tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30667781883551586312012-01-27T03:23:23.750+13:00Terence Whitenoreply@blogger.comBlogger6581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-37518410612340959812011-11-26T00:30:00.000+13:002011-11-26T00:30:57.821+13:00

We'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 turned

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+13:00

Just 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+12:00

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+12:00

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 to

Lea 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+13:00

Today 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+13:00

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+13:00

If 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+13:00

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+13:00

Oh 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's

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-15440437441195365622010-02-03T23:48:00.006+13:002010-02-04T00:03:54.324+13:00

And 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+13:00

Today 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+13:00

I 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+13:00

Today 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+13:00

Tomorrow 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+13:00

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+13:00

I 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 whatever

Lea 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+13:00

I 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+13:00

This 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+13:00

I 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+13:00

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+13:00

On 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+13:00

What 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+13:00

I 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+13:00

We 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+13:00

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.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-2470201276120249262009-12-08T21:47:00.007+13:002009-12-08T23:03:02.203+13:00

Oh my! I have been so busy, the days are just flying. I haven't even had 5 minutes in my day where I wondered what I will do next, it is just busy, busy, busy. But I'd much rather have that than being all bored. It is interesting being back at work after being home for so long. Still trying to get used to my new routine and find the best way to manage my time between responsibilities at home

Terence Whitenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-63444078556414427662009-12-03T20:06:00.007+13:002009-12-03T20:29:54.378+13:00

Firstly I must say thank you to C, J and Z for their donation to the Funrazor event. Thank you so very much. With your help I'm now sitting at $690. The day started with a Crazy Hair theme - Bianca had a Crazy Hair day at school and initially she was disappointed that we couldn't find coloured hair spray, but we came up with another idea:When she saw it she was quite pleased and ended up

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-69729813613706116902009-12-02T21:19:00.002+13:002009-12-02T21:39:42.460+13:00

Tomorrow is the big day! The day where Bianca will again (just like last year) shave my hair. If you are around, please come past. I plan to be there around 4pm and Bianca will be there proudly wearing her courage beads. It will be happening at the Westfield Albany, 219 Don McKinnon Drive at 4pm. I'm not 100% sure where at the shopping center it will happen, but suspect that probably if it

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-71094061307616420922009-11-30T21:00:00.004+13:002009-11-30T21:27:50.608+13:00

Dear Anonymous living in Avon, Ohio, United States (IP address 76.189.19.150) - isn't it funny how you come onto my blog and criticise me but don't even have the guts to put your name. You said "Bianca is too old to believe in the tooth fairy and santa. she needs to be told that they are not real." - well here is my response to you:First of all - Bianca is 6. She is a little girl. She isn't

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-45227094262235535322009-11-29T19:15:00.005+13:002009-11-29T21:54:55.435+13:00

I'm a bit behind in updating and I'm sorry. Things are busy around here, but I'm not complaining because it beats the time when all we ever did was sit around at the hospital waiting for things to happen.So here is an update:For a while now Bianca's one tooth has been quite wiggly. And on Friday she had a bit of a mishap, she fell at school and out popped the tooth. At first she was quite

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-4285840360537121482009-11-29T18:37:00.004+13:002009-11-29T19:14:45.741+13:00

Today I found a news article (thanks to Vickie for sharing the link on Facebook) and I can't remember when last I laughed this much. It is one of those "this is how you should raise your baby" kind of article which clearly wasn't written by somebody with actual experiences of having her own child, or maybe it is somebody who is into Scientology or something. Some of what she mentioned sounded

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-8402036686839518402009-11-25T20:29:00.003+13:002009-11-25T20:48:27.985+13:00

Today was Bianca's monthly hospital visit. I'm pleased to report that all her counts are looking good. So the bruises really are just from playing and not because her Platelets were low. She ended up having an IVIG, but it sounds as if this was the last one. She managed to get to school for a little bit before finish time and of course had after-school care afterwards. So all in all things

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-14632397945778886062009-11-24T23:00:00.004+13:002009-11-24T23:15:37.945+13:00

