Hope you can open it!

Hope you can open this one!
dad has worked hard on it...enjoy1

luv and hugs
Eli
xox

Some photos!

Its hard work being on the farm!

Me, ninny and mum

Me and ninny!

Im 'free' for the moment...

Cuddles for the last time before im hooked up!


Just had my nose tube in


Certainly not happy!


dad does a great job bathing me!


You can see all the 'tubes!'


See...im ok!

HI everyone

just a quick update..hope you like the photos...
Ive almost had my first 24 hours of chemo, and i think im starting to feel it...ive gone off my tucker a bit, but still love the boobies!
had a rough night last night too...i think my teeth are still on the march, although we havent sighted any just yet!
im still doing my 30min sleep thing...but we are all doing ok.

love to you all
Eli
xox

Grand Final Week

Hi there everyone.

Well, im officially in 'lockdown'. All is pretty good and we have a really cool room (although the blinds are giving mum and dad the pip!)
I had a good sleep last night and dad stayed with me. I think we all needed it!
I went off a couple of the medicines i normally take, but they gave me more stuff to stop things like mouth ulcers, spewing, and nose issues. Lucky ive become an 'awesome' medicine taker.
I woke up well this morning and had a big brekkie. I had to get my nose tube in. Man it was uncomfortable, and i let the nurses know that i wasnt so keen on it! I know my mum and dad were worried heaps about it going in...especially mum cause she didnt know how i would go being on the boobies, as well as just eating normal food. But the food went well, i had some yoghurt and custard for morning tea and i didnt puke so thats got to be a good thing.
I was put on the scales this morning and i weigh just over 9kg! mum has done an excellent job. Ive put on nearly a kg in about 4 weeks! We are all happier too...but i have heaps of fluid going through me, so that will pork me up a bit too.
i get my superman juice at lunchtime now...then there will be no turning back!
I also got a visit from Megan and Adrian...our friends who have been overseas for nearly a year! although i couldnt play with them, they waved to me through the window. I thought adrians beard was pretty funky, man i would have loved to give that one a yank! I felt like i was at the zoo...should have hit them up for $5 for party tricks!
anyways...will try and update you over the next couple of days.
So far, so good. I will probably be feeling a little awful by the end of the week, so be patient with us!
Lots of love, hugs and rain
Eli
xox

Grand final day is approaching!

Hi guys

Hope all is going well with you...we are going ok here too. We have been lucky enough to spend a few more days than planned at home as we have finally had all the hospital stuff confirmed.
The go is:
I head to hospital on Monday arvo and straight into the isolation ward. I think it will be a pretty casual day, with only a couple of bits of medicine. I will have to have a tube up my nose and into my tummy, just to make sure that i get all my medicine, particularly if i get really sick. I think the nurses will do that on Monday night.
I hear that i have to start my 'superman' juice bright and early on Tuesday morning...this superman juice is really full on, and will be used to get rid of all my 'old' marrow and any other cootie cells that remain in my body. I think i will have the superman juice for 5 days straight, and then get a couple of days rest before my 'new' marrow goes in.
Some of the stuff i have to prepare for can include chucking up, sore nose, runny poo's and not eating so much. Mum has done a great job in 'fattening' me up, so i am going in at the top of my game.
Once my new 'mojo' goes in, i will have to wait and see whether my old stuff likes the new stuff. That apparently can take 2-4 weeks before we see what is happening. There will be a time when i will have "NO GOOD STUFF" in my body to fight any nasty cooties, so its important that i stay well.
Im not sure how long i will be in hospital for, but it could be 4-6 weeks in complete isolation in the fishbowl...i will ask mum to post a piccie of where i am.
Im not sure how im going to handle being inside for so long, but i will try and be brave and good for mum and dad. Although, i think im getting some more teeth! I hope they come through sooner rather than later!
Mum and dad are going to be with me the whole time, so i am feeling brave. I know that its going to be really hard, and i may get really really sick, but we are in really good hands, and they have some good medicine to help me get better.
So, as of monday lunchtime, we will be in lockdown. Mum and dad asked me to ask everyone to just text rather than call when im in hospital...as we really dont know how its all going to go...that would be great.
Mum also said that we will do our best to keep everyone updated.
I would like to say that i have just had the best time being at home. I saw the cows heaps, and all our friends and i just loved spending time with 'ninny'.
Anyhooo...best fly, and mum said she would try and get some piccies up soon...(new system!).
love and hugs (and please do lots of rain dancing...everyone's farms are so dry)...
ELI (oh yeah, and mum and dad!)
XOX

Busy busy!

