Today Daddy and Mommy received the news that the donor will give his bone marrow by the end of July. Yasmine will have to be ready by that time, after undergoing a chemotherapy, so that her body is ready to receive this new bone marrow. Next week she'll have to go to the hospital to have a catheter implanted.

Privacy does not allow Daddy and Mommy to know who the donor is, we were only told that he or she probably lives in another country. We regret this, because we would have liked to get to know this person and thank him or her for the most beautiful gift anyone can receive.

Daddy is going to keep a diary on his computer, because it will become impossible to update everyone every day, not to mention the fact that time will be too scarce for the many phone calls. He will post this diary on his website, for all to see.

The date for the catheter implant is set for Friday. By then all of the tests will have taken place and the doctors will have completed a baseline of Yasmine’s health condition at that time. They need this to be able to measure her progress after the transplant, and to better follow her evolution. Yasmine will go to the UZ Gasthuisberg hospital on Thursday afternoon, undergo a scan of the jugular arteries and on Friday she will have the catheter implanted.

Today Yasmine went to the hospital to have the catheter implanted. We are located on the fourth floor, E341, room 411. The first item on the agenda is the scan of the jugular arteries, since that is where this catheter will be implanted. After that Yasmine and Mommy will spend the night in the hospital, while Daddy goes home to take care of our dog Kira. Early on Friday morning Yasmine will have the catheter inserted.

The room is quite OK, with a large couch for Mommy and a typical hospital bed for Yasmine. The TV allows us to get all the channels and there is also a VCR. Mommy even remembered to bring video cartridges of Musti and Miffy... We also brought her major "Huggies", at least this will enable us to keep Yasmine busy.

The test of the arteries gave perfect results, they were completely normal. Another blood test (one of so many...) was made to examine her blood coagulation. After Yasmine’s bath, Daddy was already back from his own visit to the doctor... Mommy visited her ex-colleagues of the Operating Room and meanwhile Daddy and little Yasmine played some games, with Miffy observing in the background.

Yasmine is becoming a real "rascal"... She constantly wanted to lick the metal frame of her bed and Daddy of course told her that she couldn’t do that. She liked that little game so much that she started all over, with that roguish look in her eyes, every time Daddy looked away. And her laughter was pure happiness. Around 21h20 it was bedtime, because tomorrow at 07h00 little Yasmine is to undergo a rather severe operation, the implant of the Hickman catheter.

Neither Daddy nor Mommy slept much this night. At 07h15 Yasmine was picked up for her operation. They gave her a general narcosis and the operation itself took about half an hour. Thirty minutes later Yasmine woke up, and we watched "Plop the Gnome" in the children PAZA (recovery room). We were told that the doctors had every hope and that Yasmine had every chance to get through the procedure with an optimal result. Thumbs up !

The catheter is one of a three lumen type, which means one with three "tubes", allowing all sorts of medication and blood tests. It was checked and the "installation" appeared to be perfect. This was tested by aspiring some blood and by injecting the lumen with Sodium Chloride 0,9 % and Heparine, an anti-coagulant to prevent blood clots. Afterwards new lockets (Heparine lockets) were installed.

At noon Daddy went home and came back with an enormous bag of playthings, since doctor Renard had told us that we wouldn’t be going home, but that room 411 would be our home for the near future. On Monday we’ll start with the chemotherapy. The first stage will be the administration of Busulfan. Yasmine can't eat or drink one hour before or after this administration.

Busulfan (Myleran®)

• alkylating medication
• inhibits cell division, especially in tissues with an elevated mitotic activity
• nitrogen-mustard farmaca
• immunosuppressive qualities
• they can affect the ovarial function and spermatogenesis, and lung fibrosis is possible
• teratogene and cancerogene

We decided that Anneleen would stay nights with Yasmine for the first few days, until Minnie gets used to her new surroundings. Sometimes, when she wakes up in a panic in the middle of the night, a Daddy is just not enough to comfort you... Tomorrow we’ll go and buy a couple of posters of Winnie the Pooh and Miffy to cheer up the room, for it is a bit austere... Daddy’s hairdresser Nico (salon HAITI's Hairgarden, Leuven - no other person even comes near Daddy’s hair with scissors...) will come to the clinic on Monday, to cut Yasmine’s hair. That way we won’t have to watch her hair falling out because of the chemo. And this will also allow us to keep her pig tails with the beautiful curls...

