Nathan and his Nana were visiting Granny Sheila and watching the Bok vs Lions game on Saturday.
Nathan was next to his Nana (probably trying to get her attention while she was chatting to Granny Sheila) when she felt his breath on her cheek AND she heard whistling!
Nathan was whistling in her ear and he did it so nicely.
Granny Sheila & Nana were so impressed we were all 3 whistling and laughing!
Well done precious Nathan boykie!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Silly Faces
Nathan was visiting his Uncle Stephen and Aunty Cindy a while ago, and whilst he was there they played silly-buggers with a camera, taking warped photos of his face!
He loved it!
Thanx for sharing Cindy.
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He loved it!
Thanx for sharing Cindy.
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Friday, June 26, 2009
Nathan was in the Beeld Online
Here's the link to the original Afrikaans article, which I have taken the liberty of translating for his english speaking fans!
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Arms or not, Nothing stops Nathan
Jun 25 2009 04:16:32:993PM - (SA)
Written by Arisja Jacobs
Secunda – When you meet Nathan Swemmer (4) for the first time, every day cares and concerns, endlessly preparing meals and too much work are blown out of the window.
Nathan doesn’t have shoulders or upper arms, he can’t dress himself or brush his hair and he battles to feed himself, but he’s bubbling over with enthusiasm.
“He never wakes up grumpy,” says his ouma Rina Bradley.
Nathan’s Mommy, Annelien Swemmer, was only 12 weeks pregnant when he was diagnosed with the rare Radial-Renal syndrome, a condition where no shoulders or arms are formed, hands are malformed and the kidneys are abnormal. The ulna is attached to the upper body only by muscle and he has 3 fingers on each hand.
Annelien decided to keep her baby anyway. Today Nathan is an intelligent child with an above-average IQ and he’s learnt to use his feet when his hands can’t reach.
His short arms are a hindrance when Nathan needs to use the toilet or eat. A special toilet seat and bendable cutlery has been sent to him from Australia to make his life a little easier.
Nathan also has weak eyesight. Due to water on the brain as a baby there was immense pressure on his eyes and brain, and he had a shunt implanted to drain the fluid into his stomach.
His kidney problem means that one of his kidneys has attached itself to his pelvic bones. According to his ouma, Rina, this doesn’t cause him any problems or discomfort.
This “sunshine child” as his ouma Rina calls him, has lived with her since February. He was previously in a nursery school for disabled children in Pretoria, but because he has no learning disabilities, the school recommended he move to a different school.
Ouma Rina enrolled him at the Secunda Christian Academy’s grade 0 and she also goes to the school every day now.
“Nathan is flourishing. The school and his teacher, Mandy Gustavson is very good for him, the children support him, he can work at his own pace and he gets a lot of individual attention” says Rina.
Nathan accepts all challenges willingly too. He loves to play soccer with his classmates, climbs on the jungle gym and sings at the top of his lungs!
Nathan is mad about Ferraris and motor racing, rugby and the Sharks- but above all the Bokke.
I am more than a little upset that Nathan's maternal family have decided to exclude his daddy from stories such as this. Keeping Nathan after they found out about his disability in-utero was as much his daddy Gareth Swemmer's decision as is was Annelien's.
And I would have been tremendously pleased had ouma Rina mentioned Nathan's fan-club, which has existed since before he was born.
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Jun 25 2009 04:16:32:993PM - (SA)
Written by Arisja Jacobs
Secunda – When you meet Nathan Swemmer (4) for the first time, every day cares and concerns, endlessly preparing meals and too much work are blown out of the window.Nathan doesn’t have shoulders or upper arms, he can’t dress himself or brush his hair and he battles to feed himself, but he’s bubbling over with enthusiasm.
“He never wakes up grumpy,” says his ouma Rina Bradley.
Nathan’s Mommy, Annelien Swemmer, was only 12 weeks pregnant when he was diagnosed with the rare Radial-Renal syndrome, a condition where no shoulders or arms are formed, hands are malformed and the kidneys are abnormal. The ulna is attached to the upper body only by muscle and he has 3 fingers on each hand.
Annelien decided to keep her baby anyway. Today Nathan is an intelligent child with an above-average IQ and he’s learnt to use his feet when his hands can’t reach.
His short arms are a hindrance when Nathan needs to use the toilet or eat. A special toilet seat and bendable cutlery has been sent to him from Australia to make his life a little easier.
Nathan also has weak eyesight. Due to water on the brain as a baby there was immense pressure on his eyes and brain, and he had a shunt implanted to drain the fluid into his stomach.
His kidney problem means that one of his kidneys has attached itself to his pelvic bones. According to his ouma, Rina, this doesn’t cause him any problems or discomfort.
This “sunshine child” as his ouma Rina calls him, has lived with her since February. He was previously in a nursery school for disabled children in Pretoria, but because he has no learning disabilities, the school recommended he move to a different school.
Ouma Rina enrolled him at the Secunda Christian Academy’s grade 0 and she also goes to the school every day now.
“Nathan is flourishing. The school and his teacher, Mandy Gustavson is very good for him, the children support him, he can work at his own pace and he gets a lot of individual attention” says Rina.
Nathan accepts all challenges willingly too. He loves to play soccer with his classmates, climbs on the jungle gym and sings at the top of his lungs!
Nathan is mad about Ferraris and motor racing, rugby and the Sharks- but above all the Bokke.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I am more than a little upset that Nathan's maternal family have decided to exclude his daddy from stories such as this. Keeping Nathan after they found out about his disability in-utero was as much his daddy Gareth Swemmer's decision as is was Annelien's.
