Thank you for returning to read the latest installment of my blog. Cataloging the ups and downs of relocating to the other side of the world together with discovering our 2 year old son has been diagnosed with Leukaemia 3 weeks after arriving here in January 2011.
Last week was a tough week in many respects. I was fighting with the dreaded feelings of homesickness,experiencing migraines and all brought on by the stress of knowing Paul and myself had to make the huge decison concerning Charlie's future chemotherapy treatment and which path to take next.
Having no family around to support us makes life out here incredibly hard at times. I was use to living 10 minutes away from family and they would be on hand at the drop of a hat if I really needed them to be. Now though,we have to do things differently. Either just soldier on through it or.....Paul takes a day off work! I was insistant that I would be fine coping with the migraine and taking Thomas to school and looking after Charlie,when I knew full well I should rest. Thankfully Paul took the executive decision to not go into work and took over my childcare duties for the day. Life back home in England seemed so simple whenever this kind of scenario arose. Paul would go to work and I would call on family to help me out with the kids. We sometimes take people and life for granted and this experience has reconfirmed to me to appreciate what we have and not to take things and especially people for granted,ever.
So Tuesday arrived and it was D-day in terms of getting the information to decide which path to take with regards to his treatment. If dealing with the illness wasnt hard enough,we now, as his parents had to make what could potentially be the biggest decision ever-no wonder I had a migraine! We gathered the information and stored it away for reading once we got home.
Charlie meanwhile was undergoing a lumbar puncture,chemotherapy in his spine and then 2 more doses of chemo when he came out from theatre. He was really pumped up this week but hopefully its doing its job. I look at him and don't know where he gets his strength from because if that was me, I wouldn't be coping half as well as he is. Kids are so resilient and he just picks himself up and gets on with playing or fighting with his brother!
Things were a little different this week at the hospital. Charlie has become increasingly anxious about attending his appointments of late, which has been upsetting for all of us but terrifying for him. One of my friends in England had a fantastic idea and she had a bag specially made which is specifically for when we attend the hospital. The bag is beautifully personalised and he gets to choose a treat from it if hes a brave boy (every time he goes to the hospital).It worked wonders last week and the anxiety levels were definitely much lower so fingers crossed!
Once home we read the information relating to the clinical trail versus the standard route. After weighing up the pros and cons of each, it was evident to us that the only path we could choose for Charlie was the standard "arm". We had really wanted to be part of the study, to help future kids diagnosed with this dreadful illness but Charlie is too little and more importantly, too precious for us to risk the side effects and unknown long term damage to the body and mind. We already have to bear in mind that chemotherapy may be helping Charlie now but in the future,long term side effects can be serious and increasing this possibility isnt a chance we want to take.
On a much more positive note,it was Charlie's birthday on Friday and he was so excited to open his presents! He has enjoyed playing with all of the toys in turn and not surprisingly seems to go back to the noisiest ones! I decided that as it was a special day,Thomas could take the day off school to spend with his brother. So off we went to the shops and bought some cupcakes,sorry,buns and took them along to Charlie's playgroup for his little friends. The boys had a fantastic time and Charlie got so excited when all the other children sang Happy Birthday to him. The giddiness was short lived and he soon asked to go home as he was tired.
After a stressful week,we decided that we would go away for a short break and I quickly phoned up and booked somewhere close by with a beach! This was particularly interesting as it was the first time someone couldn't understand my accent and I had to spell everything out twice-aghh!!!
The boys were so excited,too excited in fact at times-you'd think we never took them away! There were storms Saturday morning so we decided to take them to a sealife centre which they loved. The sun soon came out and we had lunch by the coast and then headed to the rooftop pool at the apartment which overlooked the beach,heaven. Thomas practised his swimming strokes and Charlie sat on the side splashing anyone who passed (he was desperate to get in but public pools are a no no for him I'm afraid). We had a stroll along the seafront, and a play on the beach in the evening then the following day we spent it on another beach. It was so relaxing and great to watch the boys digging and splashing about in the sea and sand-not sure who was the biggest kid, them or their dad!