Just a quick update tonight.Bianca has another hospital visit tomorrow. Terence will be taking her, which will be quite different to how we usually do it as I would normally take Bianca, but I'm working tomorrow so Terence will do this instead. I'm hopeful it will just be a short visit and that she won't need an IVIG tomorrow. I'm keen to see Bianca's blood tests. She has quite a few bruises

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-50268009069840846852009-11-22T22:24:00.003+13:002009-11-22T22:48:48.889+13:00

So far 45% of the votes are saying size zero. What do you say? Voting on the right...I want to say a big thank you to Marg, Janet McFadden, Carolyn M, Paul Curtis and Sam Curley-Young for their very generous donations. So far I'm sitting at NZ$485. Thank you so very much. Every little bit will make a very big difference.I had a comment from Merideth wanting to know how the money exchange

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-16849673577558337542009-11-19T20:38:00.003+13:002009-11-19T20:58:01.535+13:00

$280 raised so far. Please, please if you haven't yet, please consider sponsoring me. It is just 2 weeks until my big shave. Even if you live in a different country. The site is secure and accepts credit cards. And please spread the word. All the money that I manage to raise will go directly to the Child Cancer Foundation. Every single cent. They need so much to do the wonderful work they

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-65940932620637703962009-11-17T19:18:00.003+13:002009-11-17T19:50:29.636+13:00

Remember last year when I shaved off my hair (or rather when Bianca shaved off my hair)? Remember I wrote about it here? Well yesterday when I started my boss chatted to me about Funrazor and said that he would be very happy for me to participate again this year. So I am taking this opportunity to do my bit for the Child Cancer Foundation as a thank you for the wonderful work they do.Now there

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-12970142766966853682009-11-16T21:24:00.004+13:002009-11-16T21:40:40.276+13:00

I was meant to blog yesterday about my painting workshop on Saturday, but I haven't even had a chance to download photos yet. So will soon.Today was my first day at work. Well techinically I've been at work for the past 3 years or so - playing housewife is work, but you just don't get paid for it. Terence keeps saying I just finished my 3 year holiday, but no, I don't agree. Being a housewife

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-27028572868710604862009-11-13T21:56:00.002+13:002009-11-13T22:12:10.426+13:00

Tonight I went to watch My Sister's Keeper. I'm not going to analyse and describe the movie because I'm sure there are many who have not yet seen it. I heard some people were disappointed because they say the ending in the book was changed for the movie. I haven't read the book so can't comment on that.I liked the movie. I did not cry even though lots of others in the movie were crying. But

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-89875973827221865432009-11-12T21:58:00.004+13:002009-11-13T06:48:59.651+13:00

Labtests were fairly recently (can't remember exactly when) appointed as the main lab doing blood tests and stuff like that. To date they have not been very popular and many people complain about the service they get - things like slow service, results taking a very long time, incorrect results being sent out, results not forwarded to all the relevant parties and so on. I felt a bit anxious

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-6522978523311896232009-11-11T20:40:00.006+13:002009-11-12T18:10:18.776+13:00

It is that time of the year again, the time to shave off your hair (or support somebody who will be)! But this year unfortunately I won't be participating. It is just not practical with starting a new job. So instead I would like you all to support these 4 amazing ladies.These four ladies each have their own story, they are child cancer mums. From left to right is Shanell (Kyah's mum), Becs (

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-8498959187190266122009-11-11T18:46:00.003+13:002009-11-11T20:26:29.504+13:00

Today is exactly 2 months since Bianca finished her chemo treatment. I can hardly believe it. I wasn't actually counting days and weeks and so on, but we do still have our little ticker widget on the side and that shows 2 months. Wow. When we were still on treatment it sometimes felt as if we would never get to the end of treatment. Especially in the beginning when it felt so far away, it

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-33398182404426078022009-11-10T10:57:00.004+13:002009-11-10T20:33:21.747+13:00

On Sunday night Terence showed me some links on WikiHow.I must say there were some fairly interesting "how to" guides, and then a whole range of absolutely hilarious ones. Like this one on how to open a bottle of water. Now hands up how many of you have no idea on how to open a bottle of water and have to consult a step-by-step illustrated guide. And not just 2 steps, but 7 steps with a photo

