Long Overdue Update

Firstly, apologies for not posting anything over the last month. With Fintan currently not undergoing any chemotherapy, we have been taking the time to do some normal family things. We were able to take the boys up to Lincolnshire for a few days to stay with Fiona's parents and we also had the excitement of Fiona's surprise birthday party (her age will not be mentioned!); all the boys were able to go which made it all that more special. For those of you reading this that were able to join us in the celebrations, thank you so much for coming, it was great to see you all and we had a really good time.

It was back to business last Wednesday as Fintan was at the Royal London Hospital to have his eyes examined. He also had a basic sight test and we had the opportunity to speak to Mr Hungerford.

The good news is that the original tumours in both eyes are not showing any signs of activity and Mr Hungerford explained more about the 'new' tumours which he has been treating with cryotherapy for the last couple of months.

As the main tumours are affected by the chemotherapy they become crumbly, like chalk. Sometimes this chalk can break off and float around in the vitreous gel (the liquid which fills the hollow part of the eye) and this debris gathers along the bottom of the eye. When in the vitreous gel, the debris does not have a blood supply so is not affected by chemotherapy as this is delivered though the blood, therefore, the debris can remain active. If the debris settles on the retina it can pick up a blood supply and develop into another active tumour.

Mr Hungerford calls this condition "Vitreous Basing" and explained that it is the most difficult part of retinoblastoma to manage because it is very difficult to see the debris as it is so far round the peripheral of the eye.

The treatment is to continue freezing the affected area of the eye every four weeks with cryotherapy and unfortunately could go on for some time. In fact, Mr Hungerford could not estimate for how long and also said that he treated a girl in Poland with Vitreous Basing for 7 years! We are hoping that this is the worst case scenario.

The sight test showed that Fintan still has good use of his left eye and that he seems to be using the periphery of the right eye for detail. The orthoptist who carried out the test also seemed pleased with how Fintan was generally using his sight and said that his behaviour indicated he was seeing more than the test showed (at Fintan's age the sight tests are not that accurate as children tend to get bored easily with the pictures and are more interested in what is going on around them).

Following this course of cryotherapy, Fintan looks like he has done several rounds with Mike Tyson, but other than objecting to the eye ointment we have to apply, he has bounced back as normal and is chasing the cat again!

...Talking of which, Fintan's crawling has come on leaps and bounds over the last month. The house is now locked down with stair gates which, together with trying to escape from Fintan, is why the cat seems to have a permanent grump on at the moment!

With that, I shall leave you with a few recent pictures and a promise to update a bit more regularly this month.

Fintan's Toothy Grin

Ner, ner, ner, ner, nerrrr!

Who's for mashed pasta and tomato?

Update

Last Wednesday, Fintan had his eyes examined at The Royal London. As usual, this was done under general anaesthetic, which Fintan coped with very well. The new small tumours which were detected on his right eye at his last check-up have responded well to the cryotherapy and this treatment was repeated again. The original tumours still remain stable and there were no new tumours observed.

Fintan has to return to the Royal London in 4 weeks for another check-up and possibly some more cryotherapy. We are also trying to arrange for Fintan to have an eye test at his next appointment; we think his vision has improved greatly since diagnosis and it would be wonderful if this could be confirmed by 'experts'.

Fintan is still full of beans and we are struggling to keep up with him. He likes to follow his brothers around the house, even though they usually ignore him, as long as Fintan is in the same room as them he is happy! He also thinks it is great fun to chase the cat, corner her by a stair gate and grab a big clump of her fur! Talking of hair, Fintan's bald patch at the back of his head is beginning to grow back slowly, but I'm sure is still looks a bit odd to strangers!

Line Out

A week last Thursday, Fintan had his central line removed at Wycombe hospital. The last infection Fintan had in his line was pretty nasty and, as he no longer needs the line to administer his chemotherapy, it was decided to remove it as soon as possible. Wycombe would not normally give babies under 1 year a general anaesthetic, but Fintan's consultant kindly arranged for a willing anaesthetist and surgeon to do the deed!

As always, Fintan was not too happy when he came round from the anaesthetic, but a bottle of milk and a couple of hours sleep later he was a different boy. He woke up with the biggest smile I have seen for a long time and seemed so much happier.

After the line was removed, Fintan had a cannula in his foot for 2 days to administer the last of his antibiotics, but was line free and at home by Good Friday and, for the first time since November 13th, Fintan was able to have a bath on Easter Monday. The video will show you how much he enjoyed that!

