8 down and 4 to go – plus a hospital admission (but not for Eloise)..

Eloise begins round 9 of her maintenance chemo on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Eloise picked up a cold quite early into round 8 and has been battling with a runny nose and lots of dribble but thankfully it never resulted in a temperature or hospital admission. Earlier rounds of intrathecal chemo have been postponed (on the day) due to previous colds so naturally we are keen for it to improve further before Wednesday.

Eloise will be due her next MRI at the end of round 9.

During this round Eloise has:

• Been given a swank new orthopaedic buggy from Wheel Chair Services – big thanks to the NHS. Eloise loves the new buggy which has enabled us to extend our range of activities and will be better for her from a physio perspective.
• Had another ophthalmology review at Moorfields Eye Hospital – which although initially was very positive, resulted in a referral for further scans due to retinal pigmentation.  
• Had a range of assessments including from an Educational Psychologist, for an application for funding for extra support to help Eloise attend nursery in the autumn.
• Continued to get regular visits from her BFFs – the community nurses.  She genuinely asks ‘Nurses coming?’ most mornings – and is even disappointed when they aren’t!
• Continued to struggle with side effects of treatment – such as fatigue, short-term memory, appetite and sore skin.

In other (but related) news – unfortunately our much-loved dog Kobe is seriously unwell and has been in animal hospital since the weekend. After a lot of treatment he is also having an ultrasound tonight and in the vet’s words “having a tube fitted for feeding – like your daughter has!”. The girls seem fairly relaxed with the idea of Kobe being an in-patient (they perhaps have a distorted view of how often people go to hospital?!). Juggling chemo, appointments and dog medicine, and trips to the vet/animal hospital probably wasn’t our top option for Anna’s Easter school holidays. We are hoping that next week will be calmer.  

On Saturday, I (Pete) attended a cancer-Dad’s golf morning, organised by a brilliant local charity, Momentum. It was a privilege to spend some time with a small group of extraordinary Dads, a few of whom we became friends with in ICU and with others through sharing a room in the Royal Marsden. Thank you Momentum.

For those that pray:

• Please pray that Eloise’s chemo goes ahead on Wednesday (free from any cold and covid!) and with no complications. Pray the chemo does its job.
• Thank God for the new buggy and the added options for going out (mainly to walk Kobe)
• Please pray that the side effects Eloise is experiencing are short-term and lessen later this year when she stops her current chemo regime – In particular her tremor, fatigue and short-term memory (as previous treatment could have also caused this).
• Please pray that the increased pigmentation noted in her eye test is also a short-term side effect and isn’t anything long-term.
• Please pray that Kobe makes a full recovery – he might be just ‘a dog’ but for Eloise (and us all) he has been the biggest source of joy and therapy this past year.