 Sunday, April 29, 2007
An early morning trip to the hospital
Jamie has been quite cheerful in the last couple of days. She's been reading heaps and eating heaps. Sometimes I find it hard to catch up with her....she eats a meal every two hours!
She's been feeling quite well except when she wakes up in the middle of the night she'd have tummy pains. We gave her some panadol then usually she'd go back to sleep in a few minutes.
But last night she woke up around 3am and was crying of tummy pain.... then she complained of a suspicious chest pain. Peter rang up the hospital and they told him to bring her in straight away. So Peter took her in around 5am. And on the way to the hospital a friend (one of her dance teachers) sent a SMS on Peter's mobile asking how Jamie was and then said that she was praying for her....(at 5am!) Well this is very cool.
The doctors did some tests on Jamie and said she was fine. And they came home around 9am......phew!
The blood count has jumped up quite a bit, which is a very good thing.
Jamie said she just can't stop smiling these days....hmm
I asked her if she was tired being up since 3am, she said no, and she wanted to go to bowling...
We ended up playing some card games then she had quite a few friends over to play for the whole afternoon. She played for a long time in the backyard....swings, trampoline...making lots of noises.
Tomorrow will start a new phase of chemo therapy. It'll be a big day for her at the hospital for the first day, having 6 hours of treatment...then a nurse will come to give her treatment at home for a few days....this pattern will go on for a few weeks.
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Susan @ 11:14 PM
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
1st visit back to school
Finally Jamie had her bone marrow test done today.....
Peter took her in around 7:30am this morning, and by the time I arrived at the hospital at 9:30am, she's nearly finished. Normally I had to wait a couple hours before any treatment even started. We waited for a while for her to wake up and then had a bit of rest, then we left the hospital at around 10:30 (hooray!).
She feels quite happy today, so I took her to Parramatta the vietnamese noodle shop again(of course!)for some lunch. She ate a whole big serve all by herself. Then we went to the shopping centre....she got some nice clothes, hat, shoes, backpack for her new build-a-bear, then some clothes and shoes for herself at pumpkin patch.
She still wasn't feeling tired and she was quite bubbling, so I took her to school for a visit. Her teacher and friends at school were all quite excited and happy to see her......they had so many questions!
I think she might like to go back to school soon....maybe next week.
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Susan @ 2:42 PM
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
A passage from the book "Dream Language"
I read a few pages from a book called "Dream Language" by James W. and Michal Ann while at hospital. I found this passage quite interesting and encouraging:
"One dream that had great significance for me personally occurred in August 2003. I saw a great army coming up to me. Huge in number, the closer they got the more formidable they seemed to me. I began to fear that they were going to overwhelm me completely. Then, suddenly, the whole perspective of my dream changed. I was standing on a horizontal plain, on the same level as they, and as they approached I began to grow, rising up until I saw two or three times my normal stature. Now I was looking down on my enemies. That huge army, once so formidable in appearance, now seemed to be nothing more than little stick figures only a few inches tall, lined up in neat little rows.
As I surveyed this changed scene, a word came to me on the wind(often a sign of angelic activity):"And your enemies shall become like grasshoppers in your own sight."
I woke up and thought, "Wow! that will really preach good!" I thought the dream was imparting a message for me to teach others --and it may have been. However, about three weeks later I found a suspicious lump under my skin, which quickly grew to the size of a cluster of grapes. I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma cancer.
I thought back to my dream of a few weeks before. Little had I "dreamed" at the time that I would be the one who needed the message of that dream! Yet God knew. Isn't He such a gracious and merciful and loving Father! .........."
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Susan @ 11:52 PM
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Home sweet home
Jamie still didn't do her bone marrow test today....the white cell is still too low. But she was discharged from the hospital. Finally she gets to have some undisturbed sleep.
She'll need to go to the clinic at the hospital on Thursday this week. Again, if her blood count is good, she'll have her bone marrow test done then.