And I would have been tremendously pleased had ouma Rina mentioned Nathan's fan-club, which has existed since before he was born.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A Nathanism
A quick note from Nathan's Nanna...
I had Nathan in the car with me one weekend. We were so involved in chatting about everything that I did not notice the radio was even on – let alone which channel it was on. As it happened it was a channel that played the more modern music, very softly. The particular song playing had a lot of ‘thump thump’ and very little else.
Nathan heaved a big sigh, saying “I hate this music”
I asked, amused, “Why don’t you like it?”
To which Nathan replied (at all of four and a half) “There is just no tune ...”
And he was quite right too!!
Nathan you are such a cutie pie and always make us so happy. We love you precious little boykie and look forward very much to your next visit .......
Nana & Grampa
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Playing with baby Magic
Six month old kitten, Magic, loves to play with Nathan!
He kicks her toys across the floor and she chases after them, and he plays with a string on a stick that she jumps for and chases.
They have a wonderful time together, and because he's wary of animals jumping on him and knocking him over accidentally- he and Magic play together beautifully because she's still small! And she loves it because he doesn't try and grab her and carry her around like a lot of kidlets would do.
He kicks her toys across the floor and she chases after them, and he plays with a string on a stick that she jumps for and chases.
They have a wonderful time together, and because he's wary of animals jumping on him and knocking him over accidentally- he and Magic play together beautifully because she's still small! And she loves it because he doesn't try and grab her and carry her around like a lot of kidlets would do.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Gauteng Motor Show
Did this little guy have fun or what!
Most of you know how much he loves all things wheeled, and taking him to the Gauteng Motor Show at Kyalami was so much fun for all of us. We fetched Nathan and his daddy on Sunday morning, and we headed for Kyalami with us and his cousin Damien.
We saw all sorts of cars and bikes, from models to real ones- and he examines them and talks about them and he gets so excited! When he spotted the Audi flags as we walked towards their display he said: "Oh my word! Lookit the Audis!"
We had toasted sandwiches for lunch and he ate his with gusto, whilst he drank a creme-soda, which turned his tongue green, much to his delight!
His favourite part of the whole show was watching the RC cars "drift" around a specially constructed track. He loved it. And one of the racers noticed his close attention and came around the track to Nathan to tell him about the specific car and to demonstrate how the car could spin in one place- much to the little petrolhead's delight!
He was so very well behaved, and it was so much fun to spend all that time with him again.
Thank you precious Nathan- for making my weekend so much fun!
Most of you know how much he loves all things wheeled, and taking him to the Gauteng Motor Show at Kyalami was so much fun for all of us. We fetched Nathan and his daddy on Sunday morning, and we headed for Kyalami with us and his cousin Damien.
We saw all sorts of cars and bikes, from models to real ones- and he examines them and talks about them and he gets so excited! When he spotted the Audi flags as we walked towards their display he said: "Oh my word! Lookit the Audis!"
We had toasted sandwiches for lunch and he ate his with gusto, whilst he drank a creme-soda, which turned his tongue green, much to his delight!
His favourite part of the whole show was watching the RC cars "drift" around a specially constructed track. He loved it. And one of the racers noticed his close attention and came around the track to Nathan to tell him about the specific car and to demonstrate how the car could spin in one place- much to the little petrolhead's delight!
He was so very well behaved, and it was so much fun to spend all that time with him again.
Thank you precious Nathan- for making my weekend so much fun!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Nathan News!
Nathan in his grampa's Blue Bulls cap...
in the bath...
singing- as always!
Eating flings... 
and offering the chips to everyone else! So proud of himself!
Hey fans!
Nathan is now living in Secunda with his Ouma, as he has been moved to a wonderful Christian school there. He's in grade 0, and his new best friend is "J", who is in a wheelchair. His class only has 8 children in it, and he even gets homework!
He was doing very well at Maranatha Bana, but was outgrowing it mentally, and they could no longer provide him with the level of education he needs. And he's loving his new school!
His Ouma brings him back to Gauteng every second weekend to see his daddy, and his mommy has not yet been able to move to Secunda, so Nathan comes to visit her on weekends too. Not living with his mommy anymore, and dealing with his parent's divorce is very hard for this brave little boy- so please keep him in your prayers! And he says he misses his mommy lots, who is finishing her studies, but thank goodness he has such a wonderful Ouma.
I will of course keep you all updated as to his progress at the new school!
Nathan is now living in Secunda with his Ouma, as he has been moved to a wonderful Christian school there. He's in grade 0, and his new best friend is "J", who is in a wheelchair. His class only has 8 children in it, and he even gets homework!
He was doing very well at Maranatha Bana, but was outgrowing it mentally, and they could no longer provide him with the level of education he needs. And he's loving his new school!
His Ouma brings him back to Gauteng every second weekend to see his daddy, and his mommy has not yet been able to move to Secunda, so Nathan comes to visit her on weekends too. Not living with his mommy anymore, and dealing with his parent's divorce is very hard for this brave little boy- so please keep him in your prayers! And he says he misses his mommy lots, who is finishing her studies, but thank goodness he has such a wonderful Ouma.
I will of course keep you all updated as to his progress at the new school!
Hey punk,
Thanks for a lekker weekend. You are always so good, and you sing beautifully. You must enjoy your week at your new school in your black crocks. I will get you some more school clothes, I didn't forget, Navy blue shirts and grey pants.
HUGS AND KISSES --------- DAD (Your Superman)
Thanks for a lekker weekend. You are always so good, and you sing beautifully. You must enjoy your week at your new school in your black crocks. I will get you some more school clothes, I didn't forget, Navy blue shirts and grey pants.
HUGS AND KISSES --------- DAD (Your Superman)
Friday, February 6, 2009
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