Muriels story

OK, who is Muriel you are asking? Let me enlighten you. Muriel is a toy orangutan, that Jaz and Emmy had bought on Saturday, along with a pink tutu. Jaz and Emmy had taken the primate for a tour of Northampton and had taken lots of pictures of her doing the shopping, waiting for buses, playing on the swings that sort of thing. These pictures were placed on Facebook as a picture story and gave me an idea.

That evening, Jaz and Emmy came to visit along with Muriel, and it turned out that Muriel was a gift for Victoria. I got Muriel to listen to Victoria's heart with a stethoscope, take her temperature, examine her eyes and ears, all of which was photographed for prosterity. Then, I spotted a drum kit and we decided to recreate the Cadbury's advert with the gorilla, and more hilarity ensued. The kids then took over the creative process and found dressing up clothes and dressed Muriel in all sorts of outfits and took pictures of them all. The one that amused me the most was Buzz Lightyear, but Muriel also took a turn as Batman, a fireman, and a Bob the Builder among others.

It was so nice to see Victoria reaction, and hear her laughing heartily. Not only was this a great tonic to Tracey and I, but the nurses remarked at how nice it was to hear the children having a good time. All in all, a positive few hours amongt all the negative ones. As for the rest of the day, it was business as usual; an endless string of fluid drips, platlets, blood tests and the next course of chemotherapy.