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Susan @ 6:05 PM
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Monday, April 23, 2007
Budgie
Yesterday (Sunday)Jamie came home again for the afternoon and went back to the hospital in the evening. Today's the same, afternoon break and back in the evening. She's been having antibiotic for a few days and today they stopped. Her blood count is good this morning. She's scheduled again for the bone marrow test tomorrow, if the blood count tomorrow morning is still ok. Then hopefully she can come home after that.
She finds it very hard to sleep at the hospital, although she's always in bed. The machine which gives her blood and medicine beeps every few minutes and the nurse comes in every few minutes....plus she's not used to sharing the room with daddy....he snores so loud! (LOL)
She quite likes her new look, and actually she said she wanted to keep her hair this short even if the hair grows back. She looked at the mirror and said she looked like a little budgie, so my husband calls her budgie as a nick name now.
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Susan @ 4:47 PM
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Saturday, April 21, 2007
A nice little break for a new look
Jamie's been staying in hospital since Wednesday and will probably be in hospital for a few more days. But today she's allowed to come home for just a few hours in between treatments.
She left hospital just after 12, and we took her to castle towers for some vietnamese noodle soup. She had three bowls of noodles. Then we got her a new hat and some games.
Some friends came over to play with her. A friend of mine who's a hairdresser gave her a haircut. Not a complete shave, but more like a Bode's look. She did it while the friends were around and she didn't mind. She's quite happy with the new look and she likes to wear the new hat. She was quite bored at the hospital so this little break brought a lot of smiles to her. Then she had to return to the hospital at 5pm.
Bode's been quite sick for the last couple of days. High fever. So it's been a bit tricky juggling between the two of them. Yesterday I had to tell Peter to take a day off work. He's much better now. I hope tomorrow he'll be back to normal.
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Susan @ 8:12 PM
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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Back in hospital
Jamie was scheduled to do a bone marrow test today to see how she's going with chemo, but was canceled as she wasn't well enough. Her white cell is too low. She has coughs. And she has a bit of temperature. So she was admitted back to the hospital for a few days until her condition improves.
She's been quite moody. Her hair has fallen out a lot, but she refuses to have them cut or wear a hat. So she's looking a bit awkward but she doesn't care.
She's not at the camperdown ward this time. Because she's got the coughs, so they put her at the variety club ward, 3rd floor, same end as camperdown ward, but walk along towards the car park.
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Susan @ 6:20 PM
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Saturday, April 14, 2007
My previous experience with leukemia
About 15 years ago I was working at a uni in Beijing. I was fellowshipping with 3 other Christians as a small group at the time. One day one of them told me that one of her workmates who was a teacher at the uni got leukemia and was at the hospital. I don't know this teacher but we decided that three of us would go visit her at the hospital.
At that time I guess there was no efficient cure for leukemia. She stayed at one of the top hospitals in Beijing, and according to the hospital record since the hospital was founded, there was only one patient who got out of the hospital after 6 months of treatment. The teacher had quite severe leukemia and she was given 3 months to live.
When we got to the hospital, she looked quite pale. Both she and her husband were very depressed. They were both communist party members. My Christian friend shared with her about our faith and offered to pray for her. They were not quite sure about becoming Christians but agreed to let us pray for her. So we did.
A week later we went back to the hospital to see her. She looked really happy and her face looked normal. She told us that all her tests came out to be normal, and she just needed to excercise a bit from lying on the bed so much. A month later she went back to work.
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Susan @ 12:53 PM
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Read till you drop !
Jamie's been feeling a lot better these days. She went to church at Hillsong women on Thursday, went to the library yesterday, she wanted us to take her out to the club for dinner or bowling last night but we didn't end up taking her, and she's now at the waves swimming pool watching other kids swim. She didn't want to go anywhere before.
We borrowed a lot of books from the library yesterday around lunch time. And before Jamie went to bed last night, she's read about 50 books!
