A Normal Life

Reg had been feeling so much better in the last two days, besides the pain in his hand. In fact, he had been very encouraged and joyful with visitation by church members and was extremely delighted when he got invited to friend's place for lunch; especially his body was feeling well enough to do so. Even though he couldn't attend church service today, Reg managed to stay in the open space near the church that he caught up with some people. He did miss the fellowship with others terribly since the chemo has started. Today, he even took Jed with his old school friend & kids to meseum, so Anita could have a break. So the family really rejoice his "good" health in this couple of days, while Reg felt like he is living a "normal" life!

The family has been surprised by a generous gift of a portable air-conditioner. Reg & Anita were so thankful to their heavenly Father who showed His kindness through the generosity of others. They had been told the weather will soar up to mid to high 30's in this week, so what a timely gift!

Reg and Anita have the next two days to prepare for the next chemo, Jed's first day of preschool and Chinese New Year. They were thankful that the Leukemia Foundation has accepted to assist with transportation, as Reg's chemo coincides with Jed's first day of preschool. They just pray that it will be a smooth day on Wed. THey also pray that Reg will be able to relax and not feel nauseated on Wed as he felt sick on the day of his last chemo. They really pray that Reg's lungs function is well and with good blood test result, so there will be no delay with the treatment. Yet they praise God that He has been with them and watched over them throughout this whole time, and they rejoice that He who watches over them will neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121) and they felt they have been richly blessed despite the tough road.

Hospital Trip

Reg has noticed a swollen right hand for a few days. Tossing whether it was serious enough to ring the hospital, they have decided it was time to take action. So they rang the hospital to check and see if it was a "normal" side effect and what should be done. The response was coming into the hospital for a check up right away.

Since yesterday, Anita has only one plan for today: REST at HOME! In hearing the news, she knew out goes the plan. Having gone through November and December, she knew the standard procedure in circumstances like this. (1) Decide to take Jed to hospital or not? (Too much unknown, Jed is not coming!) (2) Help Jed to understand the situation (3) Ring around for someone to take care of Jed (4) Pack food for Jed (5) Pack food for Reg (6) Decide simple dinner for the evening. So like a machine, she worked her way through her list to do. She has less than an hour to get everything ready. Intensity rise when she failed to find carer for Jed, but kept praying as she moved onto the school's parents list. Thank God, one of Jed's school friends mum was available.

Reg on the other hand wondered why the intensity as they're just going for a check up. With no time to explain, she hurried Jed and they made it through the door as scheduled. Dropping Jed, they headed to the hospital. Praying for parking and God answered their prayers. Reg and Anita became so familiar with the surrounding, they managed to pass loading dock, entered via back fire exit door, crissed crossing from one end of the building to another. They weren't even sure whether that was a good sign or not, but just thankful for the local knowledge.

Reg apparently suffered from a form of inflammation caused by chemo on a vein in the hand. It was a puzzle even to the doctor why it wasn't on the hand that was used during chemo, but rather the opposite. Last word was for Reg to return if it doesn't subside after a few days of anti-inflammatory ointment. So they pray for healing and that the pain will subside quickly.

Jed had great fun with his school's friend. He learnt to play Wii Game, watched a snake video, played trains & dinosaurs and swam in a pool. No, he did not want to go home with mummy but all fun has an end time.

The family was just thankful for the kindness being shown to them. They knew their heavenly Father loves them even on a day to day basis, there is little control. But one thing they learnt, cancer is so limited, it cannot cripple God's love!

Dripping Reg

With the rise of temperature, Reg's head is not only wet but dripping as if a tap is leaking. The heat has been wearing Reg out so much that he was determined to leave home early in the morning.

Anita on the other hand found such dripping sight an amusement instead. She did not want to go out because she was tired from taking Jed out yesterday in the heat in order to provide a home for Reg to rest.

After a long discussion to determine a safe cool place for Reg to go, fun for Jed, less tiring for Anita. They went to a large bookshop in a shopping centre. Lunch was tricky because Reg needs to avoid the crowd, but they found a sunny spot in the centre of the food court that everyone stayed away. Poor Jed complaint about the heat, and the water on Reg's head was dripping again.

Thankfully, time flew fast enough for them to head to the hospital. The lung function test only took an hour; so being well prepared, Anita kept Jed busy while waiting for daddy. The result will only be known in a week when Reg begins his fourth chemo.

