tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30667781883551586312024-02-20T01:03:15.436+13:00The Whites in New ZealandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger658125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-37518410612340959812011-11-26T00:30:00.000+13:002011-11-26T00:30:57.821+13:00Something newWe've just created a brand new Youtube video of Bianca that you have to check out! (Click here for it).
I'm especially proud of it because the song is based on a poem I recently wrote which you can find here. Bianca's teacher, Paul Forster who is not only a brilliant teacher, but also a singer / songwriter and author of the picture book / CD called 'You're not eating me' took my poem and Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-10785554323027067922010-12-02T21:00:00.002+13:002010-12-02T21:02:49.727+13:00New homeJust so you know I started a new blog for us. You can visit us here. See you soon and make sure you say hi! :-)Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-91541264131052091532010-04-22T22:40:00.003+12:002010-04-22T23:23:41.924+12:00This is it!Today we reached an incredible milestone. Finally! I honestly had my doubts the port removal will happen today and right up to the point where they finally called us for theatre at around 4pm, I expected them to come and tell us that we've been bumped again. But apart from a very long day, everything went according to plan. Even now it feels unreal that it has finally happened.Bianca was so Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-52941013136740790202010-04-21T23:08:00.002+12:002010-04-21T23:13:45.497+12:00And so it seems...That tomorrow will be the day. On Tuesday we had our monthly hospital appointment, got there all ready with Emla on Bianca's port area and they then told us they won't be flushing her port as she's scheduled for theatre on Thursday (in 2 days time). Wow! Unreal! Today I fully expected to get a call saying "sorry she's been bumped and we don't know when next", but the only call that came was toLea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-25693759612918542092010-03-31T17:49:00.002+13:002010-03-31T18:00:40.922+13:00Feeling frustratedToday I just feel frustrated. I just really want to get to the point now where Bianca's port can come out. We were all set to get Bianca's port finally taken out tomorrow. On Monday (as some of you might know) we had to visit the GP. Bianca has been complaining of a sore neck / throat since Friday and Monday we could feel the swollen lymph nodes by her neck. For a moment there we thought Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-69703138392379259262010-03-24T19:27:00.002+13:002010-03-24T19:30:01.953+13:00Sigh!And it seems tomorrow will not be the day. We've been bumped - again! To the 1st of April. Sigh. It is not surprising though, just disappointing. But either way we are going in for a port flush tomorrow as it's been more than a month now. Sigh. Fingers crossed that this time round they won't bump us again. Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-79421273505657681842010-03-21T22:12:00.002+13:002010-03-21T22:22:46.438+13:00Reaching THE pointIf all goes well Thursday will be THE day. If all goes well on Thursday Bianca will get her port removed. Bianca knows it is going to happen, but since she doesn't remember a time without her port, she doesn't really know what to expect. But it feels wonderful to reach this milestone. 6 months off treatment - wow! In the beginning, reaching long term maintenance felt so far away, then we Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-72377518289447651122010-03-03T20:32:00.004+13:002010-03-03T20:50:00.180+13:00Late 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 Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-59866583734134289282010-02-21T23:04:00.008+13:002010-02-21T23:38:49.509+13:00A special birthday celebrationOh my goodness! It has been a long time since I updated here. And yes I know, same old story - we've been so very busy that time really just flies out the window, but it's true and I guess in some respects we don't have much to report on, which is a good thing because it means life is happening without any major drama.But anyway, today I have to share something special - we celebrated Caitlyn'sLea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-15440437441195365622010-02-03T23:48:00.006+13:002010-02-04T00:03:54.324+13:00Start of Year 2 at school and a little traditionAnd so today Bianca started Year 2 at school. She was so excited, but unfortunately not feeling very well at the moment. I thought that perhaps the school would call me to come and get her, but she ended up coping well the whole day, so I was pleased. The past few days Bianca complained of a tummy ache and so last night, we took her through to Starship to get her checked out. You can read Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-71060168269585861962010-01-25T21:56:00.003+13:002010-01-25T22:11:36.936+13:00A very important dateToday was another monthly hospital visit. I still can't believe how quick it is these days, no more sitting for hours on end waiting for IVIGs to finish running, it is pretty much in and out (okay we still wait 1 hour for bloods). All the results look great - platelets, haemoglobin, neutrophils, lymphocytes. It is very reassuring. Next month it seems we'll do THE blood test to see what Bianca Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-96280589651929262010-01-24T17:48:00.003+13:002010-01-24T18:10:32.783+13:00Just a bit of an updateI find nowadays that I struggle to write in this blog. I don't know why, perhaps because there aren't too many exciting things happening and it all feels sort of average / ordinary. I mean "going to work, coming home, tidying, cooking, putting kids to bed" aren't exactly newsworthy and simply don't make for exciting and entertaining subjects. But that's pretty much our lives at the moment. Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-91382393602290161402010-01-22T23:32:00.004+13:002010-01-22T23:46:26.922+13:00Friendship BraceletToday Bianca came back from camp. It sounds like she had a great time (so much so she was crying tonight because she still wanted to be at camp). And Caitlyn was sooooo excited to see her big sister when we went to get Caitlyn from daycare. Bianca was wearing this cool bracelet. The kids and the companions made friendship bracelets for and with each other. And I guess that's what Camp Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-93122850634487482010-01-15T22:52:00.004+13:002010-01-15T23:10:40.069+13:00How to make a Super HeroTomorrow Bianca will be attending Camp Quality for a week. She is so very excited and can hardly wait. This time round their theme will be Super Heroes and the idea is that you make an outfit and then one evening in the week they will all be dressing up. I've been trying to convince Bianca to be a Super Hero Fairy, but she wasn't interested in that, she wanted to be Super Girl. So off I went Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-16600039018856234042010-01-12T19:57:00.005+13:002010-01-12T20:19:24.036+13:00Life, just life!Well what can I say? I am shocked that we are already nearly in the middle of January, oh my word! Wasn't it just the other day we waited in the new year? This weekend Bianca leaves for Camp Quality, she is so looking forward to it. Of course I need to still put together her costume for camp - they'll have a themed evening and this year it will be "super heroes". I tried to convince Bianca Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-8689383555580924742010-01-09T13:09:00.003+13:002010-01-09T13:29:40.539+13:00Having funI have been having good fun with my photo-a-day challenge blog. It gives me a different focus, it is a simple concept really, but so cool. I know Terence says I'm missing the point and it really should be photos of myself, but I'm not a fan of taking photos of myself. I much rather prefer to be the photographer snapping away behind the camera (not that I'm a very good photographer, but whateverLea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-57182226832253076792010-01-05T20:30:00.003+13:002010-01-05T20:36:14.689+13:00A photo challengeI have taken up the challenge to take 1 photo every day of the year. Not quite sure if I'll actually be able to stick to it or not, but what the heck! I'm going to try anyway. And now I'm challenging you too to take up the challenge. If you do, be sure to leave me a comment with the link :-).So I'm trying a brand new site I've never used before, but seems pretty perfect for something like Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-77273376440640211692009-12-31T21:56:00.002+13:002009-12-31T22:47:48.589+13:00And another year goneThis year just went by so very fast, I can hardly believe it. Perhaps it is a sign that I'm getting old :-). I can't actually remember if we made any new years resolutions at the start of this year. Last year this time we were... that's right stuck in hospital and Bianca and I waited for 2009 watching the fireworks from our hospital window. So this year certainly ended quite a bit different.Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-40306710961737088782009-12-27T22:27:00.006+13:002009-12-27T23:24:03.907+13:00Our Christmas CelebrationsI hope you all had a wonderful magical Christmas. Our celebrations started on Thursday afternoon when I left for work. I needed to drop something off at my boss' home on the way to our house and Bianca wanted to take a small little something for their dog. Bianca loves dogs and if she could have a puppy today it would be a dream come true, but unfortunately it will take a while longer before Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-23652360194175222452009-12-27T22:20:00.002+13:002009-12-27T22:26:36.893+13:00Spot the difference...December 2008 Bianca had very thin hair. She still got steroids every month and just a few days later she landed up in hospital with low counts and a viral infection.December 2009 Bianca has much more hair. She looks good just like any other 6 year old, there's no more evidence of steroids in her system and I would even say that for most of it her eating has returned to normal. And Caitlyn? Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-3782218285818385982009-12-22T20:42:00.003+13:002009-12-22T21:14:09.546+13:00Ticking another month off our listOn Monday Terence and Bianca went to hospital for their monthly hospital visit. It was going to be tomorrow, but they are quite busy so they asked if we could go in yesterday. They saw a doctor they didn't see before and must say we can't help wondering why this particular doctor even decided to work with kids. This particular doctor didn't interact with Bianca or anything, so we are pretty Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-27373510207676198102009-12-18T22:24:00.003+13:002009-12-18T23:29:56.842+13:00Mixed emotionsWhat a day! A mixed-emotion day I guess and at the same time a very busy day. Firstly today is our wedding anniversary - today 10 years ago we got married. We didn't know 10 years ago that we'd have 2 beautiful little girls, we didn't know we'd be living in New Zealand, we didn't know that we'd have a child with cancer. But here we are, 10 years on and still going strong. I got spoilt with Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-29062342096153786392009-12-16T06:33:00.002+13:002009-12-16T06:45:37.338+13:00Christmas sneaking up on us so very fastI realised with a shock yesterday how very close Christmas is. Even though I knew it was getting closer the speed of it is taking me by surprise (perhaps I'm getting old). Thankfully we are mostly ready and we don't have to brave the shops too often. I'm so looking forward to Christmas. Firstly Caitlyn is totally into it this year. She can hardly wait to open her presents. And secondly this Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-39850193471035385522009-12-13T19:50:00.002+13:002009-12-13T20:20:56.281+13:00S-c-e-p-t-r-eWe are so impressed with Bianca, this morning she spelled the word sceptre correctly. I mean "what!?" What 6 year old can spell this type of word? I most certainly couldn't spell words like this when I was 6.I can't believe that Bianca is so nearly done with Year 1. It feels just like yesterday that she started school as a little 5 year old in Year zero. In fact this term finishes on Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-33332732716378237842009-12-09T21:57:00.003+13:002009-12-09T22:37:44.185+13:00Some people...Ooh, it seems I have stepped on some toes and offended a certain anonymous person when I wrote about Polly and her baby-advice. And so typical - you feel so strongly about this that you come onto my blog to argue your point and to tell the other commenters off for their comments, but you don't even have the decency to leave your name (now that's not very respectful is it?). It is true, I don't Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5