17th of August 2008 - Ballajura Fair

Immie on the pony
on the ferris wheel
Kody's ear, Immie shouting at the red nose man " We have you on our car!!"

Immie as a lion (just about every time Immie gets her face painted she chooses a lion??)

Granma and a cheesy Immie

Pile ons - some people just can't be taken anywhere - Dad, Kody and Imogen

Imogen's flower girl try on...she looks too cute

Hi all

Today I felt like crying, it was not the day, as the weather here was beautiful, the fair we went to was fun and Imogen looked very cute in her flower girl dress. Just sometimes the anticipation of what is to come for Imogen (treatment wise) and what she has been through just feels overwhelming. You can be standing there watching her ride the pony at the fair, laughing and giggling, and instead of feeling an overjoy of how she is feeling today, you are hit with a sad thought as you think about tomorrow (Broviac operation) or what she has had to do and believes now is her life, as she no longer remembers before cancer. It is heart breaking to be a parent and have to make decisions on treatment, that you know will make your beautiful, smiling, full of life girl feel horrible & really sick to make her get better and be cancer and hospital free. It is days like these you are also hit with the fact that your life regardless of the success of treatment will never ever be the same, your normal has changed, while everyone around you remains the same. Just sometimes this battle is unbearable. Then when we are struggling, you are touched by incredible moments of happiness and human kindness. You manage to get back on the roller coaster of life, and count another beautiful day you were able to spend surrounded by the people you love.

Yesterday my beautiful friend Sam, came to see us with her big little boy Dhani (Imogen's friend since she was born). Sam had told last week that she had approached the store manger of the department store she worked for, to inquire about whether they could do some fundraising for us. The amazing store manager said yes definitely, then the other day he saw Sam again and asked what Imogen would like. Sam explained how we spend a lot of time entertaining Immie in isolation while doing chemo or waiting for scans or in patient temperatures. The store manger then rushed off, later Sam was called down to the sound and vision area. There waiting for Imogen a DS Lite (game console) and three games. What an incredible act of human kindness!
Today we were also blessed with human kindness one of Jason's clients grand daughter, over heard her Granpa talking about Immie and went out and bought Immie an assortment of things to help bring a smile to our beautiful girl.
It is from these moments we gain the strength to rally on, to find the steady ground and continue to climb this shaky mountain.

Tomorrow Immie will check in to hospital at 7am and have her broviac installed at 10.15am. A broviac (chemo line) will mean the end of all showers and pools for Immie for at least the next four months. It will also mean to our girl countless (weekly) dressing changes which Immie hates the most of anything. We will have to stay over night and then super girl will begin her last cycle of chemo (number 6). In two weeks she will have more scans, to reveal whether the surgeon thinks its safe to operate or not. The timing of the mega therapy and stem cell rescue will depend upon this. It will most likely be middle of September. 6 weeks after stem cell Imogen will have radiation and then have to take a drug to prevent the tumor cells (if any - there won't be) from clumping again.

Please wish us strength and smoothly sailing tomorrow and onwards xx

Love and Hugs

The Holmes Gang

P.S. We know we don't mention it enough but did we let you know that we also have the most incredibly amazing son, Kody, I am not sure you could find a better big brother for Imogen. He is a constancy in her life when everything seems rocky. Super sibling Love.
P.P.S Just to be defiant Imogen has decided to start growing her hair back, no one is telling her that chemo will stop hair growth and also now she is swallowing the tablets whole and she does it without a drink...WHAT!!!