Day 9
Good morning everyone!
Well, here we are again at the hospital. We checked in yesterday and were settled right into a room. It was a nice experience compared to last week when we moved around. We brought decorations to make the room as comfortable as possible for Alex for what will be her home for the next 3 weeks. It seems like such a long time.
Most of the hours leading up to the first dose of chemotherapy are about getting her correct weight and height. They check all her vitals and hook her up to a bolus of fluids (meaning they pump her full of fluids at a very fast rate). They want her kidneys and everything to start working quickly. They also draw blood labs out of both of her lumens that are coming out of her chest. They check these for blood counts, infections, and all types of things before they proceed with the chemotherapy.
Alex's blood counts yesterday weren't that great. Her ANC was only 200 (basically nothing). We left on Monday night with an ANC of 2000, so that is how much they have dropped in 3 days. Her red blood cells and her platelets were also low. I am pretty sure they will be doing a transfusion today on both of those. It's really a shame they cannot transfuse white blood cells :o(
Alex is getting 4350 mg of Cytarabine 4 times over the next two days. She will finish the 4th dose tomorrow morning about 9am. 24 hours after the last dose of chemotherapy they will begin Neupogen shots. This drug is used to promote white cell growth. It appears that they will be given at least once daily and will continue until her ANC reaches 1500 for 2 consecutive days. These shots can cause extreme bone pain as the bone marrow works to promote new cell growth. After reading about all of this today it appears that this is a side effect that not everyone experiences. So, let's hope this does not bother Alex. She has enough she is dealing with.
We are in room 4401 at Primary Children's Hospital. This is the dreaded room we had after Alex had her stroke almost 3 years ago. We are hoping to kick the bad voodo once and for all :o)
I am a little concerned about infections and all that. Alex got one bug last week with great blood counts and almost no interaction with people. What's going to happen during this 3 weeks while her counts are pretty much nothing? Uggg! Please send good blood vibes. We sure need them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read about Alex. I know that I sure appreciate the support that I have here.
By the way... the cards are starting to come in and they really add to making this room personal. Thank you to everyone that are participating. Alex looks forward to the cards that arrive each day. Please keep them coming. Send them to:
Alex Thomas
1727 E Ramona Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Good morning everyone!
Well, here we are again at the hospital. We checked in yesterday and were settled right into a room. It was a nice experience compared to last week when we moved around. We brought decorations to make the room as comfortable as possible for Alex for what will be her home for the next 3 weeks. It seems like such a long time.
Most of the hours leading up to the first dose of chemotherapy are about getting her correct weight and height. They check all her vitals and hook her up to a bolus of fluids (meaning they pump her full of fluids at a very fast rate). They want her kidneys and everything to start working quickly. They also draw blood labs out of both of her lumens that are coming out of her chest. They check these for blood counts, infections, and all types of things before they proceed with the chemotherapy.
Alex's blood counts yesterday weren't that great. Her ANC was only 200 (basically nothing). We left on Monday night with an ANC of 2000, so that is how much they have dropped in 3 days. Her red blood cells and her platelets were also low. I am pretty sure they will be doing a transfusion today on both of those. It's really a shame they cannot transfuse white blood cells :o(
Alex is getting 4350 mg of Cytarabine 4 times over the next two days. She will finish the 4th dose tomorrow morning about 9am. 24 hours after the last dose of chemotherapy they will begin Neupogen shots. This drug is used to promote white cell growth. It appears that they will be given at least once daily and will continue until her ANC reaches 1500 for 2 consecutive days. These shots can cause extreme bone pain as the bone marrow works to promote new cell growth. After reading about all of this today it appears that this is a side effect that not everyone experiences. So, let's hope this does not bother Alex. She has enough she is dealing with.
We are in room 4401 at Primary Children's Hospital. This is the dreaded room we had after Alex had her stroke almost 3 years ago. We are hoping to kick the bad voodo once and for all :o)
I am a little concerned about infections and all that. Alex got one bug last week with great blood counts and almost no interaction with people. What's going to happen during this 3 weeks while her counts are pretty much nothing? Uggg! Please send good blood vibes. We sure need them.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read about Alex. I know that I sure appreciate the support that I have here.
By the way... the cards are starting to come in and they really add to making this room personal. Thank you to everyone that are participating. Alex looks forward to the cards that arrive each day. Please keep them coming. Send them to:
Alex Thomas
1727 E Ramona Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84108
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