THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE

We have started explaining to Oscar about the new medicine he will be on and that he will also need to have regular blood tests to monitor blood count, liver and kidney function. It turns out Oscar has a very good memory- last year when he got his blood tests taken for allergies the doctor was reluctant to test for everything so decided to only test for peanut as this had not been tested previously. I pushed for him to add in cats and dogs and a full blood count. The doctor believed that Oscar's allergies would not have changed from the previous year. So when we got to the lab they did the initial allergy test and I asked about the full blood count. The doctor hadn't added this in. Thankfully they were happy to do it but this required another test for Oscar. When the test results all came back positive I went back to the doctor demanding to be tested for everything, like I had initially asked. Away we go again for a third blood test. Everything was positive again..except for dust mites because they hadn't tested for that because the dam doctor hadn't requested it. So off we go again for Oscar's fourth blood test! After that I promised Oscar he wouldn't have to have a blood test for a very long time. Little did I know that I would be wrong. When I explained to him he would need some blood tests he reminded me of the promise I had made, I felt terrible breaking my promise.
Good old bribery has already come into play and the specialist appointment isn't for another week! Oscar choose some new lego yesterday that he has been having a great time building. This is his incentive to keep being a brave wee boy. ..or maybe we just can't help spoiling him!
A couple of months ago when Oscar was having a really bad weekend we decided as a family we needed something exciting to look forward to, a focus for some of our rough days. Initially Andrew and I had talked about going away for a weekend together as a family when Oscar is well again to spoil the boys and reward ourselves for surviving the last few years. I thought somewhere not too far away but  that changed to thinking how cool it would be to go on an aeroplane somewhere- as Oscar is aviation mad! Auckland was on my list as the boys would love the Zoo but as Andrew pointed out the cost of flying us all to Auckland versus The Gold Coast is probably near the same price!! So when Oscar was having an itchy couch day we told the boys our plan, that when Oscar is feeling much better..(and when we have saved enough money!) we are all going to Australia to go to "The place that lights up at night time." This is what Oscar calls DreamWorld, I think he might be getting mixed up with Disney Land as I'm pretty sure Dream World isn't open at night?! The boys are so excited about this and are all already saving money in their wee money boxes. On rough days Oscar will ask if we can watch Dream World on You Tube. So the focus is well and truly working and if it can give him a few moments here and there of having something to look forward to and forgetting about being itchy then it will all be worth it. Actually I think it is something for us all to look forward to. A family holiday away to celebrate moving forward and being happy and healthy .

Last night  I went to our local dairy to buy some bread and also rice crackers for Oscar. They didn't have any but I did find something very exciting. Little teddy bear biscuits that are completely safe for him to eat! Not the healthiest of foods I know but Oscar doesn't really have any 'treat foods' so when I showed him the box his wee face just lit up. So lovely for us to see, and surprisingly the little biscuits didn't taste too bad.

Oscar's skin is being held at bay by steroid cream still. We feel we can't put him through the pain and agony that comes with steroid withdrawal until he starts the Immunosuppressants. In saying that his skin is still red and itchy but he seems to be mostly tolerating this. I refuse to put on the super strong steroid creams...actually they are in the rubbish so I can't!
We are still changing sheets daily as they are usually blood stained and have so much shedded skin on them. It is yet another thing to do in my busy day but I have to admit it is rather lovely climbing into a freshly made bed with clean sheets every night!
Well one week to go until the specialist appointment in Dunedin!

•