Off duty

I am officially off-duty! Catherine's blood counts are now good (HB 10.6, Platelets 530) and her neutrophils are back up to 2.0 which means my duties as craft co-ordinator, homeschooler and general playmate are no longer required during the day. Catherine has gone back to nursery yesterday afternoon, and is in the best physical shape I have seen her in for a long while.

I feel very successful, though, because despite her tendency to be a social animal and miss her friends, she said yesterday that she didn't want to go to nursery because she had enjoyed being with me (sorry Nikki, but I feel so pleased that all my efforts have managed to entertain her!). We have done heaps of things together; Cath has been painting, doing crafts and collages, word games, number games, imaginary playtime and reading. She is heaps of fun.

Catherine's hair is growing back beautifully and she is energetic, vibrant and full of giggles. Her mother, on the other hand, is now worn out and has been reduced to an afternoon nap! That proves I should never be off duty - it is bad for me! Neither Mark or I have had the chance to catch up yet on the missing sleep from last week, so really I should not be surprised that I'm in need of forty winks. We also have a lot of work on at the moment.

It seemed a shame to be restarting Catherine's oral chemotherapy again last night, but the good news is that the doctors have reduced her dose, which means that we may possibly avoid another neutrophil crisis. They are now trying to balance the dose to keep her neutrophils within 0.75 and 1.75.

Please pray that Catherine remains well for her birthday party on Saturday and that they manage to balance her chemotherapy. Also please pray for renewed energy for her parents. Thankyou.