It appears that over the last 4 months, Fintan's central line had become quite a discomfort to him. The difference in him is amazing, although Fintan never used to grumble and was always smiling, he is now full of beans and is even more adorable! Also, within a week of coming home he started crawling and there is now no stopping him!



It was Barnaby's Birthday over the Easter weekend and he had a great day. His cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents helped him eat his birthday cake on Easter Sunday and we went to Wycombe's new bowling alley on Monday. Barnaby demonstrated beginner's luck and won with a run of 7 spares and 1 strike! Archie claims to have won the second game, but we have a different memory of the scores. Although Fintan didn't have a go, he did enjoy a spot of bum shuffling and polished the lanes!

Anyway, next Wednesday Fintan is having some more cryotherapy on the new tumours in his right eye and will also have his eyes examined at the same time. We will update you on how the day goes.

Quick Update

Fintan has had a spot of bother with his Hickman line once again.

Last week, we got the feeling something was not quite right as Fintan's temperature was all up and down for a few days, also the area where his line comes out of his chest just didn't seem right. On Sunday morning, he developed a fever and so we took him into Wycombe hospital. Unfortunately he had to stay there until this evening when he and Fiona were allowed to come home.

The good news is that after a couple of days of umm-ing and arrr-ing, the doctors decided that it was best to take the line out now to stop the constant reoccurrence of infections in the line. So tomorrow morning he will be going back into Wycombe hospital in order for them to carry out the short operation to remove it.

Although he will require a cannula in his wrist for a few days to administer IV antibiotics, it will be a real relief to have it taken out. He will at long last be able to enjoy a long play in the bath, and of course the risk of infection will be vastly reduced. But most importantly, we will be able to give him a nice cuddle without pressing against his tubes and bits.

I'm sorry for the brief update, but it's been a tiring few days. I shall write another entry over the next few days to let you know how he gets on tomorrow.

Last Chemo

Last week was a busy one for Fintan. On Wednesday he was at the Royal London Hospital for another eye examination and on Thursday he was in Oxford having his final cycle of chemo for this round of treatment.

Wednesday brought mixed news.

Firstly there is good news in that the existing tumours appeared inactive; Mr Hungerford could not see any signs of new growth. However, there is a slight set-back -Fintan has three new small tumours in the peripheral of his right eye. We have been told that it is not entirely unexpected as the blood vessels get much smaller towards the edges of the retina, restricting the ingress of chemotherapy drugs. We had tried to prepare for such news, but this was still quite disappointing. Mr Hungerford chose to treat the new tumours whilst Fintan was under anaesthetic using cryotherapy, a technique of freezing the tumours with an extremely cold, pen-like instrument; in a similar way you might have a wart removed. They will repeat the treatment in four weeks whilst monitoring the development of the tumours.

On a more positive note, we met with the genetics counsellor and discussed the implications of Fintan's condition on the rest of the family. She explained to us that, even though Fintan has the hereditary form of retinoblastoma, it is more than likely that the faulty gene started in Fintan. This means that there is no more risk of our family member's children developing the disease than any other family. This does also mean that there is a 50% chance that Fintan will pass the faulty gene onto any children he may have. I would love to give you the full explanation as to how they came to this conclusion, but if you can remember any genetics from school you’ll appreciate it would be a very lengthy and confusing explanation!

Barnaby was tested in early January and it was confirmed he is not a carrier of Rb, so will not develop the condition (there was another very complex test which determined this -for my nerd friends reading this, it's a similar technique that's used for detecting computer viruses! -again, I don't think I should go into it now!) Archie will not be tested unless it is discovered the disease did not start in Fintan, as although he could still be a Rb carrier the condition rarely develops in children over the age of five.

I must stress that this is still all conjecture, as they are yet to find the mutant gene in Fintan's genetic code (in fairness there are over 72,000 different genes, and they have to check them all…by hand!). Although they have said that with the family history etc, they would be very, very surprised if they found the faulty gene in Fiona or me.

Anyway, Thursday...

On one hand, in a strangely semi-institutionalised way, it was kind of sad that it may have been our last visit to Oxford. It's a bit difficult to explain, and Fiona is more articulate with this, but when visiting the hospital, for a day you can hand Fintan and all the worry over to the doctors and nurses. On the other, it's a great relief to think, that for now at least, there will be only a few more weeks of taking temperatures, administering antibiotics, having nasal tubes re-fitted (three times already this time - thanks Fintan!) and hospital stays, etc., but more importantly, Fintan will not have to undergo such horrible treatment.





