Biscuits and blood

Biscuits and blood were the two themes for today. Maddy has been feted with visits from Beth P, Nicola, Daisy, Natalie and Alex. They spent much of the afternoon baking biscuits and cakes and, most impressively, some of them were not burnt.
Earlier in the day, a community nurse visited to take a blood sample from M. This was used to determine Maddy's fitness to face her 5th chemo cycle.
The results came back late afternoon, confirming that she'll be at home for a few more days yet. Unlike in previous cycles, her neutrophil count is OK, but her haemoglobin and platelet levels are both below par (aka anaemia and thrombocytopenia respectively).
Maddy's still eating well - looking forward to chicken salad for tea, seeing more friends visiting tomorrow and the probability of a whole weekend at home.