Hi guys

Just an update on what we have been up to. I had my bone marrow stuff done thursday morning, and that went great...we were surprised to see Dr Marty (the Dr who diagnosed me first), so we knew that I was going to be in very safe hands. Mum and dad handed me over, and apparently i was quite good in 'going' to sleep. We jumped in the car and headed home where we have been for 4 days now! Man, we love it! Im sleeping SOOOOO well here, in my own bed. Its just so nice.
We caught up with our friend "donna' from bairnsdale where mum used to work. We saw heaps of mums friends, so that was cool. We also stopped in at mum and dads work and Sylvia did a great job keeping me entertained.
We headed up to buchan to see the cows on Saturday. We had a wonderful time. The calves are growing so much, and 'stevo' is really just so handsome. Mum and dads other 'favourite' cow called 'General' (cause she is one of the leaders like Moowhistle), came over for the first time in about 6 months and said 'hello' to me. I was sitting on dads knee and she came up for a 'sniff'. She must of liked what she saw, cause she had a crack at my toes, and then she knicked my 'ruskie' i was eating! Cheeky cow. Mum and dad where laughing their heads off. I kinda saw the funny side, but was cut cause i lost my rusk i was enjoying! And to add injury to insult, she didnt even eat it! she broke it in half then spat it out. She also thought she would share her 'story' with everyone and moo'ed so loudly that i was gobsmacked. Man she was loud! we are not sure what her baby was (whether it was a boy or a girl)...but we are looking forward to finding out so we can name it.
Sunday was a 'home' day, and i guess i got so bored. I drove my mum and dad nuts. I was so keen to get outside, dad and i went into town in the morning, but the arvo was crazy cause it was wet outside. Not that im complaining about the rain (although we only got 5mm), but i sure do get bored inside!
today mum and i went into bairnsdale and hung out in the morning, and i had a nice big sleep in the arvo. Tomorrow we are going to visit my ninny and pa in sale. Ninny is really really sick, so once again, we are hoping that some "eli" hugs will cheer her up.
My "noodles" - hickman line where all the medicine goes, is getting flushed on Wednesday, and we are also moving the cows back to our farm. But we are also hoping to catch up with all my 'little' friends for morning tea which will be fun. No doubt mum will have the camera ready.
We will try and get some photos on the net soon. Mum has been using the 'big' camera, so there are a few logistics to sort out!
We are just so happy to be home...it really is just the best. Not long now, so we are making every day count!
love to all...
Eli
xox

Home, home on the range!

Me and Dr Karin - the 'transplant' guru

Me and gorgeous "Ella"

Me and "Deb" from Sandbar Surf Shop in Lakes Entrance. Thanks for everything Deb!

Hi everyone...
We have had a huge week already, gearing up for transplant. Mum and I have spent yonks in hospital getting important blood tests done and having Dr appts, and i even had a chest xray on monday. That was just to make sure all my bits inside were running well. I let the man who did my xray know that i was quite fine, and that my lungs were in superb working order!! Yep, i had a proper hissy fit and let him have it..mum felt sorry for him, and just laughed.
The nurses had to take heaps of blood from me. I heard mum say that she thought i might sleep pretty good, but i tricked her!
Anyhoo...
I also had an appointment on Tuesday with Dr Karin. Mum managed to talk her into having a photo with me, so you know who we are talking about. Dr Karin is the transplant 'guru'. She is cool too. She always calls me 'young man' which im pretty proud of! Dr Karin also said that i would have to wait one more week just to make sure that my spleen is completely ok. We thought that was pretty cool and jumped at the chance of being able to head home yet again! We are all so excited, as we have to drench the boys, catch up with all my friends and family, and have a nice relax and enjoy the fresh air while we can!
I have a small operation again tomorrow, just a quick one so the dr's can collect some of my marrow. Not a big deal at all after my spleen removal. I sure am getting used to going to sleep! And nothing that a bit of panadol wont fix after it!
I saw Sonia and Ella today. Sonia is one of mum and dads good mates, and Ella is their first baby. As you can see by the photo, she is in a great paddock and has the most amazing blue eyes...like all my 'girl friends', she is a good looker too! Hmmm...so many choices and so many pick up lines to try. I did try touching her hair, but i got carried away and started whacking instead of stroking! Mum and sonia were laughing, and i tried to be gentle!
For those that ask us about my friends Jared and Connor, they are doing great. We see Scott (their dad) almost every time we go to hospital. Connor had his spleen out straight after me, so we recovered on the same ward, and like me, rebounded great and we left hospital on the same day. Jared is getting more 'superman' juice as we speak, and i think he comes out of hospital on Friday. Connor has one more round of chemo (cause he got really really sick through his last round). They are unsure when they go to transplant, but it shouldnt be too much longer. Jared also has to have his spleen out, but they will wait a few weeks after his chemo.
So if we see you when we are home, we look forward to it. I hope you enjoy the photos, mum drives us mad continually by taking heaps of photos! But i guess it makes the blog, and you guys get to see me grow!
With lots of love and kisses (and rain!)
Eli
xox

