The Drugs Do Work!

And so the drugs finally worked properly today. The general anaesthetic and the sedative went well and Leo did what the doctors expect with children and slept the drugs off nicely afterwards. None of the biting, kicking, screaming and acting like a drunken old fool once he's coming out of the anaesthetic..and to say it was a relief for all involved is an understatement. Having said that, Leo's nurse today said not to expect it to happen like this again tomorrow..great!!?

Only slight concern this week is that there's no room at the Marsden for Leo to have his chemo this weekend and we're keen for him to have optimal treatment, which means on time treatment. The other aspect is he's significantly neutropenic and has been for one week, and very often this can cause a delay in chemo. So Leo may need GCSF again, which is the stimulant he has previously had to jumpstart his natural bone-marrow to develop new red blood cells. We've been in touch with Bristol Children's Hospital and they have space for him for Friday and Saturday nights, if we need to take him back there for chemo. Fantastic that even though we're here in Surrey, Bristol can still take care of him.

So apart from all the clinical stuff, Leo is doing great, if you take into consideration all the medication he's having on a daily basis. He plays well at the hospital before PJ and I take him down to the radiotherapy suite, and then today was very cute and very happy to see his Auntie Denise when he finally woke up after a nice long sedative and anaesthetic induced sleep.

Back here at my cousin's, he's had us all bouncing on the trampoline again (in-between rain showers), and been pretending to run around as though he has a new scooter (which we've said he'll get once we're back from this hospital to Bristol..so who knows..this could be this weekend if there's no room at the Marsden!!)

He's sleeping nearly 12 hours per night which is great and goes to bed very well indeed. He's certainly ready for bed when he heads up at 9.30pm, and then because he's waking up late morning at about 9am, it's easy to keep his mind of food and drink. He's not allowed any milk or food past 6am and only clear fluids i.e. water until 10am, and so thank goodness he's sleeping in each day. I cannot imagine how parents cope if their children are early risers and you have to keep them off food and water until after 2 or 3pm each day!

Hope the video works below. It shows some gorgeous footage of father and son playing about on the trampoline, taken by my Dad last Saturday. Leo and PJ are having a ball!!