Monthly Archives: June 2013

Triumph & Trauma

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I have just realised that we have all been so wrapped up in the beautiful moments this last week all our photos are of us sleeping.

I have just realised that we have all been so wrapped up in the beautiful moments this last week all our photos are of us sleeping.

I try to keep this blog about who Bede is and how he is doing rather than just boring everyone with the details or even, sometimes the despair, of what is happening. Sometimes though, I think the details are important at least for the purpose of letting our families know and certainly as a testament to Bede’s strength and the pride we feel for him.

In the last 3 weeks Bede has had

  • Severe pain
  • Respiratory issues
  • Needed oxygen on and off for the whole 3 weeks
  • Heart rate issues
  • High blood pressure
  • Constant Morphine and Ketamine infusions
  • A blood infection
  • 4 kinds of IV antibiotics
  • His permanent line come out
  • The lining of his small bowel breaking down
  • Vomiting and Diarrhea
  • Tumour growth
  • 5 blood transfusions due to the chemo depleting his blood cells.
  • CTs
  • The skin around his bottom breaking down and bleeding
  • Cannulas and collapsed veins from blood tests
  • The hardcore chemo
  • Surgery to insert his new permanent line, this time an infuser port
  • MRI under general anaesthetic
  • And has been weaned off a lot of drugs

In fact the majority of these things unfurled in the first 2 weeks following the new chemo. Each day has been a new challenge and each day we have tried our best as a family to meet it. Day by day. I think rambling off that list is important because it really demonstrates just how remarkable our little Bede is. Through it all Bede remains calmly and firmly himself. I marvel that through all this trauma he has not only managed to continue smiling and shining but he has also managed to grow so much. We are incredibly proud of him.

We had an MRI on Friday which, incredibly, showed the new chemo has stabilised his cancer. Quite a feat really considering the tumour was growing so aggressively, it MAY have even shrunk it marginally.

This week we managed to stretch his IV lines all the way to the big bed and we slept together. Just like old times. Wrapping each other up in our sweet love.

This week we managed to stretch his IV lines all the way to the big bed and we slept together. Just like old times. Wrapping each other up in our sweet love.

We have had some positively wonderful times with bede. Uplifting times. Beautiful affirming days.
One day in particular was incredible, we had an infant massage session, a music therapy session and a guided play session. He was so incredibly enlivened and engaged. He has definitely re earned his nickname smiley.

Bede has grown within his own mind so much.
 He has a favourite page of a touch and feel book and reaches out to stroke the animal. He plays kissing games and smiles asking for more.

He freely gives away his joy by smiling indiscriminately. He smiles at everyone now, those jewels are no longer just for his Mumma and that makes me beam. His smiles are beautiful and luminescent, they of course shine so bright. His smiles make everyone else smile and the Bede effect is clear.

He has even managed to fulfill the secret hope I had for before the next chemo started. He is back to laughing.

I think what has brought Roy and I the most joy has been watching Bede discover, develop and explore his sense of playfulness. That purely childlike quality that is in its essence so far removed from his cancer and all that that entails brings a happy balance to his awe inspiring substance. His gentle determinedness remains resolute. In addition to that determinedness he now pauses and basks in the moment, seemingly bathing in his own light. Strengthened by happiness and curiosity.

We have now started the second round of the hard core chemo. We haven’t been home in four weeks. We are hoping to get home for a couple of days this cycle. I think it would so much good for Bede, it would reenergise Roy and I and would do the world of good for Gus.

I know its been far too long between posts by the state of all my inboxes. This has been such an incredibly intense and equally triumphant and traumatic time it has been difficult to update. Each time I tried I was overwhelmed by where to begin. I worry that I no longer have the emotional wherewithal to do justice to Bede with my words but I will continue to try so long as you all continue to pray for him and care for him and are sending him light and love and positivity.

Thank you.

choices

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As you all know this blog started as an SMS just updating Bede’s physical condition. As it has grown I occasionally feel compelled to venture outside the scope. This post does just that.

Bede's first chemo, Bede laughs in the face of cancer.

Bede’s first chemo, Bede laughs in the face of cancer.

A while a go a comment was left on the blog that wasn’t approved.

It spoke of all the torture Roy and I were putting Bede through and the author said she hoped we would do the right thing soon.

