Quick Update

We've had a long day in hospital today so this will be a quick update as I know people will be wondering how it went.

Basically, Oscar had a lumber puncture today and a blood transfusion. His haemoglobin was only just below the minimum before transfusion but we opted to give it to him today so he can feel good over the weekend. He took a long time coming out of the anaesthetic today but seemed fairly happy tonight.

On Monday, if his blood results are sufficient, he will have a full day of chemo and a 6 hour drip of fluids. If his blood results are not what they require he will come home and go back again on Thursday to see if he is ready to have the chemo and drip then. This will complete the induction phase of his therapy.

After that, he has two weeks off treatement to allow his white cell count to come up. Then he will have a bone marrow biopsy. This is the really important one they send off to the United States to confirm what level of risk he is and therefore which protocol of treatment he will receive. We are hoping that he is in the standard risk category with the least intensive treatment.

Once he has had the bone marrow biopsy he starts the next phase of treatment which involves a 3-5 day stay in hospital every second week for two months. The length of each stay will depend on how quickly his kidneys are able to excrete the excess fluids from the treatment. This will be a true test of Oscar's kidneys due to his kidney reflux condition. We are hoping he doesn't have to stay longer than the average of 4 days.

Please keep sending those positive thoughts and prayers toward Oscar's greatest good in this journey he is taking.

Aside from that, we have also been busy with a visit this afternoon from Sydney In Home Child Care. This is a service offered to families with a child with a life threatening illness and allows the siblings to have child care in the home (because going to a child care centre is not appropriate due to the germs the sibling will bring home). We have been approved 50 hours a week of care by centrelink and are waiting to meet a carer tomorrow. We are hoping she is the perfect match for our family, especially with all this hospital time coming up. Auden will be needing some special attention too during this time so please send him some positive vibes that his carer and his experiences during this time are full of love and light.

We will also be needing help from family and friends, particularly during hospital stays but I will explain more about that when it gets closer.

I have to go eat and sleep now so please forgive me if you are waiting on a phone call. I will endeavour to catch up when I can. Just know that all is well and thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.