Anneleen went home around noon to take a shower, while little Minny and Daddy played in her room. Her little eyes became oh so heavy and around 17h00 she almost fell asleep. Daddy asked her if she wanted to go to sleep and she promptly pointed to her bed - that was clear ! Daddy put her to bed and she instantly fell asleep. Daddy kind of slumbered himself too, halfway between sleeping and being awake. When Mommy comes back, Daddy can go home to take a shower and have his dinner.

Mientje woke at 19h00 and played a little. Half an hour later Mommy asked for a bottle of Nutrilon 3, but that wasn’t available and so we had to try with normal milk. That seemed no success however, yuck, cow milk ! I don’t want that... After a while she asked again for food, but although we now had Nutrilon 2 she didn’t want it. So back to bed without eating...

Mommy shut the TV off and made her own bed, so that she could rest somewhat before going to sleep. That didn’t work out too well, for she had a headache and was completely bushed. She immediately fell asleep like a log. Daddy came by around 22.00 h to bring the Babyphone and to see how things were going, but both Minnie and Mommy were asleep. So Daddy woke up Mommy, just to prove to her that he did actually show up...

A male nurse came by to explain about the isolation after the chemo. It appears that we won’t be able to sleep with Minnie after the transplant ! Bummer... But children generally sleep very profoundly during that period, so hopefully that won’t bother her too much...

06.30h.... It’s already light. Mommy, I’m awake ! You too ? Ah, now you are...
Mientje had a good night's rest and only woke up a couple of times - lost her pacifier... So Mommy had a good night’s rest too. Around 10.00h the nurse came by for a blood sample with lots of tubes and a couple of injections. Mientje immediately wiggled her upper lip and wanted to start her own siren, until she noticed that an injection through the catheter doesn’t actually hurt. When she discovered that, she quietly observed the proceedings.

At 11.30h the nurse came back and took us to the test room with the cha-cha-cha bear. They removed the dressing and cleaned the wound with HAC. That was a lot less interesting, and little Minny made that quite clear by producing an obscene amount of decibels...

They also installed a little bag for a urine sample and that wasn’t comfortable either. But when everything was finished Mientje could go back to Mommy’s arms and received a little present to boot, a yoyo (came from Raychem - and that is an unveiled publicity...).

Back in the room lunch was already served. At 12.00h our Mientje went to sleep for an hour or so. We saw Dr. Renard in the corridor and she gave us some more information about the chemotherapy. Chances are that the chemo will make Yasmine nauseous from the beginning. According to Dr. Renard this Busulfan was "yuck" and "filthy"... That's not a good start...

We quickly went shopping to the city, now that we were allowed to leave. We looked for body’s and tops that will hide her Hickman catheter and keep it in place. We arranged to meet Grandpa and Grammy in the city, so that we could talk with them and inform them of the latest developments.

Apart from this, nothing much happened. Now it is time for a bath and after that it’s bedtime. Tonight Daddy will stay with Yasmientje.

I had a terrible night. Mientje was coughing all the time, because her nose glands are swollen and produce a lot of mucus, which slides down her throat and causes her to choke in her sleep. This should disappear after the transplant.

Mientje woke up at 06.30h, and so did Daddy... Daddy put on the video of the Teletubbies and warmed up the bottle. The doctor came by because Yasmine had coughed so much during the night, but her lungs were clear and we didn’t have to aerosol her.

At 11.00h nurse An came in with a sort of Christmas tree with no less than THREE IV pumps... Yasmine received her first collection of medication and it needn’t be said that she wasn’t very happy with that. In the first IV there was a physiological sugar solution to clean the catheter, in the second one was Zovirax® and Zantac® , and in the third one there was Heparine®. After that she received a syrup Sporanox®, which was supposed to be followed by three more pills. However, little Yasmine again produced the necessary decibels to make sure that this was enough ! This might cause some more problems tomorrow, because the chemo (Busulfan®) is supposed to be taken in pills.

Nurse An found an elegant solution and made a syrup out of the three pills with some grenadine. That did go in, after some convincing. Her three medications are Zyloric®, Diphantoine (Dilantin®) and Tarivit®. Her temperature was 37.3° C.

