Surgery Details

Reid got through his last lot of chemo really well. We got out of hospital on the Friday and had to go straight over to the Mater Hospital for another MRI. Dr Peter Steadman (Orthopedic Surgeon) wanted to see another scan before he was to make decisions on how we are going to get rid of the remaing Tumour.
Dave and Alex came down on Fiday nite and Alex stayed down Monday and Tuesday as Dave was to return for Dr Steadmans Appointment on Tuesday. She and Reid had slipped back into normal sibling conversation very quickly. We had also moved to a new abode at the Childhood Cancer Support Units in Bramston Tce so Reid and Alex now share a bunk bed and lots more space to play. We had been very happy at the Charles Wanstall Lodge but we felt that Reid needed to have as much interaction with other kids as possible so when a three bedroom unit became available, and we were notified, we took it and moved in last Thursday.
Tuesday we woke quite anxious, but eager to hear what the surgeon was to say. Our appointment was at 1.30pm at The Mater Hospital. We got there at 12.45!!
Dr Steadman was on time. We had only been in his office for 5mins and Reid was already asking if we could go! Dr Steadman had a look at Reids leg then said that he could go outside for a walk with Ninnie. Thank goodness for Mum or we wouldnt have been able to ask the zillions of questions we had written down in advance.
Bascially Dr Steadman said that Reids Tumour had shrunk considerably but it is still visible and the Tibia will have to be removed 3cm above and 3cm below the original tumour site. Luckily Reids Growth plates had not been affected by the tumour so Dr Richard Theile (a Plastic Surgeon) will take the Fibular from Reids Left leg and put it in place of the infected Tibia in his right leg. It will be screwed in place connected to blood vessels and should grow normally. Of all the evils this is a good option as we are not replacing the infected leg with a foreign object. Less chance for infection and no rejection. When we asked what about his left leg? Dr Steadman said that "God put fibulars in to be used as spare parts!" David and I were very happy with this. We were told that Reid will have considerable pain after the 8-10 hour op. He will also have a cast on both legs. His left leg cast will probably be able to be removed after two weeks and the one on his right will be there for three months and then replaced with a plastic brace to help him walk! Yay! Sounds like he will be walking close to March 08! Pretty good considering he hasnt walked since MAY 07! Reid will also commence chemo two weeks after surgery. Surgery will be done at the Wesley Hospital only because of the length of time it will take. He will be transferred to Royal Childrens Hospital if he needs to go to ICU after surgery. They dont have a childrens ICU facility at the Wesley.
I met with Dr Theille (Plastic Surgeon) today and he told me that this type of surgery has a 96% success rate. Reid will have a big scar on both his legs, and may lose some strenght in his left Big Toe, but other than this it should all be good.
Surgery is scheduled and booked for the 14th November...
Today Reid is not too good, his bloods are low and he is spitting a lot. We are due to have blood counts again on Saturday and Monday and another CT Scan next Tuesday to check the spot on his Right Lung. Lets hope we stay out of hospital this time and his bloods recover soon. I would really like to get Reid home for a break before surgery, and if this happens I will have some of his friends come to visit....he misses them all so much.

Rounding the corner to Cycle 6

Cycle 5 has proven to be as eventful and dramatic as all the others. We started off the chemo for cycle 5 of VIDE on the 1st of this month. Reid's weight was excellent and we were looking to having a quiet 21 days. Chemo finished day three as per the other cycles and we got out of hospital Day 4. Over these days Reid handled the chemo well and only vomited a couple of times. He didnt eat for the entire hospital stay but seemed to tolerate his Nasal Gastric tube feeds on a lower rate. However we were to find out in a weeks time that he had lost 2 kgs.
On Friday the 5th October a very special girlfriend of mine organised a lunch for me to see some of my wonderful friends, not wanting to harness me into something Rach made sure everything was ok on Friday Morning before confirming the booking with the girls. I had a great time and returned to the unit around 8pm! (Now thats a LUNCH!) Mum stayed with Reid and some of the girls went round to have dinner with Mum...so she didn't miss out either!! I woke on Saturday with a cold, so Mum kicked me out! I went back to Toowoomba for three days. Dave stayed with Mum and Reid and Alex came back from Taroom on Sunday so it was great to see her. She had a wonderful time with her cousins and all the flies!!!
Reid's bloods bottomed out over the next 10 days and he had to have several transfusions to get the counts up. By day 11 his platelets were pretty low and at 5.30pm he got a terrible nose bleed. We had to go up to emergency and a platelets transfusion was given and we were admitted into the new Oncology Ward "Turner". Reid was the very first patient in Bed 4! We spent the next three days fighting Mucositis, but this time (without the Morphine) and waiting for his blood counts to come up. We had two more blood transfusions before we were allowed out on Sunday.
Monday we went up to Banksia Outpatients for anti-Biotics. On Thursday when Reid spiked a temp with his bleeding nose cultures were taken, and by Sunday a bacteria had grown. So to cover all bases we had to have anti-biotics daily. We saw Dr Tim and he said we could go home. YAY!!!!! Reid had not been home since August! He was so excited. I got back to the unit , packed and we arrived back in Toowoomba at 7:30pm! Not only was alex and David there but Malcom (David's dad) too. So good to see Pa!!
We had to go up daily to St Vincents to have the Anti biotics. So at 8:30am Reid and I made what was to become a regular pilgramage to St Vincents. Because they were not prepares for our visit, it took some time and we got back to home at 11.30am. I changed into home clothes and generally got to doing the all the things I wanted to. Silly things like gardening, tidying the tupperware cupboard, reading my emails, and writing this blog. Reid played with his toys, in the sandpit on the swings, watched TV and played playstation....Alex came home from school and then I got a phonecall from RCH .......
The infection in Reids Blood cultures had come back as a Gram Negative which meant it was bad. Reid was SO WELL!!! However they needed us to return to Brisbane tonight and have his central Line removed and a new PICC line was to be inserterted into his arm for his anti biotics this was to be done 10:30am Wed under General anaesethtic. After lots of tears, swearing and more packing, Reid and I got in the car and drove back to RCH. We hadnt even been home 24 hours. Alex David and Malcolm were devastated. Not to mention Reid...he spent most of the trip trying to work out how to run away in his wheelchair!!
The op went well and Reid recovered very quickly. We were allowed out of Banksia at 4pm and we drove straight back to Toowoomba.
So thats where we are now. We have to go up to St Vincents three times a day for Anti-biotics but at least we are at home. The girls (nurses) up there have been amazing. The senior ones even working for us on their days off so we dont have to be inpatients! Absolute Saints!
We head back to Bris on Saturday and Chemo starts on Tuesday. I will keep you posted. xxx