Club chemo take 2!

2300 30/10/09

We have had 3 great days at home with Anouk but now we are back in the Marsden for a Kidney function checkup & then back into a single room (9)...woo hoo...on the ward for the 2nd cycle of chemo. These 3 days at home have in fact been unexpected bonus. We had been told from the start of the 1st cycle to expect not to go home until after the chemo for the 2nd cycle had gone in, that would be a week from now! However due to her solid recovery we were allowed out.

So home for Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday of this week. As it was half term the cousins were around so there was some trampolining & walks on the hill to be had.

It doesn't look like it but Neave was very excited to have her sister back at home & do doubt happy to be sleeping in her own bed. At one point she did ask to grandma if she could have a sleep over at home?

Wednesday afternoon was taken up with an hearing test that was all good & Thursday was spent inside being entertained by our wonderful friends & family who have continued to give anouk & Neave an amazing amount of presents & the whole family continued support & love...thank you all so much..we can't begin to tell you how much it means to us.

All during the 3 days Anouk has been on great form. Sleep times have been a little up & down though. She will go down OK but will wake most nights after about 6 hours & want to come in with us! The only issue was the level of food her damaged tummy could handle. When she did wake she more than often was feeling sick so we turned her food off at that point, but during the day it was all guns blazing as she was up to 110 ml per hour which is far higher than anything she can handle while the chemo party is on.

Anouk has just gone off to sleep & is getting 6 hrs of IV pre drugs fluid before she gets chemo 1 over the following 6 hrs...sick trays at the ready. So far, as expected, we have walked the ward, done the playroom & watched the American version of Hi 5 about 50 times! Neave was here during thde day & made friends with one of the other patients who is about her age. The 2 of them ran around most of the afternoon tearing the place up. We assumed the other girl was in a fit enough state for all of this as we doubt Neave would have asked if her blood levels were up for it! Neavey's nurses uniform has come along again & she is planning on helping out over the weekend.

Now that we have been through the 1st cycle we could possibly only be in here for 7 days & then back home. If she gets a high enough temperature at home it will be into the local Hospital in Guildford to manage that, but we will see how things go. If we are very lucky we may be able to get Anouk to Neave's birthday party next Saturday in the village hall....maybe.

It doesn't feel nearly as strange coming back in club chemo. The 3 days at home were at times strange in the sense that she was in such good form that you sometimes forgot what the situation was...& then one look at the back of her head sorted that one out.