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-73856906167230719942009-11-08T14:17:00.004+13:002009-11-08T14:37:44.059+13:00

What a joke!NZ Herald articleIf this woman (above) is found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol and then killing a new dad (read article here) - she might get 5 years in prison. 5 Years for taking another life? 5 Years for killing somebody? Is that all Frank van Kampen's life was worth - 5 years in jail? Surely if you kill somebody you should get life, not just 5 years. So for 5

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-75691763106851257812009-11-08T09:00:00.007+13:002009-11-08T14:43:04.420+13:00

Look at this - this is the face of a murderer. A cold-blooded murderer. A man who made a deliberate decision to drink alcohol. A man who made a deliberate decision to then get into a car and then drive and as a result he killed somebody. He is a murderer - plain and simple.NZ herald articleWhen I look at this below photo of him sobbing after being found guilty - I feel nothing but disgust.

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-62067723610006779312009-11-07T22:01:00.004+13:002009-11-07T22:23:43.404+13:00

I can't remember when last I read a whole book in as short a time as I did with The Choice. I started late yesterday and read a bit and then again after the kids went to bed. I couldn't put it down last night and at one point realised that it was past midnight so time to put it down and I finished it today. Before I found it now recently, I could remember snippets from when I first read it so

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-75627207331602602032009-11-07T21:54:00.002+13:002009-11-07T22:00:46.819+13:00

I was having a nice afternoon nap (after all that's what Saturday afternoons are there for...) and it was Caitlyn's resting time too. During that time Bianca and Terence amused themselves and this is what they did: At least this time round she didn't paint Terence's face like a clown, but this time he is a tiger - I think that might become his new Facebook profile photo :-)

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-23728080552685273152009-11-07T21:45:00.005+13:002009-11-07T21:57:07.994+13:00

Last night we lit some sparklers. Bianca was so excited, but Caitlyn wasn't very interested and so watched a show inside while we were outside. Some of the sparklers were ones we bought this past week and they weren't particularly good. Fair enough they sparkled for a fair amount of time, but had very little sparkle, so wasn't overly impressive. We then discovered some that we bought last

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-77666426483134677012009-11-05T19:40:00.004+13:002009-11-05T19:50:23.370+13:00

It doesn't feel that long ago that I wondered (and am shocked to find it was way back on the 2nd of February 2009) about a book I read so many years ago. Remember I wrote about it here. And now the past week or two I finally remembered. I don't even know how I stumbled across it on trusty old Google, but there it was - details of the book I read so many years ago, that I've been wanting to

Terence Whitenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-82138489145086355642009-11-05T18:28:00.005+13:002009-11-05T19:33:38.147+13:00

Oh my! What a very busy week this past week. But I don't mind. It certainly was more interesting than my usual routines, so I'm most definitely not complaining. One thing that I simply can't believe is that the first week of November is nearly finished and before we know it Christmas will be upon us. But anyway...Last Friday evening Bianca's school had a pajama movie night. I remember from

Terence Whitenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-65885538609782043762009-11-02T22:32:00.002+13:002009-11-02T22:37:27.195+13:00

I was meant to blog about our weekend starting with the movie night Bianca had at school on Friday and then Halloween, but I have not had a chance. Things here are busy, busy, busy - which is really a good thing, but of course meant that I have not had a chance to actually sit down and blog about our weekend. So hopefully tomorrow I can work through the photos we took, resize them and share

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-32813043404090097972009-10-29T18:59:00.005+13:002009-10-29T19:22:33.379+13:00

I don't know when people started going all crazy about Twilight, but I never really fell for the whole Twilight thing. I never felt the urge to rush out and buy the books or watch the shows or search for any of the photos of the Twilight cast. I simply shook my head each time I read about people going crazy about Twilight, starting forum topics about it, discussing it at length and smiled.