During this visit, Fintan was brilliant. He was as unfazed as ever, and hasn't really been that sick since. I think it may have been the support of his big brothers who came along this time, and if watching the TV, playing in the playroom and eating, eating and eating some more counts as support, they certainly gave it!

I think I have probably rattled on for long enough now, apologies for the length - believe me, this was the succinct version!

Update

It's only a week now until Fintan has his last cycle of chemotherapy. Also next week Fintan will be having his eyes examined by Mr Hungerford at the Royal London Hospital; as long as Fintan is continuing to respond well to the chemotherapy, there will be a well earned rest from all the poking, prodding and medicines for the brave little chap.

The affects of the chemo are clearly more apparent now. Fintan has had another infection and spent the most of this week in hospital. It was thankfully nothing to worry about. On Sunday Fintan developed a temperature and because he was neutropenic, the hospital needed to administer antibiotics and take blood cultures to see what infection he had. In turns out he has an ear infection and was therefore allowed home on Wednesday afternoon with a new nasal gastric tube and a couple of days of oral antibiotics to take....banana flavour this time! Also, Fintan's blood count dropped to a level whereby the doctors were considering giving Fintan a blood transfusion, however they have decided to leave it until Friday when they will do another blood count in the hope he will recover naturally.

The stays in hospital have a big affect on Archie and Barnaby. Archie is a very sensitive boy and adores Fintan. He has had a lot of tears going to school this week and has not wanted to go, I have had to literally drag him in. It's because he misses his little brother and his mummy, and also he worries desperately about Fintan. I must say, both Fiona and I find this part of the whole process particularly stressful. We know that Fintan is too young to remember any of what is happening to him, but the boys, especially Archie will remember this for a long time. I only hope it's not having too much of a toll on them.

There is some good news. We are really seeing an improvement in what Fintan seems to be seeing. He is reaching for very small items, and he even sees objects on the same colour background. For example the white tubes from his central line on a white, cotton bed sheet. He has also started shuffling about on his bum...backwards. It's not the most efficient mode of transport, but effective nevertheless. Fintan has also discovered his brothers toys, and as you can see in this short video clip, he knows what he wants and he gets it!

....also, check out the dancing in this one!

Penultimate Chemo Cycle

On Tuesday Fintan had his 5th and penultimate cycle of chemo. We were a little unsure whether or not it would be going ahead since he had the infection the previous week, but we had his blood count measured on Monday and all was okay.

Fintan was great as usual, I think he now knows what to expect and just sits there and plays whilst it all goes on. He was a little sick and agitated at times, but who can blame him.

At the hospital they have an ex-patient who volunteers on the ward which Fintan attends. He helps to entertain the children by doing magic tricks and making balloon animals, etc. I was playing cards with him and a young patient, when he revealed he was registered blind and could only see a very small area about 1/2 a metre in front of him, and only out of one eye. I found this incredible as, even with his extremely limited vision, he still navigated about, played cards, built balloon animals without it being at all noticeable that he was blind. Hopefully Fintan will be left with more vision than Simon, but nevertheless it is very reassuring to see how someone can get by so brilliantly without a sense we take so much for granted.

As usual, Fintan had a nasal gastric (NG) tube fitted so we can give him his anti-sick medicine; unfortunately he got really distressed when it was pushed in and it took several attempts before it had been successfully inserted. The poor little lad, however, you'd think he'd learn, but no, he pulled it out again on Wednesday morning and had to go through the whole ordeal once again.

Fiona had to take Fintan back into Wycombe hospital today, as the area around where his central line exits his chest had become red and weepy. It seems he has another infection and is on a 10 day course of antibiotics, again. So he'll be keeping his new NG tube for a while so we can give him his medicine, and it's 10 days of administering medicine at midnight - oh joy! (Although I won’t be moaning too loudly, as Fiona might make me stay in hospital next time!)

Finally an apology; I forgot to pack the camera on Tuesday so no cute hospital pictures this time!

Update

As some of you may have heard, Fintan has been in hospital since Sunday morning. Don't worry though, he came home today and has actually been bouncing around his hospital bed since about Sunday lunchtime.

We took Fintan into Wycombe hospital after his temperature went very high on Sunday morning. He seemed really well in the morning, after suffering with a cold for a few days, he was smiling and giggling as usual and ate all his breakfast with the usual gusto, but shortly after he became lethargic and non-responsive. At the hospital, he soon picked-up, but nevertheless it seemed Fintan had an infection somewhere so the doctors needed to keep him in. They checked his blood counts and found he was neutropenic (when his body can't fight infections itself) so they started him on three different antibiotics. Thankfully, the results of some blood cultures came in today which showed nothing had grown and this meant two of the antibiotics could be dropped and that Fintan and Fiona could come home.