Reg has great fear in returning home, worrying about the heat. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Anita ensured Reg is kept away from the heat of the kitchen and made a summery dinner for him.

Tomorrow will be yet another challenged for the Chan's household as the teperature expected to rise even more. Keep praying for another heat escape for our dripping Reg as they need to find an air-con place with not too many people on a public holiday.

If anyone has any great idea, don't hesitate to call the Chan's household. Even not for tomorrow, they would like to keep a reference for future use!

Feeling Tired

Reg is still feeling ill in the morning, but vomiting seems to have subsided. In gerneral, he is feeling weak and tired. However, Reg is facing the challenge of overcoming the fear of taking medication. IT hasn't been easy for him and the sight of tablets is really getting onto his nerves and resulting a bad reaction. The family do pray that Reg can overcome his own fear.

Reg will be going in for a lung function test on Tuesday. Pray that his lung is functioning well, so no delay on the chemo or alteration on the treatment.

Jed had a wonderful time with fruit picking yesterday after the initial drama to get to the friend's place. Anita was thankful for the friends' last minute help, so she could at least caught up with her sleep. Much prayer needed for Anita to sleep through the night without Jed waking her up.

Pregnant?!

Anita is not pregnant, but Reg is exhibiting pregnancy symptoms with no baby coming along!

For two days in a row since chemo, Reg is having morning sickness and general tiredness. Otherwise, he is well. The new night drug did "bomb" him out completely, so he can sleep through without waking up sick in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, nothing holds him as soon as he is awake. Yet, both Reg and Anita believe a good night sleep is crucial, and they know miracle drugs do not exist! So they continue to praise God that Reg is relatively doing well and continue to ask that he will feel better soon.

No consolation to Anita in terms of sleep. While Reg sleeps like a baby, a loud helicopter sound in the middle of night gave her no comfort, and Jed awoke in the midst of it. So lots of prayer needed for a good night sleep for Anita. Yet, she thank God she managed through the day and rejoiced especially when Jed collapsed in bed by 7:30pm tonight!

Jed was happy being at home and told mummy that he missed daddy a lot because he is sick. When daddy was feeling very difficult this morning, Jed even gave a gentle pat on daddy's back hoping to comfort him. Mummy took Jed to the local library today for a taste of bush animals. He was so excited to give a real python, crocodile and lizard a touch, and enjoyed the up close experience with a huge fruit bat! Anita & Jed praised God for His creation and thank God that they did not have to travel far to enjoy a wildlife experience.

Life is never all rosy and the sky is never always blue; but God's goodness in little things always brightens up life and bring joy to a dull day for the Chan's household.

Chemo 3rd dose

The Chan's family got ready early this morning for Reg's thrid dose. Thankfully, they only needed to be in the hospital by 10am, so they dropped Jed at 9am rather than 8am as in the past. It felt like luxury to have breakfast before they ran off. Jed was delighted to have his morning story time without mummy fuzzing to rush him off for breakfast as soon as his eyes were opened. Unfortunately, daddy had a bad night sleep and the thought of chemo made him feel ill already.

Thankfully, the run to hospital had been a smooth operation. The blood result came on time, and as soon as they finished praying at the waiting room, they were called in for Reg to get "hooked up" again. This time, they did not get their little secluded special corner, but they were in the centre stage in the chemo room. They could observe all the buzzing and fuzzing at the nursing station. They could see other frail patients and even some with intense pain. They heard about one woman was offered a private room, so the child can do something while waiting on her mum. They heard about other patients also offered private room because of their immense pain that they needed a bed during the chemo, instead of a sitting position like Reg. Deep inside, Reg and Anita knew how blessed they have been throughout Reg's treatment so far.

While they were waiting for the "OK" to go ahead, they have noticed a beautiful book sat near Reg's chair. It was a Wildlife Photography Yearbook. Reg & Anita were delighted to be distracted by such a book. REg even got excited as each photo was given the description of technique used to capture the moment including camera details. Then they were greeted by the haemotologist, social worker and dietitian one by one. Throughout the whole time, Anita has been noticing the patient next to them has come and gone and Reg has still not yet started. Obviously something is not right. The nursing station was busy with ringing around and they have only discovered that there has been a delay with the delivery of the drugs. It was past 1pm that the drugs were delivered.

