Pre-Transplant Work-Up

So, Jade has been knocking out her assigned pre-transplant work-up appointments one by one.  She has been most excited about being able to walk into the hospital and let everyone know that she is "just visiting." You know I'm going home, right? 

Here's what she's been up to: 

Complete Blood Count
Last Monday's oncology blood work looked great. ANC 1000. Platelets 280. Hemoglobin 8.2.

Dental Check Up
Wednesday's dental appointment went well. Jade was actually pretty nervous about going... of all things. She was a trooper in the end, but her anxiety was real. No infections, decay, cavities, or other areas of concern that could "complicate" recovery from a bone marrow transplant.

Echocardiogram & Electrocardiogram
Thursday's cardiology work-up was fairly uneventful.  This was actually the first time that we didn't hold her in our arms throughout  the Echo; she laid there on her own, watching Bubble Guppies. The Echo shows the structure, function, and blood flow of the heart.  The EKG shows how often the heart is beating as well as the size and position of the heart's chambers. Jade's heart is strong, but the scans did show a slight increase in Jade's heart rhythm and size of her left ventricle; this could just be her new baseline or it could be a result of one of the chemotherapy agents that is known to affect the heart.  All is still well within the normal range, so for now, they will just continue to monitor it with serial scans and we are not to worry.

Head and Chest CT Scan
Friday's radiology appointment was more fun than anyone could have expected. Jade sailed through it, not requiring the general anesthesia typically needed for kids her age. She appeared to enjoy every moment of her ride on the CT "waterslide" and having her picture taken in the "donut." We haven't received any news on this yet, but no news is usually good news... And we anticipate going over all of this at Thursday's conference.

Blood Tests
Jade and I visited the Bone Marrow Transplant clinic, which sits in a fairly secluded corner of the Hematology/Oncology  for the very first time on Friday to have a full blood screen carried out. They are checking her blood group, full blood count and clotting levels, specific viruses  and any signs of problems with liver or kidney function. All in all, it required about 15 vials of Jade's blood to be drawn on Friday. Again, we expect to go over all findings at Thursday's conference.

Bone Marrow Biopsy & Lumbar Puncture
Today, Jade had a bone marrow biopsy and lumbar puncture (spinal tap). The procedure went off without a hitch. The team collected the information they needed to determine if the chemotherapy Jade has received so far has been successful in destroying the leukemia and keeping it from returning to her marrow or appearing in her spinal fluid and central nervous system.  She also received intrathecal chemotherapy (injected into spine.) She woke up from the procedure requesting apple juice and honey nut cheerios, and asserting that she was ready to go home. Results pending.

Kidney Function
Jade is gearing up for her last few pre-transplant tests. Tomorrow, she will return to Radiology for a GFR test, which shows how well the kidneys are working. A dye is typically injected into a vein and then a series of blood samples are taken over three to four hours to see how well the kidney filters out the dye.

More blood tests on Thursday will conclude the pre-transplant work-up if the tests continue to come back favorably. So, that's been added to our prayer list - that Jade's body is in fact strong enough and ready for the transplant that will be her cure!

Thank you for checking in on Jade and for your continued support, encouragement, and prayers!