AAAGGGGHHH...............!! Food frustration. You can mix as many teaspoons of Maxijul carbohydrate powder into spaghetti bolognese, white sauce, pesto, custard, apple pie etc etc as you like, but unless they are actually eaten they do not help weight gain! I am losing track of the times I am emptying the bin which fills up with rejected food. Poor Lola, she is sick to death of me 'accidentally' leaving chocolate buttons around, cutting sandwiches into cartoon characters and sneaking Polycal into a glass of ribena. Whilst Nancy, Greta and I plough our way through all butter pastry, custard made with cream and super rich pancakes with chocolate spread, Lola manages a few nibbles, feels sick and has to lie down. She's down another 0.6kg ... basically 2kg to gain in 2 weeks if she is to avoid an ng tube.

She is vehemently against the idea and I don't blame her. It makes her look poorly, feels disgusting and has a tendancy to reappear if she is being sick. BUT, for lola it did work. She has managed to remain around 30kg throughout the treatment so far and the feeds are completely balanced so her diet was complete, despite being limited, while she was on night feeds. It was also a quick and easy way of administering nasty-tasting medication. Things may turn around over Easter I suppose ... if not, I'm not sure I envy the poor nurse who gets the job of popping one down during our next in-stay...

I spoke to Amos a few days ago and he confirmed that the histology results did indeed indicate a 'brilliant response'. In terms of treatment, it means no high dosage chemo/stem cell replacement and no radiation. Lola will continue to have 7 more doses of VAI chemotherapy at the same 3 week intervals. If all goes according to time, beds are available and infections stay away, then Lola would be due to complete her treatment programme towards the end of August. Amos would not be drawn into a discussion on the implications of the histology on a longer term prognosis, but did say that it obviously places lola in a much more favourable group. I think I knew that answer but had to ask anyway!

Bloods tomorrow and with my untrained eye and Lola's self-awareness, I think she is not yet anaemic enough for a transfusion. Could be wishful thinking, but I'm sure I see colour in her cheeks and lips!