With every drug that was given, the nurse has to ask Reg about his name and date of birth. Then with another nurse, they doubled check to ensure it was prescribed to the correct patient. The procedure was repeated 4 times for 4 drugs being used on REg. IT was rather funny to see them repeating themselves so many times for the smae procedure, but they were thankful for their ultra caution to ensure absolutely no mistake was tolerated for the patient's sake.

While REg was on chemo, Anita once again running around organising next appointment for Reg, getting more drugs, booking lung test for Reg and buying lunch. She couldn't resist but asked what happened to those who came alone to do the chemo? Once again, Reg and Anita has discovered how blessed they were to have a partner to do the leg work, because for many, they will have to do the additional work post chemo. As for ANita, the thought of doing the injection at home on your own was frightening, and was only thankful that she queued up to buy the drug for the nurse to do it on site. She has also realised there is a definite use of her going in with Reg to the hospital each time.

Unlike the first two times, Reg felt tired and a bit sick soon after the chemo. Quickly they left the hospital to pick up Jed from friend's place. They were delighted to know JEd had fun and behaved himself well all day. To their surprise, Jed even had a go at doing some writing exercise and learnt to subtract numbers. Anita could not resist but must enquire how. Feeling a bit ashamed to admit she has neglected Jed's learning all this time, she now has a new project to slot in her already busy life at home. Only praying God will give her wisdom and time to do such project!

On their way home, Anita dropped by the chemist to get more drugs. With disblief, she had spent almost $100 just on drugs for Reg in one go. Anita must get on with applying the health care card quickly. Another project for Anita!

Jed resisted strongly for Anita to do any work after a whole day not seeing her. At the end, Reg cooked dinner, so Anita could calm Jed down. Praise God, Reg felt well enough to do the last stretch before retiring for the day. The doctor gave Reg a new drug to try to "bomb" him out tonight, they just prayed that the drug will work, so both Reg and Anita could both get a good night sleep. No matter what tonight will be, they just praise God that it was a good day overall and they are grateful for all the little blessings God has given them throughout the day.

Role reversal

Reg has a new love of coconut drink! (as adviced by some who had been there) Anita has been making a lot more fish dishes for Reg as he has been able to take it much better than anything. They really thank the people who introduced them to eat fish and giving them fish soup during Reg's second dose. The family has become very skillful in making separate food for Jed while avoiding any cross contemination with Jed's food and his utensils. Thank God, so far so good, no accidents!

Anita on the other hand has not been 100% well, so there has been a role reversal in the Chan's household these last two days. Thankfully, it was good timing for Anita to feel a little bit under the weather. Reg has been playing with Jed, cooking and managing the household chores, while Anita's job is to get herself better with as much rest and drinking fluid. Jed has been very good too, to tell grandma to be quiet when mummy tried to rest. He played happily with daddy and not bothering mummy. The Chan's household prays that Anita will be well enough for Reg's third dose tomorrow.

In preparing for tomorrow, the Chan's household have found a full day carer for Jed after many attempts, but praise God, all locked in. Then this morning was the routine blood test for Reg, and they prayed that this time it will definitely arrive to the hospital in time, and praying that the result will be normal, so there's no delay in the chemo procedure. Finally, they stocked up the fridge for the next couple of days. Both Reg and Anita has gotten into the routine in their preparation, so they praise God for each managable task.

Many people have wondered why the helpers list has been removed. THis is not because the Chan's household no longer need help, but those whom can provide help have contacted Anita privately, and their kind offers will be called upon as needed. So the family really thank those who could provide them help, especially for short notices. The family also praise God and are very grateful for those who have given the family many advices as well as best wishes.

The role reversal will be switched back tomorrow, as Reg will be the patient while Anita has to pull herself together to be strong again. The family just asked thier mighty God to provide them the strength and patient with the third dose round. And they pray that both Jed and Anita will not be sick during the critical time.

Stable but weak

Reg is stable besides the general low energy and the occassional low blood pressure that affects him. He couldn't do too much in a day but learning to appreciate there is no rush to complete anything. However, he has been trying to use his best time to play with Jed a bit and cook a meal, as they are his two favorite things.

Anita on the other hand is desparately trying to regain her sleep. It was a struggle to make the decision, but she ended up sleeping in Jed's bed, while Reg and Jed slept together. Yes, without the constant disruption from both Reg and Jed, Anita had a good night sleep after two months of struggles. For survival, they will be trying it again for one more night, and pray that Jed will be able to return to his own bed with no fuss.

