Me and Elijah, now 2.
"No more, Chemo!" was chanted as we pulled out of the hospital car park last Wednesday (Jan, 12th) and headed straight for Movenpick, Mission Bay, as a celebratory ice-cream was in order! As I licked up that maple walnutty goodness the sense of relief I had first felt as I walked out of the doctor's room that day came and settled around me peacefully and I savoured the sweet moment.
Had we completed one more six weekly treatment we would have been on chemo one year in total but our 18 month treatment plan had been stretched out due to low blood counts and holiday time. We were only half way through the treatment plan and potentially looking at another year of treatment! A little discouraging to say the least.
After Elijah's allergic reaction to the carboplatin he was put onto two new drugs that are ultimately more toxic than the other ones and needed more hydration which combined with his diabetes insipidus (the body's inability to control it's own fluid balance,) becomes incredibly complicated. By the time we had made arrangements to talk with the oncologist about the pros and cons of stopping chemo we had already made up our minds. Thankfully our Doctor was supportive and didn't have any "strong feelings" about continuing treatment, since it had never been promised to cure Elijah. It's funny how you get used to having a sick child and how it just becomes normal for you but to get used to seeing your own child suffering it must mean your child's suffered enough! And enough is enough!
Of course the future remains just as uncertain as ever and re-visiting chemo in the future is always an option but we'll just deal with those things as it happens and try to make the most of this remission.
I have also decided to stop writing on the blog at this stage. As much as I enjoy writing I don't feel I'm able to keep the blog updated enough to make it worth it for you guys. So thank you all very much for reading. I may come back to it one day but in the mean time please feel free to email me at eleanor_barnard@hotmail.com for a progress report.
Oh yeah and Elijah's been doing really well lately. Making some slow and steady improvements including sleeping through the night! The other children keep things interesting and are great with Elijah.
Thanks again for reading.
Love from the 'Barnyards'
