Highlight: Joseph’s brother, Moses, has just been diagnosed as possibly having chickenpox. This is a very serious situation as Joseph has been home all weekend and will have been exposed, if Moses does indeed have chickenpox. For children with leukemia or immune disorders chickenpox is very dangerous.

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Today Joseph received outpatient chemo to complete his 5 weeks of induction treatment. He did not have a serious reaction to the chemo, though it did have an impact on his appetite.

On the way home from treatment Joseph was singing in the car. But as soon as we entered the house he began to scream and point to his head. I still have no idea what caused this but when he did this it made his brothers think he had been hurt at the hospital. This brought on an emotional backlash that showed us just how deeply concerned Joseph’s brothers are about his condition. Joseph for his part then saw a biscuit (US – cookie) on the kitchen counter and pointed to it. Once he was handed that, he was smiling and playing the rest of the afternoon.

After dinner the boys were being bathed and Kate saw a few red spots on Moses’ leg. Having been warned about the dangers of chickenpox for Joseph, I called the hospital and they told me to get Moses evaluated immediately. So at 9:00pm we were off to after hours medical services. By 10:00pm a doctor had examined Moses and determined that he COULD have chicken pox. We won’t know for sure for several days. We informed the haematology unit at the children’s  hospital and they called us back with instructions.

Since Joseph had been checked this morning when he was receiving his chemo, and had been healthy, the haematology doctor felt that it was unnecessary to rush back to hospital this evening. Instead, we should try to get a good night’s sleep and take Joseph in tomorrow afternoon for an injection which would help give him some protection from chickenpox.

Prayer Request : That Joseph does not get chickenpox