Looking forward

As we are now well in to Year 2 of Celia's treatment I thought it was about time for a dad update and a look forward. Celia's progress has been phenomenal, better than anyone could have hoped for and smoother than many of the other children we have met over the last year. Having said that, there are constant reminders that the journey has a way to run yet. I am going to sound worryingly pessimistic like my mother here! Maybe it is an age thing.

In the last six weeks we've seen the funeral of a young Melbourne boy with the same as Celia (ALL) who was diagnosed just a month after Celia. I was also at the funeral of the mother of a colleague who had battled for 10 years and of course we saw this week's sad news of the passing of NI 5 year old cross community pioneer Wee Oscar Knox.

Most of the time we simply don't notice that we have adjusted to a completely new normal when it comes to Celia. She's clearly more clingy and teary than her peers. She was always quite timid and sensitive and this is now more apparent than ever. She does fall over more than most - especially considering that she doesn't run much - and she continues to be a bit flat-footed when she walks. Again, we bearly notice these things and it is only when others point it out that we see it. It's a new norm but hey, this time last year she was (literally) on her knees! (http://kerrangaroo.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/bye-bye-grandparents-big-day-ahead.html)

None of this is surprising when you consider what her body is still going through. The routine still involves oral chemo every day, additional chemo every Wednesday, Bactrim 3 days per week, daily tablets and ointment for rash side effects, mouthwashes, anti nausea, laxatives. The hardest weeks come every fourth week when in addition to the above she gets intravenous chemo in hospital, a course of steroids that maker her very tired and grumpy and, once a quarter a lumber punch operation to put chemo in her spine. This routine will continue daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly until October 2015. 

Celia's Pharmacy Cupboard

Happy Mother's Day

With this milestone moving closer we are confident enough to look very positively towards the future. This was a lovely Mother's Day weekend. Lydia and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a visit to a local Italian last night. We've booked a couple of trips home to Europe / UK / Ulster before the end of the year (sans enfants). We go on holiday next month. We have a ski trip planned next year. And we have spent the last couple of weeks getting a little bit more serious about planning our future 'grand design.' We're loving the new UK C4 programme "Building the Dream" now being shown on Australian TV. We are much less sure about Northern Ireland weather having just watched the Giro d'Italia (from county Antrim!). Triple glazing, open fires and good central heating will be priority design features.

The rest of Sunday evening will be spent hoping for a Liverpool miracle and watching a rerun of Eurovision. Can't help wondering how the bearded lady is going down in the homeland. Comedy viewing par excellence. 

Hoping this nice little blend I picked up brings Liverpool some luck