has a warm up. At this point the bike is doing most of the work but gradually the stimulation increases and you can see his little muscles contract in sequence and the pedals going around faster and faster until Sam’s muscles are doing most of the work. He sits there, whilst we entertain him, looking as pleased as punch and we show him what he’s doing in the mirror. Even though he is not feeling it, and of course not driving it, he gets great pleasure in seeing his legs move and seeing us all exercise with him!

We are so thankful that we have this opportunity to help Sam. We are doing this every other day and we can now see a future of keeping Sam healthy. A thank you is not enough for what people have done for Sam, but now we can thank you all by showing Sam’s progress and see him grow into a strong healthy boy which he so deserves.

Our best wishes to you all.

Neil, Kazumi and Sam

Seasonal Hi Sam messages

Given the festive time of year why not send us a Hi Sam picture with a seasonal theme. This could be a spooky Halloween message with you in fancy dress or a message from around the bonfire. Be creative!

Hi Sam from across the world!

Since we started the idea of collecting messages for Sam, we’ve had contributions from far and wide! Here is the full list as it stands at the moment. Hi Sam photos and messages from

• The Arctic
• The Big Chill festival
• Birmingham
• Brighton (x3 including one from the Harley Davidsons)
• Budapest
• Chaps Olympics event in Bedford Square, London
• Comino, Malta
• Crosby Beach, Liverpool
• The Country
• Dunwich Beach
• The Farm
• France (x4)
• Greece
• India (kind of, via the book group)
• Isle of Wight
• The London Eye
• Morocco
• New York
• The Proms
• Regent’s Park (Teddy Bears’ Picnic!)
• Spain (x2)
• Suffolk
• The Thames
• Victoria Park, London

Can you do better? Find out more about what is Hi Sam and how you can send us your contributions!

£11k!

With your continuing support and help we have now passed the £11,000 total! The money you have helped us to raise has already bought Sam a customised buggey and helped buy the exercise bike that the family were so keen to get to help develop Sam’s muscles.

As we are no longer using the JustGiving site to collect money for Sam, we had to find an alternative method. We hope to have a PayPal account set up soon for your donations. In the meantime please email stuff4sam@gmail.com and we’ll let you know where to send cheques!

Fundraising efforts are going well. Money is still coming in from Debbie and Jane’s run, Arlo’s walk and various office birthdays. We have pre-Christmas scarf and craft sales planned. The book sales have now raised an astonishing £800 and the Peterborough’s cake sale is set to be the icing on the cake (sorry!).

We are continuing to raise money and have various plans for events in the near future. Watch this space!  

Thanks again for all your support.

Hi Sam from France

Hi Sam!

We went to see our friends, Jenny and Nobby, at their new home in France. They live in a little village called Marcillac-Lanville. The picture is taken outside St. Amant’s Abbey, which is a very old church.

From Bronwen, Jennie and Pam

Hi Sam from the Isle of Wight

Hi Sam!

this is us on holiday on the Isle of Wight. We went to a place called Alum Bay which had cliffs made of different coloured sand. To get down to the beach we had to get this chairlift which went high above the trees and then down sharply towards the sea. It was very exciting! Thankfully it wasn’t too windy!

love

m and h

Arlo’s sponsored walk

Hi Sam!

I did my sponsored walk on Sunday. I walked along the river in Kendal, and then along the old canal path. It was a bright, sunny and chilly day. I saw lots of dogs going for walks and smiled at all the girls I walked past. I also found lots of gravel to play with and took my Daddy on a detour over the grass (he thinks the reins are to keep me under control!). I walked 3/4 of a mile and by the end I was so tired that I sat down on the path and didn’t want to move anymore.

 Lots of love from Arlo xxx

Hi Sam from Brighton

Hi Sam,

Here’s a picture of me in Brighton station ready to get on the train back to London. The weather was quite nice and we sat on the beach for a little while.

Best wishes

Rachel