round 3

Carys finished round 3 of chemo on Friday and so we’re now half way through the 4 cycle treatment plan. This round involved 2 different drugs over 3 days. Because she has been doing so well, we could do the treatment as an outpatient, rather than being admitted and staying overnight. The first day was very long – 8.30am till 7pm which was a bit difficult for her as she couldn’t really nap because it was so noisy. Most of the time, we’re happy that the day oncology unit is bright and cheerful, just not at nap time! By around 5pm she was so tired she didn’t know what to do with herself except scream, so the nurse found a room to move into so that she could finally sleep. The next 2 days were much shorter as the drugs on those days didn’t require pre and post IV hydration. One of the drugs, etoposide, usually causes quite bad nausea, so the nurse advised regular doses of the anti-nausea medicine. Since Carys didn’t like taking the syrup last time, we tried the wafers which were much better. They’re really small, and dissolve on the tongue in half a second. So far, she’s been in good spirits and not really showing any signs of feeling nauseous.
Apart from the treatment and hospital visits, Carys has picked up a few new skills. She’s taking steps on her own, started drawing and is building up her vocabulary. My favourite is when she drops something and says “uh aaaooww.” Just too cute! She also says “birrrr” for bird and, then caw’s like a crow. She’s even figured out how to turn on the TV with the remote and knows how to annoy tane by turning it off at the power switch when he’s watching his programs.