[DaiCroParticipant]

Janet had our Grandchildren all day on Tuesday due to a broken boiler at their school. Edith (nearly 5) had the sniffles and a cough and now so does Janet… and here I am neutropenic but finding it hard to avoid Janet. 🙁

She had them again this afternoon (both times at their house) and Alfie (nearly 7) got quite upset that he couldn't see his Tadcu, which I found quite touching. Edith was still sniffling but not as bad as Tuesday. I have Boots 'First Defece' nasal spray and Vick's sinex micro mist, which I prefer to use but apparently the Boots spray is more effective… so I mix and match. Janet has taken to using hand mousse all of the time and masks when she comes into the bedroom and when we watch TV in the living room. 😛

Usually when I have been neutropenic I have been in hospital so this is new to us… I'm crossing everything in sight that I don't catch the lurgy… I may well deal with it okay but I really don't want to have to take the risk… but what else to do? :-/

Dai.

[tomParticipant]

Aww Dai

Bless its hard aint it?
But I will tell you what I have done over the years including during and after SCT (but I dont advise anyone else to do it, worked for me 🙂 )

All my life I have took the kids when they are ill and cuddled them saying "Come on Give us a cuddle and Dad will take your poorly away" Now that worked for our three (now grown up) Sons, and i now do it to our Grandkids and i hate to admite it when they were ill I still got them in for a cuddle even when they were too ill to be brought to me I went to them (silly I know) but I had to do it and would do it again if i was in same position.
The Above worked for me and please dont do it yourselfs.

Tom Onwards and Upwards xx

[HelenParticipant]

Dear Dai
Sounds as though you have covered everything, hope it all works and you keep infection free
Love Helen

[AliParticipant]

Hi Dai

I really hope you stay lurgy free. As Helen says you seem to have covered all bases.

This is a really tricky one isnt it? My son aged 9 said on Tuesday morning he had a tummy ache and felt ill. As Tuesday is a day I work I said there there you will be ok, off to school you go. Had it not been a work day I would have kept him off school:-( My Mum who is at home twiddling her thumbs said why didnt you bring him to me id have loved to look after him? What do you do? I just said it would be foolish to run into a bug knowingly. It makes me cross that my Mum cant do grandparent duties when she would so love to do so. Bit of a rant over xx

Love Ali xx

[nickinooParticipant]

Fingers crossed you manage to avoid the lurgy Dai.

Was nice to see you both the other day.

Nicki xx

[VickiParticipant]

Dai,

Like the others have said….all bases crossed and keeping our fingers crossed for you. It's a difficult one as the others have said…..a fine balance between normal life and taking the sensible option. Hope you manage to avoid it and we see no posts from the WARD!

Ali, sorry to hear little lad been poorly, always best to keep bugs away…..Colin elected for no maintenance treatment but I'm still worried about bugs! Friends little grandchild had a bug and we only found out after…..there was a lot of finger crossing in our house too! How is your mum doing generally…..Colin had his first hair cut this week, never seem his hair so curly, said it was like a poodle, wrong thing to say ha ha 🙂

Vicki and Colin x

[AliParticipant]

Hi Vicki

Nice to hear from you! How do you both feel about the No maintenance? I bet its lovely for Colin to be drug free. The curly hair? Lol I think its getting Mum down hers is so curly and so thick. Shes not had it cut yet.

In general my Mum is ok although shes really tired , especially the afternoon. I think its the Revlimid at work. Shes just getting on with things really and has booked to go on a cruise which shes looking forward to. She had a stay in hospital a few weeks ago with cellulitis (we think it was from the vaccinations shed had) that was a bit scary:-(

Its a funny thing this maintenance treatment isnt it? I know Mum would be feeling much better without any treatment, but how do you know if its better in the long run? Shes happy to continue with it though. Go to see her consultant on Thursday and as long as her bloods are ok, that will be fine:-)

How are you both?

Love Ali xx

[foxy555Participant]

Hi Vicki

You made me laugh about Colin and his poodle look!!!! I won't mention to Pete about the possibility of his hair growing back curly, that certainly would upset him – LOL.

Hi Dai, hope you keep well and don't come down with anything.

Take care all

Ann
x

[bandityogaParticipant]

Hi Dai

Hope you have managed to escape the lurgy. I have 2 small grandchildren and I stay away when they have the sniffles as I seem to pick up everything from them, but I love them to bits.

Maureen

[DaiCroParticipant]

Hi Maureen,

The trouble is I have no idea when my neutropenia has lifted. I finished my 2nd infusion of Bendamustine a week last Tuesday and then I was sent home for the best part of 3 weeks to allow the chemo to do its job and then for my bloods to recover. 😎

So Janet will have the Grandchildren at their home tomorrow which we know will upset them because they like coming to our house and I know that they enjoy spending time with me… ditto with knobs on but I dare not risk it at the moment. 🙁

I will have to take advice from my consultant. 😐

Dai.

[DebsParticipant]

Hi Dai

I'm going through the same feelings at the moment although I'm being far less careful than you, presuming that I'll be ok :-/ and hoping for the best!

I'm on maintenance at the moment and after nearly 18 months, my neutrophils dropped to 0.56!! They managed to get me up to 0.8 by taking me off revlimid for 2 weeks and giving me 5 days of GCSF, but then have put me back on it. I now have a horrid cough and sore throat and no energy at all. But I don't know, and won't until the 2nd, whether my levels have dropped back down or are the same. I'll only find out if I get a raging temperature and go in to our local hospital for tests.

The problem for me is that with the kids I just can't get away from bugs etc. At 6 and 8, my oldest is now worried about me and so I try to keep life normal by doing the school run etc….but that isn't helped when my so called friends send sick children into school pretending they haven't been sick because they don't want to miss a mufti day! And they know I'm neutropenic! arrggh! Who needs enemies hey?! I don't think they realise how serious it could be if I caught the wrong thing.

It sounds like you are doing all you can be doing. It is so hard staying away from kiddies, especially when they don't understand and just want to be with you.

Keep it up if you can 🙂

Debs

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