Day in Grugapark.....

We found a massive park behind the WPE. We spent the whole day there yesterday (Saturday)! It was ace! There are several playground areas and it has many activities for any age group including trampolining, a roller skate park, a gym, tennis courts, volley ball courts, a maze, a model village and lots of ice cream! It also has a little train to take you round the whole park. We had a great day!

First 3 protons done!!!

At the proton centre they check my blood regularly. I have a thumb prick and then they test my blood using a special machine which takes 2 minutes to give the results! In Manchester it takes over an hour!

This is what I look like when I am being protoned........

Outside the WPE........

Germany here we Come!!!!!

Team Sally ready to go to Germany....

We flew out to Germany on Sunday 22nd of April. The NHS pays maximum €80 a night for our accommodation. We got a second floor apartment. We are really happy with it because it is massive! Milly and I get to share a bedroom. Altogether the apartment can accommodate 6 people as there is a sofa bed.

We went to the WPE (West German, Proton Therapy Centre, Essen, Germany) on Monday only to be told that I can't have proton today because it hadn't been 14 days since I had actinomycin (a type of chemo drug) so we have been delayed before we have even started! We were then told to come back on Wednesday.

Today (Tuesday) was just a chill day. No treatment to have. I decided to try my drysuit on and it fits with no leaks!!!!!! There are plenty of pools in Essen so I might be able to go swimming tommorow! It has nearly been 7 months since I last went swimming.

We went to the WPE this morning. First we went to see the doctor to confirm that it will go ahead today. When I went into the room with the Proton machine in I had to lie on a table inside the machine. The doctors lined me up under the lasers and moved the arm around to target different places of my back. I couldn' t see or feel anything. I was in about half an hour.

This is the Proton machine 

This is where the protons are being fired.
The darker the red is more protons....
This cancer doesn't stand a chance!

Before we left to go swimming we thought it would be a good idea to make sure we can definitely go swimming. Unfortunately, the doctor said not to go as the drysuit will press against my skin and cause it to get even more irritated than it already will be due to the radiation. I was so upset because I had got my hopes up and I was REALLY excited.

Chemo round 2......

This morning we decided not to go to the hospital as early as usual because last time we finished at 5am. So this time we aimed to get to the hospital for 10am so that I can finish my chemo at around 9am on Wednesday.

Well that is what was meant to happen........

When we arrived at the hospital at 10.30am, like usual, I had a thumb prick, my obbs done and my height and weight checked. I am now back to 32.8kg after going down to 32.2kg when I had my operation. My mum and I waited in outpatients for 1 hour for my blood results to come back. Eventually, the nurse came and she told us that my chemo cannot go ahead as my white blood cells have not fully recovered! We were both shocked as I felt absolutely fine and that morning I had actually skipped into hospital! We wondered if it was because they didn't tell us to do any GCSF injections in between my last chemo and now. They gave me a GCSF injection to hopefully give me a boost. Dr Brennan came to talk to us and told us to come back 2 days later on Wednesday & try again. Apparently, my blood was at 0.6 but to have chemo it has to be at least 0.75 or preferably 1. We wanted to know what we can do to recover faster but the nurse said it isn't down to not resting enough or not eating well because you don't have any control over your white blood cells.

As I was then free to go home I really wanted to go to school and see my friends. We managed to get to school for 2pm. There was only an 1hr 30mins left of the school day but I still enjoyed myself. After school I managed to go dancing for 3hrs!!!!

A well deserved Holiday!!

HOLIDAY TIME........

After missing out on a few holidays due to treatment, we decided it was time for a well deserved hoilday in the caravan.

We went to Kendal over Easter. We did a couple of walks, made pancakes, ate Kendal Mint cake and went into the town shopping.

For Christmas I got a camera & on our walks I loved taking pictures with it. My dad taught me how to take several pictures in a row which helped me take pictures of the water while Milly threw stones into the river......