Tuesday 29th April 2008

Mima is still not very well. Her bones are giving her alot of pain at the moment especially in her back. She has gone to bed with a dose of morphine and a hot water bottle in the hope she may sleep. She is eating like a horse as a result of the steroids and her little tummy is really beginning to swell. Sadly her hair is falling out again so I have shaved the majority - hopefully, this will be the last time it will fall out so we will see some real growth over the summer.

She did want me to tell you about her new hobby - dog agility! Digby and Mima attended their first class last night and both thoroughly enjoyed it. There is one lesson each week and another little girl started last night with her dog too so Mima has a friend to chat to.

The bike ride is really hotting up for this weekend. We have about 40 cyclists riding from Leicester, Northampton, Lincoln and Rutland to Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk - a distance of about 100 miles (depending on where the start point is!) Sponsorship is going phenominally well but if you would like to support the riders take a look at www.justgiving.com/ridetonorfolk We are all wishing for a fine day with a westerly wind, so if anyone has any influence in that department would you mind putting in a good word please!

FRIDDAY 25th APRIL 2008

Happy birthday Auntie Nic Nocs
I am feeling yucky. My plaster is off and I am at home today and I was yesterday but I am on steriroids again now for a week so I am not very happy about that. I can't sleep and I am angry alot. They make my bones hurt and so does the vincristine.

Sunday 20th April 2008

We're Home!

I don't know what is wrong with my leg but the doctor thinks it could be the steroids that have made my bones hurt. I had an x-ray this morning which was fine so no more broken bones. I start steroids again on Wednesday for another 7 days so I will just have to take lots of pain killers whilst I am taking the steroids and see if that is ok.

Anyway, I am much better now and can walk again so feel much happier too. I am seeing Mr Kershaw again on Wednesday to take my plaster off and have another x-ray on my elbow and shoulder and hopefully it will be ok to leave the plaster off if the bones have mended properly but if not he said he will put another plaster on and wait until it mends. Other than that, more dr ruby's in and vin and christine on Wednesday and that should be it for the week.

Thank you everyone for your messages again.

Saturday 19th April 2008

Happy Birthday Auntie!!!

Just a quick update - Mima has a very sore leg and she is unable to put any weight on it so she is being kept in hospital overnight for observation and to see if her blood shows any sign of infection. We will hopefully be home soon.

SUNDAY 13TH APRIL 2008

I am not very happy or chatty because I am on steroids. I have no energy and I feel like crying all the time. On the weekends I have to take sooooo many pills in the morning and the same at night time and I don't like it at all. My ankles and feet are very sore too and I think I have got arthritis.
I just wanted to say Hello to Ruby who is in isolation as she has shingles. I hope you feel better soon Ruby and you can go and feed Butterscoth a lovely juicy carrot. I am pleased you liked my painting on the window on Ward 14. I think we should all have a small sticker that we can put on the window in whichever room we have stayed in so we all know who has been there. I could be a pony and you could be a butterfly or something. What do you think? I asked Mum if I could go on your Daddy's motorbike but she had kittens so I guess that is a no! Good idea though.
Thank you to everyone else who has left me messages. It is very kind of you.
I am going back to school tomorrow but my first thing is a blood test at 9 o'clock whilst everyone else does PE. Next is Drama which I really love so the nurse has to be finished by 9.20am or I will miss it. Then in the afternoon is double art. I don't know what I will do then with just my left hand. Oh dear, now I am all grumpy again.
Night night.

Tuesday 8th April 2008

I started the last intensive block of treatment today with an LP and some ITMTX. I think I worried Mummy a bit though because it took me ages to go to sleep for the anaesthetic, but it was not my fault, it just would not work! I am back in tomorrow for Vincristine and Doxorubicin which should take a couple of hours and then in again on Thursday for some Peg Aspariganase. They are all the proper names but I call them Vin and his wife Christine, Dr Ruby's in and Peg with asparagus and mayonnaise. So by Friday I should be feeling fairly yuk, oh and I nearly forgot, I will be taking steroids from tomorrow too so no sleep and angry, angry, angry!

My arm is doing fine and Mr Kershaw, the ortho whatsit man said he was happy with how it looks and I have to start doing some funny excercises soon by hanging my arms and swinging them like a monkey! He showed me and it looked very funny. I saw Dr Madi on Monday about my arm too and he said some very bad news ...................................................no more riding until I have finished my treatment and for 6 months after so that will be 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it, I am sooooooooo sad and nothing has made me happy since he said that. He explained that the chemotherapy and particularly the steroids will have made my bones more easily broken and until everthing has finished they won't strengthen again. Boring, boring, boring. Horse riding is such a good hobby and I so love horses. Does anyone have any good ideas for other hobbies for me? Don't forget I have broken my right arm and can't use it for 8 weeks so no painting or writing or anything that needs my right arm.

