Day 21, Chemo Round 1:: Looking Up

"Grandma is gonna think we're bunnies,"
laughed Jade.

Jade weighed in at 14.9kg (32.8 pounds) this morning, which means she has regained most of the weight that she lost immediately after being admitted to the hospital. Yay! The dietician stopped by and proclaimed that Jade is the poster child for the appetite stimulant she is taking.  But, I like to think that it's all the food that has been selected, made, and packaged with love just for her (and us) over the past couple of weeks. Thank you to Pastor Greg and Ms. Joann for our delicious Easter Sunday meal.  It was also today's lunch!


Jade's heart rate is still higher than the doctors would like to see it though.  It's been hanging around in the high 140s - 160s  for the past few days.  With no fever or any other symptoms of concern, the doctors are now thinking dehydration... So, that means she'll be hooked back up to IV fluids overnight to see if that helps bring it down. I hope that does the trick. I am not interested in this being one of the less common side effects of one of the chemotherapy agents that Jade received.  (Because of daunorubicin's potential to affect the heart, Jade had to have an echocardiogram before treatment started and be "cleared" to take this particular medicine.  It showed her heart to still be healthy and strong, even after receiving a form of this medicine during her 2012 treatment course.)

"I'm doing my work too, Mommy!"

Otherwise, today was a pretty low-key day. Jade and Jaytoe got to spend the entire day together -- at the hospital, but otherwise just like they used to when school was out.  They played surprisingly well for most of those twelve hours. Believe it or not, they even played a few rounds of hide-and-seek.  In Jade's hospital room. But there are only so many chairs, doors, and curtains that one can hide behind in a solitary room. So, they also visited the art room, painted, watched a movie, blew bubbles, walked/ran the halls with a volunteer, and settled down and did some work together toward the end of the day. (Jade insisted on getting a packet of work when I insisted that he finish up his extra-credit Spring Break packet.)

She was sad to see her brother go and "missed" him just moments after he left to go home with Daddy and get ready for his first day of school after Spring Break.

Thank you for your encouragement, your vigilance, and continued prayers. 

Today's Counts
Hemoglobin: 8.6 (same as yesterday... I sure hope this is a sign that her system is about to recover!)
Platelets: 34 (down from yesterday's 86... not sure that 86 was accurate after all)
ANC: 0
Monocytes: 0