That rest week we wanted? It’s ours, and it’s a mixed blessing. We arrived at day treatment at 8am only to find out that while Kennedy’s wbc has begun to recover (going from 0.3 on Thursday to 0.9 today), her ANC was only 20. That’s right-20. It needs to be 750 to start IM1 and 1500-11,000 is normal. This means we are staying home and doing nothing until we return to day treatment on Monday when Dr. Norwood expects her numbers to be fine. There are some good indications in her blood work that show her counts are about to recover in a big way. Her platelets, which needed to be 75, were at 58. If her bone marrow was not recovering, they would have been at critical levels again and she would have needed another transfusion, but they are coming around too. Dr. Norwood decided to go ahead with the bone marrow aspiration so we can see where she is at. They will also be checking for minimal residule disease again and should have the results of that sometime next week. BMAs and LPs are always very stressful for me because I am worried they won’t come back clear. A relapse right now would decrease her cure rate substantially and require a transplant. He expects things to be good but I can’t help but worry. So, the plan is that next week we go inpatient. If for some reason her numbers are not recovered, they will be contacting the chair of the research committee to make a decision. Kennedy really had a tough time during the consolidation phase (tougher than most kids) so while he thinks she will be fine, he said there is a slight chance there could be a problem. Dr. Norwood said it is fine line to walk between killing the cancer and killing the patient with chemo and the dance must be thought out very carefully.
Dr. Norwood believes that her ANC may be having a hard time recovering too because she has an infection on her foot. She scraped it a week or so ago and while it was healing fine, she couldn’t help but pick the scab and now there is an infection in it. He traced the outline of it with a pen and said if it gets bigger, begins to be sore around it, or she runs a fever to call him immediately. We are treating very aggressively at home with peroxide and antibiotic cream but with a very suppressed immune system, it is having a hard time healing. Please pray for the complete healing of her foot with no hospital stay and that it does not cause a further delay in her chemotherapy.
On a good note, I made some bracelets for the kids. I bought the medical ID tags through a company but rather than have a plain, silver chain I made bracelets with beads and clasps to interchange them. Kennedy’s has ladybugs and says “courage” in gold and Austin’s has baseballs and says “great kid.” Well, the nurses and other parents saw them and thought I should make and sell them. They retail online for between $40-$50 but can be made for less than $10. I am praying about this as I’m not sure I can handle one more thing some days. They are fast to make and would turn a profit-even if I sold them for $20. Anyway, they are really cute and when you see the kids you should ask them to show you! They would be thrilled.
Well, soccer starts tomorrow! Austin couldn’t be happier. I’ll post pictures soon.
*Quick note-thanks to my wonderful Auntie Sue and cousin Chad, T-shirts supporting Kennedy will soon be available!!! The shirts will have some information, a scripture verse and her adorable face and will be in adult and childrens sizes! More details and pictures as soon as possible-WATCH HERE!
Peace-Love-Courage
Melenie
