AND SO THE STORY GOES...

Oct. 6,2008 marks the beginning of Delayed Intensification 2;DI2, which will last approximately 57 days. This is be an intense phase for her as it also includes eight days of radiation, steroids, ARA-C, and cyclophosphamide. yuck. The first day started with an LP and intrathecal methotrexate, vincristine via the broviac, a six hour infusion of donorubicin (sp)and oral dexamethasone. Yes, it was awful. Thankfully Galena had a three hour delayed start the next day and she was able to sleep in. I could not believe she was off to school even with the extra sleep. Her hair is beginning to grow once again, but we know it will be short lived. This is always a difficult pill to swallow. Wednesday was filled with an echo to monitor the condition of her heart. The donorubicin weakens the heart muscle and she needs to carefully monitored. Then, we went to Renown for three shots of PEG. These are the shots that patients can have severe allergic reactions to. So, she was carefully observed for two hours. A big thanks to nurse Sandy Payne who came in just for this purpose. so kind!

As of the previous post, Kristin had a transfusion. She felt much better and her counts were doing well.This made it possible for our family to travel to Salt Lake to visit family, friends, and attend conference. Although the visit was short, it was good medicine for Kristin. She has been wanting to visit for quite some time, but has been unable. I think the distraction was so good for her and helped to release some of the tensions and pressures she feels. Not only did she visit her grandparents, but she was able to see some well loved childhood friends. On Friday night she went to the Timpanogas football game with some friends from Orem. This brought tears to my eyes to see her reuniting with friends. Everyone was so happy to see her. Saturday we attended conference and sat just a few rows back from the stand! The Brunst family was able to attend the session also. Cody enjoyed sitting with Chris. They have been friends with since they were 3. The tickets were courtesy of Johney and Claudia. thanks, it was Awesome! The boys went to visit Johney and Claudia afterward while Kristin and I were able to visit Georgia and Sarah. We were neighbors in Bountiful and Sarah was Kristin's first best friend, and Georgia is very near and dear to my heart. Again, a few happy tears. We were able to get caught up on each others lives while enjoying a scrumptious dinner at Tsunami in Sandy. Then, Kristin got together with Keith Hubert who is always gentleman. Again, a little tear... They went to a haunted house and if you do not know about the haunted houses in Utah....they are pretty creepy! Keith is a good friend who moved from Reno to Alpine, Utah and now attends BYU. Sunday morning we attended the morning session with Grandma Inza and Keith. We said our good bys, found an empty parking lot to change our clothes in, and drove home. I promise to post pictures soon.

Our thanks and love to you all.



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