I’ve been busy the past few months with gathering the money in from the sponsored walk, we have almost £9000 and still got more money to collect! We are now getting the next event organised which will be announced within the next few weeks!
The first thing i want to mention is that Yorkhill Children’s Hospital moved over to the new site at the Southern General, this was a hard move as I have been attending this hospital for over 16 years, I know this is to be a new facility but the nurses, staff and the doctors are who makes the hospital and have made me comfortable in my second home. You don’t know how good I felt when i was walking about the new hospital and seen people I know and knowing that the staff had moved with us.
One of the most exciting thing that has happened this summer to Samuel’s Smile is that the SMILERS have travelled all over the world! From the Disney Cruise in America, Canada, Italy, Greece, Spain, France, UAE, South Africa and so many more! This summer alone we have been in 21 different places that’s CRAZY but sharing the SMILE is so important and seeing the support is an amazing feeling and has blown me away in every way possible.
This summer my family and I got treated to holiday of a lifetime thanks to my Papa, we went to Dubai to stay in the Atlantis, The Palm. We managed to share the SMILE in Dubai and have even got a few new SMILERS over there now! We went out for dinner to the Italian restaurant called ‘Ronda Locatelli’. In the middle of the restaurant they have about four guys who make all the pizza’s, do all the fancy stuff with the dough also.
They asked me where my pizza was and if I was getting one? i explained to them that I cannot eat but I love watching them make the food because my favourite show is Masterchef? They thought it was funny and was amazed by my story, later on in the night the head chef came out called Salvo or Salvatore whatever one you prefer to call him. He came over to our table before we left and told him more about me and to look up our website. We left and only half an hour after we left we were on the beach and got an email asking if I wanted to come back to work alongside the ladies and gentlemen in the kitchen!!! That is a dream for me to actually work in the kitchen with the chef? of course I accepted and what an amazing night it was… But before I went for my full chef experience I had someone special to go and see first…
My first surgeon who saved my life when I was only a baby is now the main surgeon in one of the Children Hospital’s in Abu Dhabi, his name is Mohammed Hobeldin. This was our third time in Dubai and the last time we went we all got together in Abu Dhabi and we did it again this time. We met at the Crowne Plaza in Abu Dhabi on Yas Island, we went for a nice meal while he broke his fast for Ramadan It is so great to have the chance to meet him again after everything he has done for me and it’s great to keep in touch!
The following night I went back to work in the Italian kitchen and had a choice of where I wanted to work, either work with the guys cutting the vegetables, main courses but it was like 40 Degrees where they work or work in the deserts where it is nice and cool? It was a no brainer! I worked alongside my friend now called Gemma, she is from Zimbabwe and is possibly the only person who could properly understand me in the kitchen because my accent is really strong! I made every dessert and then later on Syarah who also does the desserts joined us! I got my own apron, name badge and also hat that I got to keep and everyone in the kitchen put little messages on it! It was an amazing experience and I cannot thank everyone in Ronda Locatelli enough for making one of my dreams come true! also to Salvo if your reading this: A Presto amico.
We all had a blast in Dubai and couldn’t of asked for a better holiday ever, we came back from 47 degrees sun shining to 15 raining in Scotland but you wouldn’t have it any other way! I got the results to my exams yesterday and passed them so i’m over the moon and it’s onto my last year of school then a new adventure begins! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and keeping well and remember? Always Keep SMILING!