Still in hospital

We are still in hospital. We cannot go home until Catherine's neutrophil count increases to a level where she can fight the temperature. She had her blood transfusion today and stunned the nurses by running down the corridor to the toilet and back! But she is still not well enough to come home. We still do not know the results of the blood analysis, which means we do not know the cause of the infection.

Today, a little boy spotted Catherine and came over to ask her to play. I explained that Catherine had germs and had to be in a room on her own. The boy piped up 'he doesn't want to play with me, isn't it?' and then wagged his finger at Catherine and shouted 'You been eating loads of RUBBISH, you have. That's why you've got germs'. He turned to go and then came back, wagged his finger again and added, 'You been eating burgers and stuff, innit?' before going back to the ward. Catherine stood there looking slightly stunned and said 'Mummy, what's wrong wiv dat little boy?'. Children can be so funny together. It's a shame they are all poorly.

Please pray that Catherine's bone marrow produces more neutrophils and that she will be well enough tomorrow to go home. If her blood results tomorrow show she has enough neutrophils she will be able to leave hospital. If not, we will have to stay in hospital until her body has made the required amount.

Catherine is now too full of energy, and too bored, to stay confined to a small room!

'I would really like to go home at some point'

We are still in hospital. Catherine is feeling much better in herself but she still has a temperature so we cannot leave the hospital until Monday at the earliest. However, earlier this evening the thermometer said Catherine had a temperature of 38.9 even though she was not flushed or extremely hot. After further investigation the nurses found that the thermometer was not working correctly and her temperature was only 37! We are now not quite sure what temperature she is, but we will still have to stay in hospital until her temperature settles.

We still do not know what has caused the infection but thankfully her neutrophils (the part of the blood that fights infection) are now going up.

Her haemoglobin levels have taken a big hit and have gone down from 9.2 - 7.8 in the last few days. This means she will need a blood transfusion tomorrow. She is also receiving a potassium supplement, as they found that the levels of potassium in her blood were down. Catherine liked this one the first time she had it, as it was bright girly pink medicine. The second time, though, we needed to bribe her with a fruit pastille as it tasted so foul the first time. Poor thing.

The doctor thought Catherine was really sweet today when she said, 'I would really like to go home at some point'. She told her she thought it was a very grown up thing to say. Catherine felt shy that she had been overheard!

Tomorrow when she has her blood transfusion her energy levels will most likely increase dramatically. Usually this would be fine, but in isolation in a small room we imagine she will be climbing the walls when she gets some new found energy!

Please pray that the infection is quickly resolved and that she is well enough to leave the hospital in the next couple of days. She really wants to go home, and whilst we have been coping with DVD's and story books, she will REALLY want to go home after the blood transfusion.

Asleep in hospital

Catherine has steadily improved today and, thanks to Calpol, her temperature is now steady and down to 36.4. We are waiting for the results of her blood test to find out what sort of infection she has. At the moment, they think it is most likely to be a virus, which means we can leave hospital on Saturday. If it were a bacterial infection we would possibly be in hospital longer, but it all depends on how she responds to the antibiotics. She still has absolutely no neutrophils, but hopefully these will start to edge up again in the next few days.

Catherine is currently fast asleep, but will be woken through the night for her various medicines and monitoring.

Please pray the infection is resolved quickly and that Catherine continues to take everything in her stride. Thankyou.

This morning, Catherine still has a high temperature and the doctors found no sign of a chest infection or pneumonia on the X-Ray. We will probably move wards later today.

Catherine is in hospital

Catherine is in hospital with an infection. Her temperature went from 36.7 - 38.2 in an hour, and by the time we got to hospital half-an-hour later, her temperature was 39.7. I thought it was a huge jump in such a short space of time.

Doctors are currently unsure what is causing the infection, although they think it may be a chest infection as she has had a bad cough for a couple of days. We are awaiting the results of her chest X-Ray. They are looking to rule out pneumonia.

She is currently being treated with two wide-ranging antibiotics through her portacath. Her bloods show that she definitely has an infection and they are sending her blood for further tests to try and find out the specific cause of the infection.

She is feeling quite miserable and is not happy about having to stay in hospital, but she is being very stoic as usual.

Once we have established the cause of the infection, I will let you know.

Immunity Zero - please pray

For the first time in her treatment, Catherine has absolutely no neutrophils. These are the part of the blood that fights infection. It was a bit nerve racking hearing the news today, as she has always had a few neutrophils, even when she was immuno-suppressed earlier in her treatment. She already has a cold, and the hospital suggests that the cold is using whatever netrophils were in her blood stream since her last blood test.

We really need prayers now against infection. The greatest risk of infection for immuno-suppressed patients actually comes from usually harmless bacteria in their own bodies, so please also pray that she doesn't infect herself! So far, she has had no infections, so please keep praying that nothing else hits her system at this point.

At the moment, we have not been told to keep her away from nursery. If this changes, we will obviously keep her at home.

Thankyou for continuing to support our little girl.

Chemo and crackers!

Catherine's immune system has taken a bit of a hit again from the chemotherapy, so the hospital has advised we stop her chemotherapy until Tuesday to give her body a chance to recover. She is currently on three main drugs: methotrexate, vincristine and mercaptapurine. She is also taking the steroid again until Tuesday, so she has been a bit grumpy and is quite sleepless at night. Her appetite is also increasing, but we hope that it will not become too extreme in the few days she needs to take this drug.

We have been told that we will need to start the intensive chemotherapy block in the days running up to Christmas. However, we should have a break from hospital visits from 19th - 29th December, so we can have a Christmas at home. Catherine is very excited about Christmas. She is very funny because all she really wants is a spotty scarf which we have ordered! She also wants a Playdoh set which we have bought already, but otherwise she is not fussed. She would rather make all the Christmas crafts instead. We are making Christmas crackers at the moment, and she enjoys colouring in the pictures.

Please pray that she continues to have the treatment without side effects or infections. Thankyou.