Zovirax®

• acyclovir medication
• active against herpes-simplex viruses and types I and II, and also against the varicella-zoster virus
• minimalizes the risks of encephalitis and pneumonia of immune depressed persons.
• A good hydration is indispensable, since this medication can cause a lower renal function.

Zantac®

• ranitidine medication
• H2-anti-histaminic, lowers the acid secretion of the stomach.
• Possible side effects are gastro-intestinal problems, headache, tiredness, skin eruptions and muscle pain.

Heparine®

• Anti coagulant, avoids blood clots.
• Possible side effects are bleedings, in which case Protamine should be administered in a dose of 10mg IV per 1000 units heparine. Also hyper calemia and allergic reactions.

Sporanox®

• itraconazol
• against mould infections and candida stomatitis
• can cause gastro-intestinal problems, skin eruptions, headache, a heightening of the serum levels of the liver enzymes and liver defects.

Zyloric®

• allopurinol
• inhibits the formation of urine acid, gout attacks and the formation of kidney stones, because during a chemo treatment there is an abnormally high production of urine acid.

Diphantoine (Dilantin®)

• Anti-epileptic medication. The experience shows that children with both a chemo treatment and a bone marrow transplant sometimes get epileptic seizures. This medication is therefore preventive.

Tarivid® (Ofloxacine)

• ofloxacine
• a powerful antibiotic
• Possible side effects are gastro intestinal problems, allergic reactions, tendinitis and photosensibilisation

Nurse An told us that even Yasmine’s used diapers are being weighed, to make sure that she maintains sufficient liquid and that her kidneys function as they should.

Yasmine took a little afternoon nap, which needed some getting used to with all these infusions, as much for Mientje as for Daddy... Around 13.30h Mommy came back and Daddy left for a shower and to update his website. Mommy brought some good news - she had visited the people that offered to take on our dog Kira as a guest, and that had been a good experience. They appear to be really nice people and it comforts us to know that our Kira will be in a loving entourage.

At 14.30h Yasmine once again received the red syrup with the three medications and an hour later she received Zovirax and Zantac through her IV. At 16.00h Grandma and Grandpa came by and at 17.30 h little Minnie received her third dose of the red syrup. It seems to us that these medications are tiring her faster, but aside from this they don’t seem to bother her too much.

Mientje slept until 18.15h and a little later Daddy went home. Mommy and Mientje watched Musti on TV and played with the blocks and the little farm animals. Mientje amazingly put the animals on their side - they were supposed to go to sleep ! She starts imitating... She built some more blocks and read some bookies. At 20.00h she was washed, the dressings were changed and they tried to measure her blood pressure, but in vain.

The nurse also told us that Yasmine would receive her first chemo tomorrow around 09.00h, and so she could still have her first bottle in the early morning. That was a relief for Mommy, because keeping our little rascal quiet on an empty stomach is not easy. After that came again the whole shebang of medications. At 21.00h it was time for her bottle and time for bed. Her temperature was 36.2° C.

Late in the evening Mommy cleaned up and the nurse came by to tell her that he would visit regularly for the used pampers and the medication. At 02.00h he came to collect the first pamper and an hour later Yasmine received her first intravenous medication. She was awake for some time and sat on Mommy’s lap, nice and cosy together. After that both slept.

Today is Day -10, which means that Yasmine will receive ten days of chemo and on Day 0 the bone marrow transplant will take place. 31st of July !

Mommy woke up at 07.45h and immediately took Mientje out of her bed. Of course the first items were the indispensable hugs and kisses and afterwards she went to the nursing station to ask whether food was still allowed, now that it was somewhat later than foreseen. The nurses told her that it would be better to keep her on an empty stomach and start with the chemo.

Mommy administered the chemo medication herself, but she had to put on gloves first. Makes you wonder what kind of junk that is... Afterwards Mientje watched some TV and played a while and an hour passed away. At 09.00 h followed two more injections with medications, and then Yasmine was undressed and weighed.

After that is was time for her first bottle. At 10.30h Nico came by for the hairdressing part. First he cut off her beautiful tails, then he went on with the trimmer. She didn’t like the trimmer. Now that was a strange sight ; Mientje with a Navy crew cut ! That will give us some time to get used to the idea that she won’t have any hair for a while... Thank you Nico !