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Susan @ 9:13 AM
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Friday, April 13, 2007
Bode's turning one!
It's Bode's birthday today....yay!!
I don't think Bode can care less about his birthday.... but Jamie's been so excited about his first birthday. She's been counting down the days, and she's been planning. She wanted us to take him to lollipops or playgyms, and then take him to a Vietnamese restaurant for noodle soup, and to RSL club for dinner.... She wrapped up his presents and waited beside his bed for him to wake up this morning and taught him how to open his presents...... she's such a little teacher.
Treatmentwise she's been coping well. Blood pressure is still slightly high, but she hasn't been complaining much about headaches. She has strong cravings for food, like yesterday at hospital she called daddy that she wanted Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, so poor daddy had to go to the restaurant in parramatta to get her some. Then she woke up 2am and had a huge bowl of pasta. Sometimes she can be a bit moody. When she gets bored, she bites her nails....there's absolutely nothing left in the nails for her to bite, but she still plays and bites nails for hours.... anyone has any clue how to deal with this? Every time she goes to hospital, she has to have two needles, one on finger and one on bottom. She doesn't mind the finger one too much, but she hates the bottom one. But finally there's only one more to go and she's so looking forward to when it's all finished. (well for this treatment phase at this stage) After next week it'll get a lot easier, she'll be mostly at home, and a nurse will come home to give her some chemo treatments. She will need another bone marrow test next week to see how it's going.
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Susan @ 10:02 AM
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Easter
Jamie's been feeling heaps good since last Thursday. She hasn't been complaining much at all of any pains. She's been eating very well.
We had a very peaceful Easter. The highlight for the kids was an Easter egg hunt in the house. Jamie's been given so much chocolate over the last couple of weeks but she hasn't been eating any of them until Easter Sunday. (well she had 3 little eggs that's all.) She hasn't been wanting any chocolates...
We're at the hospital Tuesday and Thursday for this week. She's mostly home other times. She hasn't been wanting to go out much except a library trip for some books.
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Monday, April 09, 2007
Some recent pictures
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Susan @ 11:00 PM
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Sunday, April 08, 2007
Some old pictures of Jamie
 I haven't got around to sort out the recent pictures, but here're some of the old pictures of Jamie that I have posted on this blog 
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Susan @ 10:09 AM
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Saturday, April 07, 2007
A quiet afternoon
So we went to the fish n chip shop near church for lunch. Jamie was really happy there. We were planning to go to the market for some wig after lunch, but it started pouring rain. So I decided to take baby and Jamie home while the rest went on with the shopping trip.
I asked Jamie if she wanted to do anything: watching a movie, having a friend over,etc. She said, nothing, just feel like a rest. So I let her rest, and I put baby to sleep. When I came out, I found she was reading a Bible. It's a kids Bible. I didn't suggest to her, or give the book to her. She found it on the bookshelf by herself. By the time daddy came home, she had read most of the kids Bible, and also a bit of Joyce Meyer's book, "Battlefield of the mind for kids". She told daddy, "I loved reading this Bible, it's so interesting! .......daddy, on my birthday, I only want books, so can you give me lots of books as presents?"
How sweet.
Well daddy didn't find a wig in the market. But I got one on ebay, it looks like this, Jamie picked it out herself.
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Susan @ 7:12 PM
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Oh happy day
Jamie came to my bedside around 5am this morning, "Can I have some vegies now?" So I got up and cooked and she ate a whole bowl of green vegies and some rice.
She came to our bedside again at 7am, with a big bright smile on her face,"I'm feeling good today, let's go to the fish n chip shop!" So Peter got up and made her some hot cross bun. She had two and still wanted more, then I told her to wait for a while otherwise she'd have a sore tummy. I went back to my room and put baby to sleep. By the time I came out, she had eaten another pile of hot chips and 6 nuggets...and she wanted to have a mango as well, and she still couldn't wait to go to the fish n chip shop for lunch.....oh my gosh.
