29/4/10 Day 173. 4th day from School.

Friday last week. A day at hospital changing dressings, seeing Dr Waters and blood tests. 6 hours
Monday. ANZAC Day.
Tuesday. Lumbar pucture, bone marrow sample, 3 Chemo shots. 6 hours
Wednesday. 2 injections into the thighs. 4 hour wait. Started throwing up that night. 7 hours
Thursday. Too sick to go to school.
He wants to be back to school tomorrow (Friday) because he doesn't want to miss out on all the science experiments..... Here's hoping.
No complaints. I am proud of him.......

26/4/10 Day 166. Monday

After 3 weeks of waiting for his bloods to improve, we get ready for the next round starting tomorrow morning. He has been really well, full of energy and loving life....
Royal Childrens in the morning. Day Surgery for a lumbar puncture, to check his brain fluids and give him a shot of chemo, then after he has recovered, up to Day Oncology for 2 lots of chemo into his Hickman line. Back again the following day for the dreaded double injection. I think by Wednesday night we will have a very subdued and quiet Owen.....

20/4/10 Day 160. Tuesday. Weight loss in 3 months

Came across this photo on the weekend. It is 3 months ago on Owen's 9th birthday. 2 weeks before going back to school. 41 kgs at the height of his steroid treatment. Now he weighs 36 kgs.
Just stop eating and the weight falls off.
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The other photo was taken last Saturday at the Challenge family day.

19/4/10 Day 159. Monday. Back to School

A week late but O went back to school at morning recess. A trip to the Royal Childrens first for a blood test. Neutrophils are 20% of what a healthy child should be. Healthy enough to go back to school, but open to infection. It is a risk worth taking for everyone's mental health. His recoveries are slow and Dr Waters wants to start his next round as quickly as possible. We are to wait a week before anything is to happen.

17/4/10 Day 157. Saturday. Challenge Family day.

A Great family day. Check out Owen's hair........

Never in my life did I think I would be attending Family Days for children with Cancer.

The children went out for a cruise in a big boat and were "attacked" by a Pirate boat complete with a Jolly Roger flag and 5 pirates with Black bandannas. The Rotary Club had prepared 5 boxes of ready made water bombs. It was the biggest water bomb fight that anyone had ever seen. The laughing and squeals of delight were priceless. Eventually the 5 Pirates gave up and handed over the treasure, a box full of freshly cooked fish and chips, and dim sims.... It was a fantastic day..

15/4/10 Day 155. Thursday

Owen has gone away with his Grandparents for a few days and will be back tomorrow (Friday). He has been really well but we were told to keep him away from crowds (no school) as his neutrophils are very low. He is back into hospital for some blood tests tomorrow to make sure that he is improving. The moment that his bloods reach half that of a healthy child, the new round of chemo will start. Leukemia grows rapidly so they need to keep it in control. I do not think Owen would remember what it would feel like to be healthy after 5 months of treatment.

12/4/10 Day 152. Monday. No luck. Still here.. And then his results improved....He is out!!

Bloods are on a roller coaster still. Down they went so another night in hospital.
Owen sharpened and sorted his pencils in readiness for school but that won't be today.

Revision...... He is out!!! Neutrophils are very low so he will stay home but he is out...and happy.....
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11/4/10 Day 151. Sunday. Might be out today.

10 days. Might be out today. Should have his blood results around midday. He is improving sloooowly..... We were given the opportunity to leave yesterday and we were warned that his neutrophils were terribly terribly low and the chance of a fever are very high. If this happens then the only way back is through emergency.... This is the hardest part. We have experienced this already, and there are plenty of similar stories on the ward.
Basically, you are held in Emergency where no beds are offered to parents to sleep on while you wait, hoping desperately for a slot to come available in the Cancer ward. He is safe on the Cancer ward because it is a sterile environment. If a bed is not available there then he may end up anywhere in the hospital (This happens a lot). This is not good as he is exposed to any bugs from other sick children or their families.
So we chose the safe option and stayed in for another night.
Doctors don't want Owen to go to school for now. Might be in at the end of the week.

8/4/10 Day 148. Roller coaster ride - And down we go

And his bloods go tumbling back down. Yep...... Still here..
No appetite and flat... Try again tomorrow

7/4/10 Day 147. Day 6 in hospital

Day 6 - Get us out of here.......
Neutrophils are on the move. Yayyy!
Energy levels are starting to improve as well. Owen has seemingly been well, but we would go for a walk up the corridor to promptly turn around and hop back in bed. Today he bounded the full length and back again.
Lets go home......... please

6/4/10 Day 146. Still in hospital........

5th day in Hospital..... and we all want to go home.
Owen is quite well and starting to get flustered with being in the hospital. His bloods show no sign of infection. His body panicked and gave him a high temperature (pretty normal) sending us into Emergency. They do not take any risks with "Chemo kids".
Unfortunately, his bloods are taking a while to recover and we are in a hold pattern until they do. I think we will be here to the end of the week. Last time it took 14 days for his bloods to recover. Hopefully it will be quicker this time...

2/4/10 Day 142 Good Friday Appeal Day

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Met the real Ronald McDonald, Wilbur the drip from Melbourne Water (Bizzare...) and caught up with new cousin, Baby Astrid.

1/4/10 Day 141. High temperature... Straight to emergency

Owen had his final medication today for the 29 day cycle. Bloods are really really low and he has no neutrophils, therefore he is extremely vulnerable to any bacteria attack. We have been here before so we are confident that he will be fine. He is flat and spends time on the couch.
As we start to wind down getting ready to enjoy the Easter Break, Owen's temperature spiked....! Damn.... We call the cancer ward and they want him in immediately....... So he is admitted through Emergency at 7pm. Looks like 5 days of antibiotics.... Easter in hospital. O was not happy at all with the news that he was going in.... but packed his bags. A bacteria infection without neutrophils is life threatening.

Hope Easter bunny knows where we are......