2010-03-03

Late update - I'm sorry!

I feel incredibly guilty for not blogging sooner. I should have updated after Bianca's last hospital visit which was the 22nd of February. But simply, time ran away with me. All Bianca's counts are looking good. White cells were a bit on the high side, but that is in all likelihood just some kind of mild infection lurking around there somewhere. The rest of the results all good, so no worries there. They took an extra sample to test Bianca's immunity against measles, chickenpox and so on and so by our next visit we'll know if Bianca will need to get her baby immunisations again or not. I'm really hoping she would have retained most if not all immunity, but the doctor says that is very unlikely. Uggh. I used to hate taking Bianca for her baby immunisations and Terence often ended up having to do it and this time will be way worse because Bianca is older. Yes, yes, I know we've been through the whole cancer thing and chemo and all sorts of things, but whenever there is some kind of needle going into an arm or leg - I hate that because Bianca hates it.

We are also getting pretty close to getting Bianca's port out. I'm sure it will feel as if Bianca is missing something. Her port has been part of her for so long now and she really can't remember a life without it. To her it is part of her. We've asked if they could please make sure we get it back because Bianca will want to see what it looked like (and us too).

The only thing that really struck me on the 22nd though is how extremely tired Bianca was after the visit. She became really quiet in the car on the way back home and literally 5 minutes after getting home Bianca was fast asleep. Unfortunately we are not quite there yet with Bianca's eating. Hard to know if it is as a result of the chemo, or if Bianca might be turing into one of those vegetarians who prefer chicken rather than red meat or if she is just being 6 and fussy. And she lost 1kg since her visit in January. Doctor is not all that worried at the moment because she is within her range, and I guess it is just a matter of putting my foot down a bit more. Along with that Bianca doesn't always sleep all that well. It suddenly occured to me that maybe this whole new fast-paced normal lifestyle might actually be a bit much for Bianca. Sure she copes emotionally, but physically, perhaps not so well. Since I started work we would wake up early, rush out the door, drop Bianca off at before-school care, then school, then after-school care and finally home by 6:30pm. And I guess that is the challenge, finding a normal without putting too much pressure on Bianca. I guess it is easy to sometimes forget that it can take a while to fully recover.

But it is also funny how things work out because it just so happen that I had to resign from my work (last permanent full time work day 29 March and then contracting part-time for the month of April) because Terence's job situation is busy changing and in all likelihood will mean moving back to Wellington. Which means I will stay at home again and this should hopefully have a positive effect on Bianca's energy levels.

And that is our news in a nut-shell...

3 comments:

The Blessed Barrenness said...

Sounds like you've got some exciting changes in the near future that would be beneficial for you all?

RosemaryO said...

Good news about Bianca's counts. I'm glad she continues to do well. Hoping when her schedule changes she will not be so tired. And I am sorry that you have to resign from your job. We are told everything happens for a reason, so the job change maybe a good thing right now. Only time will tell. I will be thinking of you and Bianca as her port removal surgery date gets close. Hoping that all will go smoothly. What a milestone!
Thinking of you
RosemaryNY

Suzanne Grove said...

Ons sukkel net so met Boeta se etery. Gelukkig lyk dit nou of hy gestabiliseer het maar dit is vir my vreeslik erg dat hy nou 3kg minder weeg as toe hy 15 maande gelede gediagnoseer is.

Woutertjie se arbeidsterapeut het voorgestel dat hy aan die begin net 'n uur 'n dag teruggaan speelskool toe en ek het gedink sy is oorversigtig maar ek vermoed sy het 'n punt beet. Hy raak ook aanmekaar in die kar aan die slaap na ons iewers was. 'n Mens besef nie hoe uitputtend dit vir daardie lyfies is nie!

Ek kon vir 'n lang ruk nie comment op jou blog nie so kom ons kyk of dit hierdie keer werk....

Liefde, Suzanne