A week of highs and lows...

Been a bit of a hectic week since I last updated everyone!  Izzie (Oscar's little sister) has been sick, keeping us up at night and throwing spectacular tantrums!  She is well now, but we're hoping Oscar hasn't picked up her sore throat, it's been so difficult to keep them apart and stop them sharing juice cups and dummies (as they like to do!).  Everyday bugs are so much more dangerous for kids like Oscar.

Oscar had a brilliant day on Sunday, wrapped up like he was heading to the North Pole, he went outside and drove around on his motorbike, and pottered around with his Daddy, spending a lot of time doing not very much!  He even asked for his trampoline to be brought out of the garage, and did his best to bounce on it!  He was so happy, and so were we, it was like having our old happy go lucky little man back.  Here he is with Izzie on Sunday evening, painting, one of their favourite activities...

On Monday night he suddenly went downhill, the effects of the chemo hitting him like a steam train.  Then on Tuesday he lay about most of the day, had no energy, wasn't eating, and throwing up.  Poor Oscar, it's heartbreaking to see him go through all this each time.  Wednesday was a better day, he was quiet (as you all know isn't like Oscar!), but he went to the cinema with me and Granny Susie to see Puss in Boots!  He loved it, and happily sat eating his "popcorns" most of the way through it.  We phoned ahead to make sure there would be few people around, and made sure we sat on our own in a pretty much empty screen!  We even managed to escort him in and out of a shop to get new shoes, making sure he didn't come in to contact with anyone else.

Today was the worst day of this week so far, he has no energy, very poor appetite, and the doctors said he looks like he is "brewing something".  We were up quite a bit during last night with him, he had a nosebleed which lasted continuously for 1hour 20mins.  After that I checked on him every few hours, this is a sign his platelets are low and we're always so worried about him having a major bleed during the night.  Went to hospital this morning to get his bloods checked, his platelets were only 1 (normal is 150-400)!!!!  Frightening.  Didn't get home until 6.30pm, with all the delays getting platelets sent over to ward for him etc.  Please continue to donate blood everyone, still a major on-going shortage here.

Chemo 6 is due to start on Sunday, but with the bed crisis in the ward (8 beds serving all children with cancer and blood disorders in Northern Ireland), it may not happen on time.  We think this may be the start of our next major campaign...