October 24th - Still week 31 . . .

I guess I have to make a decision on how I am labeling my posts.  Kayla has 60 weeks of chemotherapy.  She didn't make counts last week, so we have to still make up that week.  So, I am going to call this week 31 again.

Well, yesterday we made it to the clinic without any of the craziness like last week. :)  Kayla is an old pro at checking in and getting accessed.  Although, she still won't stand on the scale alone!  Silly girl.

We met with Marnie and talked about how Kayla is doing.  I always get asked if she has any lumps, bumps or bruises.  Well, my answer has always been no.  But this past week, I have noticed more than just the normal 4 year-old bruises on her legs.  She has a couple of really big purple ones.  I pointed them out to Marnie and she said that those might be from having low platelets.  I also told her about Kayla's bloody nose.  Most of the nurses already knew about it because they saw that I had called in about it.  Just a side note: I really like the clinic and all of the nurses.  They really know and care about who you are and what is going on.  The nurse that accessed Kayla told me that she had read Kayla's MRI results because she wanted to know what they were.  The nurse knew Kayla was having the scan on Friday and she wasn't working on Monday, so she looked them up on Tuesday, just to see.  It is nice to know that they all really care about her.

One thing that Marnie did mention to me that could end up happening down the road is decreasing the dose of Kayla's chemo.  Her body has been knocked down each week for so long that it is starting to take longer to recover.  We'll just have to see.  Since the chemo seems to be working so well, I kind of hate to see that happen.

After meeting with Marnie, we went into the chemo suite.  Kayla's blood counts had still not come back, so we waited there while Kayla did some music time with Miss Stephanie.  Marnie didn't want to even start fluids until we knew what Kayla's platelet count was because she was suspicious that they might not make it again this week.  So, we just waited for awhile until we found out that her platelet count was only 58.  That was up from the 49 last week, but she needs to be at 100 in order to start this new cycle of chemo.  Bummer.  So, we loaded back up, took a picture on this HUGE pumpkin ( I can't remember how much they said it weighed, but it took a crane to get it in here), and then drove home.

I just want to add a little bit about how blessed we have been during this whole time.  I have the most wonderful visiting teachers who STILL bring us dinner every week on Kayla's clinic days.  I have wonderful friends who are all so willing to babysit Benson for me each week all day long and sometimes take Nathan and Lily after school.  We have wonderful family members who contribute to having someone come and help clean the house each week and also some who help pay for gas on our many trips to Boise.  I just want you all to know how much we appreciate your support!  Despite the trials we are going through right now, I know that we have been blessed with strength from our Savior, Jesus Christ, to make it through these difficult times.