Update from Elaine
Dear Friends and family,
Sorry for the delay in updating you since Kate's chemo treatment Oct 31st - Nov. 2nd. As many of you can relate, hospital stays are not very restful. It always seems to take a day to recover from the hospital stay and another day to catch up with life at home and then suddenly we find ourselves caught up again in busy schedule of each day's activities.
Post Chemo Report
~Praise that for the most part Kate's chemo treatment went relatively well!
-Tuesday 10/31 Day one of the chemo was relatively smooth with Kate able to enjoy lunch and dinner and overall feeling pretty good.
-Wednesday 11/1 morning, however, started with heaves, nausea and vomiting. What little eating Kate did was a real challenge. Because the nausea was pretty intense she recieved several different medications in hopes of alleviating the nausea. There was an issue that one medication Kate recieved, in that while it is great for chemo related nausea it should not have be given in the midst of chemo to patients with brain cancer as it may interfere with the work of the chemo. We are trusting that the window of time between the two doses of chemo when the medication was given, had little or no impact on the chemo's effectiveness. Kate slept a good part of the day on Wednesday due to the medication she was given to help relieve the nausea. While she didn't have much appetite by evening she was feeling better. Early evening she said Mom, my mouth feels funny and I'm having trouble swallowing. Her tongue was swollen to 3x it's normal size. She was immediately given Benedrly and it was determined she had an allergic reaction to one of the anti-nausea medications.
~Praise for friends and family who visited on Wednesday. This was a special blessing for me. it helped to pass the day with good company while Kate slept.
-Thursday 11/2 morning was thankfully much better than Wednesday morning. Although she didn't have an appetite, nausea was minimal and under control.
We eagerly anticipated Kate's discharge when the doctor rounded at 10:00am. We were a little disappointed when he told us due to the chemo, Kate's sodium level had dropped and she could not be discharged until that count came up.Kate's fluids were restricted and counts were ordered again for 2:oo. We finally left the hospital at 5:oo. We were pleased when Kate had a good dinner with second helpings that Grandma had waiting for us when we got home.
-Fridat 11/3 Kate woke feeling a kind of yucky all over.
~Praise that by mid afternoon she felt like a new person. She stopped mid afternoon and said, "Mom, we need to stop and thank God, I fell great!"We celebrated with dinner out.
Joy in the Journey
~the Saturday 10/28 we enjoyed a day of fun and lots of laughter with Kate's friend Brandon and his family. They had a pumpkin carving party with lots of friends and over 30 pumpkins carved!
~On Saturday night 11/4 Kate's group of friends came over laden with delicious appetizers
and sweet treats. They had a night of "normalcy" having fun laughing, talking and listening to music. We are so thankful for the wonderful, caring friends God has put in Kate's life.
~Praise for a fun afternoon on Sunday enjoying good food and laughter with extended family.
~Some special friends fondly referred to as the "beach girls" have blessed us with a family photo sitting. The girls are delighted, because of course puppy Grace will be part of the picture :) All you girls understand what fun Kate and I had planning what to wear for the pictures while we passed time in the hospital.
~We also enjoyed filling the hospital time by making plans for the holidays talking decorations, activities and visits.
~We are very excited that our dear friend Kellie (who spent 2 years with us in China) will be joining us for a visit at Thanksgiving. Kellie and Maggie have long been known as "Drama Queen and "Dramam Princess"- no doubt our visit together will be filled with lots of laughter and dramatic moments :)
~Blessing on top of blessing...another heart friend (who was also in China with us) is planning to visit right after Christmas.
~We are so grateful that Father has made out lives so rich in relationships with family and friends
On the Horizon: Stem Cell Harvest
-We determined with our medical team that it is best for Kate not to be in school until after the stem cell harvest next week. Being in large groups is a definite risk when WBC count is low. Kate's blood counts yesterday showed her WBC count to be .6 . Anything below 500 makes one highly susceptible to infection. This low WBC count is what we expected the chemo to do and will eventually precipitate the release of stem cells in her blood. We are anticipating that release of stem cells on or around next Tuesday, November 14th. We'll check counts at Children's on Monday morning and determine if she will be ready to harvest on Tuesday.
**During Kate's chemo stay we learned that her veins are too narrow to do stem cell harvest through a large IV. She will instead have to opt for a more invasive method which will involve putting a catheter in her neck to harvest the stem cells. Because of the necessity of the catheter, she will be in-patient for the time that it takes to complete the harvest rather than outpatient.
~We are thankful for the wonderful teachers and staff at Riverside. They are so supportive and helpful with make-up work.
Requests
~Please pray specifically that Kate is protected from germs during these days when her WBC are so low that her body cannot fight infection.
~Kate experienced some allergic reaction over the weekend with eyes swelling and a few hours of labored breathing. Her blood counts yesterday were indicative that indeed there was an allergic reaction. We have not determined the cause and are trusting she is not allergic to any other drugs in her treatment regiment.
~Please pray that Kate's stem cells will be flowing well next week and that the collection of stem cells can be completed in 1-2 days and not take longer.
~Please ask that the incision made for the catheter will be protected and not invite infection into Kate's body.
~Please pray that the discomfort from the procedure for the catheter be minimal.
~Praise that yesterday's RBC transfusion went well. We go back on Thursday of this week for a platelet transfusion. Please ask that this transfusion go just as well.
Thank you for continuing to journey beside us in prayer and for the many cards, e-mails, and calls that remind us of your love and concern and brighten our day.
We have so much to be thankful for in these days and you our friends and family remain one of those blessings for which we are most grateful !
