In training....

Hi Folks,

Welcome and thanks for taking the time to join us tonight for the update on Phoebe’s progress. Hope this blog finds you all well after a good day.

Tonight though, we’re keeping it brief as we may be in for a busy night, Phoebe still needs to have another medicine around midnight so she may be awake and as she is having another general anaesthetic tomorrow and needs to fast, we may be up and on a feeding frenzy if it goes by anything today. Phoebe has had my Dad in stitches today as he has never seen Phoebe behaving so differently. Again, she has done nothing but eat and is now lying in her bed fit to burst!

Phoebe has made further progress today by getting on her feet a little more especially by herself during her physio treatment earlier this afternoon. Saying that Phoebe was reluctant was an understatement, it just seems to take her a while to be convinced that no treatments are going to be done after she has trusted us taking her out of the ward and into yet another potentially scary and unfamiliar environment. Phoebe is usually really good at adapting to most things and any given situation, but she is going through intense treatment at the moment and anything out of the ward makes her a little jumpy. This is also compounded by the effects of the medicines and the re-building of her confidence again to be more independent.

Julie, our specialist Oncology Sister has visited us from Stoke today, it was great to see you Julie and just so happened to be the same time Rob was visiting the ward. It was a good chance for them to have a brief chat to see if there was any part of the treatment plan that could be shared with North Staffs Oncology Unit, should we be allowed home for a couple of weeks. We are still to confirm any details yet but we may be able to visit our local Oncology Unit each week for Phoebe’s Etoposide Chemotherapy and return each week to Manchester for a lumbar puncture and intrathecal (given straight into the spinal canal) steroids and chemo under general anaesthetic. Our plan is then to come back into the Bone Marrow Unit for conditioning treatment around the 19^th August 2010 ready for the transplant on 26^th August 2010.

Thanks Angela (RMCH - Family Counsellor) for popping by and taking the time to come and see us each day, its lovely to catch up with you in, some of you may remember from the last blog, as we were admitted to Pendlebury for Phoebe’s transplant, Angela fell on the ice and broke her leg, she was gutted but it was nice to know that the blog helped to keep you in touch with us and relieved the boredom somewhat of overdosing on daytime TV!!!

Thanks for all the lovely messages left for us, I will respond personally tomorrow. Xxx

So folks, that’s where we are for now, keeping it brief tonight to have an early night ready for the urgent pleas for food from about 1am!!! Phoebe will be getting used to these midnight feasts but I told her she’s in training for all the sleepovers she can have with her friends... Aaah now that’s a nice thought to leave you with....

Goodnight and Rest Easy

Much Love

Lynn, Ade, Phoebe and Spirit Eleanor xxxx