A great story and then a GREAT story

Is it just me or does everyone love a kid who thinks he can fly…?

It’s Mix FM’s give me five for kids – raising money for the children’s ward at Nambour general hospital.

We talk a lot about very sick children – and they are the most precious customers of the children’s ward - but as just about every parent on the sunshine coast knows, you don’t have to have a life threatening illness to spend some time in a hospital bed.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Janine at Blue Dew Organics and Boutique Day Spa at Montville. Janine has donated a lot of beautiful stuff for our monster auction next Saturday at Kawana Shopping World…and she wrote to tell me why…

In 2005 my son Jack then 8 decided to do his superman impersonation from the roof of the house to the trampoline ( a super hero manoeuvre that had been accomplished many times before, apparently, much to my horror), however - because it had been raining the trampoline was just a little slippery... So super man hit the mat and slid straight off the side of the tramp…smashing into the side of the house and crashing to the ground. Ouch.

Superman quickly turned back into Jack, staggering inside with one arm much longer than the other and a face as white as a ghost.....

X rays revealed Jack had done a really good job…breaking both is ulna and radius bones in his forearm....Janine says after surgery, Jack discovered the joy of being in hospital – thanks to Mix FM’s Give me Five for Kids, he had non stop videos games, DVD’s and free TV, books games and art stuff , all the nurses were amazing, and after five days Janine says they had to bribe Jack to come home.

And that’s something we think is really important for give me five for kids – not just lifesaving equipment – but stuff to save the sanity of parents…

OK – some fast breaking news…man just came into the radio station and gave me an anonymous cheque for $10 THOUSAND!!! That’s right, $10 THOUSAND!!!!
I’m not allowed to reveal any more about him, but it’s completely legit, a well established Sunshine Coast business – just a bloke who doesn’t want to make a song and dance…how cool is that?????

Who's responsible?

Is it just me or does everyone wonder how responsible we are as parents, for the way our kids turn out?

Christopher Wayne Hudson’s parents have been in the media this week. It was heartbreaking to hear Terry Hudson beg his son, the alleged killer who gunned down three innocent people in a Melbourne street on Monday, to give himself up peacefully, pleading with his lost son to spare any more injury, particularly to himself .

After shooting dead the hero father of three Melbourne school kids, Christopher Hudson rang his own parents to tell them he loved them. Before surrendering to police yesterday, Christopher Hudson again rang his Mum and asked if she would come to Victoria to support him.

In truth, I think the Hudson’s lost their son a long time ago. According to a Monash University expert of criminal gangs, Dr Arthur Veno, says Christopher Hudson has a long history of violence against women. He is familiar with the inside of at least four prisons and has never worked outside organised crime.

Hudson gained notoriety last year when he defected from the Finks motor cycle gang to the Hells Angels, sparking a gun battle at a Gold Coast kick boxing match.

Dr Veno from Monash says Christopher Hudson represents the worst elements of bikie gangs, and claims he is a ‘dead man walking’.

The Hells Angels yesterday signalled to police that they had cut Christopher Hudson loose. A Gold Coast lawyer who has represented Hudson in the past rang police to let them know he would not be representing Hudson on this occasion. Bikie gang code, signalling Hudson could no longer rely on Hell’s Angel’s protection.

Soon after, Police began negotiating a peaceful surrender.

I feel very sorry for Christopher Hudson’s parents because they seem like very nice people. Pity their son didn’t turn out the same way.

Just because it's beautiful...

First of all, to get you in the mood to bid...watch this video!


Apparently, this little boy died, very shortly (about three days) after this was filmed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TnFuVpt3Tg

Tomorrow on Mix, we auction the Chris Vermuelen Moto GP package...

The Malaysian Grand Prix takes place in Sepang, 50km south of Kuala Lumpur from Friday 19th October to Sunday 21st October, 2007.

Thanks to Chris Vermulan and the Bank of Queensland, 2 lucky people will bid to win 2 paddock passes to the Grand Prix met by Chris’s Agent Justin Vievers on the Friday (19th) to collect tickets, meet Chris Vermulan and have a tour of the pits. The paddock passes (only very few of these are issued) include general admission for the 3 day event. This amazing experience includes all flights, transfers and accommodation for 4 nights. The Bank of Queensland will even throw in $1000 spending money.

Valued at over $10,000

Accommodation is: Capitol Hotel including Breakfast daily and return coach transfers to and from Airport.

Flights will be booked for:
Malaysian Airlines Out 17/10 back 22/10/07

There will be Passport and Visa requirements
(Flights will be booked on behalf of the winner by Bank of Qld)

If you don't know who Chris is, you probably won't be that interested in this one...but if you are...

We'll take bids, from 6.30am aest 07 54 511 966 or you can email me at caroline.hutchinson@mrworks.com.au


Thanks!!! I'll let you know how it goes xx

Give me five for kids?

Is it just me or does everyone think a sick child is the worst type of pain ever inflicted?