Those of you that know us know it would take a bit more than some thoughtless words from a stranger to upset Roy and I or even to disturb our perspective. The comment did get me thinking.

We are at a stage of Bede’s treatment that at any time if Roy and I say it’s time to call it quits the doctors will support that. We have the ‘choice’.

It’s a funny concept that choice. I used to be lucky and naive enough to think people in situations like this had choices. That there would be value judgements, choices, to be made along the way. Most of all I thought there would be a choice to say ok Bede has had enough. That at some point it would be a matter of just gently letting him drift off. What a fairy tale that belief was.

In a treatment sense we have no real choices. It seems to me most of the families on this ward have no real choice. Most are fighting for their children’s life. We have the added responsibility of fighting for the quality of his death.

If 2 weeks ago we had chosen not to proceed with the treatment the tumour would have kept growing at the rate it was.

Bede was in excruciating pain. He would have had a horrifying death.

Because we went ahead it seems we may have thwarted some of the tumors growth and Bede’s pain is subsiding but he has needed blood transfusions, and has had infections and is just generally feeling pretty lousy after chemo but the treatment may buy him some good quality time at home playing with his brother and possibly a much less painful death. Prolonging his life prolongs his illness. There is no perfectly happy choice there.

We fight for him to have a better day but sometimes even those are rough, it is still the lesser of two troubles.

People may hold up this translucent illusion of choice in the hope of alleviating some sense of powerlessness but it is ineffective and unreal, that is not reality. Roy and I have no choices but a deep responsibility to honour Bede and all of his experiences whether that be life or death or the day to day struggles.

Tonight I met a beautiful young and wise Iranian woman. She said in a beautifully soft voice that there’s a saying that roughly translates to “God gives the hardest soldiers the hardest things” and she embraced me and kissed me. People tell you a lot of sayings when your child is diagnosed with cancer but that one really resonated with me. Perhaps it was the coarseness of the words mixed with the tender way she delivered them. We are strong enough to guide him through  and soft enough to embrace every moment with him.

We may not have real treatment choices, we may be powerless in the direction our lives take but we are dealing with a profound little boy. Filled with light and substance. That alone empowers us to make life choices. We choose to face each obstacle with love and joy and thankfulness. We choose to sing to him and smile and cherish him. We choose to make his life loving even when it can not be lovely. We choose the fullness of life for as long as we are gifted with it.

We would both be sorry to think that any of you out there thought we were putting Bede through the trauma of childhood cancer just to satiate our own selfish needs to have him here. There are no real choices except the choice to love him and shower him with as much joy as we can muster. I assure you we do this.

This is Bede’s life and it is actually not torturous. He knows no different, he grieves no loss and is present in every moment. He leaves the horrible moments behind in the blink of an eye and happily loses himself in his Mum’s smile. There is a lot to be learnt there. Perhaps it is Bede who has the real choices. The choice of how he lives his life and there is a lot that can be learnt from the decisions he makes.

Sharing The Win

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We have been here at the hospital for two weeks now.

ward

Today Bede had surgery. Last week Bede’s permanent line fell out so today it was replaced with an infuser port. He came through this surgery much better than his last.

coming out of surgery

He is continuing to slowly wake up from the drug induced fog. Perhaps a little slower than I anticipated in my last post but today is our best day yet. That is pretty incredible given he has just had surgery and all that he has been through over the last few weeks.

He is more awake and enjoying playing with his soft bunny.

As I write this Bede’s Dad is whispering to him how proud he is of him. The lights are dimmed. Soothing music is playing. The love that radiates from Bede fortifies us all. Through it all the soft and gentle beauty that is essentially Bede is unmoving. Who he is glimmers through the fog.

Hope for a better day swells within me and I am thankful for all your love. Be reassured that he is doing amazingly well.

How well he has come through this surgery definitely counts as a win.

Bede’s back!

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smiles for bede copy jpeg

I have tried hard to write a blog explaining all that has happened but there is no point intellectualizing it. It’s been a very difficult week.

I am awash with exhausted relief. Glorious exhausted relief. Far too awash to do justice to the calm joy that wells deep within me. Most of all I am thankful. His soul is here with his Mumma, entwined for another day. His weight and light and beauty and substance mingle with every fibre of my being.

Let me tell you something about Bede, all superfluities aside he is just plain awe inspiring and incredible.

