LIAM'S JOURNEY

We got back from our holiday in Auckland late this evening.  We had a fantastic time, but as always it is nice to be home in our own beds.

We decided that there are some pluses to having cancer as if it wasn’t for Liam and this blog we wouldn’t have been the recipients of Jane and Andrews generosity in lending us their house in Mission Bay.  We were about 800 metres from the Mission Bay beach so spent several of our evenings swimming and lazing beside the water.  We also went to the Auckland zoo and Waiwera hot springs and basically just spent alot of time relaxing.  We spent a little bit of time playing on the Wii, which was a fair bit of humour.  It was exactly what we all needed.   

Liam, Ashleigh, Jessica and Amelia are all back to school on Tuesday, and Olivia is back on Monday.  I must admit I have enjoyed these holidays with not having to worry about bedtimes, lunches, after school activities etc, but it will also be good to get back into a routine again.

The next 6 months are going to be very busy, I have 3 exams in a weeks time (the ones I missed when Liam was in hospital) and then straight into semester 1.  My good friend Kirsty is over from London for a couple of weeks in March and then Jasper and I are off to Queenstown at the end of March for 5 days.  Then we are off to the Gold Coast to celebrate Liam being in remission. 

Liam has a CT scan scheduled for the 2nd of March so fingers crossed that that comes back all clear.  We also had a visit from the Make a Wish Foundation, and all going to plan Liams wish may be granted soon.  I will post photos and details once I know more.

All in all everyone is doing well, all very refreshed and ready for the new school year. 

Becs

Liam, Ashleigh and I went into Wellington Hospital for bloods to be taken today.  He was a very brave little soldier, and only had a very small panic attack just before the needle went in, but allowed them to take three vials of blood.  These are being sent to Australia to identify whether or not he tests positive for a certain gene.  If he is positive then further tests will be done on his colon, and Ashleigh will also be tested to see if she is positive.  If she is then it is all about preventative measures, and then we will start to look at the wider immediate family.  These tests really could open a bit of a can of worms.

Liam has a fair bit of anxiety stored up which bubbles to the surface every now and then.  I found him in the bathroom on Saturday with what appeared to be a blood clot that had come from his eye.  When he saw me he started to cry which made the blood come from his eye, and was terrified that he would have to go back to hospital.  Once we cleaned him up I realised that it wasn’t anything major, I initially thought it was just the tube falling out, but I’m not sure.  I am certainly not concerned as his eye is not infected, not bothering him and looks great.  It did however bring home just how much the poor wee buggar has been through over the past 9 months.

Looking to the future, he is having a CT scan scheduled shortly and when that comes back clear (power of positive thinking!) I will give the blog writing a bit of a break as I will have nothing to report, but you can still follow our progress on the funrazor site.

So far so good, 2009 has started off well.  I have received a phone call from Dr Kratz who has advised that he has located a lab in Australia who will undertake the genetic testing for Liam and find out if there is a family connection between the cancers and whether further tests are required on other family members.  The people that he has spoken to all agree that it is important given the family history that these tests are done.  It seems strange that when I said that I believed it was important they told me otherwise!  The only downer about it all is that Liam will have to have bloods taken to enable them to be sent off.  Unfortunately he is terrified of needles (wonder why) so I will have to think up some new strategies to help him cope.  Bribery seems to work ok but it ends up costing me a fortune!

The holidays are passing by in a bit of a blur I must admit.  Its hard to believe we are halfway through already.  We spent a wonderful day at H2O extreme with Mel, Mike, Maddie and Imogen who were visiting from Australia.  It was great as Mike was the climbing pole for the kids for most of the day which enabled Mel and I to have a much overdue catch up.  We are off to Hastings for a few days next week, then are heading to Auckland in the final week of the holidays.  Thanks again Jane for your generous offer of the house and car – we really do appreciate it.

The funrazor blog is up and running and I have added my part to it, so keep checking back to see the other stories soon.  We are having a bit of a “fundraising planning meeting” next weekend, which is really just a good excuse for a girls night with no children.  Funnily enough I am looking forward to it!

I have attached the link to the funrazor on the right hand side —–>

Hope this post finds everyone well and settling into the new year. 

Becs

Well talk about seeing in 2009 in style.  We had Jaspers family up for a BBQ on a beautiful Kapiti Coast day.  We dragged out the singstar 80’s and after a few drinks I thought I was singing remarkably well, and no girls it doesn’t have the Gambler on it, however we did do a rendition in the spa pool a bit later in the evening!  We had a very late night (or early morning, depending on how you look at 5am) but I got up at about 9 with the kids and jumped on our bikes to ride around to let my sisters dogs out.  We then all sat on the deck soaking up the sun and spent the other half of the day down at the Waikanae pools.  We have now all hit the wall and will go get some fish and chips shortly and have a very early night.

For your information Shanell has set up a new blog for everyone to follow our fundraising journey to the funrazor later this year.  The link is http://funrazor09.livejournal.com/ so please add it to your favourites and pass it on to everyone that you know. 

Our only upcoming scheduled appointment is in a couple of weeks to the orthotics centre, but I will be taking Liam to our local GP next week as he has a nasty case of what I thought was athletes foot on both feet, but nothing I seem to treat it with seems to be clearing it up, so I think I need to seek some professional advice!  Other than that he is a fit and healthy little boy who is excited because today he can say “I’m going to be 10 next year!” and this morning “I haven’t eaten all year” and lately “I haven’t had a shower at all this year”

I am positive this year is going to bring good things to our family, and Liam is going to go from strength to strength.  Happy New Year to you all

Becs