Oh my word Cuz! I’m so incredibly worried about you:(  I’ve been waiting for this news for a couple of days, and now I’m kind of wishing i didn’t get the news:(

(Let me just interrupt my little letter here and explain something to you…Kiki and Dee are my two cousins who live in the States.  My uncle married an American, and while they lived in Swaziland for a long time they moved to the US when Dee and I were about 16.  Kiki is 2 years younger than Dee.  We get along like a house on fire and I love them dearly. Ok, now back to the letter)

Earlier this week we were informed that you were in hospital.  The details were sketchy at best, all I knew was that there was bleeding in your brain and that things weren’t looking good.  You were admitted to a hospital in Italy, as that’s where you are currently stationed, and your parents and Dee were making the 6 leg journey of 2 days to get to you.  We’ve all been waiting with bated breath to find out exactly what’s going on.  And we’ve all been praying.

So tonight I finally heard from Dee after they were able to visit you in hospital and speak to the doctors. Turns out you were born with a knot of veins and arteries very deep inside your brain.  After many years this has finally started hemorrhaging.  The tricky thing is that it’s so deep in your brain that they can’t operate without causing damage to a lot of other parts of your brain.  The good news is that they’re starting you on a non-invasive procedure to see if that might help…but they have no answers…they just don’t know if it will work.  If it doesn’t, surgery is your only option and who knows what damage that will cause.

I feel sorry for your folks and Dee.  They’re in a strange country where they don’t understand the language, so while you are receiving the best care possible the hospital is not being very helpful towards them, because they’re not italian.  The fact that when you are awake, your incredible sense of humor is still alive and kicking is serving as a bit of stress relief for everyone.

So my dearest Kiki….my heart is in a very sad place tonight.  Please always remember that you are in our prayers.  Wish we could be there with you, but obviously logistics won’t allow for that.  Remember that we love you very much!

Love

Ruby
xxxxx

Kiki being silly:)

Happier times with Kiki and her family:)