Wednesday 26th May 2010

Luke had the bone marrow biopsy on Monday and all went smoothly. We probably won't know the results of whether he is still in remission till later in the week/early next week.

Although Luke has been at home since 24 February we have still be classed as an in-patient of ward 14B and fall under OOS (Oncology Outreach service). Therefore we would go into the hospital regularly for chemo treatments and on the days that we didn't need to go into the hospital for treatment, a nurse would come out to our home to take Luke's blood samples.
There is talk that Luke will be discharged tomorrow. Chemo is due to recommence again next Monday 31st May. He will be on an Interim Maintenance I plan for 7 weeks.
There is also talk that for this round of chemo, Luke will be treated as an out-patient and receive treatment in ward 14A. This means we will still go into the hospital for chemo. What will change is the taking of blood. They have initially said that they do not like to take blood on the 14A ward so we would need to go to pathology for blood samples. However in pathology they can't take his blood from his hickmans central line - they would need to jab him in the arm. This doesn't make much sense as he has a fully functioning central line that blood can be taken from rather than turning his arm into a multitude of pin pricks, especially as the majority of times he needs daily bloods. So I will have to discuss this further with the doctors when we go in tomorrow. The only other difference with going to 14A as an out patient is that we will need to pay for Luke's prescription drugs such as his anti fungal and anti viral tablets that he takes daily. Previously these have all been supplied.

Luke has had a good week as his blood levels have all improved considerable and he has a bit more energy and colour. We are making the most of the time that he is out of neutropenia. He has had friends over and we've been out to dinner and the movies. The boys went and saw Ironman 2 and Amy and I went to see When in Rome.
Although Luke has been well enough to go to school this week, we figure there is not much point as he is a term behind the others. It is best for Luke to stay home and make the most of the times when he is well to catch up on the work he has missed. He has been doing a bit of school work (mainly 3D animation which he enjoys!!) I'm hoping he can get the English essay done by the end of this week and then start of some other assessment items.

Amy has been off school sick for the past few days with a bad headache. It seems to be better now.
I had a good day at work yesterday as I found out I had received the promotion up to the next level in the public service. So all the heartache of getting my application in during early March was worthwhile, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do at the time. I must say a big thank you to Mandy, my manager. Without her guidance and support over the last 3 months and especially encouraging me with my application I wouldn't have gotten this result. While I'm at it, I need to say a big thank you to my L&D team and everyone else at work for their continued support. It really makes it enjoyable to go to work and it takes my mind off things for the few days that I am at work.

I'm sure Murray feels the same gratitude towards everyone at his work.

It was Luke's cousin, Emma's, 13th birthday today. So we went over to her place for a lovely dinner. It is also Luke's oldest cousin, Matthew's, 18th birthday this Friday 28th May. Matthew is the oldest child in the Airey family. I have no idea where the years go. Matthew lives in Umina, Gosford - about 4-5 hours from Canberra, so unfortunately we won't get to catch up with him. He knows we are thinking of him though and wish him a very happy birthday!

I will keep you posted as to what happens with discussions with the doctors about this next round of chemo, and his bone marrow biopsy results next week.