Not much to report except that SARAH WALKED TO HER FRIENDS HOUSE UP THE ROAD WITH NO CRUTCHES YESTERDAY!!!! OK, I held her hand, and she took loads of persuading, but she did it! She even managed to do proper walking steps, NOT big old limping steps, but PROPER steps.I was hoping this was the start of throwing thoses crutches away, but they have become so much part of her life, I think it will be as hard as giving up smoking! They are now more of a habit - she can walk without them, but doesn't want to-she feels safe with them, feels steady on them, and can move so much more quickly with them, that she just NEEDS them.........for now anyway.They are sort of welded to her hands!!When she walks, I have to remind her to walk slowly - then she actually steps as she should, and follows through with her other foot. Then its not a limp, but a step. When she rushes, she stomps and walks with a big jolt of the hip, which really isn't good. Still, it was a start, and it was great to see her walking up the road in the sunshine. As soon as she saw her friend from next door, she let go of my hand and pretended to do it by herself too - she obviously wants to show everyone she is almost back to normal!
Wednesday night is swimming gala, with Sarah in the butterfly race for the individual race and the medley relay - she's a bit embarassed that she won't be able to dive, and thinks everyone will be looking at her, but good for her she's even entered - and in the most difficult race of them all!!She's only doing it because no one else wanted to do butterfly! Not bad for a girl who only 14 weeks ago was till having chemotherapy!! I'm so proud of her I could burst!! I almost want to announce to everyone what she has been through before she starts, so they are as proud of her as I am, but that just wouldn't do!! Even if she comes last, I will give her the biggest cheer I can and wipe a small tear of pride away. This time last year she was swimming in the year 6 gala, with a sore leg, but still winning her race.How things have changed.Little did we know what was in store. It has come to the time, this time last year when things were being investigated. I find myself saying daily 'This time last year you were going for your first x-ray' and ' this time last year was when you fell over at the Middlesex Mini hockey tournament and screamed the place down'. Next week it will be the anniversary of her biopsy, and 7th April will be 1 year to the day when she was diagnosed with the 'BIG C'.I hope we have many, many more anniversaries like this, and all of then uneventful and not even worth talking about!.
On another note-God bless Jade Goody-not so lucky but just as brave. Sleep peacefully when its your time to go.xx
Monday, 16 March 2009
Monday, 9 March 2009
Monday 9th March 2009
Well, we can relax now - my breathe was held for 5 days while we went to our first appointment post chemo with Sarahs surgeon last Thursday, followed by our second clinic appointment with her consultant today.
Thursday, we went up to the clinic in Bolsover Street, expecting to see the fabulous Mr Pollock, but he was away. We saw some doctor in his team who was Greek, and who's name ended in 'opoulos'!!! We had to wait for x-rays for ages, as the room was so full, but had a full leg x-ray and a chest x-ray (that, it turns out, we weren't supposed to have !!). As I wasn't expecting the chest x-ray, I started hyperventilating a bit while we waited for the doctor to have a look at it. I really wasn't prepared at all! He examined Sarah and watched her faltering steps, and although her foot is turned out at a funny angle, he thinks it is just muscular, and it will improve on its own.He then had a look at the chest x-ray and said it looked OK. He would send the x-rays over to UCH so they had them on file (so I held my breathe a little while longer over the weekend, incase they spotted something this doctor didn't.)I nearly lost it on our way home - relief that he thought the x-rays were OK, mixed with a bit of fear still that they might not be as good as he thought. Why is this happening to my beautiful daughter? The most we should be worried about is too much make up and unsuitably short skirts, but to be honest, she could get away with murder at the moment as long as she's here with us and healthy! 'Life's a bitch and then you die' has never been more true.Thought the bad times were over, but every 2 months, they will be back to bite us on the bum, and remind us that life is precious, and we are to savour every moment.
Today, we set off back to UCH for our 2 monthly appointment with Sarahs consultant. We didn't get to see Maria this time (obviously, now she's finished treatment, she's not high on the priority list any more) but saw Yasmin, a lovely doctor who cared for Sarah on the ward for many chemo cycles. She asked how Sarah was doing, watched her walking, examined her, tickled her tummy by pressing it while examining her, and just generally wanted to know how she was.It all seemed to go well, they were very pleased with her progress, and all was well except her weight! Her challenge is NOT to put on any more by the next appointment. Sarah can't understand why she is putting on weight - she's gone from sitting in hospital and doing absolutely nothing, being pushed around in a wheelchair all day long, to not using a wheelchair for 3 months, walking everywhere, swimming 30-40 lengths once, and sometimes twice a week, and generally being active again, and still she has gained 4 kilos since January!! I try and get her to eat properly-she gets fruit in her lunch and no chocolate, but when we're not around, she must snack - short of locking all the food in a safe, and getting her to work out every night, I'm not sure what I can do to help her, anymore than I am doing now. Lets hope she grows 6 inches, and then it won't look so bad!!!Unfortunately, she's built like me, and she only has to look at a bar of chocolate, and she gains 2 pounds!!
