October 12th - Day 20

Hey everyone. I know that some of you are wondering where the updates are, so I'll get started :o)

First of all... Dan and I had a GREAT 4 day break. I would like to thank EVERYONE that made that possible. It's hard at times being married to a pilot. The only times that we truly get one on one time together is when we go away. Which is why we try to do it as often as possible. SO... first of all I would like to thank Alex's dad and step mom for being here and allowing us the opportunity to get away. Second... There are several people at Dan's work that really stepped up to the plate to take some shifts and do some things that made it possible for him to get away. Also... would like to thank my friend Tabitha for house-sitting with our crazy dogs. We could not have gone without you Tabitha, so thank you!

SO, while we were away Alex did really great. She is still in the hospital of course, but things went really smoothly.

Alex has received 8 different blood product transfusions in the last 13 days! That is unbelievable and not showing a whole lot of improvement yet either. Her ANC portion of her white count is still zero. Her platelets seem to decrease every single day except for the days they give her more. Her red cells actually gained a little ground today and this is the first day for that. So... maybe that's a sign??

Another thing that has happened is Alex had another MRI. Her eyes haven't been improving so the neurology department came in and decided they wanted to have a look at an enhancement in the cranial nerve. The MRI results were really great. Nothing there of concern. The oncologist didn't think this was necessary in the first place, but agreed that it wouldn't hurt. Her doctor started her on some different eye drops with some steroids in them. Her eyes seem to be a bit better today already. This is great news!

Also, we learned that the next block of treatment (another 35 days set to begin sometime around the 28th of October) will be done outpatient! WoooHooo! That is IF Alex responds well and doesn't get any infections, fevers, etc... We also learned that we can go home as soon as Alex has a rise with the ANC portion of her white cells and they continue to climb for 2 consecutive days. So far we are calling her bone marrow defunct. It's not producing crap :( BUT, she is feeling well... and that is about all we can ask for while stuck in this place for so long.

Thank you to everyone that has sent cards and gifts to Alex. There are many of you out there that are SO thoughtful!

Thank you to Pam Kettell for dropping off some great and MUCH needed supplies at my mom's house. Alex would love to see you some time if you aren't busy. She just loves visits from her teachers. And she says she LOVES your idea for 2011! I can't tell you how happy I am that you two were able to go together this past summer. What a great thing for you both to do. She loved her time with you!

That is about all the information that I have to report on. Which is great news :o)

We need some good blood vibes coming in so we can blow this joint!