New! Items for sale to support Vicki

I am pleased to present a couple of items that are being offered for sale to raise funds to help pay for the car parking, fuel, and other things that make Vicki's life more comfortable. Buying either one of these items will also help raise awareness of Leukaemia.

You can can buy a silicon wristband, or a silverstone bracelet. The wristband has HOPE, FAITH, COURAGE, and STRENGTH separated by the ribbon symbol.

The bracelet has the words "Together we can make a difference" on a heart, and the orange awareness ribbon.

The wristband costs £2.50 including post and packaging, the bracelet cost £2.99, again including post and packaging. I have a limited stock, so you may need to wait for a little while should my stock be depleted!

Trying to be normal, whilst we wait

Since Vicki came home last week I've tried to make things as normal as they can possibly be under the circumstances. She started by going to Explorers last Wednesday. Friday we took my mum shopping and in return she took us both out to dinner. Saturday Vicki went into town and saw the movie New Moon with her boyfriend and then went Christmas Shopping. She spent the evening with her mum and watched the X Factor before returning home. Sunday we invited my mum over to dinner and between all three of us we prepared, cooked and served. Monday Kieren and Philippa came over and we had a good sing-along on We Sing. Some of the evidence of this is on Facebook! Sharp observer will note that I'm not in any of the published videos. Camera man's privilege ;-D. Yesterday, Vicki should have been going back into hospital for her 3rd chemotherapy, but her blood counts are not high enough, so she's able to stay at home for a couple more days.

This gave us an opportunity. Vicki had been disappointed that she would miss her seasonal school trip to Birmingham's German market. So I suggested that we could use this extra 'bonus' time to visit the market, and of course the Bull Ring. With a glint in her eye, the kind of which I'd not seen for a long time, she seized the opportunity to spend some of my money! We had a lovely day in Birmingham, bitterly cold, but much to see. As well as the German Market, we took a ride on the observation wheel to see an aerial view of Birmingham. No offence Birmingham, but you look much better from the ground! We arrived home exhausted and shopped-out!

Today, we're playing the waiting game. The community nurse called this morning to take blood samples as normal, and the results of these will determine whether we're heading back to Leicester for a month, or holding off for a little longer. So it's waiting by the phone for news from the pathology lab... Now of course, it seems inevitable that Vicki will be in hospital over Christmas.

Monday we made third page news in the ET, a lovely piece, it's nice to know that they're keeping abreast of events and an active interest in the story. Hopefully the coverage will generate some interest in making Vicki's Christmas special. Fingers crossed.

A testing time

We're entering a period of seemingly endless tests. On top of the already daily blood tests, today Vicki will have an ultrasound test on her liver. Tomorrow she will have an echo test on her heart. This week, or early next week she'll have a bone marrow test, and a lumber puncture. All of these are routine except today's liver scan. Vicki's most recent blood tests have revealed some anomalies in her liver function. This is to be expected as part of her chemotherapy, but needs to be checked out just in case.

Vicki remains quite bright and positive, and of course is frustrated to be still in hospital. Her consultant confirmed that when she does get home it will be for 5 days, not a week as we'd hoped, but this of course is better than being in hospital. Her counts are slowly rising, but aren't high enough for her to be allowed home just yet.

The more observant of you may have notice that there is now a donate button on the blog. Please help all you can by bringing this to the attention of as many people as possible. Every donation will directly help Vicki. The purpose is two fold. It's to raise money to pay for petrol and car parking, as the cost of this is starting to bite. It's also to ensure that Vicki has an amazing Christmas, so please give generously and spread the word. It's hard to make this direct appeal, but necessity has forced me to the begging bowl as it's fair to say that our efforts to garner attention through the media have yielded us precious little even though we were promised it would. We had a fabulous donation that came as a direct result of the local media, but since going national nearly a month ago, money has been less than forthcoming. With Christmas coming, it's important to highlight that the strains of Vicki's illness go way beyond how it affects her directly. It would be much easier of course if Vicki was being treated locally, but NHS provision in Northamptonshire is sadly lacking.

Loves Mobiles Lost

The hospital have a knack of losing what is precious to you. First they lost her crystals. Vicki is a great believer in the power of crystals, and these particular crystals were bought for her by her Aunt, especially for her condition, so this was quite distressing. Lost without trace. Then, at some point between ICU and the ward, her oldest, most favourite teddy bear, was lost, again without a trace. This time, they've lost her mobile phone.

A mobile phone is like a limb to a teenager, and this means that now she's partially cut off from her social network. If anyone has a mobile that they no longer need, preferably unlocked, or on T-Mobile, would you please be kind enough to consider letting Vicki have it? It would be much appreciated. You can contact me via e-mail address which is on the blog somewhere.

Many thanks.