Finished Intensive Phase of Treatment!!

Oscar has officially finished his intensive phase of treatement. All his blood results show a great recovery so far except his neutrophils are very low (this is due to the fact that he is fighting off a virus Auden picked up at pre-school). Oscar was supposed to start maintenance chemo today but as his neutrophils are low we are delaying it another week.

I will know more about maintenance chemo once we start but basically we will be giving Oscar chemo every day for the next 18 months. It will be in tablet form so we can simply dissolve it in water and not so simply get Oscar to swallow it each day. We will still be visiting clinic weekly to keep track of his blood results and ensure he is on the right dosage and so on.

So we are in a time of transition. Auden is getting used to Pre-School, Oscar is recovering from treatment and adjusting to Auden's absence 2 days a week, Pete has been transferred to a new work site in Zetland and is working longer hours and we are all collectively adjusting to the change from living in 'survival' mode and trying to discover some idea of what a more 'normal' life is like. They say once you finish the intensive treatment you get a chance to stop and really comprehend the situation - which is a good thing - but to go easy on yourself because a lot of emotions may come up. That's what they tell us. We'll let you know how it goes.

In the mean time I would just like to say that we are incredibly grateful for all the love and support you have all sent our way to help us through. We couldn't have done it without all of you and there just simply aren't words enough to say thank you.

And - big cheers for Oscar. We are so proud of him. He has led us all through this journey with his incredible resilience, fiercly strong will and the ability to find joy in every moment of now. We are also very proud of Auden for being so loving and understanding throughout this time - he is wise beyond his years and has made it easier for me than it could have been.

Children are very resilient, always in the moment, not yet socialised to narrow their minds in any way and vastly intelligent, all-knowing little beings. We adults can learn a lot from them.

More updates soon...