Phase 2 - 50%

Today I am excited to say that I am 50% through phase 2 of my chemo treatments.  I have six more to go before I can finally yell from the roof tops "NO MORE CHEMO FOR ME!!!!"

We are all hanging in, and I am feeling pretty good.  No major side effects yet from Taxol.  I am still in a constant state of being tired, but I seem to push through it for the most part.  Charlotte definitely keeps me on my toes around here.  She is crawling and pulling up on things and will be walking in no time.

My hair is coming back despite the Taxol.  I think the three week break I had to take gave it a jumpstart.  It appears I may be able to skip that side effect.  I am still preparing for it to start thinning out, but so far so good.  A lady at Target yesterday told me she loved my haircut.  My hair is definitely not long enough to be mistaken for a haircut, but she was sweet to say that.

The hot flashes seem to have lessened up a little, but they still pop up, especially at night.

So far I have completed 10 total chemo treatments with 6 more to go!!!!!!

Rebounding

I have finally rebounded.  My ANC count today was 2,569.  That's a huge jump from Sunday's 190.  I will be able to have chemo on Friday as planned.  Things are looking up.  Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts.

Home Sweet Home

Yay!  I am home from the hospital.  I was released Sunday afternoon, and Steve and I were both very excited to get home and see our Char Char.  She gave us each a big hug when she got home.

My counts are rising and were at 190 when I was released.  Still not where we want them to be, but definitely improving.  Tomorrow I go back so they can check to make sure they are still rising.  If all goes well this week, I will be able to have chemo on Friday as scheduled.  I am feeling much better.  We still have to be really careful since my counts are pretty low.  I am taking two different types of antibiotics to help fight some of my exposure.


 

Slowly but Surely

My counts are slowly on the rise and are currently 100 - Woo Hoo!  I am feeling good.  Just waiting for a good count so I can be released.  I am starting to go a little stir crazy being here and definitely missing my girl.  Hopefully, this time tomorrow I am home.  Six days here is plenty.         

Monday - 0
Tuesday - 0
Wednesday - 21
Thursday - 0
Friday - 41
Saturday - 100

Extended Stay at Hotel Hopkins

My counts took an exciting leap to 21 yesterday.  They have, however, taken a not-so-good decrease back to 0 today.  So far, all my bacterial and viral tests have been negative, so they are not really sure what is suppressing my bone marrow.  There are still some tests cooking that might point us in a direction of an infection in the next day or so.  I have not had a fever since my first day here, so that is definitely a good sign.  Overall, I am feeling pretty good.  Tired and a little run down feeling, but that’s to be expected from chemo and having low counts.  If my counts are still not up in 4-5 days, they will talk to the Hematologist here on what other options we can disucss to increase my ANC levels. 

I will be here for at least a few more days and quite possibly over the weekend.  My spirits are still holding strong, and I am trying not to get too discouraged about my counts.  I am definitely missing my baby girl.  Steve got to spend some good time with her yesterday evening, so it was nice she got to see her daddy for a little bit.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts over the last few days.  Continue to pray that my counts will increase (preferably on their own), and that I will be able to head home soon.  It is somewhat of a comfort to be here away from germs, not that I am 100% protected since I am in a hospital, but the protocol for my floor is pretty good at protecting the cancer patients from germy germs. 
       

Time to Rest and Regroup

Looks like I will be spending a few days of R&R in the hospital.  My ANC is officially 0.  Early Monday morning I woke with chills, fever, headache.......the works.  After two calls to the on-call Oncologist, we were told to head to the ER.  By the time we got to the ER, my temp was 101.8.  I was omitted really quickly.  Although it took all day for a bed to become available on the Oncology floor, I was in a nice holding room while we waited.

I have had lots of blood drawn.  It seems like they have taken it all.  They are doing cultures to see if they can find any bacterial infections so they can give me the proper antibiotics.  I am already on two antibiotics that cover a broad range of things.  I had a slight reaction to one of the meds.  I got red and blotchy and started to feel itchy.  My entire head got bright red.  Since that first reaction, I have been doing ok with this particular med.  I had what is called red man syndrome.  It's not an official allergy.  This morning they did a swab to test for any viruses.  Unfortunately, until those results are back (24-48hrs) I am in isolation, and everyone around me has to wear a gown, gloves, and masks.   

They are still optimistic my counts will start to rise on their own, so it's just a waiting game until then as they attempt to treat whatever is causing me to feel sick.  They think I will be here for a few more days, but I am hoping by Thursday I can go home.  They did say they won't release me until my ANC is at least 500, or at least constantly rising.  Hopefully, once they start to increase, they will do so fairly quickly.

So until then, I am resting, resting, and resting.  I have lots of girly magazines, my Nook, laptop and the TV to keep me entertained.  The real challenge is keeping Steve entertained.  He is definitely not enjoying the virus precaution he has to wear.

Charlotte is also a little under the weather.  In addition to cutting her top two teeth, she has her first ear infection.  It's hard for me not to be there with her when she is not feeling well, but I know she is in good hands with her mom-mom, pop-pop, Uncle Tommy and Uncle Ryan.  She will be so spoiled by the time we get to see each other, but I know she is having a blast with all the attention.      

Holding Steady

My counts have not changed from Wed and are holding steady at 80.  Unfortunately, they are not moving up, and I was, again, unable to receive chemo this week.  I am, however, feeling better so that's good news.  The nurses and my doctor both said a drop this drastic is very uncommon, and the nurse said she had never seen such a drastic drop.  It's even more uncommon not to see a rise in counts after 2 weeks without treatment.  They are a little stumped at why my bone marrow is not rebounding as it should.  They will recheck next Friday, and if its still not in a good place, we may start doing the shots again to give me a boost.  Although I hate the shot, and they make me feel like I have been hit by a truck, it's better than not being able to fight an infection.

Today is SHIT - Sure Happy It's Thursday.  (If you know me well, then you are probably very familiar with this saying).  It's also what I like to call Champagne Thursday, and although we have gotten out of the habit of regularly celebrating this day, it's one of my favorite things.  My girl Christel sent me this picture, and I just had to put it on here in honor of the day and the pink.  Cheers!!!!!  Have a wonderful weekend.