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-5778140282605770122009-10-29T18:34:00.003+13:002009-10-29T18:59:12.855+13:00

Yesterday we had Bianca's monthly hospital visit. She still needs monthly hospital visits for checkups and of course she still has her port which, as long as it is still part of her, will need to be flushed on a monthly basis to make sure it keeps working. The doctor confirmed yesterday they usually remove this 3 - 6 months after treatment ended. We had an early appointment for a change.

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-14315982156392293662009-10-26T13:21:00.006+13:002009-10-26T21:04:54.559+13:00

Last week was a pretty exhausting week. The Friday before Caitlyn started coughing and since then we had a number of pretty full on nights with her waking up several times, coughing, then getting distressed because she woke up and felt tired and this in turn made her coughing worse. On Monday last week we had a doctor's appointment which was a follow up appointment from the last time she had a

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-18179807557077490882009-10-21T20:59:00.003+13:002009-10-21T22:03:26.174+13:00

Today we noticed some articles in the paper (NZ Herald article and Stuff article) about the plan (as far as I can see) to consolidate all the district health boards into one to become a National Health Board and this means that things like IT, payroll and Admin will be centralised. I'm not quite sure what I think about it because as it is I don't know that much about the actual running and

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-22273516294407723382009-10-19T18:50:00.004+13:002009-10-19T19:52:48.801+13:00

Boring update, I know. But sometimes those updates are good.Yesterday we took the girls to Hoyts Cinemas. They had a special showing - Angelina Ballerina and Dora the Explorer. We don't often find movies at the cinemas that are suitable for Caitlyn too, so yesterday was perfect. I must say that we were thoroughly impressed with the leg room between our seats and the seats in front of us. Of

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-79410292983805745532009-10-16T20:23:00.003+13:002009-10-16T21:04:02.524+13:00

The past week was fairly exhausting, apart from the whole swimming thing where I never realised just how unfit I was, but I perservered for 3 days and I'm hoping the motivation will still be there next week. Caitlyn actually loves the "new school" as she calls it which is the creche they have there for when you go to the gym or to swim and you can leave your child for 2 hours with them, or

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-87043887272400465672009-10-14T19:53:00.003+13:002009-10-14T20:54:10.442+13:00

Today I did something I haven't done in a long long time. I went swimming. Now I'm not talking flopping into the heated spa pool for an hour or so, I'm talking actually getting into the colder big pool and swimming lengths. And oh boy I am so unfit (I'm surprised though because I really thought with the amount of running I do after Caitlyn every day, that by now I should at least be a little

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-18545196432978579272009-10-13T08:48:00.003+13:002009-10-13T08:56:36.176+13:00

Click here for the:NZ Herald ArticleStuff ArticleI have no words, I just feel incredibly sad and heartbroken for this family. I cannot even begin to imagine what they must be going through right now. I pray that this family will find comfort and strength during this incredibly difficult time!

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-6124784974086890152009-10-12T08:51:00.005+13:002009-10-12T09:21:46.589+13:00

Last week a little 2 year old - Aisling Symes disappeared. All it took was a moment, a brief moment where her mom turned her back. It has now been a week, a week which I'm sure must feel like hell and like living in a nightmare for her family. I cannot imagine the heartache, the desperation, the fears, although as a mum I know how very quick these things can happen.Around 4 years ago when

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-37798794093215636402009-10-11T20:30:00.005+13:002009-10-11T20:50:50.081+13:00

One of the places we drove through to get to Mangawhai Heads was Warkworth. It is a really small town, but a really pretty town and you can read more about it here. I especially like the style buildings they have and they have some really old buildings too like this court house that has the date 1880 on it:The town has such a peaceful feeling where a Sunday still feels like a Sunday and where

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-44337282900442537632009-10-11T20:01:00.004+13:002009-10-11T20:29:05.500+13:00

Today was such a lovely day. Friends invited us to their bach (for those of you not familiar with this term it is like a holiday home) and to spend the day with them. So off we set to Mangawhai Heads. It was probably an hour and a half from our house, but what a very pretty, scenic drive! We've never been up that side and it was such a relaxing drive.We spent some time at the beach and wow,

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-50491671343878378922009-10-11T19:46:00.004+13:002009-10-11T20:00:55.978+13:00

