Olivia had her last day of preschool on Wednesday, December 17th. It was a busy last couple of weeks which culminated in a Christmas concert the week before. It was lovely. Mum, James, Sarah and I went along and we were all involved in making Christmas decorations with Olivia and then we watched their little concert. The kids sang a range of songs from some they had learnt over the course of the year and some Christmas carols – it was just gorgeous. Jenny, Olivia’s teacher, then handed out large folders with samples of the kids’ work inside, including a folder of photos Jenny had put together. Olivia’s folder was filled with some beautiful samples of work, a calendar Olivia had made and the photos were gorgeous. I was so teary and emotional. It was such a difficult year for us and the preschool community has been so incredibly supportive of our family, especially Olivia’s teachers and the parents. Preschool was also a wonderful escape for our beautiful girl in the midst of all of her treatment – it was a great opportunity for her to just feel like a normal kid. It was like a sanctuary for her. Everyone at the preschool supported her and always made her feel so welcome whenever she returned after being away for treatment. In fact, quite often, when she was away, Jenny would have the children make something crafty for her which would often be accompanied with messages of love and support. Olivia loved that. Olivia developed a wonderful bond with some of the other children in her group, particularly four of the girls and I was lucky enough to develop friendships with their mums.
Olivia’s preschool group celebrated the last day of preschool with a party, for which Olivia had to take fairy bread (lucky I knew how to make that one – ha!). The kids all seemed to have a great time. I became quite emotional saying goodbye to Olivia’s teachers Jenny and Hilary. They have been so good to Olivia and really made her time at preschool so special.
After preschool, we dropped Sarah off at Mum’s as after Olivia’s and my chiropractic appointment, we headed up to Sydney for Olivia’s scans. We thought that it would be best for Sarah to stay at Mum and Dad’s as they were going to take her to the coast on Friday and she was very excited about that. We thought that the last thing she needed was to be dragged around the hospital while Olivia had scans and she always picks up on our anxiety.
We arrived at Ronald McDonald House just before 7.30. They had a dinner on that night and luckily for us, there were some leftovers. The volunteers, including food expert, Janelle Bloom from Ready, Steady, Cook (she volunteers regularly), had the kids decorating a gingerbread house, gingerbread men and making snowballs. Olivia had a ball. There was also another volunteer who brought in a box of nik-naks, hair accessories, kids jewellery, etc. (Apparently, her aunt sells the stock to stores like Best and Less). Olivia had the best time going through the box and helping herself to whatever she wanted!! However, she was under strict orders to save some things for Sarah.
Olivia was booked in for her CT scan at 9am. Once again, she had to drink the revolting contrast in a couple of 20 minute intervals before her scan. I went in with her for the scan. She amazes me at how well she copes with all of this – she never complains or questions why she has to do certain things. She just knows it has to be done and she accepts it all happily.
We then headed up to Nuclear Medicine to see if she could have her MIBG injection earlier than her scheduled 2pm appointment. We returned at about 11.30 for the injection (they are always so kind and accommodating in the Nuc Med department). Again, Olivia handled it all very well. Carol, one of the senior technicians, then gave Olivia a huge Christmas present and one for Sarah. I was so touched by their kindness. They are always so supportive of us and really good to Olivia. Olivia loved the present – dancing Cinderella and Prince Charming dolls and a harp. The girls were also given chocolate advent calendars – somehow it was James who managed to eat most of the chocolate from them!
Olivia and I then headed up the Randwick shopping centre for lunch. We then walked down to the Spot to the movie theatre to see Madagascar. We had a great afternoon together but were both exhausted and we both fell asleep during the movie with Olivia on my lap.
On Friday, Olivia had her MIBG scan. This is the scan that makes us most anxious. It is completely nerve-wracking. One of the most difficult things about this whole journey is the cycle of anxiety we feel. The anxiety is always there, it’s just more intense during scanning time. Once we get through the scans, we know that we have to get through it all again in three months time and hence the cycle begins once again. I usually become quite anxious in the lead up to scans – 4 or 5 weeks prior whereas James seems to save it all up for the week of the scans.
Once again, Olivia lay completely still for over 2 hours and never complained. We occasionally had to scratch her leg or toes but she had the good sense not to do it herself. She knew that they would have to start the scan again if she moved and I don’t think she was keen on that idea!
Throughout the scan James and I were quite anxious. However, having said that, I think that I was more calm than usual. James and I shared a few anxious tears in the scanning room but I was feeling quietly confident that everything would be okay.
We were very proud of Olivia for lying so still. We then headed up to clinic to see one of her oncologists but he was held up in a meeting and we were asked to return later. In the meantime, we decided to visit another gorgeous (but overpriced) little fairy shop, Rainbow Fantasy. We had gone to check it out the previous day but it had closed and Oli was devastated. Olivia was thrilled when we arrived there. There were so many pretty and colourful things in this shop. I think I get almost as carried away as Oli does in these fairy shops (I must be reliving my childhood fantasies). We spent quite some time in the shop, much to James’ delight. Lucky for him, he caught up with one of his mates who just happened to be driving through the area at that time, while we shopped. I think he was very grateful for the distraction, however, I think he wished he’d been a little more attentive on realising how much I ended up spending in the shop! Mind you, both girls have birthdays coming in January and February and I needed to get them some presents. A good excuse anyway!
We eventually headed back to the hospital to catch up with one of Olivia’s oncologists. He did the usual checks and seemed happy with how she was. We discussed a few issues and arranged for blood forms and prescriptions. He told us that one of her liver enzymes was abnormally high (alkaline phosphatase) but that it was nothing to worry about at this stage. He wasn’t sure what might be causing it. It could possibly be the squalene (fish oil) we recently started her on to help with her excessive dry skin resulting from the medication. The plan was to check the level again in a couple of weeks to see if had gone down.
During our consultation, Olivia’s doctor received a phone call from the radiologist to inform him that Olivia’s MIBG scan was clear. What an immense relief! It’s always an agonising wait. It really is torturous going through this every three months. But the elation we feel when we get results like that is just indescribable. It was the best Christmas present ever – what more could we possible want than to have our gorgeous girl as healthy as she can be and to be with us at Christmas when we really didn’t know if she would make it to this point. We are just so incredibly grateful to have her here and in such wonderful shape. My goal is to keep her that way and I will stop at nothing to make sure she stays well and enjoys everything life has to offer.
We were lucky enough earlier in the day to have been given three tickets to see High School Musical – the stage show by the manager of RMH. The tickets were for tonight. As strange as it may sound, it was almost like a sign that everything was going to turn out okay. Even more strangely in the past day or so, we saw a beautiful rainbow, a single bright star in the evening and we had each, independently, seen a rabbit hopping around the grounds of RMH. We took these to be signs of luck and that we would see positive results (I know, I’m strange but you look for any sort of sign in our situation).
The show was pretty good and whilst Olivia showed interest at first, it wasn’t long before she was fidgeting and getting tired. I think she may have been a little too young for it. Nonetheless, it was a good night out. We were on a high anyway with those great test results.