So far so good for the 2nd Cycle

2130 1/11/09

It's been a busy weekend here at club chemo. Lots of visitors, lots of walking around...lots of Hi 5! All be it the new American version..! We did manage to squeeze a few Peppa Pigs in today so I suppose we can't complain. The cousins came in today & also the cousins of the cousins...it was a full house.

On the drugs front things seem a little calmer than the 1st cycle. Anouk is getting the exact same drugs at the same time of the cycle but so far she hasn't chucked up as much & has started to sleep sort of normal....ish. For the last 2 nights she has had a full nappie at 0100, which only I can change & then a chuck at about 0500..ish..nothing major in terms of chuck size. Last night she slept from 3.30pm to about 7pm when Rolf & Inga visitid. She then dropped off at 9.30pm, nappie at 0100, chuck at 0500 & then back to sleep until 1100am this morning. No sleep today & she has gone down at her normal time of around 7pm. There have also been fewer tantrums in the last few days...maybe Anouk is happier in the environment...who knows! Now that I have said all of this the overnight is bound to be a nightmare!

Anouk loves having Skype calls with people & most of the conversation is centred on who's not there. So when Grandad calls it's..."where's Grandma" When we call Granny Sue...it's "where's Pa or Perro" (the dog). We had a great chat with Sacha, Duncan, Lexie & Angus on Saturday morning & they will all be coming over for Christmas.....it's going to be busy!

She does give the time of day to most of the Nurses & staff & even enjoys pushing in her own medicine. Except for the time when she just grabbed the syringe & squirted it everywhere!

Weight wise Anouk has been putting on a bit even with the overall reduced amount going into her tummy. At the moment she is only getting 20ml per hour as well as fluids. Sometimes she will have a bit of cheese or some yoghurt, but overall doesn't complain about being hungry.

As well as the MRI scan at the end of this cycle Anouk with undergo Stem Cell harvesting...mmm another General Anesthetic! She will have a access tube inserted in the groin area & the whole process with take 3 days.

Neavey continues to enjoy visiting & making things in the playroom. Last night she was causing havoc in the village with trick or treat. Catherine made sure that they went to houses of people we knew...just in case!

Sue & Kalum very kindly gave Anouk a great Elephant Alphabet puzzle. Safe to say the big kids had a much entertaining trouble finishing it as Anouk did..! WE.. did get there in the end.

On Friday, while we were waiting to be admitted, we headed down to a local park for swing fix...a bit hard now that Wally the trolley is part of the setup!