It has been a whole month since we ended treatment. Time really went by so fast. Tomorrow when school starts for the new term I need to collect all Bianca's acyclovir tablets that they still have for her as she won't need to go and get medicines at lunch time anymore. I think it will feel quite strange for them as this is the first time since Bianca started school in July last year that she

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-23554819626034008662009-10-10T14:33:00.002+13:002009-10-10T14:37:18.031+13:00

Today we visited my friend Irene. When we got there her cat was lying on the couch. Terence is pretty allergic and by the time we left for home his nose was pretty blocked up and his eyes a bit watery. Bianca had a great time playing with the cat and she absolutely adores animals (especially when they are cats). On the way home we had the following conversation:Bianca: When can I have a cat?

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-2219265359990302632009-10-06T21:41:00.003+13:002009-10-06T22:05:21.669+13:00

Tonight I had the wonderful job of washing Caitlyn's hair with lice / nit removal shampoo and then to spend the next hour or so trying to use the nit comb on her hair. That's right folks, that's the joys of daycare for you - the teachers at daycare pointed out today that Caitlyn has nits in her hair. And whilst I do understand that head lice is really just a part of life and not an indication

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-43627430229398707382009-10-05T21:46:00.003+13:002009-10-05T22:18:54.525+13:00

Wow! Today was a great day.Today we visited the farm of a very kind lady I "met" on one of the forums I like to visit. She has a number of goats (most are Angora goats) and the cutest little goat kids. Here the human kids are meeting a goat kid, this little one's name is Bubbles.This one came over to say hello. And then we went to see the ducks. They are kept in an enclosed area so that the

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-53953297686009596042009-10-03T21:21:00.005+13:002009-10-03T22:47:50.728+13:00

Today I had my second painting workshop, abstract painting. Now I love the look of abstract painting and I've always wanted to create something abstract, so I thought this was the perfect moment to learn about abstract painting. Now the first painting workshop we did (which was how to do a painting using only a painting knife) was so cool, we got there, we copied the picture onto our canvas

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-59736178213383026082009-10-02T22:16:00.004+13:002009-10-02T22:34:12.762+13:00

As some of you might know one of our dreams is to get our own lifestyle block or rural property and start a home farm. Not massively big, but at first to become more self-sufficient - you know have a few chickens, a sheep or two, maybe a pig, some fruit and vegetables (and of course alpacas just because they are cute). And so in the interest of research (and because we can't do anything about

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-29631733741445010922009-10-01T19:44:00.002+13:002009-10-01T20:10:39.173+13:00

I think I need some new inspiration and new topics to write about, maybe I need to start specific things like "Wordless Wednesday" and "Monday Morning Moment for..." and these kind of things that other people put on their blogs, so if you have some ideas, feel free to share. I look at what happened today and none of that is really worthy of a blog topic. I mean Bianca had a play date with one of

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-81998094198714455142009-09-30T19:11:00.003+13:002009-09-30T19:52:27.444+13:00

I'm not too sure what I should write about. Things here are just fairly ordinary, with not much to report at the moment. Terence commented this morning how it feels a bit strange not to have to do daily medicines anymore. Sometimes we tease Bianca and we'll say "Bianca, come get your medicines" and she'll start coming and then stop, roll her eyes and say "I don't need medicines anymore". I

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-58018026822823463742009-09-28T19:19:00.003+13:002009-09-28T19:58:30.807+13:00

17 days after our last chemo day, we've had our first monthly hospital visit and blood test (and of course the IVIG that we are still scheduled to have for the next 3 months). It was a looooooong day. Arrived at the hospital at 1:20pm for Bianca's blood test, then waited at the Ronald McDonald room for her appointment with her doctor at 2:20pm. Doctor ran probably around 10 - 15 minutes late,

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-73231455665769921262009-09-27T20:36:00.002+13:002009-09-27T21:34:20.125+13:00

When I was still at school, some of my English teachers really focused a lot on the apostrophe rule. So since then the apostrophe rule is something I always notice and I always seem to notice when people use it incorrectly or forget to use it when they should saying things like "Monday's, Tuesday's" and so on. I've even seen some employment agents say things like "holiday's" in their