With joy and thanks,
Elaine
Sorry for the delay in updating you since Kate's chemo treatment Oct 31st - Nov. 2nd. As many of you can relate, hospital stays are not very restful. It always seems to take a day to recover from the hospital stay and another day to catch up with life at home and then suddenly we find ourselves caught up again in busy schedule of each day's activities.
Post Chemo Report
~Praise that for the most part Kate's chemo treatment went relatively well!
-Tuesday 10/31 Day one of the chemo was relatively smooth with Kate able to enjoy lunch and dinner and overall feeling pretty good.
-Wednesday 11/1 morning, however, started with heaves, nausea and vomiting. What little eating Kate did was a real challenge. Because the nausea was pretty intense she recieved several different medications in hopes of alleviating the nausea. There was an issue that one medication Kate recieved, in that while it is great for chemo related nausea it should not have be given in the midst of chemo to patients with brain cancer as it may interfere with the work of the chemo. We are trusting that the window of time between the two doses of chemo when the medication was given, had little or no impact on the chemo's effectiveness. Kate slept a good part of the day on Wednesday due to the medication she was given to help relieve the nausea. While she didn't have much appetite by evening she was feeling better. Early evening she said Mom, my mouth feels funny and I'm having trouble swallowing. Her tongue was swollen to 3x it's normal size. She was immediately given Benedrly and it was determined she had an allergic reaction to one of the anti-nausea medications.
~Praise for friends and family who visited on Wednesday. This was a special blessing for me. it helped to pass the day with good company while Kate slept.
-Thursday 11/2 morning was thankfully much better than Wednesday morning. Although she didn't have an appetite, nausea was minimal and under control.
We eagerly anticipated Kate's discharge when the doctor rounded at 10:00am. We were a little disappointed when he told us due to the chemo, Kate's sodium level had dropped and she could not be discharged until that count came up.Kate's fluids were restricted and counts were ordered again for 2:oo. We finally left the hospital at 5:oo. We were pleased when Kate had a good dinner with second helpings that Grandma had waiting for us when we got home.
-Fridat 11/3 Kate woke feeling a kind of yucky all over.
~Praise that by mid afternoon she felt like a new person. She stopped mid afternoon and said, "Mom, we need to stop and thank God, I fell great!"We celebrated with dinner out.
Joy in the Journey
~the Saturday 10/28 we enjoyed a day of fun and lots of laughter with Kate's friend Brandon and his family. They had a pumpkin carving party with lots of friends and over 30 pumpkins carved!
~On Saturday night 11/4 Kate's group of friends came over laden with delicious appetizers
and sweet treats. They had a night of "normalcy" having fun laughing, talking and listening to music. We are so thankful for the wonderful, caring friends God has put in Kate's life.
~Praise for a fun afternoon on Sunday enjoying good food and laughter with extended family.
~Some special friends fondly referred to as the "beach girls" have blessed us with a family photo sitting. The girls are delighted, because of course puppy Grace will be part of the picture :) All you girls understand what fun Kate and I had planning what to wear for the pictures while we passed time in the hospital.
~We also enjoyed filling the hospital time by making plans for the holidays talking decorations, activities and visits.
~We are very excited that our dear friend Kellie (who spent 2 years with us in China) will be joining us for a visit at Thanksgiving. Kellie and Maggie have long been known as "Drama Queen and "Dramam Princess"- no doubt our visit together will be filled with lots of laughter and dramatic moments :)
~Blessing on top of blessing...another heart friend (who was also in China with us) is planning to visit right after Christmas.
~We are so grateful that Father has made out lives so rich in relationships with family and friends
On the Horizon: Stem Cell Harvest
-We determined with our medical team that it is best for Kate not to be in school until after the stem cell harvest next week. Being in large groups is a definite risk when WBC count is low. Kate's blood counts yesterday showed her WBC count to be .6 . Anything below 500 makes one highly susceptible to infection. This low WBC count is what we expected the chemo to do and will eventually precipitate the release of stem cells in her blood. We are anticipating that release of stem cells on or around next Tuesday, November 14th. We'll check counts at Children's on Monday morning and determine if she will be ready to harvest on Tuesday.
**During Kate's chemo stay we learned that her veins are too narrow to do stem cell harvest through a large IV. She will instead have to opt for a more invasive method which will involve putting a catheter in her neck to harvest the stem cells. Because of the necessity of the catheter, she will be in-patient for the time that it takes to complete the harvest rather than outpatient.
~We are thankful for the wonderful teachers and staff at Riverside. They are so supportive and helpful with make-up work.
Requests
~Please pray specifically that Kate is protected from germs during these days when her WBC are so low that her body cannot fight infection.
~Kate experienced some allergic reaction over the weekend with eyes swelling and a few hours of labored breathing. Her blood counts yesterday were indicative that indeed there was an allergic reaction. We have not determined the cause and are trusting she is not allergic to any other drugs in her treatment regiment.
~Please pray that Kate's stem cells will be flowing well next week and that the collection of stem cells can be completed in 1-2 days and not take longer.
~Please ask that the incision made for the catheter will be protected and not invite infection into Kate's body.
~Please pray that the discomfort from the procedure for the catheter be minimal.
~Praise that yesterday's RBC transfusion went well. We go back on Thursday of this week for a platelet transfusion. Please ask that this transfusion go just as well.
Thank you for continuing to journey beside us in prayer and for the many cards, e-mails, and calls that remind us of your love and concern and brighten our day.
We have so much to be thankful for in these days and you our friends and family remain one of those blessings for which we are most grateful !
With joy and thanks,
Elaine
posted by Tracy @ 9:23 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
Keep fighting Kate. We know you can beat this. You are strong.
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