My job is going quite well since I started back a month or two ago. My role is one where I can control my own diary, so I do try to be present when Camille is going in to Addenbrookes or coming out. The role itself does require me to do a huge amount of miles, with 80% of my clients being based in Scunthorpe or further. Prior to the diagnosis, any really early morning would have been accompanied with a night in a hotel, but now I am doing all journeys in one day.

Thursday this week, I arrived at our Head Office near Windsor at 8.30am. After a whole day meeting and a fair bit of presentation, I finally got away at 4.30pm and looked forward to the two hour drive (at least) home. I would normally expect that Hayley would be feeling the heat if she has spent this long with the kids, but with Lucia away at Centre Parcs , the workload, and the demands were instantly halved. I came home to a reasonably relaxed wife.

Lucia arrived home on Friday and was full of it. Her two day old face paint was still desperately clinging on to her face as she tried everything to preserve it's beauty. The problem was, after two days of four year old usage, the design was inconclusive, the paint was faded and cracked and the outlook was gloomy. It wasn't long before hours of resistance were put behind us and a fresh faced Lucia came skipping down the stairs.

It was lovely to see how pleased Camille was to welcome Lucia back; their bond is amazing, even if they do wind each other up and squabble over toys. They will always have each other and that to Hayley and I is really important. Lucia can't stand anything being done to Camille; this morning I had to change the dressing over her Hickman Line, and Lucia had to hide again so that she didn't see me struggling to make the process pain free.

Hayley had to bring the reunion to an end as Camille had been looking pale all day, as well as being lethargic . These are both signs that she could be anemic due to the chemotherapy and would require a blood transfusion to push her red blood cells back up. This was made even more likely by the fact that she had a transfusion last time she was given Carboplatin and these things tend to work cyclically.

The weekend seems to have come and gone rather quickly, and come Tuesday, Camille and Hayley will be back in Addenbrookes for the next dose of chemotherapy. This course is the drug that requires approximately four days of hydration / flushing, and it means a long stay in hospital. Normally Lucia would set up camp with my parents, however, the Mickey and Patsy show have decided to debunk to sunnier climates and get away from it for a week. Lucia therefore will be staying at home; and no, she won't have to McCauley Culkin it up and set the house with boobie traps; she'll be looked after by Hayley's sister.

Camille has been pretty bright since Friday's jaunt to hospital. The only issue is when she becomes tired. The rage of being given the wrong spoon or not knowing what she is pointing at is scary. Hayley has put her to bed tonight, and as I sit here typing, I can here the regular thud of a dummy hitting wall or floor, followed by the shrilled scream demonstrating because she no longer has a dummy. Hayley will emerge a nervous wreck.