Around 11.00h Daddy brought Kira to her future foster family, so that she could start getting used to her new surroundings. They are indeed very friendly people, and they have the nicest kids. When Daddy went in, Kira immediately went on to the back, probably to explore the kitchen. She seemed to be at ease right away. Daddy made a rather quiet retreat and went back to the clinic.

When Daddy came in Mientje was taking a small nap. It was a very strange sight - Yasmine without her pony tails... But let’s hope that this is only temporary. At 13.00h she received her three medications in grenadine.... Grandpa and Grandma came by at 16.00h and the medication came by also... Mientje is starting to have diarrhea from the medication, we’ll have to make sure to change her diapers in time and use plenty of Inotyol ointment. Grandpa and Grandma brought some food for Daddy and Mommy - great ! Grandpa had also brought a book for Daddy, the "Medication Repertory 2003". That will sure come in handy !

Mommy washed Mientje and left to pick up Kira. Daddy gave her her bottle around 18.45h and at 20.00h came another round of medication and the chemo treatment. Our little darling starts feeling the effects of all of that chemical junk in her little body. She is nervous, dead tired but doesn’t want to sleep, and actually doesn’t know very well what she does or doesn’t want.

Daddy put Mientje to bed at 20.30h, because she looked so very tired, and she was almost asleep when one of those darned infuse pumps started chirping. It needed a refill. That definitely woke her up and she wanted to be with Daddy. When the nurse came in, she took Daddy in a bear grip... These are the nice moments, every time a nurse comes in it is the right time for a mega hugging moment.

After quite some hugging Daddy put Yasmine back in her bed (under a lot of protest...) at 21.10h, and Daddy himself fell on his own bed and closed his eyes. Twenty minutes later our darling Yasmine went to dreamland - a place where she isn’t sick...

Once again Daddy didn’t sleep a wink. Either Mientje needed a new diaper, or she snored or lost het pacifier, and if that didn’t go wrong some infuse pump or other alarm started beeping to wake up Daddy. If you’re a light sleeper there is always something to wake you up in this place...

At 06.30h Mientje was wide awake. Daddy checked and the chemo would be around 08.00h, so her bottle would have to wait until 09.00 h... That was not so good. Daddy kind of "lobbied" the nurses and eventually nurse Hubert came to administer the chemo and other medication at 07.40h, so that Mientje could have her bottle at 08.40h. The medication itself seemed to go in somewhat easier. Mientje weighed 12.1 kg and her temperature was 36.5°C.

While waiting for her bottle Mientje and Daddy played on the mat and afterwards we dressed her, accompanied by the Teletubbies video - she loves that video. Daddy gets the impression that we’ll have to watch the boils in Mientje’s mouth, because she is continuously smacking her lips. Sores and boils in the mouth and oesophagus are a frequent side effect of the chemotherapy. Could it already be bothering her ? Better keep an eye on it.

Yesterday Daddy received information about the isolation and the disinfection of Mientje’s playthings. It appears that they’ll disinfect another room completely, disinfect all of her playthings and then move Mientje to this other isolation room. We’ll let you know the new room number.

At 10.00h the music therapist came by. She occupies and diverts the children with all kinds of instruments. Mientje particularly liked the xylophone, even more so because you can nicely dismount all those metal parts... Mientje played some music and we sang a couple of songs (handjes draaien, 'k zag twee beren, de wielen of de bus, etc....), and the music therapist accompanied us on her guitar.

After that there came an uncomfortable moment when one of the infuse pumps unexpectedly started an alarm. There was a blockage somewhere and it took a lot of checking to figure out that some locks were still on from the infuse change. After her lunch at 11.40h, Mientje immediately went to sleep. Nurse Hubert told Daddy that normally she should be awakened at noon to get her medication, but now that she finally slept so quietly, that moment was moved to when she would wake up at around 13.00h.

Around 13.10h Mommy arrived, after bringing Kira to her foster family. Little Minnie was still sleeping, but woke up 15 minutes later. Daddy went to see her and said he had a surprise for her… it was Mommy ! Nurse Hubert came by with the inevitable "red" medication in the syringe. They went in without a problem. Bravo Mientje, you did extremely well honey ! Mommy took her temperature and that was fine too - 36,2° C.

