My Diary
 
 
 
It suddenly occurred to me today that it is now a year since Jacob began treatment for his cancer. When I think of the last year, things seem strangely surreal. I still occasionally wake up in the morning and realise this was all a bad dream, only to be proven horribly wrong about ten seconds later. Jacob has defied the odds, no doubt about it! Five months ago we were advised that survival was ‘unlikely. Furthermore, because of his lack of response to treatment it seemed that UK options were almost exhausted. It is worth remembering that the odds of children like Jacob with high risk, stage 4 Neuroblastoma surviving this long after the initial diagnosis are 40%. The five year survival rate from diagnosis is just 20% - so, let’s beat those odds too! Jacob is now well into his second week of isolation and the after effects of his high dose chemotherapy are beginning to hit him quite hard. He has mucositis, an inflammation of the mucous membranes which line the digestive tract. As a result he is in considerable pain, unable to eat or drink and is now receiving regular infusions of morphine. As the high dose chemotherapy has completely destroyed Jacob’s bone marrow his blood counts have dropped sharply. He is now therefore neutropenic and very much at risk from bacterial infections as his body has no natural defense system. He has now commenced infusions of a substance called GCSF which is given to help stimulate the production of white blood cells - this will work in tandem with his stem cell transplant which was undertaken last week. Jacob will also shortly receive a platelet transfusion due to the risk of internal bleeding as his blood is now unable to clot naturally. He will also soon need blood a transfusion due to his hemoglobin levels falling. The amount of different chemicals now entering Jacob’s little body is staggering, scary, and there is more to come, much more - best not to think too much about this...... As usual Jacob never, ever, complains and even manages to keep smiling his beautiful smile. Even though it is painful for him to speak he also still managed an ‘I love you Daddy’ when I spoke to him last night. He misses Ben terribly, and Ben himself looks a little lost without his big brother. The sooner they are back together the better.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
A Year In The Life