Yahoo! We got home again!

Me and my dad. I love him heaps!

Happy mothers day mum!

Our family!

Mum and Connor - look out everyone!

Watch it mum!

My cow 'moowhistle' and her 'cute' baby 'stevo' after our Dr Steve

Me and dad checking out the tractor, where else would we be!

Uncle dale, aunty hayley and me!

Me and my cousins, Connor, Kyle and Blake. I cant wait to run around with them!

Bella reading me a book

me and dad with moowhistle

The poddies going for a run...yippeeee

The cows hiding from us!

moowhistle and stevo!



Hi there everyone...wow, what a full on few days.
I went to see Dr Steve on Wednesday and he said that i will probably head into transplant in the next couple of weeks-providing a bed is available for me. Mum swooped on that and asked whether we could go home before we go to transplant and after a couple of phone calls, Dr Steve was happy to let us come home again for a few days...boy were we all very excited!
My spleen stuff has healed beautifully and i can sit up with no problems at all now!
Man we all loved home! We travelled on Thursday afternoon and got home thursday night. We called in and saw great nan and pa in sale, nans looking a bit better. On Friday, we caught up with aunty hayley, and rob who is helping us look after our cows. I had the best sleep in the afternoon, and mum went to a fashion parade on friday night. She said she felt like a princess and had heaps of fun with aunty hayley and Ena. I would like to say a huge thankyou to Deb and Jerry from the Sandbar Surf Shop who held a raffle and raised some money for me. Mmmmwahhh. Kisses to you guys...thanks heaps.
We had great day on saturday morning, mum got her haircut off. Im spewin as there is nothing to grab hold of anymore! We also went out to the farm, and went for a walk to see all the boys. They are just gorgeous and growing heaps. They have a bit of company at the moment. There are some very nice looking heifers that Rob dropped off for a short visit. I think all the boys like having the girls around...
Next, we went to rob's house to check out all the little cows. Wow is all i can say! Mum was driving me and dad mad by telling everyone how 'cute' they were. We have 11 calves now..including 'stevo' the bull. My new calve that "Moowhistle" had. She is a great mum, and my mums right..the calf is sooo cute!
We were all tuckered out that night and slept really well.
We celebrated our first mothers day on Sunday. My mum was so excited. My dad and i made her a cuppa in bed with her new "geelong" football mug that i bought her. We also gave her some pretty nice earrings too. We went out for breakfast in town, then we all caught up with aunty hayley, uncle dale and my cousins Kyle, Blake and Connor, and their friends Janet and Jonathon for a bbq. It was really the bestest fun! My little cousins had their motorbikes and were very good at driving them! My mum even got on one with my cousin connor. It was very funny. My dad took me on heaps of rides, like the see-saw, the swing and i even got a go on the slide although dad nearly got stuck half way down cause his bum was too big! We all laughed heaps!
I know we are a bit late, but we just wanted to wish that every mum had the most bestest mothers day. Mum says to say thanks to all the messages she got, and yep, she reckons she had the most wonderful day ever! So HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!
WE also caught up with our friend Vicki, and my great aunty michelle and cousin leanne. It was wonderful to see everyone!
I had a pretty full on day today, with loads of blood taken for pre-transplant stuff. I also had a chest x-ray, just to make sure the dr's have what they call 'baseline' data, to make sure they can pick up any changes if any happen while i have my transplant.
I have to head back bright and early tomorrow for more blood tests, and an important Dr appt with Dr Karin. It sounds like i will go to hospital about a week before my new marrow is injected. During that time, i will have some very powerful 'superman juice' that will kill all my old marrow. I think this will happen over 5 days, and i will have two days rest before my new mojo (bone marrow) is put in. I will be in complete isolation when i go in for my superman juice. Then the rest is up to me. Im pretty prepared for it. Im heaps fat (mums made sure im in a good paddock!), Dr Steve said all my counts were looking good, and ive no teeth coming through at the moment! I have to go in for another small operation on thursday morning...another 'bone marrow aspiration'. Its done while im asleep, and i can go home as soon as i wake up.
Me, mum and dad just want to let everyone know that we are doing well and looking forward to transplant (or as dad calls it, Grand Final Day). We are going to do the best we can, and I know that im going in at the top of my game. Its really going to be a long haul, and we will keep everyone updated on my progress as best as we can. There will be times where we cant get on, but please feel free to keep all your messages coming. Every one of them means so much to us!
Thanks again to everyone, and lets all do some raindancing! Victoria needs it!
luv and hugs
Eli
xox