But, apart from that, everything is fine this time around.No scares on the x-rays, no horrible news at the appointment, and we can all relax again until 11th May, when she has her next chest x-ray - and 8th June when she has the next leg x-ray. Fingers crossed everything will be OK then too.In the meantime, we will continue to spoil Sarah, let her get away with all sorts of stuff that Katie never got away with, and pray to God that everything will be alright forever.
Thursday, we went up to the clinic in Bolsover Street, expecting to see the fabulous Mr Pollock, but he was away. We saw some doctor in his team who was Greek, and who's name ended in 'opoulos'!!! We had to wait for x-rays for ages, as the room was so full, but had a full leg x-ray and a chest x-ray (that, it turns out, we weren't supposed to have !!). As I wasn't expecting the chest x-ray, I started hyperventilating a bit while we waited for the doctor to have a look at it. I really wasn't prepared at all! He examined Sarah and watched her faltering steps, and although her foot is turned out at a funny angle, he thinks it is just muscular, and it will improve on its own.He then had a look at the chest x-ray and said it looked OK. He would send the x-rays over to UCH so they had them on file (so I held my breathe a little while longer over the weekend, incase they spotted something this doctor didn't.)I nearly lost it on our way home - relief that he thought the x-rays were OK, mixed with a bit of fear still that they might not be as good as he thought. Why is this happening to my beautiful daughter? The most we should be worried about is too much make up and unsuitably short skirts, but to be honest, she could get away with murder at the moment as long as she's here with us and healthy! 'Life's a bitch and then you die' has never been more true.Thought the bad times were over, but every 2 months, they will be back to bite us on the bum, and remind us that life is precious, and we are to savour every moment.
Today, we set off back to UCH for our 2 monthly appointment with Sarahs consultant. We didn't get to see Maria this time (obviously, now she's finished treatment, she's not high on the priority list any more) but saw Yasmin, a lovely doctor who cared for Sarah on the ward for many chemo cycles. She asked how Sarah was doing, watched her walking, examined her, tickled her tummy by pressing it while examining her, and just generally wanted to know how she was.It all seemed to go well, they were very pleased with her progress, and all was well except her weight! Her challenge is NOT to put on any more by the next appointment. Sarah can't understand why she is putting on weight - she's gone from sitting in hospital and doing absolutely nothing, being pushed around in a wheelchair all day long, to not using a wheelchair for 3 months, walking everywhere, swimming 30-40 lengths once, and sometimes twice a week, and generally being active again, and still she has gained 4 kilos since January!! I try and get her to eat properly-she gets fruit in her lunch and no chocolate, but when we're not around, she must snack - short of locking all the food in a safe, and getting her to work out every night, I'm not sure what I can do to help her, anymore than I am doing now. Lets hope she grows 6 inches, and then it won't look so bad!!!Unfortunately, she's built like me, and she only has to look at a bar of chocolate, and she gains 2 pounds!!
But, apart from that, everything is fine this time around.No scares on the x-rays, no horrible news at the appointment, and we can all relax again until 11th May, when she has her next chest x-ray - and 8th June when she has the next leg x-ray. Fingers crossed everything will be OK then too.In the meantime, we will continue to spoil Sarah, let her get away with all sorts of stuff that Katie never got away with, and pray to God that everything will be alright forever.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Thursday 19th February 2009
Let me introduce you to Fudge! It was Sarah's 12th birthday yesterday and she got the hamster from Nanny and Grandad(thanks!) We picked him up on Sunday, Sarah named him Fudge because of his colour, but when we got him home we noticed he only had one ear!! I have therefore re-named him Vincent Van Fudge(as in Van Gogh) but Fudge has sort of stuck!!He is really sweet, but because he nipped Katie and I when he was being curious on Sunday when he was first held, Sarah won't hold him! He didn't hurt me, and he hasn't bitten anyone since but she's now scared! She lets him run around on her bed, but I have to be there to catch him if he gets a bit lively!!He keeps us up all night going round in his wheel - I have to take the wheel out of his cage when we go to bed or it squeeks away at 1 in the morning!!
She also got a new PINK mobile phone from us for her birthday and LOADS of money - we went for breakfast at Giraffe-full English and a fruit smoothie, YUM!! and then we went to the cinema to see the new Disney film Bolt in 3D-it was great and quite funny actually, but I would like to see an adult film for a change-I am Disney'd out!!!Anyway, half term has passed uneventfully, with Katie home, and sleeping mostly,but the weekend is a big one for her, with the coach of Katie's prospective University hockey team coming over from America to see her play to see if she will offer her a scholarship to go to North Carolina University-aaaagggghhhhh!!!I'm nervous for her, but I'm sure she will be fine! We are going out to dinner (chinese-mmmmmmm) on Saturday night so we need to be on our best behaviour!
