I have been planning a post since this time last week. A fun post about an amazing experience our family got to have. However so much has happened in the past week that I haven’t found the time to sit down and write anything yet. Sitting here now I can’t believe a whole week has gone. So I will have to write about our night out next time, for now I will just fill you all in on the past week.
Ethan had chemo on Friday last week (because we went out on Thursday night we were able to switch days). It was a bit of a fun chemo day as I decided to give Blaise the day off school so he could come with Ethan and see the process that Ethan goes through all week. It ended up being the quickest and funnest week yet so Blaise now thinks he is the good luck charm and should be able to come every week. The two boys have always been very close and so it was no surprise that they bounced off each other and just enjoyed being together.
Our oncologist was away so we met with a Doctor who only works on Fridays instead. She was really concerned that Ethan’s blood counts were so low. She took several minutes to decide what to do. After consulting with one of the oncologists she told us to come back on Monday for a blood transfusion as it was too late in the day to have one then (it takes 4 hours to drip the blood in and that is after going through blood tests to then get the closest blood match from the pouches that are available so I was told to allow minimum of 6 hours on Monday). Everything else went as per usual. Ethan received his chemo (only one dose this week) and we went home. Actually we finished so quickly that we stopped off for fish and chips on the way home! Chemo normally takes a few hours to really hit Ethan hard so I can get a little bit out of him straight after and then when chemo hits the lights fade quite quickly and then they are completely out.
Saturday wasn’t our greatest parenting day. Both Luke and I had things that we wanted to get done and the kids were very tired. Normally we have a quiet house the day after chemo for Ethan to convalesce but being a Saturday we were all over the place. Ethan wore out very quickly and the kids ended up on the couch watching a movie while Luke mowed and edged the lawns (they have been neglected for the past 8 weeks) and I went to the markets to stock up on fruit and veggies. When I got home I noticed Ethan felt warm. I got that instant sinking feeling. I took his temperature and oddly enough he was febrial under one arm and not under the other! He was tired and asked to go to bed. So I gave him a cool bath and put him to bed. I decided to let him have a good nights sleep and take him to the hospital in the morning as each time I checked half his body seemed to be under the limit! Luke and I were meant to go out together for the first time in months, so we had to cancel the babysitter and focus on the family.
By Sunday morning Ethan’s temp was consistently high so we checked into Emergency first thing. The Doctor saw him straight away and within 20 mins he was on antibiotics. I took Blaise along too seeings it worked so well on Friday. The boys played some card games together and watched a bible story DVD (our substitute for church). They were cute sharing the bed together.
Ethan really wasn’t well and was like any typical child with a high fever – tired, wanting rest and mummy. We eventually got transferred to a ward (the oncology ward was once again full) where we shared a room with 3 other children.
Sunday just happened to be ‘Pamper the Parent’ day so I managed to get a hair cut and the kids had their faces painted. The hospital’s outside park are was transformed into a mini fete with stalls for manicures, pedicures, massages, haircuts, chiro treatments etc etc. All the people working the stalls had donated their time to give back to the community. It was quite amazing. We only stayed outside for an hour as Ethan really wasn’t up to it and just wanted to go to bed. He did get a 10 min reflexology massage though which was good for him! He had a couple of visitors that night but he was worn out and ended up falling asleep with his bed in the upright position while we were all there talking.
Ethan ended up being in hospital until Wednesday afternoon. His fever took awhile to go down and he had zero neutrophils and so we were told that he couldn’t leave the hospital until they came up to 0.2. After a lot of chasing up on Monday he got his blood transfusion Monday evening. There is always a risk of infection and the body rejecting the blood. However Ethan’s body took it in beautifully and on Tuesday he seemed better than what he has been in weeks.
Luke is currently interstate for work. He left yesterday. We were told there was no way Ethan would be leaving before Thursday. As I was driving home from the hospital on Monday night I was formulating my plan on who could help with what so that all three of the children were looked after. I decided I could do it and we would survive and all would be well. 5 mins after we got home Blaise let out a bit of a scream and exclaimed that there was something wrong with the cat. Our cat had a big abscess on it’s head in the last few days and of all the rotten luck he picked that day to scratch it off leaving a big patch of puss and blood. That broke me. I was fine until then but that was when I said ‘I can handle everything else, but I can handle this too.’ I had a little cry for a minute. I tried calling my cat loving mother in law but she was tied up so I went next door to our animal loving neighbour. She saved the day! I was so grateful. I did not want to go to the vet when I had two kids who were up past their bed time having not been fed yet. Eventually we got everything sorted out and managed to get some sleep that night.
The next couple of days were typical hospital days. He was on high doses of liquid antibiotics day and night so we went back and forth between the bathroom and his bed. We played lots of little games, read books, played iPad and even managed a bit of school work.
Yesterday I got to the hospital by 8 am so Luke could go to the airport and I could be with Ethan. When his blood results came back late morning we saw that his neutrophils were up to 0.1 and we were told with any luck we could go home the next day. We weren’t too disappointed as that is what we had been told to expect however we had been praying for a miracle so that he could come home once Luke left. An hour after our team nurse left us she came back to say that because his monocytes (another part of the blood) were steadily increasing his neutrophils should follow so we could go home! We were thrilled. I personally think they decided Ethan was the healthiest and the beds were all full so we were the blessed ones who got to go home! We do have to go back in for a blood test but we live so close that that is way preferable to staying overnight.
So Luke is away but the rest of the family are all home together. It is such a nice feeling. I had a lot of cleaning and tidying up to do today after several days of neglect but I really didn’t mind because it sure beats sitting in a hospital chair and taking Ethan to the toilet with all those chords and machines you have to wheel along! The rest of my time was spent with Ethan and Vienna constantly. Ethan likes to be with me every minute of the day. He has to earn his screen time by taking his medicine and doing some school work. Then when he gets his screen time I get my things done. More about that another time. I always think I’m going to write a ‘little’ post and then end up being my normal wordy self. Sorry. I probably lost most people half way through!
Oh but lastly we did have some great news this week. My beautiful sister Alaine had her 4th child and so we welcomed another little girl into the family. Amelie and Alaine are doing well. My children just LOVE their cousins and we are all thrilled to add another to the list.
Tammy Van Orden says
You didn’t lose me halfway through. I love your ‘wordy’ entries. 🙂 You’re a strong woman and can do amazing things!!