First Day After BMT - Day +1

Hey there fellow Bloggers!!!

How are you all this Friday evening?? Hope you are all doing something you really enjoy; watching a film, having friends over to dinner, taking a nice soak, putting your feet up….its all about really appreciating and embracing the simple pleasures in life I say...

We are all well and feeling more ‘energised’ after yesterday. Phoebe had a good nights sleep and actually had a lie-in this morning so this gave me a little time to gather myself ready for another new day. It must have been around 9am before Phoebs really woke and for the rest of the morning she seemed rather quiet in herself. We tried Phoebe with a little breakfast and she did really well on her stable diet of Yorkshire Tea (de-caff mind!!). Phoebe just wanted lots of cuddles and some stories and eventually she dozed off and slept for a good couple of hours. Mum always says, "while she’s sleeping, she’s healing" and so we left Phoebe to rest. Eventually, she woke around 2.15pm and was incredibly perky so we played together for a while with her new toy tea set. She did lots of pouring and stirring and you could see she was really using her imagination with everything she’s learnt from Nana Marj!!!

Michael, a student doctor working with Rob Wynn, came by to see us today and we had a good chat about Phoebe, Eleanor and the HLH condition. Michael has really enjoyed this area of his training and would like to specialise further even though he still has a few more departments to visit.

We had the troops in full today and what a lovely surprise to see Nan, Gwen, Geoff, Mum and Dad; it was great to see them all. Even though Gwen has recovered well from her stomach bug, she came to the hospital but stayed in the family room as Phoebe’s counts confirm that she now has no immune system. We enjoy hearing the news from home as the folks keep us up to date with everything and, bless them, they always bring a copy of the Sentinel!! (our local newspaper for you global bloggers).

When living a hospital life one day just rolls into the next; I can’t actually believe we have been here two weeks on Monday and the Transplant is complete. Today the folks very kindly brought lunch with them. Mum and Dad got up early and slow cooked some steak, mushrooms and onions for our dinner. Oh geez it was mouth-watering, thanks so much for looking after us so well, you are all a God-send.

Whilst Phoebs was having a nap we used the time to sterilise things, keep the room tidy and of course check our e-mails and the blog. We love the comments coming in and it was lovely to see that you are all becoming a little more familiar. Like Denise, please feel free to ask any questions whether it be about the treatment or what we are planning to have for our teas. I was hoping to lose a little weight whilst I was in here but as our parents are looking after us so well I shall be rolling out of here like a giant Weeble!! :o) By the way, a few of the nurses tasted our oatcakes and Rachel (who looked after us during the transplant) will be ready to place her order of half a dozen soon I’m guessing!!!

Phoebe was on top form this afternoon and this made her quite tired this evening. She has had regular obs. done today and so far her temp. has been OK. The nurses have attached some more lines today for her feed (see picture left) and for the medicines which have mostly moved to IV now. The Pharmacy made up the feed which is full of nutrients - salts, glucose, amino acids, lipids and added vitamins. The hospital staff are taking such good care with Phoebs and the feed in particular takes away the worry of her not eating or drinking. Mucositis will start to form in the first 5-7 days after transplant as we wait for the stem cells to engraft and this will affect her mouth, throat, gut and bum and it may be too painful for her to eat or drink. This may be one of the reasons for her sickness this evening. We are taking one step at a time and moment by moment. Phoebe’s blood counts are as expected today and we now start the wait over the next couple of weeks for the counts to increase….

Tonight, we would like to say a BIG Hello to all my colleagues at Redstone and sincere thanks for the incredible amount of really thoughtful, fabulous gifts we received today (especially the hand creams as my hands are really sore from all the washing etc.). It was only yesterday that I was going to ask Mum for some baby oil to massage Phoebe…how bizarre. Phoebe really loves all the books and her soft new dressing gown, she kept stroking it and said it was like Molly's (her God-Sister, aaah) and it is the same!! She has put all of her snowflake window stickers up and we’re going to do the decorations tomorrow. That was so kind of you all and they are so greatly appreciated; to be truthful it felt quite overwhelming opening your card and reading all the messages of love and support. Hope everyone is OK and that the business is continuing to do well. I look forward to catching up with everything happening at Redstone soon and to see a few of you if you make it over to Mancs for a visit.

Thanks also to Lisa at the Tollgate who has a real soft spot for Phoebe. She's thrilled with her new stories, bless you. Hi to all the staff and customers, thanks for supporting us through this time, look after Geoff and Gwen for us and we’ll see you all soon.

Phoebe astonishes us everyday; she is doing so well and is still managing to smile throughout all of her invasive therapy. This, along with all your messages of love, prayers and encouragement, inspires us to face the challenges ahead. We can look forward to each new day as a step closer to coming home and spending good times with our family and friends…aaah!! :o)

Keep posting as it's lovely to be in touch and it’s especially nice to hear comments, thoughts and well-wishes from family and friends new to the blog; these always keep us smiling and lighten our day…

For now dear friends, our calendar quote for today….

‘Angels must see us much differently than we see ourselves. We so often concentrate on our weaknesses, our faults. But angels see us from the inside out because they see us through the love of God.’

Much love and blessings for a great weekend xxx