A Letter To Sophie

Synopsis

18/12/03Princess, 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 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.