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-46259165800224893722009-09-24T12:49:00.003+12:002009-09-24T13:07:40.001+12:00

You know whenever another family reached the end of their treatment for some or the other form of childhood cancer I would always ask "so does it feel nice to be done with chemo?" "Not to have to give tablets anymore?" "Does it feel scary in any way?", but now that we are here, it seems less dramatic than I thought it would be. We sort of quietly slipped into this new routine. It doesn't

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-47825161991447416702009-09-22T21:09:00.003+12:002009-09-22T22:03:49.354+12:00

There are a couple of things in life that really get to me. One of those things would be when parents dress up their little girls like mini adults. And I've seen 6 and 7 year olds all dressed up as if they are out to get attention. Or young girls with their faces plastered with make-up. And I'm not talking "Jane* was playing with the toy make-up set she got for Christmas", I'm talking

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-64120280115816984752009-09-22T20:27:00.002+12:002009-09-22T21:03:12.445+12:00

Not much happening on the homefront. I must say it didn't take all that long to get used to our new routine. I now start cooking a little later at night, I haven't had the urge to time Bianca again, and so we are just living life. From time to time during treatment I thought that reaching the end of treatment, I'd suddenly feel this overwhelming fear and worry because suddenly we're off

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-70945126585307753932009-09-21T22:33:00.001+12:002009-09-21T22:36:28.304+12:00

According to the doctor Caitlyn is full of bugs. But to go back a little...Last night was pretty bad. Caitlyn woke up pretty much every hour, so this morning I was so tired and Terence let me sleep in a little before they woke me up with breakfast in bed and birthday presents which the kids helped me open. A big thank you for all the birthday wishes, they really made my day!At 11:45 we had a

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-87076006236026092352009-09-20T20:34:00.003+12:002009-09-20T20:48:15.390+12:00

Yesterday we spent a nice relaxing morning at the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre and that was so much fun. We have not been to an acquatic centre for a long long time and it was so relaxing and the kids had the best time ever. The day was perfect for it as it was raining and overcast and just simply not an outdoorsy type of day, so the indoor option was the best.Later after we came home Caitlyn

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-41576857152493355312009-09-18T16:55:00.009+12:002009-09-18T18:52:39.731+12:00

And so we reached the end of this particular chapter. I wouldn't say the end of our journey, because this won't really ever finish. It will always be part of us, it shaped us and sent us in a direction we never thought about before it all started. And let's be honest, life in itself is a journey and our experiences and roads that we walk are all part of this journey. Sometimes the road isn't

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-25022190801329751892009-09-17T19:06:00.004+12:002009-09-17T19:30:31.661+12:00

Isn't this wonderful?(Reference: Metvuw)It seems that the forecast is showing a really nice day tomorrow with no rain predicted. So watch the space. Tomorrow morning at 10am (NZ time) will be a very exciting moment for us, we can hardly wait.But back to today. Things are going well. Slowly but surely we are getting used to the new routine and I must say it is actually quite nice not to have

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-54237046434477402712009-09-14T19:22:00.005+12:002009-09-14T19:49:03.509+12:00

Last night around 6pm I started getting anxious and kept glancing at the clock to see if Bianca was still eating or finished eating. Usually by that time we need her to be finished eating so that we could time her for her chemo and so that she doesn't go to bed too late and I kept wanting to ask her to stop eating, I actually had to stop myself from saying it, several times. I had to keep

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-44737596692367691892009-09-13T18:16:00.005+12:002009-09-13T18:51:25.362+12:00

It ended up being the most magnificent day today.We woke up to a beautiful sunny day. I arrived at the hospital armed with all the stuff I would need for an overnight stay and then probably an hour after Terence and Caitlyn left, our doctor came past declaring that he really thought she looked too well to stay in hospital. Not only that, but her blood cultures came back negative, she's had no

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-34771688071077375122009-09-12T15:19:00.020+12:002009-09-12T23:39:52.026+12:00

