Tabby 1 Escalating Capizzi 0

Three weeks since the last blog post. I must be slipping! As ever, a lot has happened since the last blog. Tabby had another two escalating doses of IV methotrexate with the usual side effects of tummy pain and complete loss of appetite but she has now completed the “Escalating Capizzi” regime. She tolerated all five cycles and did not need to go to be admitted to hospital. What a star – what a relief! Each week her weight has wobbled around that which the doctors would suggest NG feeding. This is naso-gastric feeding where a small tube is passed into her stomach via her nose so we can feed her liquidised food or supplements. Last week, eating her spaghetti, she asked what sort of food would go down the tube if she had one. Just spaghetti because that’s all that will fit - that and tomato soup.  

"Special Soup from Joy at Murrayfield"

We would all hate that and have handfuls of coins to put in her pockets next time she is weighed.  She is 4 days post last methotrexate injection and is just emerging from her “Can’t eat, won’t eat” phase. Hopefully her  weight will not have dropped any more and so we will avoid the NG tube.

Grannie and Grandpa visited us last week and Grandpa had his  **th birthday while they were here. We didn’t put all the candles on the cake as that would have been a significant fire risk! Anyway, Tabby enjoyed presenting the cake to Grandpa.

On Friday, Donella and I attended The Stewarts’ Melville Charity Fantoosh, with one of the Charities being “Its Good 2 Give”.  I was asked to say a few  words about Tabby and the charity.  With Donella’s words of encouragement – “Don’t go rambling on” – I gave a personal account of how “Its Good 2 Give” has helped us.  It’s a hard topic to talk about without spoiling everyone’s evening.  One colleague told me it was a passionate speech but that could have been the three glasses of champagne I consumed beforehand.

It was a super night and an awful lot of money was raised for the charities

You will have noticed that we had a flash of summer over the last week which has been great for us all. On Saturday we went swimming and on Sunday, Tabby was back to Sunday school. The rest of the weekend, Tabby has been out playing in the garden non-stop and yesterday she and the rest of her class p2K spent the day at the Botanical Gardens.  

Tabby now has a 2 week holiday from any more chemotherapy. Hooray! This should give her the chance to recover from the Capizzi duel. The next phase is labelled “ Delayed intensification no.1” Here we revisit all our old friends from the astronomer’s map – Cytarabine, Mercaptopurine and  Peg Asparaginase to name but a few.  We also kick off with 2 more weeks of appetite inducing steroids so I guess it will be back to Costa Coffee for the daily Ham and Cheese Paninis. 

Dancing with Mischief

At the risk of sounding like an old worn out record, we are constantly amazed at how resilient and chirpy Tabby has been throughout this time. Last year at the school sports, she won all her races even beating the boys. This week, at a practice event  she came rolling in at the back of the field.  Although irritated at the time, she knows she will be out at the front again soon!

 

Thanks for reading,

 

The Lawsons