Sinead was born on 22 November 1996. She is my (Kim) third child, with 2 grown boys from a previous marriage and Wayne's first child. With only boys being born to Wayne's brothers and sisters everyone was praying for a little girl and on the 22nd our prayers were answered. It was a long hard labour with Sinead being rushed to SCU straight away. Once again our prayers were answered and we were discharged from hospital 4 days later. The doctors had placed a short note in Sinead's plunket book for her nurses to keep a watch on the circumference of her head as it appeared 'small'. We knew nothing of microcephaly so weren't too concerned, she was beautiful, healthy (we thought) and very spoilt.

Three months later our GP requested that we be admitted to hospital. She was very good at not raising our concerns too much but thought a slight ridge on Sinead's forehead should be checked out. We were totally unprepared for the results of her CT scan - severe semi-lobar holoprosencephaly and microcephaly. Blood tests were also carried out and she was also diagnosed with diabetes insipidus.

The next few months were the hardest for us as we struggled to come to terms with this diagnosis. Learning about Sinead's condition and joining the hpe@team17.com support group helped us through this painful period.

All that seems years away now as our lives have become organised and focussed again, with Sinead playing such a major role in our family. We have since had another baby, a boy this time, who is 18 months old and entirely devoted and protective of his 'smaller' sister.

Sinead is now almost 3 years and attends Conductive Education 2 days per week and mainstream kindergarten on the 3 other days of the week. Her main therapy is Point Percussion therapy, which is administered daily for half an hour and monitored and overseen by her specialist, Dr Mengde Yu who is based in Melbourne, Australia. Sinead's spasticity prevents her from doing many of the things she wants to achieve, but when she is 'not trying' she can speak words clearly and use her limbs intentionally. It's a shame she tries so hard so much of the time. She has an ng-tube as a backup to her sometimes poor oral feeding, and is gradually moving towards a more normal diet after being on a salt free diet for her diabetes insipidus. Sinead loves Barney, chocolate, rain on her face, music, bathtime, her 3 brothers, and her Uncle Darcy. She hates loud clanging noises, Teletubbies, and her baby brother getting more attention than her.

Sinead is a special child in more ways than one and we totally adore her. She has taught us all more than all of our life experiences put together ever could, and while we'd love to see her run and play, we also love her just the way she is. She's our angel, and we've been blessed.