Jed is bored at home, but Anita tried her best to keep him occupy. They have been playing monopoly so many times, that Jed has become an expert. Poor mummy always gone bankrupt with no luck at all. Only daddy can take up the challenge and beat Jed every now and then. Jed's love of reptiles has grown from dinosaurs to snakes. He is learning various kinds of snakes and requests mummy reading him more and more about snakes, and watching short videos on snakes. Even though mummy dislikes the creature, she has learnt to find such subject matter fascinating. In order to keep Jed active while staying indoor, they do lots of slithering around and wrap daddy's leg as soon as they heard daddy is up in the morning!

Both Reg and Anita tried their best to get Jed to go to the park every now and then. This morning, for the first time since second dose, Reg was well enough to take Jed out to the park. Jed had fun with the swing, while Reg had fun with his camera.

The Chan's household continues to see themselves as blessed even in the light of fighting with cancer. They remembered those who are less fortunate than them especially in the flood event. They could not even imagine those who would be in their shoes as well as facing the flood. Even Jed learns to pray for those in Queensland and learning to be grateful with everything they have.

Hair Loss

After the long expected side effect of hair loss, Reg has finally noticed his hair is slowly falling out. The nurse told us that normally hair loss begins with the second dose of chemo. So Reg and Anita went to do some "hat" shopping. Reg was delighted to get some bargains on other items as well.

Reg has been feeling much better today and has only vomited once in the morning and one diarrhea this evening. However, Reg is developing some fear in the morning to go to the drug cocktail bar to order his "usual". The thought of taking mediaction basically making him feel sick. It has been hard for Reg to feel sick with certain smell or certain food, but with prescribed medication??? "No! No! No!" declared Anita. So she has to be firm like a hospital nurse and made Reg to take them all regardless how sick he felt. It was a tough morning!

Anita rejoiced on Sunday that for a long while, she has finally managed to sit in the service with Jed leaving her to go to Sunday School. It was hard seeing Jed putting on a sad face adn relunctantly waved bye bye. But they did it, they were separated! Praise God and thanks to Jed's sunday school teacher.

A philosophical question came to Anita's mind: is it better to suffer from major illness oneself or to see your love one suffers from it? She worked out it was a silly question: in the end, both are suffering, but in a different sense. Yet, she was encouraged by God's word and to know "the God of all grace, who called (us) to His eternal glory in Christ, after (we) have suffered a little while, will Himself restore (us) and make (us) strong, firm and steadfast." (1 Pt 5:10)

False Start

While we thought we had a great start within 24hours, it was actually a false start.

Reg did not feel well afterwards. More vomiting and nauseation. Funny hiccups died down, but loss of appetize.

Anita did her best to offer food, but struggle to please Reg's ever changing taste. She is really learning how to have the attitude of Christ and be humbled and be patient and be a good servant. Anita is also struggling with sleep, and really asking God to grant her some good night sleeps.

Jed got a swollen bruised red eye after he went to kindagym yesterday. Thankfully it wasn't severe. It took some while to work out from a 4 year old what did happen. We're just praying the red eye won't turn infectious.

The Chan's household continues to look upon Jesus for healing and strength in everything. Knowing only God is their rock and sanctuary. He alone gives them peace. They are learning to be still and know that HE is God.

Chemo 2nd Dose

The Chan's household was very diciplined on Tuesday night. Jed went to bed at 7:30pm and his parents 10pm. This is to ensure they were all ready for Wednesday the big day.

The day began with Anita busying and getting Jed ready, while Reg looked after himself to ensure he had a good breakfast. They dropped Jed at a friend's place at 8am sharp. Jed was briefed that they're all going to the aquarium and he was more than happy to stay at the friend's place with excitment. So there was no struggle besides the initial procrastination in getting off the car. Both Reg & Anita were relieved.

The traffic to St Vincent was fantastically smooth being holiday time. Both Reg and Anita were able to have a cup of coffee before seeing the haemotologist. An old professor came to greet them, as Reg's doctor is on holiday. It was hard for Reg and Anita as they were not sure how much does this old professor read up about his case. Thankfully, he has a wonderful manner in hearing them and was extremely caring and professional. He really took his time to listen and explained. Both Reg and Anita felt God really looks after them in His provision.

