Lola left Addenbrooks last night after a day of feeling sleepy and sick, and is now having a lovely lie-in at Martin's. For her four days of treatment she is constantly attached to a drip which feeds in fluids and medication through a Hickman line. The line avoids the need for repeated injections and canulas and was fitted under anaesthetic just before the chemo began. It runs under her skin to the vein in her neck and she has a small bunch of tubes which hang outside her body at her chest.... known as a wiggly! Addenbrooks run a sophisticated line in 'wiggly bags' which hang around the neck and keep the small connectors clean and safe when not in use.
Between treatments, the oncology nurses visit at home twice weekly to take blood samples from the line and flush it to keep it sterile. We record the blood results which helps us to see when Lola is anaemic, has reduced/no immunity ( called neutropenia) and when she might need a platelet transfusion. Her spell in hospital coincided with neutropenia last time and a combination of IV antibiotics and a blood transfusion increased her counts which enabled her to fight it and come home again.
All being well, Lola now has two and a half weeks at home before round 3. For the next few days she will probably feel nauseous and exhausted, then her blood counts will be at their lowest while the chemo does its work for a week. She may feel ok but her resistance will be very low. For the final week, her blood begins to recover, her levels rise again (hopefully!) and then she'll be ready for the next spell at Addenbrooks.
It's a harsh regime, but the families we have met so far are reassuring that you fall into a pattern and take each day as it comes. The Doctors advise life to be as normal as it can possibly be.. school when Lola is up for it, friends as long as they are not ill and the occasional visits to friends and family as long as the local hospital know we are nearby! Sadly, no trips abroad until Lola is better, but be assured that we will be increasing our carbon footprint just as soon as Lola is well again.... USA, France, Italy, Poland and Qatar in round one! xx