Despite the recent infections, and losing a bit more hair, Fintan really is doing well. He's really interacting with us, and enjoys a good game of peek-a-boo. He's no longer a baby and is becoming more of a boy, which is great to see considering everything he's going through. Fiona's taken a couple of video clips of him recently which I will try and upload over the next few days so you can see what I mean.

Fintan is due to have his 5th cycle of chemo on Tuesday next week; we'll let you know how he gets on shortly after then.

Some Pictures

Probably the last time Barnaby asks what Daddy did at work today!



Fintan also takes in a few Zzzzzzz


Fintan sees his brothers gawping and thinks it would be rude not to join in, but it's just not quite so much fun without a TV to look at!



Just look at how well Fintan is seeing the camera in this video.
It's not all that interesting, but so heart warming and encouraging to see, it's worth the 1 min 15.

Round Four

Fintan had his 4th course of chemotherapy yesterday despite suffering another line infection. He had been due to have his chemo last Friday, but as he was still neutropenic it was delayed until his blood count had improved, however, I still did not get a day off from the hospital!

On Friday morning we noticed a now familiar red patch where his Hickman Line tracks, so I did the school run and then took Fintan to High Wycombe Hospital who confirmed that he had an infection. Fortunately, the infection was not as bad this time and he only needs oral antibiotics, which of course adds it own little problem in that Fintan requires a nose tube as he will not take medicine orally. Fintan was allowed home just in time to pick up Archie from school! However, he had pulled his nose tube out within 24 hours, so James took him back to the Hospital on Saturday afternoon for a new tube and a little more sticky tape - and it is still in place now!

As Fintan's blood had recovered, we went to the John Radcliffe in Oxford yesterday. The day went really well and Fintan seemed to tolerate the chemo better than previously. He was playful and chirpy all day and never complained. The hospital staff commented on how Fintan was filling out (is that a polite way of saying he's a fatty?!) and how well his general development was coming on. This is the first chemo where Fintan has been on solid food, but his appetite wasn't affected and he managed to eat really well all day. He is off his food today, but still smiling and making lots of noise!

Barnaby came with us on this visit and seemed to enjoy himself, especially his packed lunch which was finished by 11.00 am and dinner in the Hospital canteen - Barnaby likes his food! Archie joined us after school and helped Barnaby to test run every toy in the playroom!

Fintan's next chemo is in 3 weeks time, then he will have an eye examination at the Royal London just under 3 weeks after that, followed by his 6th and last course of chemo.

Wedding photo is a life saver

Fintan's Grandad O'Brien added this as a comment on an earlier post today. I thought you might like to read it so I have added it here. It's an extract from a newspaper article he read in the Daily Telegraph, but I also found on the Sky News website.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91251-1301810,00.html

A photograph at a family wedding saved three-year-old Sophie Ripley's life as she posed for pictures with her twin sister Molly. Their parents looking at the pictures days later noticed Sophie's left eye had a black spot.A specialist diagnosed retinoblastoma and Sophie from Shiregreen, Sheffield, had the eye removed in a life saving operation.

Reported in the "Daily Telegraph" today 22nd January 2008.

Update

Following Fintan's positive visit to the Royal London, we had been rather worried about the fact that he was still be very sick - post chemo sickness usually lasts 2 or 3 days, but 1 week after treatment Fintan was still struggling to keep his feeds down. We took him to the John Radcliffe in Oxford on Saturday 5th Jan, as they agreed that the sickness should have stopped by now. However, the doctors decided that it was just a combination of treatment, his central line infection, antibiotics and having undergone a general anaesthetic. We came home, still a little worried, but by Monday he was a different boy! He started eating, not just a few spoons of food, but 3 good meals a day; until now we had been struggling to get Fintan to eat solids, but now he can't get enough. He even had a taste of his very first ice cream today (which he stole from Mummy!)



Last weekend, my family come up from Southampton and Cornwall; it was lovely, especially as Fintan's Uncle Simon and Auntie Jo haven't seen him since he was diagnosed.

Fintan and his cousin Jess.


In the last couple of weeks, Fintan's physical developmental progress has come on by leaps and bounds. He seems to have a new found confidence and is even sitting without any support. His latest trick is dropping objects on purpose - not a lot of fun for Mummy!

