Doing well.

Thanks for your messages.
Mari is doing pretty well post chemo, so we just wanted to let you know.
She is going back in to hospital on Monday and Tuesday of next week for injections which hopefully will boost her white blood cells allowing her to have chemo ( round 11) the following Thursday. We will keep you updated.
With Love.

Update from today.

Mari finally had round ten of chemo today, after waiting around for a while, having tests. Her tests on Tuesday ( after injections) were still too low to have chemo, but fortunately blood tests today showed an increase in levels so chemo went ahead!

We finished in hospital around 6pm due to trouble with veins so it was a long day but we were relieved to get another round over with.
Also found out today, that Mari will now have to have injections before each round of chemo, because her white blood cells do not seem to be regenerating by themselves. She has all the usual drugs, which she can use to control nasty side effects again this time round.

Thanks for your faithful prayers, have a great weekend.
Good night from us xxx

Tomorrow.

Hi there,
I have been going in to hospital for injections, which will boost my white blood cells. The injections leave me feeling quite achey but hopefully they will have done the trick. I am going back in to hospital tomorrow morning for tests. If the test results show that I am well enough, I will have my tenth round of chemo tomorrow around midday. We will let you know what happens.
With thanks and all our love,
Mari

Chemo delayed

Mari had blood tests today (routine). However, the results showed that her white blood cells are too low to have chemo as planned tomorrow. Therefore she will have to go in to hospital today and tomorrow for injections which will hopefully boost her white blood cells. If this all works, then she will be having chemo on Thursday now instead!

It seems that her white blood cells are generally not bouncing back after treatment so if you could pray that this changes, we would be most grateful. Dr's say they do not know the long term effects of using this injection, so they only pull it out if they absolutely have to!

We will let you know how things go. Mari is a bit disheartened by this news. She is due her tenth round of chemo and is scheduled to have 16 rounds in total. Though the chemo is unpleasant, she is keen to get it over with a.s.a.p.

With Thanks.

Chemo - round 10!

Mari is going back in to hospital on Monday for usual tests. It will be interesting to see how her white blood cells are doing.
She then ( if well enough) will be back in hospital on Tuesday afternoon for round 10 of chemo!
We will let you know how things go.
Have a lovely weekend.

Doing well.

Hya,
Thanks a million for your messages while I was in hospital. I am so pleased to have put that behind me now and I'm still REALLY enjoying being at home, in my own bed ... free from drips, injections, hospital smells/sounds etc....
I am doing pretty well post chemo ( better than expected) and so I just wanted to let you know.

Thanks again for your amazing support. Mum and Dad would print off the blog messages and bring them in to hospital each morning for me to read. Your messages really did brighten up my days!

Have a good week.
Love Mari x

Home sweet home.

Mari got home last night at around 11pm, after her final IV.

She was so pleased to be home and free from injections, blood tests, wires up her nose ( to give her oxygen), hospital plastic sheets, constant interruptions in the night etc! ( That all said, the nurses and Dr's were really lovely and we're grateful for their care).

Mari particularly enjoyed not being attached to a drip for the night and having no line in her veins for the first time in 10 days. Her veins are still very sore. Dr's warned her this would happen, as a result of all the chemotherapy. Hopefully this will be a temporary thing, they need a good long holiday which isn't going to happen with chemo! Mari was also hugely grateful that she didn't have to have the very invasive procedure in her lungs, that was being threatened, so thanks for praying about that.

Mari had to be back in hospital for chemo (round 9) at 10 am this morning. To be honest Mari did not feel strong enough for this and it was somewhat overwhelming. She is now in bed recovering, sleeping, resting and drinking lots of fluids - under Dr's orders!

She has to wake up at 8 am, for three days after chemo, to take drugs which help control side effects.

Thank you for standing with us at this difficult time. We're all pretty tired so hoping for some good sleep now.
We will let you know how Mari responds to this next round of treatment.
With love xx

Coming Home.... Monday night

After being told by Drs this morning that she would have to stay in all week, Mari was told this afternoon that if she has two more lots of intravenous antibiotics she could have chemo tomorrow and either stay in over night and just go down the corridor for chemo or come home late tonight and go back in in the morning. Guess which Mari opted for! She wants a bath and good sleep.

The good news is that her blood count is up and the infection levelling out. The haematologist consultant told Mari that they are more concerned in the long run about her tumour than the infection. So they want to continue chemo. Tomorrow seems a bit soon but Mari understands the need for it.

Thank you for all your prayers. Please pray that Mari will cope with the chemo, the infection will completely go and that her white cells will build up more quickly after tomorrows treatment. She does not want to go through the last couple of weeks again!

God bless
With love
The Days and Phil