Today was a quiet day. I think the chemo may finally be getting to Jade; after "sleeping in" til 9am, she slept for four hours in the middle of the day. No fever or other symptoms, so the docs aren't worried about it.
Jade's treatment plan is pretty "mild" compared to the first few days of the cycle. She only has fifteen minute infusions of the chemo (cytarabine) every twelve hours. They also switched her from IV antibiotics to oral, which means she'll be completely untethered when her chemo isn't running. (Jade is participating in a clinical trial for levofloxacin, an antibiotic that has been shown to reduce risk of bacterial infection in adult cancer patients. This trial aims to determine if there is a similar positive effect on children with acute leukemias. I -- selfishly -- figured if we could prevent her from developing an infection or fever while undergoing chemo AND contribute toward research to improve treatment plans and outcomes for other children with cancer then sign us up!)
But, baby girl is strong. Her counts are rising - six days into this round. The docs are attributing the rise to Monday's blood transfusion and her body still recovering from the first round. Her counts are still expected to drop to zero, but it will likely take longer this round. As explained by the docs, her bone marrow is now full of good, healthy white blood cells as opposed to being full with leukemic cells when she was admitted in January. These cells fighter harder and are more difficult for the chemo to destroy...
More bad news for our new neighbors. When we come back for rounds 3,4, and 5, I'm hoping that we are not placed in Room 414.. Please continue to pray for all the little ones bravely fighting cancer. Thank you for your love and support.
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