30/11/09 Day 18. Health has returned and so has the attitude.

Slept in and in a devilish mood. Arguementative and frustrating. He's almost the same old Owen.
Starting to recognise faces on the ward. Kids that left before us, going home for a break who return for the same reasons. A fever or infection. We start to realise that this is a fairly common cycle, where you go home, bursting with excitement, hoping that it will be for a while and return back, deflated, through emergency. At emergency, you present a letter showing that your child is receiving chemotherapy and they are immediately ushered into a room and treated. The protocol is to hit them with broad and potent antibiotics within 10 minutes as their immune system is severely depleted and a trivial bug is life threatening. It was a real surprise as he was in such great spirits. This is more serious than I first thought, and all for the opportunity to go home and sleep in your bed for a night, smell fresh air and catch up with friends. For his mental health, it is worth the risk according to those who know. Not so good for ours. Ah well.... He is still happy...