First pedicure

Catherine sat on the sofa all day today: she is still uncomfortable from the insertion of the portacath. She wasn't particularly interested in doing anything apart from eating or watching CBeebies. Her mood has also been very up and down and she is a bit scared of her portacath at the moment. She doesn't want Mark and I to look at it, and she only let me see it briefly when I changed her out of her pyjamas. She didn't even really want me to read her a story today, but she did enjoy having a chat with me.

At about lunchtime I had a moment of inspiration and remembered that her friend Milly at the hospital had her toenails painted pink. At the time, she had quite liked it, so I asked if she fancied having her toenails decorated too? 'Yes please!' she said excitedly. So Catherine had her first pedicure today and now has painted toenails! This made her smile and giggle lots and she enjoyed how the nailpolish felt cold and tickled as I applied it to her tiny toenails. Her feet looked so cute. I also ended up having to have my toenails painted the same colour although her feet ended up looking much nicer than mine...

We also had a bit of a sing-song. I played some nursery rhymes on my tenor recorder and Catherine sang along in full voice. She had an attempt at 'dancing' which consisted of Catherine going and standing in the middle of the room before sitting back down again. (Anyone who knows Catherine knows how energetic she normally is, so it has been sad to see her so weary). She wasn't too bothered, though, and instead had a go at playing her keyboard.

At the moment, it is pretty much around the clock care where Catherine is concerned, and we are up during the night either to comfort or feed her. It is almost like going back to the newborn stage but with a child who is able to talk and communicate with you. Mark and I are taking turns to do the nights.

Tomorrow we are going back to the hospital for two more chemotherapy drugs; one IV and one intermuscular injection. Catherine is very worried about them taking the 'wiggly' off her portacath, so please pray for peace for her tomorrow as she is likely to be feeling anxious. Please also pray that we will be able to help ease her fears and that all goes smoothly. And please also pray that God will complete his healing work in Catherine: He has already done so much, and answered so many prayers.