Bede is here. As has become typical his little body rose up to meet the challenges it was faced with. He some how determinedly and resolutely put one foot in front of the other and got on with the business of living, balancing grit with beauty and light. He was in the deepest pit, one that none of us could see a way out of and he has step by step climbed his way out.

He is tired, as we all are, but he is slowly rousing from the fog that the large amounts of narcotics visited upon him.  I have said it before Bede doesn’t simply bounce back as you so often hear some children do. He is consolidating his position and then slowly and purposefully moving forward.

looking up to mumma.

I’m not sure exactly how or even the exact moment we turned a corner but we did, he did. When we were still in the midst of the fog just after the pain had passed but when Bede was heavily sedated he chose his moments and then shone through. He opened his eyes and was engaged. He could not physically bring his lips to a smile but every other part of his face lit up as he looked up at his family. The little eyebrow that twitches before a grin was insuppressible and his eyes sparkled.

Now slowly, bit-by-bit he wakes. He is not a 100% yet but he is in there. Today when it was just Bede and I snuggled in together the smallest smile skipped across his face…. Bede’s back!

The last week has been overwhelming for a whole number of reasons aside from the acuity of Bede’s illness, most of them distractions, and we are all physically and emotionally exhausted.

All is not solved, we are where we were before this latest scare but that is still so much better than we were last Sunday. We are waiting to see how effective this chemo is to know how much time we are afforded. We are slowly weaning back the oxygen and pain killers. Bede lives to fight  and love and light another day.

Tonight I bathe in sweet relief. I am wrapped in his warmth. His love is all encompassing and more grounded than ever. I remain madly and deeply in love with Roy and lightened and uplifted by Gus’ joyfulness. I am so incredibly deeply thankful. We have faced our darkest moments and once again Bede lit the way.

I am so especially thankful to Bede’s primary doctor for the care and time she has given not only Bede but also Roy and I that helped us find our way through. She did more than treat him physically, she kept hope when ours erred. We are blessed to have her on Team Bede.

Most of all I am thankful to all of you. Make no mistake your love and prayers and care are real and tangible and helpful and solid and amazing. I truly believe they are carrying him through. The miracle Bede needs is all of you. We were there, teetering on the edge of the cliff and I believe you pulled us back.

This blog doesn’t sound as celebratory as it should be, my exhaustion pervades. Feel free to cheer, dance in the streets, grin ear to ear for me. Bede did it again.

My gosh we adore him!

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The doctors initially got Bede’s pain under control and he settled so long as   he was sleeping on one of us. Although then we lost control and are on nearly double the maximum allowed dosage of morphine, we seem to be getting it under control again now. Mainly he just wants to be on his mumma’s chest or swaying in his father’s arms. He’s on a number of meds including ketamine, morphine and panandol, as well as oxygen because the pain meds interfere with his respiratory drive. 

He’s been struggling with his breathing a bit.  Everyone is working very very hard to ensure Bede is comfortable. His consciousness isn’t  high so we are putting all our energy into making him feel loved and feel settled on an emotional level.
 
The doctors still felt yesterday and today that we could buy bede  some more good quality time and that he would come back from this. I’m not being negative but I’m just not convinced. My deep sense that we are losing him pervades. I feel like this is what his death looks like.
 
Bede’s light as always is undimmed. He’s not smiling and his eyes are not open often. He snuggles into me and his soul fills the room. His grace, his weight, his light hang gently in the air. It is not his job in this moment to uplift any of us. It is his job to be soothed and loved and seek comfort from his mum and dad. His essence as always is all encompassing. 

He is 5 months old today.  I woke up after a couple of hours sleep feeling so  happy and just deeply thankful for every beautiful light and love filled moment I have had with his warm, joyous, kind soul. there are moments I do feel scared. I don’t want to miss him. His weight, his love and his breath.
 
I am also posting because we wanted to send a massive thank you to all the people who have taken the time to show your support over at www.wishes4bede.com
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. We are humbled, so very humbled by the love and care all our supporters have shown over this time.
 
For those not in the know yet wishes4bede is a website that some  of my cousins set up as a way of showing love and supporting us despite the miles that separate. In the websites first 24 hours there has been a massive show of support. So many wishes made. That support has lifted us and relieved us and fortified us in some of our toughest times yet.
 