Daddy left for the city to look for some posters, so that we could kind of "dress up" Yasmine’s room in the hospital. Winnie The Pooh, Miffy or other favourites, right now the room looks rather austere and our little darling doesn’t like that too much.

Meanwhile Mientje and Mommy played a lot and watched Hopla together. During Hopla the oncologist came by to tell mommy that she had just received a fax to confirm her that the bone marrow would arrive in time in the hospital. The therapy can continue without a hitch and according to plan. From the fax she could deduce that the bone marrow comes all the way from London, but otherwise nothing is divulged about the donor.

A bit later another assistant visited us. First she played a while with Yasmine, so as to get to know each other and to gain her confidence and then she asked if she could examine her. She palped to check her liver and spleen, auscultated her lungs and trachea, and finally checked the reflexes of her members. Everything was fine. After that she played some more with Yasmine and then went "dada". Yasmine thinks that that is the nicest part - she just says "dada" and then they leave... Now what would you do ?...

At 16.00h Grandma came to visit, this time without Grandpa, because he was in the hospital himself... Grandma played a long time with Mientje and she liked that a lot too. Nurse Chris, which is also our neighbour, brought her IV medication. And a bit later Daddy came back too, but... unfortunately without the posters. Daddy forgot... Now Daddy, how could you ! You moron ! If your head weren’t attached to your body, you’d probably also forget it…

Half an hour later Mientje said "hap hap", which means that it is time for eating ! Mommy found carrot porridge in the refrigerator and warmed it up, because bread didn’t do too well anymore. Mommy couldn’t feed her fast enough and she ate almost everything. Still half an hour later Daddy left for home and a good night’s sleep, for he was completely exhausted.

The next "red" medication came at 17.30h. Mientje was already very tired but refused to go to sleep. She was actually fighting her sleep, just as she did before, when she was administered sedatives for some tests . At least we can say that she is a true little "fighter". A good sign !

At 19.30h she asked again for "hap hap". Mommy wasn’t pleased because ten minutes later she would receive her "red" syringe with the chemo medication and after that she had to wait for another hour before she could eat. Nurse Chris came by with no less than two "red" syringes, a first one with the chemo and a second one with the medication. There was some protest, but in they went. Isn’t she a good and big girl - perhaps not yet big, but most certainly good !

Mommy started the evening ritual, washing and pajamas, to pass the time until she would be allowed to eat. Also, the dressing had to be changed again, because it had come loose. Yasmine transpires a lot and so nothing adheres to her skin. Mommy was smart, while she was waiting for Chris to get a new aseptic dressing she already started removing the dressings. Now that was an excellent idea, the whole thing didn’t last that long anymore and she didn’t cry as much as the other times. The dressings adhered better too, for the first time. Mommy immediately took Mientje in her arms to quiet her down and to avoid her starting to transpire again.

At 20.30h it was finally time for "hap hap" ! Mommy quickly warmed up her bottle, at last ! When the bottle was gone Mommy put her to bed, because she was exhausted. Just in time Nurse Chris came by to administer her IV medication and her mouthwash with special chlorine hexidine 0,2 % (mouthwash with banana taste – still yucky though). He explained to Mommy how this needed to be administered, twice a day for starters and more if needed. Mientje did not particularly like this, for she was very tired and wanted to sleep. Not ten minutes later she was fast asleep. Mommy took her temperature - 36,2° C. Still excellent.

At 23.30h night nurse Annemie came by to replace the diaper and told Mommy that she would return around 03.00h for the medication. Aside from that she would regularly check on Yasmine during the night and replace soiled diapers. Luckily Mommy doesn’t wake up as quickly as Daddy.

Yasmine woke up at 07.10h. Mommy immediately called the nurses to enquire when the chemo would be administered, and that would happen twenty minutes later. While waiting for another hour before breakfast, Yasmine and Mommy watched TV, sitting on Mommy's bed. At 09.00h came the next batch of medication and Yasmine was weighed again - 12,5 kg. The nurses had another go at trying to measure her blood pressure and it was 137 - too high. At 10.30 h the clown came by (no, not Daddy, another clown...). At first Mientje was somewhat afraid of this strange fellow, but Mommy’s lap was very comforting. And then the clown started making soap bubbles. Now isn’t that something ! After that Mientje didn’t want anything else anymore, just the soap bubbles...

