This week has seen the big fourth birthday of Lucia; it was always going to be tricky to make the day special for her as Camille was due to go back to Addenbrookes for her fourth dose of Chemotherapy. We were given the extra complication that Camille had been neutrapenic (no immune system) since last Thursday and was struggling to build her levels back up.

So the night before her birthday we organised a little get together to have a slice of cake and to enable Lucia to blow out some candles. All was going well until Hayley took Camille for another blood test. The results came back still very low, which was likely to mean that Chemotherapy would have to be delayed until she was a bit better. This meant that we were likely to be home on Lucia’s birthday and therefore we cancelled everyone and sat tight.

A phone call from Addenbrookes led us to believe that things were back on and all of a sudden we had to get a few people round. Just prior to Lucia having her birthday cake (the first of three) Hayley took Camille’s temperature which revealed a 38.0c temperature and automatically meant a rush to Ipswich Hospital. There is nothing that can describe how awful we felt sitting in Ipswich Hospital knowing that our little girl was blowing out her candles without mummy and daddy there. I still feel extremely disappointed for her and I hope that we are able to make it up to her.

Lucia went back to my parents but was able to open at least one present. We were able to get her to hospital on her birthday before she went to pre-school for the day. I had carried in all of her presents so that she could open them with us and at least see her birthday gifts. She was really sweet and so unphased by the situation we find ourselves in. I still remain so proud of her.
The hospital put Camille on antibiotics as expected and we held tight to see if we could get to Addenbrookes. Ipswich Hospital have a room on the paediatric ward that was furnished in honour of a cancer patient. The room is a palace compared to most hospital rooms and even has a decked veranda at the back. This was the first time that Camille had bagged the room, and I must say, I’d recommend it to anyone.

With her blood results showing that there was unlikely to be an infection Addenbrookes notified us that we could go that afternoon and we made it over some time after 4.00pm and moved onto the ward. Chemotherapy didn’t start until this afternoon, and will continue overnight tonight through until tomorrow afternoon.

There are a couple of notable things to mention about Camille this week; firstly, her hair has began to fall in a rather dramatic fashion. Every sheet she has laid on or floor she has been above is scattered with her dark hairs. We are not sure how long it will be before she has completely lost her hair, but the way it is going I feel that it could be days. Secondly, her right eye seems a little laboured; this doesn’t have to be a concern as it could be for multiple reasons, the concern for the consultant is that the shunt is not working properly and they will keep an eye on her for the rest of the week. With the scan next week, we are going to be in limbo until then, and I am trying very hard not to make guesses over what is happening.

I am now back into doing a program of meetings for work and I will admit that it may be helping as a touch of escapism. Today was the first day that I have left Hayley at the hospital on her own for any great period of time (except for overnight); I don’t like doing it, as it must be exceptionally hard to do anything for Camille or herself, but I guess I do need to work at some point, money still is important.