ITS BEEN A BIG WEEK!

2nd hour after i woke up from my operation...ewww


me and mum..im a bit sore, ouchie!


hmm, dad thinks im a pie - mums got issues!



See, Im ok!





Me and my great nan from sale...i gave her heaps of hugs

Me and my great nan and pa from sale


Me, mum, nan and pa


Just kickin back before the operation


I just woke up from my operation...youchie!

HI guys

Eli here!

We have had a very busy week, so sorry about the delay in getting word out to you! I had my Dr visit with Dr Karin Tuesday last week. Unfortunately i had to have some more needles including a flu shot-youch! Well, it made me a bit sick, and i got a temp tuesday night. Mum tried panadol for the whole night but it stayed up over 38.5 for most of it. We waited to see Dr Steven on Wednesday arvo, and it was still high at 38.4, so he decided to put me in hospital to give me some medicine to make me feel better. It worked, and i was pretty ok by thursday.
They kept me until until Friday morning, which was when i had my spleen operation. I was pretty nervous, and mum came in with me while i went to sleep. Apparently i was in there for nearly 2 hours, and boy, mum and dad looked SOOO relieved to see me when i woke up. I must admit, i was pretty happy to see them too. I was lucky because Dr Joe was able to take my spleen out by putting 4 little cuts in me, rather than the "big" cut across my tummy, which would have meant much longer in hospital. We were all so happy about the little cuts, because i felt better very quickly. i cant really remember much of friday and saturday lunchtime because i was on an awesome drug called MORPHINE! Mum was pretty happy too! they took it off me on sat lunchtime, but kept other stuff going, and overall, i felt pretty good. I had a rough night on Saturday night, it was very noisy in hospital, and i was awake from 2am to nearly 5am! i was pretty sick and puked a couple of times, i think i ate too much too quickly and it upset my tummy a bit. But by sunday, i was in top form, and pretty much off all of my pain relief, and eating like a trooper. The Dr's even said i could go home on sunday night, but mum said no, so me and dad stayed in overnight again, just to make sure everything was ok...Much to mum's delight, my 6th tooth popped through this morning...so i now have 4 up the top and two down the bottom now! Awesome. Ive been a bit cheeky and tested them on mums boobs - she wasnt happy (although i did see her giggle with dad!)...
Im very happy to be out of hospital, we always get very tired, but its awesome to be back in my bed. Im also sitting for short periods by myself and im still LOVING the wiggles...ive heard mum and dad say if they wake up through the night, they often find themselves singing little wiggles ditties! I think it drives them mad!
Anyways...thanks to everyone for all their thoughts and wishes...im absolutely perfect and loving the fact that we are all home.
Mum reckons those meals that people have cooked for us are great, as its times like these we use them...so thanks to all and one who have cooked for us! We love them!
We also have a few more little babies to add to our farm...we only have 3 cows left to have their calves. I am the proud owner of "Steven" the bull that my cow "moowhistle" had a couple of days ago. We named him after Dr Steve (although i dont think he knows yet!)
Anyhoo...mums yelling at me to get off the computer as its feeding time at the zoo.

love to you all
Eli
xox