We’re almost two weeks into Mix FM’s Give Me Five For Kids, an annual campaign to raise cash for the children’s ward at Nambour General Hospital. Our target this year is 200 thousand dollars in a month. It’s a big call, but I want to tell you why we do it.

Last week, I met a beautiful couple. I don’t actually have permission to tell their story, but I’m scared they’ll say no if I ask, so I’m taking a punt. Trust me, I write this with the deepest respect and awe.

Almost two years ago to the day, our gorgeous pair (they are actually very good looking, but that’s not why I think they’re gorgeous) gave birth to a big beautiful baby boy, who I think, looked just like his Dad. They named him Kai.

When Kai was four days old, he threw a tantrum, just like my four day old babies threw tantrums and probably yours too. Little Kai just lost it.

The difference with Kai though, was within minutes of those first screams, he was fighting for his life.

Dr Wayne Harris (if you’ve been to the children’s ward you’ll know he’s the busy bloke in the Daffy Duck tie) picked it. Just as Kai’s eyes blew red, Dr Harris diagnosed an intra-cranial bleed and called for burr hole surgery. That’s right, a hole drilled into the side of that four day old baby’s head, to relieve the pressure of the bleed and save his life. It worked. Kai survived, albeit with some brain damage and the subsequent diagnosis of severe haemophilia. Kai and his parents have since spent more than 150 nights in hospital.

But don’t let that be the end of the story. Kai is exquisite. He is a big, smiley, curly headed boy who likes to keep his mum close and his dad covered in kisses. He has parents who understand his disease intimately and take amazing care of their baby boy. Just leaning too hard on his fist will cause an internal bleed in Kai’s knuckles. Can you imagine try to stop a two year old from banging a toy or throwing back his head when he doesn’t get his own way?

Kai’s parent’s love is pure and uncomplicated. It is beautiful to watch. But sometimes, sadly, love isn’t enough, this family also needs a first class second home, and that’s Ward 3E at Nambour General Hospital.

Mix Fm’s Give Me Five For Kids is for the coast’s most precious people, sick kids, just like Kai, and their families.

The Dalai Lama

Is it just me or is everyone keen to change their circumstances, but not willing to change themselves?

The Dalai Lama is in Australia at the moment. He will launch Kindness Week at Australia Zoo next Wednesday.

You might have heard the Dalai's Instructions for life before, but I love them.

They include..

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

Never let a small dispute ruin a great friendship.

When you realise you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

Spend some time alone absolutely everyday.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good and honourable life. Then, when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

Share your knowledge. It's a way to acheive immortality.

Be gentle with the earth.

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

*For more information on the Dalai's visit, check out the Australia Zoo website www.australiazoo.com.au

A mother's love...

Is it just me or does everyone believe there is no-one in the world who can love you like your Mum and Dad can?

We're at day 3 of Mix FM's Give me Five for Kids, raising money for the children's ward at Nambour General Hospital.

I've spent a lot of time in the children's ward, and I think parents dealing with sick babies is love at its most pure.

There is a great story I thought I'd share with you.

I read it once in National Geographic. It's about something a ranger found after a bush fire had raged through Yellowstone National Park.

As the ranger trekked up the hill, he found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched on the ground at the base of a tree.

It was an eerie sight, and feeling a little bit sick, the ranger knocked the bird over with a stick.

When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mothers' wings.

It seems as the fire took hold, that loving mother, aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, because instinctively she knew the toxic smoke would rise.

The mother bird could easily have flown to safety, but she didn't. She refused to abandon her babies. When the fire swept through and the the heat had scorched her small body, the mother remained steadfast.

That little bird was willing to die, to keep her babies safe under her wings.

No matter how old you are, your Mum and Dad still feel like that about you.

Being loved that much should make a difference.

Give me Five for Kids

Is it just me or does everyone think there is a lot more joy in giving than in receiving?

It’s day two of Mix Fm’s Give Me Five for Kids…

In the past six years, the Sunshine Coast has raised more than a million dollars for the children’s ward at Nambour General Hospital…

Anyone who has been to the children's ward would want to be involved.

One of our favourite Give Me Five for Kids ambassadors over the years has a been a kid called Jacque Patton. Now Jacque already thinks I’m an idiot, so I’m a bit nervous talking about his condition because these things are always complicated, but I think Jacque suffers an acute form of lupus - basically, Jacque has a compromised immune system…

For more information - www.theradio.com.au and click on 92.7 MIX FM, Sunshine Coast. x

Jacque is also one of the bravest, funniest, coolest most amazing boys you could ever have the pleasure to meet. He amazes everyone he comes across, not just because he has already coped with more than any adult I have ever known, but because he does it with a twinkle in his eye and a smart mouth…

Jacque was supposed to come on the radio today, but he couldn’t. As is so often the case, Jacque is too sick right now.

But Jacque and his Mum and Dad, his twin brother and his grandparents who are so involved in his care, are who Mix Fm’s Give Me Five for Kids is all about.

Take a look at your healthy kids, your healthy grand kids and be happy, but don’t forget about Jacque either…