And now for the post that should have happened last night, the 11th of September, to mark the end of treatment (even though Bianca ended up taking her last chemo tablet on the 10th and the doctor recons we can do a re-enactment of the last chemo tablet with a placebo and take a photo of that).And even though we are stuck in hospital and our end of treatment plans had to be put on hold, Bianca

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-91960753486947868842009-09-11T17:18:00.004+12:002009-09-11T17:46:17.128+12:00

For 2-and-a-third years we have dreamt of getting to today - our last day of treatment. For 2-and-a-third years we have longed to watch Bianca swallow her very last chemo tablet. More recently we started making end-of-treatment plans and we planned to time Bianca as usual for 2 hours after supper tonight, then give her very last chemo tablet. We planned to take a photo and even perhaps a video

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-10986133667085073352009-09-11T12:25:00.002+12:002009-09-11T12:25:47.914+12:00

I am on my way to take Bianca to hospital, she has developed a high temperature, is lethargic and not feeling well. Hopefully we won't be admitted, but I am prepared anyway.

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-36152790756035736352009-09-11T08:23:00.006+12:002009-09-11T09:56:45.940+12:00

Bianca started her cancer journey feeling miserableAnd she reached her last treatment day... feeling miserable. She woke up feeling dizzy and then shortly after complained that she was feeling unwell and had a tummy ache. No temperature, but she fell asleep on the couch which is not really something she usually does. I'm hoping it is just one of those "feeling off" kind of days and nothing more

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-56415134109814235202009-09-10T18:29:00.004+12:002009-09-10T18:45:51.683+12:00

I have to keep reminding myself that we only have 1 more day left of being on treatment. It is such a weird concept and yet in some respects I don't think things will really feel all that different. For one Bianca will still get her Acyclovir 3 times a day. Not sure for how long, probably until her lymphocytes have recovered well enough. In a way it's not too bad still being on the Acyclovir

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-55239673579759950912009-09-09T21:35:00.002+12:002009-09-09T21:56:35.757+12:00

Today, apart from burning my finger on the handle of a coffee mug after it's been in the microwave for less than a minute, and getting an instant blister that popped as I pulled my hand away from the mug, and then going to the pharmacy to get some stuff to put on it which smells so bad, but apparently is really good and endorsed by the New Zealand burns unit or something and afterwards feeling

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-43555628053646452352009-09-08T20:32:00.004+12:002009-09-08T21:45:06.066+12:00

Today I realised two things. One - that I'm quite possibly going crazy. I lost my ipod. Don't ask me how or why, but I felt quite upset because it was my birthday present from Terence last year. I don't listen to it every day and so it was still in the bag Bianca and I took to hospital with us when we went last week. Last week I unpacked the bag in quite a hurry for some reason and so I put

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-65489692255279269802009-09-07T19:50:00.006+12:002009-09-07T21:57:04.801+12:00

The past weekend was just nice and relaxing. On Saturday we went to Crystal Mountain and as always the farm walk was fun. Caitlyn was even brave enough to feed the one rooster, which surprised me as she usually runs a mile when they just start looking in her direction. She kept saying "he's hungry" and "he's happy".Bianca wanted a pony ride (no surprises there) and she loved feeding the goats.

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-51712403945214374372009-09-04T21:02:00.004+12:002009-09-06T21:21:34.036+12:00

When Bianca was first diagnosed with leukemia, we had this tremendously long journey that stretched ahead of us. My mind frantically tried to find short-cuts, and an easy way out. When they told us after a few weeks (4 or 5 weeks - I can't really remember) that she was in remission, I was absolutely delighted and thought that this would mean no more treatment, that we got some kind of miracle

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-58575638166205138302009-09-04T07:14:00.003+12:002009-09-04T07:22:09.841+12:00

Of course we weren't going to finish without some drama, that would just be too easy and too straightforward. Last night Terence asked me how many more tablets we would need of our mercaptopurine to see us through to the 11th. Now around 5 weeks ago we counted the tablets and I took my list of all my tablets with me to our clinic appointment and we worked out how much more we would need and so

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-59693252923275077962009-09-03T21:50:00.002+12:002009-09-03T23:04:14.701+12:00