Finished with the haemotologist, Reg was ready to get "hooked up". While they were praying as they waited, they were interrupted by the nurse that the blood test has not been sent to the hospital. Half an hour later, the nurse began with the anti-nauseated drugs first while waiting for the blood test result. In the meantime, the nurse took great care to ensure Reg was fit for the chemo. Due to his cough, there was hesitation. An hour later, the blood test result came, and suggested something about the liver function not quite the same as before and they had to wait for clearance from the doctor. More waiting!

The nutritionist came to distract them and made the waiting period more bearable. Then the social worker came to check on their well being after the first dose, and paradoxically, Reg's physically seem to be in a better form than Anita who is constantly feeling exhausted. Thankfully, the social worker reassured Anita that it was all very normal. Meantime, Reg unplugged himself to go to the loo and got scared when the machine beeped in the middle of the toliet indicating low battery. He hurried back and got himself plugged in again. They all made a big laugh as they continued in waiting.

By 1pm, the medical registrar came and with more interrogation and finally gave them the green light to go ahead. Honestly, they didn't even know what it all means if there is no go ahead; but the scary thought was blown away when they could finally go ahead with the treatment. It was until Reg reminded Anita that she should grab some lunch, she had realised the whole morning was gone. Anita then went to buy more drugs for Reg as well as lunch for herself. To their amazement, everything finished the same time as the first dose, becuase the nurse did not need to explain anything to Reg.

Both Reg & Anita felt great and looked forward to pick up Jed. It was so good to hear Jed had a great time at the aquarium and they had been told Jed had a huge desire to identify the various types of sharks that he got his carer to go online to do some discovery. Anita & Reg were just grateful to their friends in assisting a full day care of Jed and had a great time debriefing when picking up Jed.

Returning home, Anita rushed to make dinner for both Jed & Reg but not herself. She has huge fear from last time that Reg may vomit anytime after dinner. The whole thought put her off dinner. The whole night Anita kept passing a bucket to Reg to avoid any cleaning. Yet there was nothing. In fact Reg made dinner for Anita while she was tending Jed. The two rejoiced and only knew their heavenly Father has been hearing everyone's prayer and had spared Reg from further sickness.

Besides the constant funny hiccup, Reg is stable and well. The family praise God for His care.

Heat Escape

With the rise of temperature, the Chan's place got heated up. We thank God however that we have managed to escape the heat.

Reg's family friends have taken us out for lunch on New Years Day. Then we went to play ten pin bowling to escape the heat. Of course, Reg just sat and watched, but the kids had great fun. We were so grateful when the cool breeze came by the time we have reached home. And the Chan's household was happy to have another feast to celebrate the New Year and farewelled Reg's sister who came from overseas. Of course, both Reg and Jed could eat only half of the food being served, but they had a great time, esp Jed. Despite not able to eat many food, nothing can extinguish Jed's curiosity; for he kept asking mummy to lift up a prawn for him to look at. Jed was so funny to say he loves prawns and they are his favorite when he could not even touched it! Yet the family is just grateful to see Jed taking his allergy so positively, and reflected how they too should learn to have such positive spirit and contentment.

Today, Reg didn't go to church but went to the harbour to spend his time of worship in the open. Anita & Jed went to church together, but Jed was extremely clingy, so poor mummy had to hang out with him instead of staying in the service. So we pray that Jed will be less clingy even though we know it has been tough for him, and pray that Anita can really spend time in corporate worship.

In the afternoon, Reg and Jed went to the observatory with another family with 2 kids to escape the heat, while Anita went to visit her parents and had a break from Jed. Once again, we thank God for the heat to cool down by the time we returned home. To top the day, we thank God for the visit of a friend who brought us a juicer and taught Anita how to make healthy juice for Reg to drink durng chemo. It is so good that God brought us with people who had been there and it gave us reassurance that HE cares and knows our needs.

The first chemo cycle is almost coming to the close. We really thank God that it has been good overall, even though the first few days were not glorious. Reg has regained energy and has been eating well without any further sickness. Tuesday, Reg will be going for blood test and we pray that his blood count will be normal, so on Wednesday, he can start his second chemo. We also pray that we're more prepared for the effect of the chemo on Reg's body and keep trusting that God will give us the strength to handle it, both physically and emotionally.