At 11.00h Mientje’s IV’s were replaced and she received IV medication. Mommy gave her the oral hygiene, which is a preventive disinfection of the mouth to prevent post-chemo infections. At 11.40h she had lunch, and the nurses came by to measure her blood pressure again. This time they used a monitor and a small bracelet. Her blood pressure was still too high - 130. So Mientje was administered some Lasix, after which she took a nap until 13.45h. When she woke up the doctors came by to see if everything was OK.

At 16.00h the psychologist came by, who happens to live in our street ! An hour later Yasmine had her bottle and we measured het blood pressure again; not that it was necessary but to get her used to it. That way she won’t get so overly excited every time. It was still too high - 132/56. Perhaps the doctors can get it down, we’ll see. At 17.30h the next batch of medication arrived. Afterwards the nurse brought us a bag, that some people had deposited at the reception for Yasmine, but no one could tell us who these people were. In the bag was a present for Mientje, two videos and a very nice card, from our bridesmaids ! Thank you very much, this is a nice gesture !

Meanwhile Mientje was taking a big nap, she appears to become more and more tired from all the medications. At 19.00h Mommy gave her a bath and half an hour later came the next chemo. We again checked her temperature (36,6° C) and blood pressure (120/75) so that she would get used to these proceedings, since we would have to keep an eye on those indexes for the days and weeks to come.

Mommy left for home at 20.00h and would first pick up Kira. Tomorrow she’ll come somewhat later, for there is still a lot of work to do at home. And Daddy just can’t let her go in time... Mientje and Daddy played some more and watched Tic Tac together. After changing an enormous diaper Daddy put Mientje to bed at 21.20h. Her blood pressure was up to 148/76 again. An impressive conversation followed, for Mientje apparently had a lot to tell Daddy. At 22.20h she finally fell asleep, and Daddy followed suit immediately...

Wow, we slept all the way until 07.00h, pure luxury ! Even Daddy slept rather well for a change... Daddy took Mientje into the bed with him, she likes that. We put on a DVD of Miffy and measured Mientje’s blood pressure (123/63) and temperature (36.3° C). Daddy also called the nurses to ask if we could get the chemo at 07.30h, so that Mientje could have her breakfast one hour later.

After the chemo Daddy dressed Mientje and we played some more. At 08.50h the nurse came by, and this time she had a plate with all kinds of syringes. She took four blood samples and gave her all of the medication. Mientje really was a good girl and let her do all of it.

At 09.15h Daddy changed diapers and he noted that Mientje seemed rather tired. He put Mientje back to bed, and yes, she fell asleep immediately. Daddy thinks that the chemo is kicking in, and that Mientje is feeling its effects. That is probably why she tires so quickly. Sleep all you can, my darling, Daddy is right beside you.

Good heavens, that infuse pump !!! Mientje hadn’t slept for two minutes when one of those stupid pumps started beeping again. No more sleeping... When this will be over Daddy doesn’t EVER want to see a infuse pump again... Mommy called, she would bring Kira to her foster family and come to the hospital.

The doctor came by and checked our darling. The lungs were fine and everything looked good. Today is the last day with Busulfan, tomorrow Mientje does not receive any medication and on Saturday she will start with Cyclophosphamide and the ATG. These two will be administered through IV, so she doesn’t need to remain on an empty stomach. We should however expect Mientje to get "worse" now. After that Mientje will have her bone marrow transplant and the medication will be Cyclosporine.

Cyclofosfamide (Endoxan®)

• Same sort of chemicals as Busulfan
• Risks of haemorrhagic cystitis

ATG-Fresenius

• antilymphocytary immunoglobulins (rabbit)
• immonusuppressivum
• used to counter the rejection of the new bone marrow
• risks for febrile reactions, trombocytopeny and anaphylactic shock.
• This medication is obtained by administering humane lymphocytes to rabbits or horses. If Mientje appears to be allergic to the rabbit variation, they’ll administer the horse variation. But since Mientje really loves Miffy (who is a rabbit...) I don’t think that she’ll be allergic to this rabbit product...

