The plan for the 2nd round of chemo

Thursday, 2014-03-20

To our surprise, they sent Nicole home from PCMC last Friday, March 14, with her ANC still at zero (everything else was looking good, and they don't like to do discharges on the weekends, and as parents, I think the doctors trust us).  Having Nicole at home has been a wonderful blessing for our entire family.  She was quite grumpy the night she came home, and we've had a couple long nights/days, but overall, Nicole is in excellent spirits, and she has gotten stronger and more like her old-self as she has spent this past week at home.  She is still getting all of her nutrition via a feeding tube, and this morning she was dragging the little backpack around the house that has the formula and the pump attached to her tube - it is great to see her mobile and playing!

We took Nicole back to PCMC on Tuesday, March 18, for out-patient blood tests (ANC was up to 200; still low), an MRI, and to find out the plan for the second chemotherapy block.  We assumed that we'd be told to bring her back at today or tomorrow to be admitted for the second round, but instead received some stunning news...

The doctor explained that the second chemotherapy block would be much different than what we've experienced in the past - the chemo will not be as harsh overall and Nicole will be at home for most of the block!  Cathy and I could hardly believe what the doctor was telling us, but we are, of course, delighted at this prospect.

We will take her down again next Monday, March 24, and they will check her ANC; if it is 750 or above, they will start the second block with a mild chemo drug, and the awful steroid, and then send us home for a week with more doses to be administered at home.  Then the following Monday, March 31, she will be admitted to PCMC for some harsher chemotherapy, however, if things go well, she should only be in the hospital for 4 to 5 days.  Then, for two weeks following that, it sounds like we will be taking her down to the clinic at PCMC for various out-patient lab tests, more chemo, blood transfusions, etc.

So, there will be plenty of work with Nicole at home, and plenty back-and-forth to PCMC, but we are very pleased with this turn of events.  Of course, everything is tentative; if her ANC isn't high enough next Monday, it delays the start of the second chemo block, and we'll end up going to PCMC every couple days to check her ANC until they can start the block.  Also, complications would put her in the hospital for a longer period than planned, but even if we hit some rough spots, it is still a great thing compared to what we've experienced in the past.

We (and the doctors) don't know yet whether they will do a third block of chemotherapy, or just go to transplant after the second block completes.  We also don't know whether they will do a 'traditional' BMT, or do the other transplant option that I mentioned previously (using a parent - I meet the criteria for this type of transplant, Cathy does not).

We are very grateful for the continued support, help, and prayers of family, friends, and neighbors in behalf of our entire family; as Cathy indicated a while back, we feel that we have an army behind us, and we are most thankful for this.  We have already experienced many blessings and miracles (both small and great) on this new journey, and our hearts are drawn out in gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His divine mercy, and to all of the mortal 'angels' who have been His hands and helpers to our family.

 

excited to have Nicole home!!