31/5/10 Day 204. Been busy.. Owen went on the Grade 3/4 School camp.

We have just returned from Camp Rumbug at Foster North.
Shadowed Owen for half a day then left him for the rest of the camp whilst I helped out on other activities. It was the greatest experience for both of us........ especially as we thought he was going to miss out..

Toasting marshmallows which he handed to me. As the chemo affects tastebuds, Owen does not eat sweet things. I do that for him and it shows..

6 month anniversary photo

Mum and O on Owen's 6 month Anniversary.
It was a happy day....
We are proud of him.

Check out the hair. Dr Waters has chosen to give Owen treatment over 2 months this time. We saw 3 girls who were diagnosed at the same time. The treatment is different. They had 10 straight days of chemo. They have lost all their hair again.

21/5/10 Day 194. The dreaded temperatures

Thursday morning. Off to School late. 10am start.
No appetite after chemo treatment. However, he tries and brings it back up.
Owen and the rest of the family are completely comfortable now with vomitting. Joel would protest when Owen vomitted at the dinner table. Now, we just hop up, change sick bowls or bags, wipe his face, rub his back and then sit back down for dinner as if nothing happened. It is just a part of life for the minute.
We get a phonecall from school that Owen's temps are over 38. Nan and Grandad pick him up.
And then we wait to see what the night brings us. His temp stays up but we remain hopeful as the house has been healthy. His temp wanders up to 38.5 and down again several times but we sit it out. Off to bed at 11.30pm, set alarm for 2am. His temp stays up all night but he sleeps well.
Check again before leaving for work. Still up 1 degree.

Friday morning:
I call at 8am and he is awake and full of beans. "No Dad, I am not well...... I am excellent...!" Can't argue with that...
Yep...like a broken record... Lets see what today brings..

20/5/10 Day 194. Thursday

Owen is tracking beautifully.......after 2 days of chemo treatment.
Tuesday-2 shots into his central line (And then dropped off to school for the afternoon..brilliant).
Wednesday-The dreaded double injection into the thighs. 4 hour wait for an allergic reaction.
No temperatures, throwing up every now and then, but he is the usual cheeky monkey. The reaction can be delayed so we will just wait and see what the next few days bring.
Big news..... The biggest event on the Grade 3 & 4 calendar is the 3 day camp at Rumbug next week. It is spoken about constantly and greatly anticipated right from the beginning of the year. Owen had always accepted that his chances of attending were low, because of the 3 hours between camp and Royal Childrens. Dr Waters did not want to talk about it until we got closer to the time.
Owen was scheduled for a theatre visit and chemo right in the middle of the 3 days. Dr Waters is always concerned about his patient's mental state, and is aware of what Owen will miss out on. He peered down his glasses at Owen's puppy dog eyes and reluctantly postoned treatment for 5 days. It was a wonderful. Couldn't wipe the smile from his face.

Looks like I'm going on a camp as well (In case thing go pear shaped)..... Cold, water activities, damp grass.. all my favourite things... Yay

6 Months today. 13/5/10

Well, he keeps chipping away. 6 months since diagnosis.
2 days at school this week, so everything feels great......
2.5 years of treatment left and 4.5 years before they will declare him cancer free. Not long now....
Owen is ticking the boxes, and mentally strong. We are proud. The roller coaster of emotions has settled a bit, but only while his health is good. We did think that we would see a pattern in treatment and his health. Unfortunately, there is none. It is one day at a time.
But, there are a lot of positives and the fact that he is healthy and all his tests are on track is wonderful. If he can keep this up, and stay healthy. If there are no suprise hospital admissions then the year will not drag. Roll on 2011....

8/5/10 Day 182. Saturday.

Friday. Bloods looked good so it was time to increase his doses. I came home to a sad boy tucked up in bed.

Saturday morning started slow, but he improved. It was the familiar sight of O dragging himself out of bed, sick bag and quilt in tow.

Saturday night...... Bloody hell! O's demeanor changed and he laid on the couch, wrapped in blankets, complaining about the cold. Temp - 38.3 degrees.... 38.5 and we would be heading into emergency. O was not happy at all about this. "Why Mum,I just want a normal life". Slowly his temp dropped and Mothers Day was saved... Packed all our bags anyway...

An old photo. 18 months ago. This is the cheeky boy that we will get back when it is all done..

5/5/10 Day 179. Feeling Great....

After having last week off school, Owen is back and feeling great..... (and everyone feels great )
Throws up all his breakfast before school on Monday morning, but holds it down yesterday. Still not eating much as the chemo takes away his appetite.
Yesterday, he came home excitedly talking about the wonderful day that he had at school. Non stop chatter about all the little things. We just smiled.
Hopefully, he will get 4 days in this week before chemo on Friday.