January 9, 2008 - To fungal or not to fungal?

Hey everyone!

Well... first the good news. Alex's count hit 2300 today!!! See what I mean... most of the time they take these leaps. Yippee. That means we have more to work with as the chemo knocks them back down. I am really glad to see we have more to fight with today.

Now, the not so good news... I guess they are seeing something funky again in the left lung. I don't know what it is about this left side, but it hates us!!! SO... it isn't a round, little node thing like before (the one they removed in the same lung in December) but now they are saying that it is a strange gray area and so they have brought in the Infectious Disease team (this is not a team you want on your case). These are like the haz-mat people. Uggg! SO... they are comparing it to the last CT scan, and they are going to see how the fevers go the next couple of days... and they are talking with a surgeon to see if she thinks it is even something she can take out and biopsy. This procedure really sucks. They go in through the side of the chest... deflate the entire lung to do their work... then cut out the area and staple it... and then there is this chest tube sticking out from the side of her for a couple of days and that goes into this thing on the side of the bed that sucks out fluids... and ANOTHER thing we get to drag with us to the bathroom. Oh, and you have to keep it low to the ground as you go... so here I am helping Alex, dragging her IV pole with me... and with that same hand I am trying to hold this plastic sucker maching that is coming out of Alex's chest and I have to make sure there is enough slack or it pulls on her. Uggg! I need another set of hands as it is. Let's hope they figure something else out. Her oncologist wants it tested if the surgeon can do it though, so I think we are out-voted. Damn! The poor kid just got over the last operation.

Everyone pray that they don't have to operate again... Those would be good prayers to have answered.

Thanks for all the white cell thoughts. See... you are all doing so good. Now, if you could do the same with the lung thingy, that would be awesome!