Hello Friends,
Overall Lauren is doing well. We had a bump in the road at our last monthly chemo visit. An ultrasound revealed that she has a new blood clot in her upper chest. She is back on blood thinner shots twice a day for at least 12 weeks then depending on ultrasound can drop down to once a day but the duration will be for another year until her port is removed 3 months after treatment ends. She had a blood clot shortly after diagnosis and we were able to stop the shots after about 7 months but restarting them was so hard on her. But like everything else she is now handling it like the brave 4 year old that she is and we are so proud of her. Her poor thighs are all bruised and covered in Band-Aids and I just can't wait until this is all over. Lauren's liver levels have also been elevated and she's needed extra appointments for blood work. The oncologist told us to stop her oral chemo's for a week and re-test. Thankfully, her levels came down so we have gradually started her back on her oral chemo and are keeping a closer eye on her levels. Of course all of this happened while the hurricane was headed this way and we made the last minute decision to drive to Nashville where we had family we could stay with. I felt like it was a good decision because there is a really good pediatric cancer hospital within an hour of us just in case we needed anything while we were there. I was so scared if we stayed and we needed to get to the hospital we would not be able to. Luckily, everything worked out and we actually had a nice little trip out of state for the first time since diagnosis.
I know this latest bump is just one of several that we have had to deal with and will have to deal with. I have to admit I was getting pretty comfortable during this "maintenance" phase of her treatment. Now I am terrified of her falling or hitting her head because the biggest issue with the blood thinner is her blood not clotting and not being able to stop the bleeding. It puts me more on edge and I hate that she just can't be a "normal" 4 year old. It also makes me step back and realize that things could be way worse if we didn't find the clot. It's treatable just like her cancer and I just have to move forward knowing that we are doing everything we can right now so that hopefully in the future things can be more normal for her.
Thank you all so much for all your support.
xoxo,
Shawna
McKinley is doing really great. She's loving school, LOVING dance & enjoying being off chemo meds. It really is amazing how much she's grown, how much she's developed & how much more personality she has since she's stopped chemo. All things are looking great which is wonderful news. We've been very busy with advocating & promoting childhood cancer awareness month & attending a lot of events. We did have one scare at this months appointment but all was confirmed negative with an ultrasound. Myself, a few other "cancer moms" & McKinleys oncologist were all concerned about a vein by where her port was placed especially since she had a clot in the past. But all was confirmed ok with a quick ultrasound (Thank God). I'm not sure I'll ever be able to take a deep breath but I do try too. We are praying for a Halloween at home this year (last year we spent 8 days in the hospital fighting a nasty virus over Halloween). And although the nurses & staff came by her hospital room to trick or treat, I'm actually looking forward to sweating & fighting bugs on Halloween night this year. It's the little things 😉 Thank You as always for keeping McKinley in your thoughts & prayers.
xoxox,
Karen
LAUREN & MCKINLEY'S JOURNEY'S