Those in my family know I have always taken comfort in coming from such a large and diverse tribe. This website has made me aware of what was surely always true that despite the fact so many of you have never met Bede he counts, he is still one of us, one of the tribe. Part of our whole massive family and that has brought me so much comfort. 
 
As is the case here, there are people we have never met leaving Bede wishes. This also brings us so much comfort. The whole purpose of this blog was so that bede could be known and make his mark but even more basically just exist within his context. He is here. He matters.
 
For those of you helping me give this gift to my son I am so deeply thankful and eternally in your debt.
 
I know I always say it but please send him your love. IF this is
him slowly leaving us lets encase him with love and light. Lets wrap him up in care and warmth and tenderness. This is the moment to pray that bede, whatever  the next week brings, has some peace even if we do not.
 
My love and gratitude to you all now and always. Image

As magnificent as ever.

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NEEDING LOVE POSITIVITY AND PRAYERS FOR BEDE.

I had planned to put an update up yesterday explaining to you all about the new chemo and how it works. Nothing ever goes quite to plan.

I said in my last post that Bede was becoming tired. Since then his pain has gradually been increasing and we’ve been increasing the measures to deal with that pain. It has been difficult trying to manage that pain at home. Once we got to the hospital and started the new chemo it continued to intensify. We eventually saw the anaesthetist who put him on continuous morphine yesterday evening.

Our first trip to the hospital with concerns for his pain was the day after his baptism. They did a CT then. We did another CT last night. In the 5 days between the two scans the tumour has gown a centimetre in a couple of different directions. That might not sound like much but that’s massive growth in only 5 days. It is causing him all this pain.

When we were discussing this new chemo with the doctors they spoke about another little girl they had treated previously. she had a similar affliction and although she spent a lions share of a year at the hospital she then got 12 months at home, chemo free, enjoying her life and her family before she died. The concern I expressed to the doctors then was that I sensed Bede’s death was much closer than anyone realised.
The way this tumour has grown has reinforced that feeling within me.

I am devastated not because I feel Bede’s death may be close, although of course that saddens us all, but because we have had this 24 hrs of pain.

His little soul is worn. He is scattered. I think it was in the very first text I sent out letting you, our most loved people, know the diagnosis that I said one way or another we would carry him through this. So this is what that feels like.

I used to secretly dislike it when people said he was a fighter. Although I liked that people were backing him, no precious soul this young should have to know the harshness of fight. His only job should be to enjoy the world. But tonight I see him fight. Knuckle down, one foot in front of the other, fight. It’s not a fair fight but as usual he takes it on with courage and a purposeful grace.

Life hurts. If I move he cries.

He is fighting. It is hard work but under that remains Bede. His beautiful soul still here. Steadfast in its warmth and beauty. Uncompromising in the face of pain and discomfort his essence wraps us up.

On his chest is his monkey from his Uncle Vin and Aunty Maree. It plays let it be. He is snuggled into my breast and the pain in his neck is relieved and supported by the crook of my arm. He is uncompromisingly Bede. He is beautiful. He is grounded. He has weight and soul and light. He is not freely smiling but he glows. His gentle, peaceful strength remains, resolute. His light lifts us up. He is my son. My kiddo. My love.

I am praying this chemo works. Not because I’m greedy and am grabbing for time that isn’t mine. I’ve already been blessed beyond belief just to meet Bede let alone the privilege of mothering him. I am praying the chemo works because I would like a different death for him. I would like to afford him some of the peace and light he has so generously given to the world.

I have thought a lot about this post over the last couple of hours. With so many people reading now I don’t want his light replaced with sadness in anyone’s minds. I have to have faith that even times of darkness his light shines so bright, too brightly to be replaced and more importantly I have to honour Bede’s truth and his life experience and this is it. He is not in a good place. He whimpers.

Although this moment in time is difficult his light shines on adamantly.

As his mum I come to you as always with fierce determinedness, but also a new desperation, to give him the best life and death I can. I owe him so much.
I truly believe that all the love and prayers and positivity he has received from you have wrapped him up and carried him, unbruised, through this whole experience. I humbly ask you now please send him some more. he needs it. Hoping for his best outcome.

So as a dear friend and my soul sister so eloquently put it
Whether you believe in faith, science or humanity please send some love, prayers and positivity Bede’s way. I promise you he is magnificent and beyond worth it.