I Can do this!

That's Maeve's mantra so far. We've been talking a lot lately about having a positive attitude and about courage and what it means. So everytime before she has to do a procedure, she speaks out her words of courage to herself.
"will you be scared?"
"No! I CAN do this, it will not hurt me. I choose for it NOT to hurt."
"You know, crying is ok, its alright to cry darling."
"No! I choose to face and conquer my fear! Tell the nurse I'm ready now."

So far, she's done 3 finger pricks (more to come), one port insertion, one lumbar puncture. AND no tears at all! We've brought along a whole lot of prizes for her to unwrap after each prick or poke, which keeps her happy. I wish all the other kids in the ward have such an option, but most are foreigners, so won't have the luxury of bringing a whole lot of presents along for their child.

Maeve's positive attitude and almost adult-like manner of speaking has earned her the nickname of "the little adult" here at the ward! I eavesdropped on her conversation with a volunteer,
Maeve: I won't need to do finger pricks anymore after chemo 4.
VO : You may need to, just so that Prof Quah will know how you're doing. He's not God you know.
Maeve: I know he's not God. But God gave him wisdom surely.
Vo: ....yes....indeed....

So, contrary to my fears, my little one has not lost her faith and hope in God and I shall not too. I know He will carry us through.

Chemo round 3

We start chemo round 3 on Monday. It'll take us to Sunday, 7 days worth. Here we go again, packing the 2 hospital bags, pillows, a whole lot of food and drinks...I hate having to go AGAIN, but I tell myself, it'll be over soon, we're half way there. It is hard for various reasons, being in hospital means Maeve gets pricked and poked on a daily basis, and as she'll be on super-hydration (they run the drip very fast for her to pee the chemo out), it means she pees every 2 hrs or less throughout the day and night, which means, neither of us gets much sleep. AND unlike the other kids who are content to wear diapers at night, she refuses, and would rather get down to the potty. I swear I'm getting really GI Jane worthy muscles carrying her up and down! Being in the hospital means getting chemo, which is in essence, poison, into her system, and allowing this poison to kill off everything good and bad and then bracing myself the next week as the counts go down and she becomes immuno-compromised...and praying like mad, she doesn't get some infection or bacteria, which will land us in hospital, again.

So once again, faithful friends and family, pray for us. We are trusting God that the chemo is working, that even now, the cancer cells have all gone, even before this third round. Pray that she gets no side effects, that she'll have energy, and that she'll be brave for all the procedures. Pray also for protection for Paige and my helper, that they will be fine at home.

We've got dinner covered from Monday-Friday. Anyone wants to cook for Maeve for Saturday, let me know. thanks!

Thankfulness

There are many little blessings I can thank God for, even if sometimes, the day seems trying or the painful. I thank God that this round of fever was mild, it hit only 38.2 and then tapered off, due to the prayers of many that night. So even though we had to be in hospital and on antibiotics, it was more preventive than anything, and I didn't have to hold a barely lucid child in my arms, screaming at the nurses to do something about her burning up. I am also thankful that Paige has decided to say her first word, "ma-ma" when we came back from hospital, and also start to crawl (albeit backwards) in front of us. I thought that I'd miss all these milestones, but hey, God reserved them for us! I'm thankful that Maeve's chemo side effects have been managed well, due in part to her willingness to gargle with salt (she resisted at first, but now is quite the expert) to prevent mouth sores which is so common, her willingness to eat lots of fruit to prevent constipation, or even not complain much when she gets her bouts of diarhoea (she says its ok coz she's pooing the bad guys out!). I'm thankful that little things make my little girl happy, a princess plaster after a prick, a chocolate reward after a poke, a heartshaped bowl to make food more palatable (chemo makes tastbuds go awry so previously liked food suddenly tastes terribe), a doctor who watches her perform an entire song and claps robustly after. It doesn't take a lot to cheer her up.She's all ready for chemo 3, especially after we've been doing medical play pretend every day! she prepares the entire family, Paige included, for injections, port insertion, the lot. i guess she's almost conquered her fear.

Hooray !

"Maeve is going home! She was very brave today. Took out the port needle without crying. I took some medical supplies to let her play and rehearsed it so she was ready."

Fever to subside

"I spoke to the doctor. If no fever the whole of today and tonight, then tomorrow can go home. Yay! It probably is a bacteria within her own body."

In hospital

Maeve was admitted to hospital last night.

The following is Jo's sms this morning: "Fever up and down, threw up 3 times. Not sure what is wrong. I guess the good thing is that we came in and started on antibiotics via IV. So it is safer than if we'd waited."

Let's continue to pray for Maeve and the family.

Urgent Prayer Request

Maeve's temperature has been very unstable these two days. Although it has not hit higher than 38, it is not a good sign. Joanne is advised by the nurse to admit Maeve to the hospital tonight.

Pray that it is not something serious, such as infection. Pray that God will bring the temperature down and she can go home soon.