Message from Mum: If you are not doing anything on Thursday, we have a big picnic day at Twinlakes so come along and meet us all for some fun. Just email info@jemimainvites.co.uk to reserve your tickets. You can go at anytime but we will be meeting on the upper level of the Labyrinth barn at 12.30pm.

TUESDAY 1ST APRIL 2008

SCOTLAND WAS SUCH FUN UNTIL ...........................................

I fractured my elbow and my shoulder!!!!! I bet you can't guess how I did that can you?!?!?

Well, I was riding a very fast and jumpy pony called Peter Pan and he decided he could fly with me on his back but after he flew twice round the arena I decided I just could not hold on any longer and bang crash wallop I came off and that was that!!!

We went to a very nice hospital in Perth and met some lovely doctors and nurses and now I have my arm in plaster from my shoulder to my finger tips and it is in a sling too.

Otherwise, Scotland was great fun. We found a very pretty place to stay on the edge of Loch Ard and went for a bike ride and a few walks (in the rain!) Digby loved Scotland too especially all the walking and swimming in Lochs. Mum and Dad played golf and Emily and I drove the buggy which was really good fun. I have to go to see a consultant paediatric orthopedic thingy man tomorrow and then we will see what he has to say about my arm.

27th March 2008

Look what Granpa bought for me!!! She is called Meggie.

Just A few thank you's

I had a fantabulous birthday and had lots of wonderful presents.

I would just like to say thank you to every body who very kindly bought me a present. I would like to say a special thank you to Max ,a lady who I don't even know but she always leaves me a message on my blog. Thank you very much Max for coming to Ward 27 and leaving such a lovely surprise for me when I went in today. Another big thank you to someone who always looks after me and manages to make me smile even when I am really grumpy. I love my book about sisters - you know who you are! Thank you. xx

We have had a busy day today which started off with a great morning dancing with Laura, Ella and Nisha. It was such fun and I would like to thank Lucy for organising it. I had a bag of platelets this afternoon and we are off to Scotland in the morning for three nights because I do not have to have any treatment for two weeks now - yippeeeeee!

Easter Sunday

DID YOU SEE THE SNOW?

When we woke up this morning, everywhere was white. It was sooooooo pretty. Digby lives outside, so when we let him out he was really funny, he was trying to catch the snowflakes and eat them. Then we let the chickens out and they were even funnier, I don't think they have ever seen snow before. They had laid us two eggs for our breakfast and the yolks were completely golden, yum scrum.

At riding yesterday, it was soooooooooo cold and it snowed and hailed and the wind blew so Mummy pulled us out of the class and decided it was not worth catching a cold so that was very sad because I do love riding (did you know that?) That was the first sad thing about the easter weekend. The next thing was that we were going to my Auntie Gillie's house for a big family party because it is cousin Emma, Uncle Matthew, Uncle William, Granny and my birthday all on Tuesday and we like to celebrate together but then Gillie rang to say that our cousin Rose was coming out in spots everywhere and it looked like chicken pox so we decided it would be best not to go!!! Soooooooooooooo sad!!! Then another thing happened. We had planned to go out for an early supper with some friends we met on holiday but they live in Devon and were up here sailing at Rutland Water. The racing was cancelled and they had to go home so we couldn't meet them either. What a nightmare weekend. Anyway, Granny and Papa came round for lunch today and we had some lovely roast beef although the gravy was not very nice and the meat was a bit chewy. Never mind.

I am in to hospital in the morning for another blood test (on Friday, my results were not very good and I am covered in bruises again) and the last lot of chemo in escalating capizzi II. I hope that my blood is still no good and then I won't have to have anymore methotrexate. When Dr Heaney looked inside my mouth on Friday he said 'ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, that does look sore' so I begged him not to give me any more because it will just make my ulcers worse and it is my birthday (did you know that?).

Tuesday 18th March 2008

This is the Easter Bonnet Parade on Ward 27

I am at home today because my mouth is really ssssssssoooooooooooooorrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee and my throught rrrrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy hurts but still I really enjoyed the party and thank you to Charlotte Smiles! (That is the charity who organised and paid for the party) and to my special nurse Hannah for coming down in the parade with me! Mummy is being really boring because she is making the curtains for Emily's new bedroom today. I am trying to help her by telling her she is cutting the fabric in the wrong place but she doesn't believe me. Do you know what, I was right and now Emily's curtains are going to be too short!!!!

Katie has just rang up to tell me that I don 't have to have any chemotherapy on my birthday. (Katie is THE BEST!!! I know she reads this too!!!) Oh did I tell you it is my birthday next Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!