Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A Week Off

It's Wednesday and normally that would mean we would be at the hospital.

Yesterday, we got Alex's bloodwork done at a local lab in anticipation of today's appointment.  His white blood cell counts are too low to have today's treatment and successive treatments over the following three days so everything has been pushed back a week.

This is a pretty normal occurrence at this stage and Alex is quite happy about having a full week off!  

He had a quiet birthday Friday and didn't feel great on Saturday and Sunday.  Monday was  better and yesterday was great, lots of talking and laughter.

Fantastic to have my mom and dad out here, too.

I have been a bad blogger again.  I'll try and do better!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Things we are Looking Forward to

  • No treatments until next Wednesday!

  • It's Alex's birthday tomorrow, he will turn 13

  • My parents are arriving later today (- this means sausage rolls! and other happy things)


and we always enjoy hearing from you.

If This is Wednesday, This Must be BCCH

(Well, it's Thursday, I know, but I didn't get this posted last night but I wrote the bulk of it then.)

We were at the hospital bright and early.  Too bright and early as it turned out.  I had the appointment down for 7:15 a.m., they had it down as 8:30.  The evidence, they say,  points convincingly that this was completely my error, not theirs.  A key point to their flimsy and spurious argument is that the nurses don't even start work until 8:00 and that they never book appointments before 8.  I remain unconvinced and continue to research my defense and search for the real killer.

Alex was not impressed.

So we waited around for a while and things got underway around 8, vitals, weight, height, blood work. 

Then we waited some more and it was not until about 10:15 when Alex got his lumbar punture followed by a shot of vincristine.  Yum.

Then we waited for the  Respiratory Technician to answer his page.  Once a month Alex gets a drug called Pentamidine.  This is used as a prophylactic in chemotherapy patients to prevent them from getting a particularly nasty type of pneumonia called pneumocyctis pneumonia or PCP.  You don't want to get that.  The drug is inhaled.  They hook up a ventilator type thing, I don't know much about bongs but same principal I guess, and you breathe the stuff in through a tube, takes fifteen or twenty minutes, depending on how fast you breathe I guess and on how often you stop.  It apparently has a nasty taste.  Alex had been looking forward to this for days.  Not!

Turns out the RT's pager was broken and he didn't realize it.  Just thought he was having a quiet day.  Anyway he got there eventually, nice guy, they are all so good at BCCH, and Alex inhaled his way through the stuff.  Done for another month.

I think we were home by 1:30 or so.  Another day at the office.  

Alex ate a bit and drank a bit and was happy to be home.
Congratulations Miles!

Miles passed his drivers test yesterday - well done!



The rest of us might be staying off the roads for a bit ...  kidding

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Thank You Blood & Platelet Donors!

Our friend Neil sent this photo along.  Thank you Neil and thanks to those of you have donated blood or platelets.

Grandma P has been hard at work recruiting donors in the Kingston area - thank you all.

All leukemia patients need blood transfusions during treatment, and often platelets which are harder to come by, so this  really a great way to help.



"This smile and donation is for Alex!"  - Neil

Monday, September 13, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNTHIA!

Couldn't do this without you.