Transplant Day -5...A relaxing weekend

Evening Folks,

Good weekend everyone?

All is well here, its been very quiet this weekend and in some ways it has given us time to switch off a little. The weekends are a very different atmosphere from the weekdays, there is quite a lot of hustle and bustle with all the midweek clinics taking place along with many more staff. We look forward to the weekends, maybe having a little lie in or having pyjama days and we do this purposely to change the energy of the room and atmosphere, making the routine feel a little different.

Phoebe is doing remarkably well and managing to tolerate the chemo. Over the last couple of days these have been the heaviest doses of chemo so to be fair we are pleased it has been a little quiet so she can relax more if need be.
On the whole, Phoebe has done brillantly and tomorrow we tail the chemo off a little and just give her two doses. Temperatures have been stable although blood pressure remains on the high side. This could be mainly due to the steroids and the doctors have been treating her for this.

Phoebe has mentioned that her little bum is becoming sore so we have to be vigilant and be one step ahead of any breakdown in the skin and treat this before it becomes too painful. Continuing with the medication, Phoebe is at full capacity with these and is taking them throughout the day now, sometimes it is a little struggle for her but she is doing fantastic, bless her. We have three more days of chemo, then a day of rest. Following her transplant on Friday, some of the medicines will be given IV, so we can see a quick response from them if required.

For some reason, having trouble tonight uploading my pictures from this weekend, I will have a chat with Ade in the morning and post an additional blog including these during the day.

Our dear friends Vicki-Ann and Gareth came to visit us this weekend laden with gifts for us, Bless you both. Phoebe had a lovely time painting with Vicki, ... although not sure who enjoyed it more...think it may been some time since Vicki has painted and surprisingly, she really enjoyed herself...brought back some memories I think. Gaz took some time to have a good look at the Blog and was astounded by some of the pages, asking lots of questions. He also enjoying a session with our entertaining Fink Conversation cards too! www.finkcards.com

Vicki and I have spent some quality time together since she very kindly helped me to set up my freelance pa and administration business. With my website under construction at the moment, being in hospital allows me to do some of my work virtually and spend time working on marketing etc. Gareth and Vicki have a successful swim school called GUST Swimming, they have taught hundreds of children to swim, one of the most important life skills to have. Since starting their business running swim sessions around the City of Stoke on Trent, they also find themselves busy especially during the holidays with birthday parties and sessions using huge inflatables and sea scooters...take a look at their website... www.swimteaching.co.uk
As they are so busy we were incredibly appreciative of the time they spent with us on Saturday, it was nice to have a chill and relax or as they say...A chillax!!

Ade had a visit to the Brit on Saturday for Stoke's first home game this season again Spurs and by all accounts deserved a draw...c'mon lads...lets have another good season...Up the Potters!!!!

We have an amazing array of support from all facets of the hospital service and Saturday evening I was joined by the hospital chaplain Fr. David Egan. It was a fascinating chat as we talked about faith, beliefs and interestingly his upbringing and later decision to enter the priesthood after training as a mental health nurse for some years. Thanks for the great company, wonderful chat and of course blessing!

Sunday has also been a quiet day and whilst Ade was here I managed to go out for some fresh air, its been a couple of days since I left the ward!! I headed out for some essentials and took the time to enjoy a cappuccino and a good read of my book in the sunshine...aaah, now that's sheer bliss!!

Andrea, Estelle, Helen and Jonathan came to visit us this evening also with wonderful pictures, homemade bunting from my God Daughter's Madeline, Eve and Molly...my little bloggeroonies and incredibly tasty cakes and cookies from Est and her wonderful Mum Sheila...thanks so very much guys...aaah my treasures. xxxx

We will show our featured paintings on Saturday from Phoebe and Sunday from Vicki-Ann tomorrow. Beautiful work!!!

Thanks so much for the great response regarding the items from Ikea, we have a few sets now and just wanted to say thank you to our lovely neighbours Martin, Jill, Katie and Jacob for getting us the crockery sets, we really appreciate it. Phoebe and I look forward to catching up on our return.

Ok, so guys...don't forget to tune in tomorrow to catch our pics and we look forward to catching up for another update tomorrow evening.

Rest easy dear friends...
Much love
Lynn, Ade, Phoebe and Spirit Eleanor xxxx