Dimensions
154 x 233 x 23mm
18/12/03
Princess, your lips were red today! What beautiful lips. You are a miracle to have survived your serious injuries this long and I am so proud of you. My darling, we are taking just one hour at a time and you have survived your second serious operation since Monday afternoon's accident. You are still in a critical condition and we hope and pray that you make it one more day.
28/05/06
I feel a lot calmer and mildly euphoric - our hospital stay is coming to an end. I'm also scared. The scared, lonely parent of a child having an operation on Friday, hoping that all goes well. Laying trust in the hands of the surgeons and anaesthetic staff and feeling that I wanted to take all of the fear and pain away from my little girl.
29/11/06
A better day today but started off sad, with Soph just crying, I couldn't make her feel better. I think each operation brings with it memories of so many ops before. But you meet some amazing families and extraordinary children in these walls. I hope we give them hope and in some small way make a difference to their day.
Sophie Delezio has been through more than most of us could imagine. Trapped under a burning car in her childcare centre, resulting in burns to eighty per cent of her body and multiple amputations; a long path to recovery followed by a near-fatal accident on a pedestrian crossing soon after her fifth birthday. With her beautiful smile and unquenchable spirit, Sophie has become a beacon of hope and inspiration in Australia and beyond. Now Sophie's parents, Ron and Carolyn, invite us into their world.
Through their private journals Ron and Carolyn reveal a searingly intimate portrait of their life - from the day of Sophie's first horrific accident, to the present and their never-ending challenge to balance Sophie's care with their life together as a family.
Sophie has faced death twice before the age of six; she has had innumerable operations over the past five years; her need for special care is intense and lifelong. It is an unthinkably terrifying scenario - yet the Delezio family have not only survived, they have somehow managed to offer hope and joy to others in the process.
In reading this book, you will see inside a mother's heart that breaks for her little girl on a daily basis; you will see how it is possible to be knocked to the floor by grief and be lifted up again by the gentle hands of friends and supporters.