Then she showed daddy a bunch of hair in her hand that she just pulled out......
Oh well, at least she's happy and she's been a chatter box all morning. :)
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Susan @ 10:11 AM
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Friday, April 06, 2007
Roller Coaster
Yesterday at Hillsong women, Jamie went up to the front, and a few key pastors led the whole church prayed over her. It was such a moment. Pastor Bobbie gave her several CD and DVDs and a huge chocholate. While we were all praying, I felt my hands shaking, which is quite unusual.
Chemo starts to get a bit hard on Jamie. Although we explained to her a few times, and she read the book about chemo herself, I don't think she quite understands what's happening. Yesterday at the hospital, she had a big cry when it was the needle time again. Then last night, she lashed out on daddy, and refused to take medicine. She thought it was all daddy's fault......it was daddy who insisted on having a blood test to her, and ever since that she hasn't stopped having to have medicines and needles...and the more medicines she had, the sicker she felt...... she doesn't quite get it why so many people suddenly become so nice to her, either.
She constantly has tummy ache and headache, and in between that she has cravings for food.
Like yesterday before Hillsong women, she had a piece of raisin toast, and then for the whole morning she just kept asking me,"mommy, can I have another piece of raisin toast?" I asked her later what she liked most about church, and she said.....the toast (lol)
Usually it's quite an effort to get her to eat one spoonful of green leafy vegies, but last night she ate a whole bowl of green vegies by herself and she still kept thinking about it the whole night, and asked me for that this morning....I had to go to the shops to get some more this morning so she could have that for breakfast....(well she had dropped the toast already)...sounds like how I felt when I was pregnant.
Life at the moment feels like a roller coaster. Although there're some sudden turns and some scary moments, even some screams, inside I know I have a safety belt and I'm holding on tightly to the safety bar. It's a journey....an unusual type of journey.....it's a roller coaster ride time!!! (BTW, roller coaster is Jamie's favourite ride, she's never scared of it.)
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Susan @ 1:03 PM
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Today at hospital
I took Jamie, Kate and Bode to the hospital today. It was supposed to be a short treatment, about an hour or so. So I thought it should be easy.......but I ended up spending like 5 hours.
Jamie had headache again, not as bad as last time which she was screaming, but enough to cause some concern. Her blood pressure went up, as a side effect of the medication. So we had to stay a few more hours in the hospital until the blood pressure came down and she felt well enough to go home. She had some blood transfusion today. She had put on 2 kg since last week. She didn't have much to eat during the day as she didn't feel very well, but she had a big dinner. Poor Peter had to get up every morning like 3am to cook something for her as she's so hungry. She's looking very chubby and rounded now.
Bode got quite sick by the end of the day. I think I might have to take him to the doctor tomorrow.
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Susan @ 12:12 AM
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Sunday, April 01, 2007
This week so far
It's been a very busy week. I was trying to keep things as normal as possible. Jamie's coping ok with chemo. She threw up quite a few times, and complained of tummy aches after she ate. Apart from hospital visits, she had been staying home. She's on steroids at the moment, so that helps her eat. Sometimes she'd wake up midnight craving for food. So it's actually quite funny to see her suddenly becoming chubby and with a round tummy. She might become quite big in a couple of weeks....but the weight will be lost soon after she stops the medication.
She went to hospital again on Thursday and had some blood transfusion, which made her feel a bit better. She looked quite pale and lethargic in the morning. She came home after 7pm.
Tomorrow (Monday)will be a big day for her at the hospital. She will need to do a bone marrow test and a few other treatment. She will need to go to hospital on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday next week.
I've been on a Daniel fast(and here) since last Thursday. So if you find me looking a bit slim..... don't be worried. I guess it's a good chance to lose all those baby weight. :)
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Susan @ 3:39 PM
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