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1/17/07

10:44pm Sophie did so well at the clinic today. We asked for a "two minute" warning ahead of time, so we could emotionally prepare for the blood draw, and Sophie was awesome for the first two "sticks." Yeah. I said "the first two." Unfortunately, it took three sticks, and the third one was a bit of a challenge. I could not believe how calm and still Sophie was (she seems to like to watch being stuck with the needle) for the stick on both hands. She squirmed and complained a little bit, but the nurses and recreational therapy person got her talking about her Make-A-Wish trip and that was distracting enough to keep her calm during the first two attempts to draw blood. After the first two pokes did not work, the nurses gave us a couple of warming pads to plump up the veins in her hands. The third poke was not as easy, by far (better than some), but it was the charm. All in all, I was so proud of her!

On the way back from the clinic, we ran some errands (had lunch, I got my hair cut, etc.). She did mostly well with all of that, but ended up throwing up (twice) in the car on the way home. Fortunately, she gave me enough advance warning that I was able to dump my drink cup from lunch and she ended up throwing up in that. Honestly, I was amazed that she was able to reach for the cup and throw up in the cup every time. This is one kid who will definitely be in touch with her body and knows what is going on with her body! She was pretty out of it for the rest of the evening, but seemed to perk up some in the evening. We cannot tell if it is just a stomach bug, a bad reaction to something she ate, or something else. Hopefully she'll rebound quickly and all will be well.

The news from her blood draw this evening was mostly good--her counts are really, really high, so we're going to bump her chemotherapy up to about 95%. I know that last night, I was reluctant to bump given the upper respiratory thing she has going on, but we'll give it a shot. She goes back in two weeks for treatment, so we'll get a check on her counts then. If the drop has been too low, then we'll go from there.

Let's hope that Sophie recovers from her stomach bug and her upper respiratory issues, is able to tolerate the higher dosages of chemotherapy (not something we are terribly worried about) and can maintain a strong immune system through it all.

Comments

Randall, Susan and girls - your day sounds like an adventure that you can smile about later. And Miss Sophie is becoming more grown up by the minute. Blessings for the New Year. (We received the package)
Jean and boys

I have leukemia 2,I'm 14 years old, and I'm doing my 4th week of chemo. I was 2 when I first got leukemia All.