Fintan was due to have some more chemotherapy tomorrow, but he has been neutropenic for a week or so (when part of his blood count is very low and makes him at risk of infection) and he hasn't recovered in time. He will have his blood count taken again on Monday and, if his blood has recovered and the doctors are happy with the results, he will have his chemo on Tuesday.

I will try not to leave it so long between posts, and I hope you all haven't been worrying too much. It's been a busy few weeks with one thing or another.

Bye for now.

We're all feeling very optimistic...

Fintan, Barnaby, Fiona and I have just got back from a visit to see Mr Hungerford at the Royal London Hospital. Fintan had his eyes examined to see how he was responding to the chemotherapy and Barnaby to ensure that he had not developed the condition.

It was a very positive day. Firstly, Barnaby has not got any signs of Rb at this time; Mr Hungerford will check him again in 6 months, but we are told it's unlikely Rb will develop in a child of his age. Barnaby was very brave when being given the anaesthetic. He was a little grumpy when he came round, but soon got his appetite back and ordered me to fetch him some lunch!

It's fabulous news again with Fintan; in fact I'm overwhelmed with happiness writing this for you. He is responding really well to the chemotherapy and the tumours on his retinas are reducing and calcifying nicely. Mr Hungerford spoke to us after examining Fintan's eyes and told us that he is very happy with the progress and that this is after only 3 courses of chemotherapy. He also gave us some before and after photographs of Fintan's retinas which clearly show the improvement. I have scanned and uploaded them below. I won't try and explain them too much as I am not an expert, but the top two pictures are the 'before' images. You can see the three large round whitish blobs which are the tumours. In the bottom two 'after shots', you can see that the tumours are more chalky and appear less dense. We were quite shocked at the size of the original tumours, but Mr Hungerford explained that these are close-ups of the centres of the retinas, the retina is much larger so the tumours do not cover the whole surface; however, the centre is responsible for detailed vision, which is why it affects the sight so much.

Fintan's Retinas (click the image to see a larger version).


Here are a few photos from today:

Fintan sleeps off the anaesthetic.


Barnaby soon bounced back to his normal, playful, self.


One very tired and worried, but still very beautiful and brilliant mum.


Clearly the headphones are not for Barnaby sized heads. But not to worry, Daddy's gloves will hold them in place (for the nerds at Motorola, they are MC70 gloves!).

Update

After a lovely family Christmas where all three of the boys had a very exciting time, Fintan had another dose of chemo at the John Radcliffe in Oxford last Friday. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly this time. Before we left for the hospital in the morning, we noticed that the skin on Fintan's neck was looking red where his hickman line tracks. The doctors decided that he had a skin infection; Fintan still had his chemo and was prescribed some oral antibiotics to help fight off this infection. This created another problem, Fintan will not take medicines orally - as soon as we give him anything, he just vomits it back up again! So we all decided that the best thing was for Fintan to have a gastric tube fitted so we could give him his antibiotics, Calpol and anti-sickness medicines through this. Fintan has not really looked ill so far, but having had the tube fitted, makes it more obvious that he is poorly.



We got back from Oxford at about 6.00 pm, only to discover that Fintan had a raging temperature, he looked awful and was limp and grey. We were back at Wycombe Hospital by 7.30pm; he was examined and bloods taken and released at about 1.15am as there was no obvious reason for his fever, he was quite happy and his temperature had come down. However, we were back at Wycombe Hospital by Saturday afternoon as his temperature had rocketed again. It was decided that he must have had an infection brewing in his hickman line and when they accessed it in Oxford to administer his chemo it pushed the infection into his blood. Fintan was released Saturday evening, but we are now in and out of Wycombe Hospital on a daily basis to have antibiotics administered intravenously as the oral antibiotics were only for skin infections and would not have helped fight the line infection.

Anyway, Fintan no longer has a temperature and seems to be fighting off the infection. He also made the decision to remove his gastric tube, as it is no longer required, and did so sometime in his sleep last night!

On Wednesday, Fintan and Barnaby go to the Royal London Hospital to have their eyes examined by Mr Hungerford,the retinoblastoma specialist. Hopefully we will find out how Fintan is responding to the chemotherapy. Barnaby is being examined to ensure he does not also have Rb. We will update you on how they got on later in the week.

Finally, here are a few pictures from Christmas and Friday's day out at Oxford. Happy New Year and here's looking for a good 2008.


Fintan opening his stocking.



Fintan showing the diversity of the NHS sick bowl/hat!



Barnaby can't eat his Christmas dinner any faster!



