Hi and thank you for taking the time to read the "Barratts Adventures in Oz!"blog. I hope that this blog will keep you updated on what we're up to in Oz and the development of Charlie and his Cancer treatment. As you may know, we set out on this adventure back in January 2011 feeling a mixture of apprehension, worry, guilt (for leaving family and friends "behind") but most of all excitment at the thought of trying something new, in a country renowned for being family orientated with the lifestyle to go with it-just up mine and Pauls street.
So after weeks of agonising as to whether it was the right thing to do, and to most peoples shock (mainly about me deciding to go as I'm known for being a homebird), we decided to give this "adventure" a go-afterall, what did we have to lose?!
So we said our farewells and off we went on out first major flight with the 2 boys. The first 3 weeks were very exciting and we jumped at any opportunity given to socialise. That week, Charlie began to show signs of what we thought was teething. On a day out at the beach a few days later, he continued to show signs of a high temperature and we decided to take him to see the GP as his temperature just wouldnt go down. The GP checked him out and sent us to the local hospital just to get him looked at "though its probably a virus",just as we'd expected. A 6 hour wait and a blood test later and we were called into the staff room. Thomas was entertained by 2 of the nurses and was totally oblivious to what was going on and I still didnt think anything was the matter (maybe in hindsight I should've realised that being taken to the staff quarters wasnt the norm)!
This was the moment our life was to be put on hold and we were told that Charlies blood counts were so low that it was highly likely that he had Leukemia. Paul and me were in shock and began to cry.The poor nurse who was looking after us also cried! The worst,unimaginable thoughts ran through my head and the same for Paul,Thomas all the while still oblivious!I called my mum straight away as I needed some comfort.It just didnt feel real,this kind of thing never happens to you its always someone else.God knows what she went through being told your grandson has leukemia, feeling helpless,12,000 miles away. Anyway, Charlie and me were transferred to the Royal Childrens Hosptial in Brisbane where we were told we would meet our consultant Dr Morag. I had visions of a butch Australian woman (just like the Morag I knew from Home and Away)! She was, in contrast, a lovely Scottish lady who was very compassionate and understanding towards what we were experiencing. Paul and Tom arrived an hour later and we were then told Charlie definitely had cancer and he needed to start Chemo the following day and have (one of many) lumbar punctures/spinal taps. She told us it would be 3 years of chemotherapy treatment. I was shocked-he would be Thomas's age by the time it was over!
After the drugs kicked in we had a very different child to the Charlie we knew. He was withdrawn, grumpy,didnt talk, lost interest in toys,couldn't walk,ate constantly,was awake most of the night (and day),and had the worst tantrums imaginable. This in turn had an effect on Tom and his behaviour. He became very agressive one minute hitting me, then tearful the next,telling me how much he loved me. It was apparant that he needed stability so our main issue was finding a school and a house to settle him in where we could get to the hospital easily too as this was now to be our second home.
Tom settled well and has made lovely friends in a lovely neighbourhood. Charlies results came back as promising and things began to improve and we started doing normal family things again with trips to the beach,parks,zoo, circus etc. We had a lovely 2 week visit from my brother and his girlfriend last month and the boys absolutely loved spending time with them. Charlies next treatment stage started 3 weeks ago and it has really effected him again. His white blood (infection fighting ones) counts are really low and hes been on steroids again. He has been in bed/sofa for the past week (though he got up briefly to make my friend Sharron a burger on his toy bbq today then slumped again). Hes had a few screaming tantrums and said hes in pain quite a few times so the morphine has been administered (reluctantly). His hair is now starting to come out in clumps and is itching so I will need to take him to get it cut next week. Hopefully once the steroids wear off, Charlie will be up on his feet again, causing havoc with his brother once more-just the way we want it!
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