Cyclosporine

• polypeptide
• prevention and treatment of rejective phenomena
• some serious side effects are possible : hypotensia and kidney damage
• interacts with a lot of other medications
• monitoring of the blood concentrations is absolutely advised

A bit later the music therapist came by, and we sang a lot of songs and kind of dismantled her instruments... Mientje loves it, and after every song she goes Bravo ! At 11.15h Daddy took her blood pressure (107/60) and temperature (36,5° C). Now we are getting somewhere ! Half an hour later came lunch and then a nap. Our little sprout did not sleep for long, just an hour. At 13.30h Daddy took her blood pressure again (113/64) and also her temperature (36,2° C).

Half an hour later Mommy was there. She had dropped off Kira at her new playmate and finished her house chores. Now Daddy can go and get himself a bite to eat downstairs... Meanwhile Mientje and Mommy went over all of the wishing cards that were deposited for her in the last two days. Mientje likes to look at the cards and scrutinizes them one by one. She gives the envelope to Mommy and then watches her take out the card. How sweet, many thanks to all card writers !

Mommy also thought up a new trick, drawing pencils. She got them out of a large bag and gave them to Mientje, along with a sheet of paper. This was something new ! But it seemed nice and Mientje made her first three drawings. Mommy sometimes helped just a little bit, but most of it was Mientje’s own work. A new thing to learn. More on learning ; yesterday Mommy put up a plastic poster with lots of little words. The oncologist was astounded that in just one day Yasmine could point out nearly all the drawings on the poster.

Don’t underestimate our little girl ! Big girl, Yasmine, ! BRAVO !

At 15.00h there was a knock on the door, but Daddy saw nobody through the blue curtain. Another knock on the door and ... there was aunt Leen. She had brought a nice book of Dikkie Dik (It sounds a bit weird in English, but it’s actually a perfectly nice Dutch children’s book…). Mientje and Mommy started reading immediately, because Mientje loves to read books. Meanwhile nurse Lieve came by with the 15.00h medication and Mommy gave them to Mientje. Good girl Mientje !

Daddy quickly went home to take a shower. Mommy took Yasmine’s blood pressure (113/60), which seemed to remain pretty stable. At 16.30h Yasmine asked for food and Mommy warmed up some more vegetable porridge. All of it went in and stayed in, followed by a ofilla pudding. Mmmmmmmmmm... Meanwhile they enjoyed another DVD of Miffy. At 17.00h nurse Chris brought some Tenormin to control and lower Mientje’s blood pressure. This syringe too went down without any problems or protest. An hour later Mommy checked her blood pressure again (107/78). We’re getting there !

When Daddy came back, aunt Leen went home and after all the hugs and kisses we again measured Mientje’s temperature (36,6°C). A couple of minutes later Grandpa came by. He wanted to say hello before going home, after spending a day in the hospital for tests. Mientje absolutely wanted to climb on Grandpa’s lap for hugs and kisses, and Grandpa didn’t mind at all... After that he went home, so that Grandma wouldn’t get unduly worried.

We changed diapers and Mommy put Yasmine to bed at 18.20h. She really was tired after all these events, rubbing her eyes and getting more and more nervous. And yes, she fell asleep almost immediately. But unfortunately not for long, because an hour later she awoke crying. Poor darling. At 19.30h came the time for the last chemo and nurse Chris administered the medication and three injections.

Mientje and Mommy watched Dribbel, the little Dog, but fifteen minutes later Mommy decided that it was time to wash our little duckling. Yasmine was dead tired and let it be known with a lot of tears. The catheter dressing was still fine and could remain in place until tomorrow evening. Mientje decided that her food was now more than overdue, and after dinner Mommy again took her blood pressure (144/79) and temperature. It was higher than before, but probably caused by the many tears. Mommy put on Hopla, the white Bunny, and when Mientje calmed down she took the readings again. Blood pressure was now down to 119/59 and her temperature was 36,2° C. Much better.

At 21.00 h it was way past bedtime. Mommy put Mientje to bed, did the disinfection mouthwash thing and bade Yasmine goodnight. Although she must have been exhausted, she told Mommy a long story before she finally fell asleep. She looked so cute that Mommy couldn’t resist taking some more photographs. Have a good night, my darling ! I'll see you tomorrow and Mommy will stay with you all night long, right next to you.