Out to play!

Catherine spent most of the day playing with her friends and has enjoyed doing some feet and hand paintings in red, pink and yellow paint! Even though she has a low immune system, the hospital encourages us to continue to send her to nursery if she feels well enough. Mainly it is about risk management, and not putting Catherine in situations of high risk with regards to catching infections. The nursery here is quite a contained environment and the nursery leaders know how to care for her and what precautions to take. The biggest risks are closed-in public places and public transport etc

Catherine is much more mobile at the moment and has not been in any pain at all today. Now that the steroids are reducing, we are seeing much more of the old Catherine! She has been quite playful and cheerful today, has not needed a nap, and has practically abandoned the pushchair in favour of walking, albeit slowly! She gets annoyed at her tummy being quite so big, but she is also starting to eat less now and didn't need to snack at all last night. She still worries about her portacath and gets nervous if people try and cuddle her, but overall she has had a good day today. We also spent time today spelling words with her letter magnets. She loves doing this, and particularly enjoys spelling her name and the names of her friends and family.

Tomorrow Catherine will be having another blood test and a 'wiggly' placed in her portacath in preparation for the procedure on Thursday. On Thursday the hospital will be giving her preventative chemotherapy, called intrathecal chemotherapy. She has had this previously and it is given under general anaesthetic. Please pray that this procedure goes well and has the desired effect. Please also pray for the medical staff performing the procedure. We will also be seeing the Consultant on Thursday which, when I have time to think about it, is a bit nerve racking, so please pray for this and that Catherine's results are good.