Well, I’m back.

The last few months had been… difficult. Alistair’s Delayed Intensification phase was just like what it sounded like: intense.

And at the end of the three-month-ish phase, his blood counts crashed. He needed multiple red blood and platelet transfusions.

I know that sounds dire. And it was very scary. But besides his hemoglobins, platelets and white bloods dropping to a drastically low number, he was otherwise well physically.

Until he had a fever, due to zero neutrophils in his body.

We had to rush to the hospital three times in two weeks, because his fever kept returning. We’d go to the emergency, get him warded for about a week, he’d feel better, we’d get sent home, only for the temperature to come back again the next day. And back to the hospital we went.

In the meantime, I got more and more worried because nobody could know for sure what was causing the fever. Was it just because he was neutropenic? Or was there another hidden infection that we couldn’t find?

The medical team did tests and scans, but found nothing.

But the good news was that they didn’t find anything sinister. And his fever soon resolved on its own.

By the end of that entire ordeal, however, I was flat out exhausted – physically, mentally, emotionally. Sometimes I feel as though I’m still trying to recover and recuperate.

We’ve since started his Maintenance phase, which I’ve been told multiple times by multiple doctors that it’s a great place to be in. He’s supposed to be well and strong enough to go back to school. We’re supposed to be able to start living life a little more normally again.

To celebrate, we went out for a nice meal together last weekend. I believe that was the first time we had gone out for a meal as a family since COVID started. And the kids had such a great time. Alistair was actually bouncing on his seat while eating his little burger.

We also took the kids out for a movie at the cinema. It was Alistair’s very first time going to the movies, and he loved it.

But, his blood counts recently went downwards again, so… it’s definitely not a time to relax yet.

I’m dreaming of a time when Alistair will be completely cured, and we can all go for a nice long holiday where the biggest trouble we’d have is not being able to get a seat at our favourite restaurant.

One day.

In the meantime, we breathe, and keep moving forward.

Last week, I was given the opportunity to join Ps Sandra from Bayside Church in her message about dealing with life’s curveballs. I talked about my experiences in going through the loss of Alexa as well as living through Alistair’s diagnosis. Another church member, Luke, shared about his own challenging life experience too.

If you’d like to watch it, here’s the video:

Thank you for your love, thoughts and prayers. We are blessed to have you in our lives.

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