Erin has been at Primary Children's Hospital for 21 days (round 1 of 5) fighting her Acute Myeloid Leukemia M7. She is done with her first round of chemo and now we are just in waiting mode. Waiting and waiting and waiting. The doctors come in each morning to give us an update on her blood work and her ANC (fighter white blood cells) is still at zero. Some of her other blood counts are slightly higher than yesterday so we're hoping to see some improvements soon.
I talked with Dr. Verma, Erin's Oncologist, today and she clarified that we can leave the hospital as soon as her ANC starts rising. Originally I thought that she had to have an ANC of 500. So if she is 200 for a few days and her counts are improving then they will let us go home. Of course I was curious about when she thinks that will happen and she said maybe the end of this week. Wow. To be home again. Of course we'll have to take extreme caution with having her home with such a low white blood count. A normal person has an ANC of 2000-3000.
We will get to come home for about a week, then we will come back here to do an outpatient bone marrow test and a spinal tap. These tests will let us know how much leukemia is left in her bone marrow. When she was admitted she had 18% leukemia blasts in her bone marrow. We will get the results 3 days after the test is done and then she'll be re-admitted to Primary Children's for her 2nd round of chemotherapy. Even if there is no leukemia seen in her bone marrow she will still do all 5 rounds of chemo.
Last night Erin went to bed around 10:00 pm and I fell asleep at 10:30 pm. She and I slept amazingly well. I barely remember waking in the night. I woke up this morning at 7:30 am. I can't believe I slept in that late. I laid in bed until 8:10 am when Erin woke up. She had such a fun day yesterday I think it really wore her out. She is so happy today. She's eaten almost 15 oreos this afternoon. What a lucky girl! Right now she is coloring on her stuffed animal with a purple (washable) marker. There are some things that I can't believe that I let her do. I am a different mom. Yesterday she colored on her hospital bed and this morning she colored the armchair by her bed while I was in the shower. It's a good thing this is a children's hospital, they are used to this sort of thing.
Tags: "Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia" "AML" "Leukemia" "M7" "Acute Megakaryocytic Leukemia"
And when you get home she'll be coloring the walls ;)
ReplyDeleteYou don't know me, but your sister Erin is married to my cousin Steve. I found your blog through hers. I just wanted to let you know that we are praying for your sweet daughter and your family. My Dad has multiple myeloma and has had a bone marrow transplant and a stem cell transplant it is an uphill battle for him. So I can feel a little of what you feel and know all about having no immune system. It seems like you are handling it as well as you can. Your little girl is so precious. We live pretty close to Primary Childrens so if you need anything...like shampoo or a sandwich or some laundry done, Erin knows how to get in touch with me. God Bless!!
ReplyDeleteHi from Virginia, Jill!
ReplyDeleteI read your blog every day, and I'm so glad to hear the latest news about Erin. I really appreciate your taking the time to post updates. You are in my prayers every day, and I think of you and your family all the time.
love from Anne (and the FSQ)
She sounds like Riley...she's always coloring on everything: the walls, furniture, rocks, pennies, and anything else she can get her hands on :)
ReplyDeleteHey, I just wanted to let you and John know that Casey and I have been thinking about you guys and we check the blog daily. Erin is so precious, she has the sweetest little smile!
Best of luck with everything! We will keep you guys in our thoughts and prayers.
with love,
Casey and Missy Taylor
I agree, our lives change and make the battles we want to fight so different. I used to be so strict at church with my kids...until we moved here. It might be nice to go home, I hope you can.
ReplyDeleteYeah home! It's the little battles that get you through...one day, one test at a time. Hang in there our prayers and thoughts are with you and Erin.
ReplyDelete