ONE MAN STANDING

What a horrible week we have had. The boys and I have been sick with a nasty flu virus. I've been unwell for five days and the boys are beginning to feel better finally after seven days. Andrew took a day and a half off to look after us throughout the week. I obviously couldn't sleep during the  day as I had the boys to care for so this weekend I've been sleeping off the last of it. In fact I slept five hours today!
As I said in my previous post, Harry's skin has taken a hit this week. He's rubbed parts of his feet and legs raw and under his chin is weeping. The itch is still so dam frustrating for him and he's back to saying "I wan't to take my skin off." Hopefully in a few days it will settle again and his body can continue on with healing. Charlie's feeling much better and starting to eat again - unbelievably last week's groceries have been barely touched!
Oscar hasn't had the same symptoms as Charlie and Harry this week. He's been unwell with sore stomachs, temperatures and has been totally wiped out. This sounds terrible but I have absolutely no idea if he's had a bug or if it's all related to his stomach issues. One more week of antibiotics then we'll know more once he's off them. Today there was no mention of a sore stomach so fingers crossed we have a happy morning getting to school. Last Monday poor Oscar complained all morning that he wasn't feeling well but I sent him to school as I hear this every morning. Turned out he really was feeling miserable and didn't tell his teacher.  She noticed at the end of the day so Oscar spent the whole day feeling unwell at school. I felt so bad when he got home! Very similar to the boy who cried wolf. I'm not saying Oscar's lying every morning about feeling unwell with his stomach but it certainly makes it hard to figure out if he really is sick or not.

I must finish with a big thank you to some very special people who helped us to get through the week. Michelle, Nic and Kristen - Thank you so much for the yummy soup, meals and treats. I feel very blessed to have you as friends and to a wonderful charity here in Wanaka called 'Food for Love'.  Thank you for providing a beautiful meal for us. I look forward to giving back at some stage in the future. Thank you to my lovely Mum for ordering some meals to be delivered to us. So kind and thoughtful!  Lastly thank you Andrew for looking after us even when yon had such a crazy busy week with school reports due! Let's hope your not the next to go down!

GOOD RESULTS AND VIRUSES

Good news on the Oscar front. His latest stool samples were negative to inflammation. This is a huge relief. We now have to see what happens when he comes off the antibiotics as to whether we get refered to the standard paeds or gastroenterologist. Oscar has only complained of a couple of brief sore stomachs this week, so a good week for him!
 We have decided to now cut chicken out of Oscar's diet. He has often complained of itchy lips and a sore throat after eating chicken drumsticks or roast chicken. Breast seemed fine up until this week so time to listen to his symptoms. Chicken could very well be adding to his itchy skin.
We had another dermatologist appointment for the boys this week. Nothing new to report there. Just the standard brief of being told steroid creams need to be applied to the boys. We were initially told Oscar would be on the immunos for one year but it sounds more like 18-24 months now. We also spent a few days in Dunedin catching up with family and friends. We stayed at my Mums and the boys were pretty good sleep wise. This was our first trip away with the boys and a pretty successful one. I even had three nights off cooking...thanks Mum!
The school holidays have ended with Charlie having high temperatures over the last few days and now it's Harry's turn. He's just crashed out on the couch. Harry's feet and arms where he's still healing have completely flared up. His arms look like he has burns on them. I guess because he has such a high temperature. Poor wee guy.
I'm assuming Oscar will be next!
Back to school tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a much healthier term than last.

DESTRESSING...AND MORE ILLNESS

We have had another round of sickness with Oscar this week. Sore tummys still and diarrhea with one bout of vomiting. Yet another trip to the doctors. Feels like our second home these days! They are working with the paediatrician that we saw in  hospital to hopefully work out what's going on. More poo samples and antibiotics to completely rule out infection. The paediatrician doesn't think there is an infection though and is predicting Oscar will be sick again after coming off the antibiotics like last time. I don't see the point but can appreciate they need to fair test to see if we have the same outcome as last time. If this is the case and Oscar's poo sample shows inflammation like the last one then he will need to have a colonoscopy for further investigation. They are also concerned as Oscar hasn't gained any weight over the last year. A worrying time however I'm glad we are being taken seriously. Fingers crossed we will know more soon. Oscar hasn't complained of a sore tummy for the last few days and is happy enough although still very itchy.

Harry is looking better by the week and his feet are looking so good. He's still ripping his arms but the overall damage each time is less. He's had his fifth dose of Methotrexate now and I'm suprised how quickly he's healing. Harry did have a big flare up at the start of the week so his skin is still recovering from that but he's managed two nights of sleeping right through. Both these nights I was on Harry duty! Usually Andrew seems to luck the good nights. It feels very strange waking up with no wee child cuddled into you...or taking up most of the bed!
Andrew and I left the boys for the first time ever over the weekend  with someone other than family. A lovely high school girl from Andrew's work.  The boys can't wait for her to come back! A few hours off destressing was just lovely and it was great to spend time with Andrew. We would never have contemplated leaving Harry a few weeks ago as he was too itchy! I'm looking forward to having more down time soon hopefully!

DID I JINX US?

A couple of posts back I wrote that our days of Oscar being awake all night long are hopefully behind us. Well we have had many nights of Oscar being awake all night long this week! I can't completely pin point what's caused him to be so itchy but I'm  wondering if mandarins might be the cause? Oscar's been waking up this week between 9.30-10.30 so school drop offs have been late, however he's managed to attend every day this week which is a huge milestone in itself. Last night Oscar woke after an hour and a half and took a long time to settle.  He was tossing and turning, punching the bed with his wee fists while having fits of screaming with frustration.  All I could do was to try and reassure him.. .and pat him of course. I wish I could take away all of his itches. He finally fell asleep after a couple of hours. I know from many restless nights to not move an inch after Oscar falls asleep as the slightest of movements stir him and we are then in for another round of itching until he crashes with exhaustion. School holidays now for the next two weeks so hopefully we can get Oscar feeling better before school starts back. On a positive note, Oscar's test results came back and he doesn't have coeliac disease!
Harry's Skin is still healing well although he's ripped his arms to bits...again! He's told lots of people this week that his feet are feeling better now. They are looking better but he's still so itchy. It will be interesting to see how much healing he does In the next month as the medication build up. The overall red burn has gone and Harry's face now looks like a wee ghost -like we used to call Oscar after he started the methotrexate.
 The medication is knocking him about a bit in terms of tiredness. He's ready for a snooze by eleven and sleeps between two to three hours. Unfortunately this is a knock on effect come bed time and Harry's not quite ready to sleep at the usual time! He didn't have a day sleep yesterday and crashed on the couch at 5p.m and was then awake until we went to bed!
As his body adjusts he won't feel so tired.
Thankfully taking the medication hasn't been an issue as the pills are so small they can be easily squashed into a piece of food and Harry is none the wiser.

Looking forward to hopefully having a sleep in tomorrow morning and going on some fun adventures with our wee men.

THE BLOODY ITCH

Harry's Skin is looking so much better and the itch is definitely dissipating but Harry's wee feet are still bothering him. No wonder I'm cleaning blood daily from our carpet with the rubbing he does on the floor. This wee video speaks for itself!