More of the same

Ellen has had another bad week. The mucositis has continued and she has had problems with fluid overload as a result of all the medication and supportive infusions. This has caused fluid in her lungs and associated breathing difficulties, requiring her to have oxygen at times. She has had temperatures and a viral infection, so all in all not much fun. We hope things will pick up a bit this week.

We have now had confirmation that the next stage of Ellen's treatment will be a donor bone marrow transplant. Fortunately, her brother George is a tissue type match. Sibling matches are generally better than non-related donors and we don't have the complication of searching the worldwide bone marrow register, which is good news (except maybe for George!). The transplant will take place in May. It is a lengthy and complicated procedure and needs to be done in a specialist unit at the Bristol Children's Hospital. We can expect to be there for at least 3 months! We are hoping that Ellen gets some time at home before then as she will be in an isolation room for most of the time in Bristol.