A GOOD WEEK

Kristin's visit to Salt Lake with her grandfather was uneventful and that is a good thing. Her ANC was 1700 which is a very good thing. She has not had those kind of numbers for a very long time, actually since they increased her meds by 1/2 of a pill way back when. She is now back on all other meds. I am hoping that her counts will not be so suppressed in the future and these neutropenic episodes will be a thing of the past. As expected, Kristin has not felt well, especially since the infusion on Tuesday. She has started her 5 days of prednisone which leaves her with painful heartburn, an insatiable appetite and feeling awful. After staying home on Wednesday to rest and recover she spent a marathon of hours doing homework in the library. We are counting down the days until she comes home on August 14 and so is she. We get texts like, "I'm tired of eating out of a box, I miss you so much, Someone ate my Oreo's...." Ahh, the good ol' days of college!


Comments

Amy Girl said…
August 14th, that won't be long!
August 3, 2009 at 8:17 AM
Kathy Hawley said…
This all sounds so familiar. I hope the metabolization test gives a clue - it's amazing how much havoc 1/2 a pill can wreak, and they aren't very big pills to begin with! Hope the rest of school goes well, and have fun when you get home, Kristin!
August 7, 2009 at 8:26 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Beginning

Image
Hello to all from Children's Hospital Oakland, California To it still difficult to grasp that we are actually here...hearing this news...living in this new world. Kristin's official diagnosis is ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA precursor b. This is very treatable form of cancer. She is enrolled in a cutting edge program for treating A.L.L.. All of us here are very optimistic. She is under the care of amazing Doctors and the recipient of the miracles of modern medicine. It will be a very rough 2 years or so, but she will survive. Thus far, we have been on the fast track. This is an amazing institution and we are very, very fortunate to be here. Nothing short of kindness and compassion have been shown to us from the very beginning. Upon our arrival on Monday, she has undergone a bone marrow biopsy, 2 lunbar punctures, echo cardiogram, chest x-ray, broviac cath . placement, and numerous pokes and prods. She received her first chemo treatment; injected into the spinal fluid, Wednes...
Read more

GO GO SPECIAL K!

Our last bone marrow biopsy went great! It showed no leukemia cells. This shows that she is having a positive early response to the chemo which is a very, very good thing! All of her labs are coming back "smashing!" We are dealing with secondary complications such as situational diabetes. This is only tempoary and should resolve once we are off the strong steroids. Consequently she has to have blood sugars checked often, insulin injections, and follow a carb controlled diet. not fun! In trying to be supportive, I am counting carbs along with her. It is hard when someone has a birthday up here every other day and wants to share their cake. Keep the dang cake to yourselves! Kristin is getting very tired more often and is noticing that she can pull out clumps of hair....I am sad. Although I knew this was coming, I was taken back by the situation and caught off guard. Baldness goes hand in hand with leukemia and every parent up here would rather have a beautifully healthy, shini...
Read more

UPDATE

Kristin is currenly in room 5330 getting two units of PRBC's. Her counts are on the way down and I am hoping that this is all the drama we will see. It has been a long, difficult...two months.....seems like forever.... especially as we approach the one year mark. Our daily excursions to Berkley have been uneventful. (I decided that if I had another life, I would like it to be in Berkley. I love this area!) We are going to Alta Bates Hospital. I am taken by the compassion, charity, and warmth that the patients are treated with here. It is the same spirit you feel when you walk onto the 5th floor here at CHO. Wonderful people who truly and compassionately love what they do. Back to her radiation.....Her radiation takes all of two minutes. I call it a "lick." Thankfully she is getting a very low dose so the side effects are pretty much nil. Kristin really looks forward to returning to school on a more regular basis. I cannot begin to tell you of the hardships Kristin has ...
Read more