Now which toy has the brightest lights?!!



Archie tells his Christmas Cracker joke...heard it!



It's a chair not a potty!

Merry Christmas

I just want to say a quick Happy Christmas to everybody, and to thank you all so much for your support and kind words over the last couple of months. I hope you all have a great time and look forward to seeing you all soon.

I'd also like to add my thanks to Russell and his band, not only for raising awareness of retinoblastoma, but also for some top brass, and for inviting me to the Christmas evening at a pub where he was collecting for CHECT. The tiny village pub was crammed with revellers all joining in with the music, it was wonderful fun, but also, the only time that I have squeezed into a pub, only to be greeted by a stranger who asked "Do you drink beer?", he then called to the bar to get me a pint! Fantastic! I'd love to disclose which pub this was, but I was sworn to secrecy by one of Russell's fellow band members not to tell anyone about the place in fear that it's local atmosphere might be ruined!!

Finally, as many of you and your friends will be taking photos this Christmas and New Year, please take a moment to check that none of the kids are getting a white eye reflection. If you are not sure what to look for, take a look at this link: http://www.chect.org.uk/page.php?id=9&s=0. Diagnosing this disease early makes all the difference.

Merry Christmas.

Full of Beans!

Fintan has just given us an early Christmas present - he has eaten some solids!! (Those of you with children will have some understanding of the trials and traumas of weaning.) After several weeks of steadfastly refusing solids of any sort, we have finally found something that Fintan will eat - Baked Beans! Even if this is all he will take for a week or two, it's a start. However, Archie, who is a big Dr Who fan, is concerned that too many beans will make Fintan fart like a Slitheen!




A big thank you to Russell Barr and his brass ensembles for raising awareness of Retinoblastoma and collecting donations for CHECT. Also thanks to Hamilton Primary School for organising collections at their Christmas productions.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas!

Editorial Update

Further to James' update yesterday and his comment "yes, Fintan is looking at the camera" before you all start feeling sorry for him, James' picture was not very flattering and Fintan is, in fact, a very handsome boy!!

A Little Good News

Over the last week, Fiona and I have noticed that Fintan seems to be seeing more. He is fixing and following on objects we hold in front of him, even if we move the object relatively quickly. We are so pleased with this development, it makes the hope of him being able to read and enjoy the things we do more of a reality. Until Fintan goes back to the Royal London for his next eye exam just after the new year, we cannot be sure if this is because the chemotherapy is reducing the tumours, if this is purely down to him adapting to what he has got, or even if it is simply normal developmental progression; either way, it's a real step forward and we are very, very proud of him.

A couple more recent achievements: Fintan is now almost sitting on his own, and is even saying "Daddy" :-) I have to admit, it's more of a "Da.........DEEE", but I know what he means!

There will be video evidence soon.

Finally, here is a picture of Archie, Fintan and Barnaby to wish you all a bit of Festive cheer. I hope you appreciate it, it only took me about 200 shots to get them all to finally look at the camera, and yes, Fintan is looking at the camera ;-)

Update

On Wednesday, Fintan had his second dose of Chemotherapy. It was another long day, but Fintan was really good as usual. He seemed more bothered by it all this time, occasionally throughout the day he would suddenly get upset and squirm about as if he was uncomfortable or in pain. This was hard to see at times as there wasn't much we could do to comfort him. He has also been more affected by the sickness this time.

To the right is a photo of Fintan in his hospital bed. I can't tell if he is looking at his infuser with the respect that it is helping him, or with contempt at the discomfort it's causing him.
Archie and Barnaby came over to visit him in the afternoon, after a quick hello to make sure Fintan was OK, they thought it would be a good idea to make sure the play room was in good working order...it was.
Fintan has discovered that he can yelp (kind of like an excited American baseball fan "whoa, yeah"), this is all very amusing to him, especially at 10 o'clock last night when Fiona was trying to get him to sleep!

We are all getting very festive here, the tree is up and decorated; and chocolates have been duly dispersed around it. Archie and Barnaby seem to be most interested with this addition, and keep reminding us of their whereabouts. Fintan on the other hand likes the fairy lights...nice and bright, and hundreds of them.

Fintan is next in the Hospital between Christmas and New Year. The good thing about that is it means that he will be hopefully be feeling at his best for Christmas Day.

Anyone For Cheese?

Fintan isn't interested in taking any solid food whatsoever, anyone got any suggestions? However, he does love to have a good gnaw of his feet...I think the sock fluff between his toes is a real treat!