keeping healthy

A big challenge with a child on chemo is keeping them healthy.

Chemo hammers the immune system and so even when the child is at home its a struggle to keep them well. It means an odd sort of life where you either see people outside in the park or endlessly check the health of visitors. This particularly applies to other children, who are so prone to coughs and sniffles at this time of year. Any of these minor illnesses, part of a healthy child's growing up, can lead to a chest infection and a couple of weeks in hospital for the boy.

As we are waiting for the operation we are desparate not to have to cancel it because of illness. So, it was with some trepidation that we heard that a child he had seen had come down with a nasty cold. And this was after cancelling two other social visits because someone was ill.

And, during yesterday we got increasingly worried that the boy had got it. He looked peaky, sounded wheezy and needed oxygen support during his nap. We put him to bed bracing ourselves for the time in the early morning that we would have to call an emergency ambulance. It's always early morning - usually between 2am and 3am - for some reason which I assume is related to body cycles.

Today we got away with it. Although not quite well, he's not yet ill enough to need to go to hospital. But it will be plenty of restful play today.