Clinic with Maria is getting nearer(9th March) and now we have an appointment with Mr Pollock, Sarah's surgeon, on 5th March - don't like these appointments, and my breath will be held until we get out with the all clear for another 2 months. I'm sure it gets easier as time passes, but at the moment it is hell waiting for the date to come.I keep telling myself it will be OK - she has no pain, she says she feels fine, nothing hurts, but she felt fine last time. Fingers crossed all will be OK.
She also got a new PINK mobile phone from us for her birthday and LOADS of money - we went for breakfast at Giraffe-full English and a fruit smoothie, YUM!! and then we went to the cinema to see the new Disney film Bolt in 3D-it was great and quite funny actually, but I would like to see an adult film for a change-I am Disney'd out!!!Anyway, half term has passed uneventfully, with Katie home, and sleeping mostly,but the weekend is a big one for her, with the coach of Katie's prospective University hockey team coming over from America to see her play to see if she will offer her a scholarship to go to North Carolina University-aaaagggghhhhh!!!I'm nervous for her, but I'm sure she will be fine! We are going out to dinner (chinese-mmmmmmm) on Saturday night so we need to be on our best behaviour!
Clinic with Maria is getting nearer(9th March) and now we have an appointment with Mr Pollock, Sarah's surgeon, on 5th March - don't like these appointments, and my breath will be held until we get out with the all clear for another 2 months. I'm sure it gets easier as time passes, but at the moment it is hell waiting for the date to come.I keep telling myself it will be OK - she has no pain, she says she feels fine, nothing hurts, but she felt fine last time. Fingers crossed all will be OK.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Race for Life - 28th June 2009
Hi everyone,
Sarah and I have signed up to do the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research on 28th June 2009 at Old Deer Park!! I have persuaded Sarah that by then she will be able to walk 5km, and she is going to give it a try!! If you want to sponsor me, click on the link below, and give generously!! Once I have raised my amount I will change the link to Sarahs so she can raise the same or more!!!!
Happy clicking, and thank you in advance!!
Sarah and I have signed up to do the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research on 28th June 2009 at Old Deer Park!! I have persuaded Sarah that by then she will be able to walk 5km, and she is going to give it a try!! If you want to sponsor me, click on the link below, and give generously!! Once I have raised my amount I will change the link to Sarahs so she can raise the same or more!!!!
Happy clicking, and thank you in advance!!
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Wednesday 11th February 2009
What a great party we had!!! Still recovering, hence the delay in posting this blog!!
Spent all day Thursday and Friday last week preparing the house/putting up the marquee/going shopping, all in the freezing cold, and praying it wouldn't snow again! It was touch and go, we did have about 1 cm of snow overnight on Thursday so we woke up to the garden all being white again, but it melted just in time.Managed to get the patio heater inside the marquee, and although it was plastic, it didn't melt and warmed it up quite nicely!!!
Party got going around 7pm, and we finally went to bed at 2.45am, after a great night dancing, chatting and boozing (and that was just the kids.......!!) Sarah had a good time, and got LOADS of presents!!! She had 26 friends, all in fancy dress - great!! Total attendance - 75 people - no wonder I was stressed!! We are finally slowly getting the house back to normal, although Sarah is still grouchy as she is still a bit tired! So am I!! One good thing - we have enough booze left over to have another party! Might have to have a summer barbecue......if we ever get a summer ever again!
Spent all day Thursday and Friday last week preparing the house/putting up the marquee/going shopping, all in the freezing cold, and praying it wouldn't snow again! It was touch and go, we did have about 1 cm of snow overnight on Thursday so we woke up to the garden all being white again, but it melted just in time.Managed to get the patio heater inside the marquee, and although it was plastic, it didn't melt and warmed it up quite nicely!!!
Party got going around 7pm, and we finally went to bed at 2.45am, after a great night dancing, chatting and boozing (and that was just the kids.......!!) Sarah had a good time, and got LOADS of presents!!! She had 26 friends, all in fancy dress - great!! Total attendance - 75 people - no wonder I was stressed!! We are finally slowly getting the house back to normal, although Sarah is still grouchy as she is still a bit tired! So am I!! One good thing - we have enough booze left over to have another party! Might have to have a summer barbecue......if we ever get a summer ever again!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Monday 2nd February
Snow!!! Great excitement, no school (Yippee!!) and even slippery snow drifts didn't stop Sarah going out and enjoying herself today. We set off round the park with the sledge, with the intention of me pulling her round there so she didn't fall over, but it must have been the wrong type of snow because I could hardly move her!! So, not to be daunted, she got up, and walked round there, sticking to the fluffy snowy bits where her crutches were prevented from slipping by the shere volume of snow!! Got to the park and Emily and Sophie, our next door neighbours children, had a great time going up and down the hills on our sledge, and Sarah was wistfully looking on - so she asked for a turn. I was a bit worried about her falling off, so she went half way up the slope, and we pushed gently - and weeeeeeeee!! No accidents, no bruises, and a great time had by all. Glad its all melting now though, or either no one will turn up to the party Saturday as they're snowed in, or everyone will be inside - 75 people will be a bit cramped in my living room............!! More news on the party will follow Sunday - watch this space - if I have the energy to type then!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
