Lauren and McKinley's
Journeys
Hello,
We are officially half way through this round of chemo. We made it through 2 weeks of steroids in one piece and are thankful to not have to take them again until January. Lauren's hair is officially all gone and it reminds me of when she was a baby. I can't help rubbing her head every chance I get. I had heard this round would get rid of the rest of her hair and I was getting worried that she still had hair 3 weeks into it. The Dr said not to worry and that all kids react different to chemo. Of course I was thinking maybe the chemo isn't working. I asked Karen when McKinley officially lost all her hair and she told me it was the 4th week of this phase. Sure enough Lauren woke up on the first morning of the 4th week and she was way more bald than when she went to sleep. It is so comforting to have Karen to help calm my fears and let me know what to expect. Lauren has tolerated this new chemo well however her counts are super low so her chance of infection is high and we are back in hermit mode. I was comfortable running errands with
her and keeping
her in her stroller.
Now I am back to
not bringing her
anywhere in public. Thankfully, the weather has been so beautiful that we do a lot of playing in the back yard or go for walks in the neighborhood. She was supposed to start the second half of this phase this week but she didn't make counts so it's on hold until her body is strong enough to continue with the chemo. Hopefully, she should start the next round on Halloween and she will have chemo 4 days a week for 2 weeks with a lumbar puncture in the beginning of each week. Then she will go once or twice a week for chemo through the end of the year. Really looking forward to getting those 2 weeks over with. Luckily, she has not needed any transfusions lately, she's been right on the border. Hoping her counts recover and we can start the next round high so the need for transfusions will be less. She has had good energy and seems to be feeling well. Her sister on the other hand has had a cold and cough for a few weeks so of course I am paranoid about Lauren catching her germs. We do a lot of hand washing around here. It seems to be working so far!
Thank you again for your continued support!!
xoxo,
Shawna