Transplant Day +26 - The Road to Recovery

Hey there…

Welcome fellow bloggers and we hope all is well with your good selves!

Firstly thanks for all your concern and well wishes, especially over the last few days. There have been a few challenges but Phoebe has again been amazing with her resilience and acceptance of everything in front of her.

After Phoebe’s sickness last night she slept really well as we all did. It's so great being back in our own bed!! Just having breakfast this morning together was really relaxing although Phoebs didn’t really have much of an appetite for her cereal but happily tucked into her chocolate brioche!! We have to change our whole way of thinking regarding Phoebe’s diet and from now on it's full fat all the way. I..on the other hand..…am starting the Special K two week challenge from tomorrow, say no more!!

We contacted Royal Manchester this morning and Sarah our BMT co-ordinator arranged for us to have Phoebe’s NG tube re-fitted at Cheethams Ward here at the North Staffs Hospital. Julie and Becky our Specialist Oncology Nurses were there to greet us; they have been an incredible support and it was great to see them and some of Eleanor’s nurses ….although Phoebe wasn’t too keen at first! It may have been Julie’s wacky green protective outfit that did it :o). To be fair Phoebs was quite upset when we first arrived in the car park as it seems she's started to recognise the similar hospital environments. Julie had kindly arranged a cubicle for us as we are still in semi-isolation, especially with Phoebe having the virus. As we have explained before Phoebe’s understanding of things continues to astound us and after a good chat to explain things she seemed to be much happier and relaxed; I think the ‘In the Night Garden’ magazine and stickers helped too!! Thanks to Becky and Julie for being really quick with the procedure and before we knew it, we were heading home.

After the morning’s happenings, Phoebe was quite tired and started to fall asleep in the car but as soon as we reached home and she saw her Nana and Granddad and found her second wind (being the operative word!). We decided to change our tactics on Phoebe’s diet and now we are giving Phoebe snacks every half hour and continue to have regular meal times. I’m pleased to say that she hasn’t been sick at all for the first time in ages. We still need to work on the fluids a little more and therefore we have invested in a whole range of juices for Phoebe to try. Of course Phoebs has no trouble with drinking a cuppa and to help us with the fluid intake, our nutritional specialist at Manchester gave us some fortified milkshakes. We will try Phoebe with these tomorrow and let you know how it goes!

Phoebe does Alesha Dixon

Phoebs has fun with her new L.E.D. Toy

The troops have been with us every step of the way and being back at home makes their lives much easier, not having to travel to Manchester and back each day. Saying that…poor Gwen and Gary..you’ll never believe it…

Gwen has had a run of it, not only has she had the Norovirus, then Laryngitis; it has to happen in threes…she has possibly broken her toe or metatarsal…Ballroom Dancing!!! Bless her, she was quite nifty on her crutches hobbling into the house…she won’t be shaken by it and before we know it she’ll be back on the dance floor showing them how to do a charrr, charrr, charrr!!!

Gary too…what can I say. He and Lisa had booked a week’s skiing holiday in Chamonix with a group of friends. They have looked so forward to this break but I have just been expecting this call to say he’s had a bit of a fall. Oh my goodness, I shouldn’t have been surprised but Gary did call to tell me that he’s twisted his knee quite badly and is unable to ski for the rest of the week. Absolutely gutted for him but I know he’ll still have a good a time as possible. Hope it's feeling better Gary!!

We had a visit from our lovely neighbour Joan who is fantastic. We are so lucky to have them next door and we have missed her and Phil; they are really pleased to see Phoebe Margi and all the Clan back home.

It's great to be back at home with the folks and we look forward to catching up with you all in time but for now, thanks for your continued love and support, especially with all the comments on the blog too.

Rest easy folks….xxx

Angels, like parables and fine poetry, speak in many layers of meaning and mystery, trying to express the inexpressible. If we ignore them, our lives are the poorer.’
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

With Love,

Lynn, Ade, Phoebe and Spirit Eleanor xxx