On the wettest day in living memory (ok only my living memory but it was really, really wet!) Julia and her lycra lovelies ran the Run to the Beat Half Marathon through Greenwich and London's back of beyond on Sunday in two hours and eight minutes! Roadrunner himself couldn't have done it faster or with squelchier trainers and I think they are all fabulous fit fundraisers - Rose watched a bit of the Great North Run on tv convinced it was Julia and we didn't dare tell her otherwise! Pic to come soon. Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you and a huge hug from Rose. London marathon, anyone?
Rose is still at the Marsden but she did get her chemo in the end and by the skin of her teeth has kept her hickman line although it would seem to be on borrowed time - they have said the very next infection (so any minute then) it's coming out as has been an endless source of problems really since the day they put it in. The course of iv antibiotics still has a couple of doses to run but we have massively outstayed our welcome now at Marsden in bed terms so are being drop kicked to Kings tonight to finish the course - a real pain for such a short time but with the carrot of three days at home dangling in front of me suddenly I don't mind so much. She hasn't been home for AGES and the thought of Friday, Saturday, Sunday all in the same house is very very exciting.
Rose has gone to a transplant party at the Marsden this afternoon! How fabulous is that...Ellis a little friend from the ward with leukaemia is having his bone marrow transplant tomorrow and will then go into isolation for 21 days with only his parents and the nurses allowed in his room. So his parents have organised a proper good luck party with cake and party bags - Rose thinks it's wonderful and since it's the first party she's been to in seven months who can blame her!
We have now spent as much time chemo-wise at the Marsden as we did at UCH and as a result of all her cumulative infections almost as much time there full stop - two very different units with totally different approaches but I think we are finally acclimatising (Rose isn't she'd go back to UCH like a shot!) and are trying to stop beginning all our sentences with 'At UCH...' Although still totally caught up in the moment of every day of Rose's treatment we are starting to look into the future and have two big scary things looming - do we do the drugs trial (already signed up but having major second thoughts) and should we do the radiotherapy if Rose hasn't started walking by the end of chemo (already agreed not to but always room for more indecision). But for now she has just begun her fifth cycle (that sounds good) and is back up to Stanmore on Monday for another week of rehab and the rest is all in the future. Living in the moment my new watchword...