The one thing that totally amazes me is how many smokers will say "my smoking is not hurting anybody else, only me, and that's my choice". I noticed it again today on a forum that I sometimes read. So today I thought I would post a topic and ask the question whether they really do believe that their decision to smoke has absolutely no effect on other people.I'm not a smoker and have never even

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-88717185404551594412009-09-02T17:21:00.002+12:002009-09-02T17:43:18.694+12:00

I've been following a pretty cool blog "Simple Inspirations by Sandy". Sandy makes the coolest things with polymer clay and I must say I've been wanting to try my hand at making some stuff too, but haven't had the opportunity yet and in the meantime I am learning from Sandy. One of the really cool initiatives that she is involved with is to make Bottles of Hope for Toronto Sick Kids and recently

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-15821128370076604242009-08-31T18:53:00.017+12:002009-09-01T06:56:34.774+12:00

Today was our very last hospital visit on treatment. It was also a theatre day. To those who are not familiar - a theatre day for us means Bianca goes to the operating theatre where she gets a general anaesthetic and then a lumbar puncture where they insert chemo into her spine. I learned today that the general anaesthetic is the same stuff as Michael Jackson used to get which from what I

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-67506242303486730182009-08-30T20:36:00.003+12:002009-08-30T21:20:08.153+12:00

Tomorrow is our theatre day. Our very last theatre day on treatment. There will only be 1 more theatre day in 6 months' time when they remove her port, but for now, this will be the last one. So tonight I told Bianca that she would not be going to school tomorrow as she will have theatre day and she said:Bianca: I like going to theatreLea: Oh really?Bianca: Do you know why I like it?Lea:

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-42575939100068968412009-08-29T22:29:00.004+12:002009-08-29T23:04:35.995+12:00

Recently one of my Facebook friends suggested I play around with some spare Paua shell pieces and canvas in preparation of the photo collage project I want to make. And so off I went to one of the stationery stores to buy two small square canvasses. I have a supply of acrylic paints from when I attempted to learn to paint a number of years ago and then of course I had to find out what type of

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-15024059578996611722009-08-29T21:51:00.005+12:002009-08-29T22:24:07.354+12:00

Today was an exciting day. Today Terence, Bianca, Caitlyn and I went to visit the Born to Bead studio. It was really just by accident that I discovered her website the other day and must say she makes the most beautiful glass beads. She even made a bead that looks like earth and wow, it is just so amazing. She also has her own blog if you would like to have a look. I would simply love to

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-43695119202828665732009-08-29T07:38:00.002+12:002009-08-29T08:22:16.310+12:00

The one thing I didn't really expect when I stated this blog was that I would have readers in so many different countries. That's the best thing about having our hit counter. Oh and seeing how people find our blog, although for us it is pretty ordinary most people find our blog by searching for us or by typing a phrase like "paua shells" or something that I referred to and find it this way, not

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-64269699805150977782009-08-26T18:51:00.004+12:002009-08-26T19:15:06.120+12:00

I don't have any significant news for today. It was a pretty ordinary day today. Although Terence and I did manage to go for breakfast this morning. He doesn't often get to take a chance to take time off work, but this morning he was off from work. So it was really nice just the two of us. We haven't had much "us-time" since Bianca was diagnosed because life with kids are simply... well busy

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-29795655476713514092009-08-25T20:35:00.006+12:002009-08-25T21:38:50.549+12:00

I'm well on track with the projects I am busy with. I am in the process to finalise plans for our end of treatment celebration which, in my opinion, will be something really special and significant. But more on that a little later once I know all the details.I am also slowly but surely getting ready for this photo collage that I want to make to hang on our wall. In my mind it will be a visual

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3066778188355158631.post-24924998380921580242009-08-22T18:08:00.008+12:002009-08-22T20:44:34.929+12:00

You know, I just love it when things are busy and normal. And things certainly have been busy... and normal. I know a lot of people have wondered what the effect of our cancer journey has been on the girls and whilst there is no telling what things will be like going forward and if there will be some long-term effects - emotional or physical as a result, things now, are good and today at the

Lea Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08115298071761933905noreply@blogger.com4