Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Good evening all,
I'm typing this at around 8.00pm and I've just realised somehow the timing that is going to the blog is not right. I wondered why people thought I was having a nanny nap yesterday evening when in fact it was around 4pm!

Before I forget Happy Birthday to Nev - Murray has just joined Amy at our brother-in-laws place for his birthday.

Luke is doing okay all things considering. He had a bit of sleep last night. Normal taking of blood and pain relief/anti nausea that they give him at 8am and 8pm.
This morning blood levels better.
Haemaglobin 89 / Platelets 36 (due to all the transfusions)
White Cell Count 1.3 and Neutrophils .57

The neutrophils are the ones that kill fungi and bacteria. When you undergo chemo you neutrophils do drop and this means you are susceptible to infection normally 7 - 9 days after chemo for a period of 2-3 days. Unfortunately as Luke's chemo is going for a 4 week period his neutrophils will be low basically for the whole time. He will be what they call neutropenic.What does that mean? Well it means that Luke is still able to have visitors during this period however extra special precautions need to be taken. (If anyone would like to visit it might be best if you contact us via either my or Luke's mobile - please don't take it personally if we say it's probably not a good idea as we will need to monitor him by the day - he does enjoy the text messages so you can keep them coming any time).
It is vital for his treatment that anyone who thinks they have a sniffle/cough/cold/diarrhoea stays away until they are better. Everyone needs to wash their hands with the handwash hanging on the doors in the wards before and after entering his room. Luke will also go onto a special neutropenic diet. This means the foods to avoid are things such as soft cheeses, cold meat/poultry/fish/eggs (including ham and sausages), undercooked meats, salad (including pasta/rice salads), raw and stir fried vegetables, unpeeled fruits and tap water. Obviously this is to avoid the risk of bugs and infection in the foods.

As Luke has been in bed over the weekend getting blood transfusions he is very weak and stiff from being in the one position. The nurses are saying he has to get moving. Previously he was only walking a few steps away to the toilet and back into bed. So today Grandma and Granddad brought in lunch for Murray and I (Luke was fasting again for a test in the afternoon) so he walked out into the courtyard with a mask on and sat with us. The courtyard is right near the designated patient smoking area and unfortunately the smokers tend to creep over into the courtyard so it can make for an unpleasant experience for us non smokers.

Luke started chemo this afternoon around 3pm. The treatment today was 2 different drugs through his central line - Vincristine and Daunorubicin. All very painless while being administered.
He was due to get a lumbar puncture done at 4pm (which is why he had been fasting all day) but it turned into about 5.30pm. The procedure went well and he had some more chemo into the spinal fluid.
Unfortunately at about 7pm he started getting a temperature 38 degrees and his pulse was a bit high. So they are currently taking blood cultures to check for infection and giving him antibiotics. (It's now 8.30pm)
Luke is really quite weak. He was 89kg when we came in on Monday last week and his weight was 81kg today. So quite a dramatic weight loss program he's signed up for!!!
Hopefully the steroids will help him gain the weight back.

I think I've typed more than enough for today. I'm about to go and hassle Luke to have some food.