5th Jan 2012 Clinic Visit

We visited clinic on 5th January and Oscar's bloods had gone up. For those interested in the numbers:

Hb: 129
WCC: 4.4 (target on maintenance is between 2 and 3)
Neut: 2.5
Plts: 170

We aren't sure why they went up but have increased his chemo to get them back down towards the desired target. All is well.

We also visited the Paediatric Urologist on 12th Jan, who confirmed that Oscar will need to have a circumcision and a nuclear test to check how his kidneys are doing. Recent studies show that ongoing antibiotic treatment only reduces the incident of urine infection by 6%, whereas circumcision is almost always successful at eliminating them. In the past we did not want to go down this road and perhaps that wrong decision has contributed to his journey so far so we are going to move forward and get it done. There is a 1 in 20 chance that he will need a second operation because his penis may open as a result of the circumcision and this would mean he would wee over the toilet at a funny angle so they would operate to remedy that if it occurred, which we doubt. Finally, he may need another operation down the track, once we have identified if his reflux has fixed itself. If the valve in his urinary system is still not healed they may need to do a further, more invasive surgery to remedy that - again, we will cross that bridge if it presents itself along the pathway that is his journey.

It is an exciting year for Oscar as he starts Pre-School and he will also finish his chemo treatment in about June or July - both important milestones for him. He is certainly growing up by the minute and making a mark for himself in all that he says, does and shares with all of us. Auden is excited that his brother is going to be at Pre-School with him and can't wait to get back there. All in all 2012 is likely to be a fantastic journey for both of them.

I took the boys away for a holiday at a friends house and only just arrived back yesterday and it was a wonderful gift of kindness and generosity of spirit that really helped me and the boys had so much fun playing with the big boys, staying up very late and generally enjoying the freedom of new adventures. Thank you to the special person who made it happen and gave me a feeling of safety and sanctuary when I needed it.

Life is good. May 2012 bring you the healing, love, light and the listening, respectful heart of fellow travellers on this journey of life. We are all human, full of frailty, faults and fears as well as strength, courage and compassion - may we accept this truth, respect our differences, listen to each others stories, hold each others hand and unite in the knowledge that we are all one.

Thanks for checking in on us. x