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Monday, November 11, 2013

11.11.2008

Written Nov 11, 2008 

Hannah is still running a fever off and on. Her temperature will spike and then go away with Tylenol then 4 hours or so later it will go up again. Today it spiked all the way to 103.1, then slowly went down and now it is back up to 103.3.

We should start seeing improvement with Hannah's lab in just a few days. Seven to 14 days after chemotherapy is called the "nadir" period. This is when counts go way down and her body tries to rebuild new cells, since all the good and bad cells are being destroyed from the chemotherapy treatments. Hannah will be 14 days out on Wednesday!

Sunday:
Hannah's ANC was 18.43 and her platelets were up to 51 after finally receiving a platelet infusion. Hannah's potassium was down to 2.3 so she also had to received a potassium infusion.

The mouth sores were still really really really bad and it looks so painful. Hannah is still receiving Morphine to help control the pain and she slept the majority of the day.

Today/Monday:
Hannah's ANC is up to 21! Her platelets are back down; they were 18 this morning. She received another platelet infusion and may possibly need another tomorrow. We are going to try to keep her platelet count higher than what is good for most kids with cancer; since Hannah's are having difficulty staying up.

Hannah started swelling today. Her legs, arms, face were starting to look pretty big. The doctor ordered for her to have a dose of Lasix so her body would remove the extra fluid before she is in fluid over load. Needless to say I had to change a lot of wet diapers today!

On the flip side, removing all the extra fluid with the Lasix can make Hannah's potassium decrease. Since she already has trouble with her potassium counts staying up she most likely will have a potassium infusion tomorrow.

Hannah's mouth sores still look bad but I can tell a little improvement from yesterday. Hannah also is wanting to eat and drink. She can't with those painful mouth sores but I am glad that the will is there. The TPN and lipids are keeping her healthy she is still gaining weight. Hannah is almost 22 1/2 pounds.

Let's not forget about Hannah's radiation burn on her back. When we were admitted to the hospital two weeks ago her back was almost completely healed. Now with her counts so low her burn is getting worse. The new skin is starting to peal, and the underneath tissue has became exposed and it is pink again in a 4"x4" area. I requested a burn consult and we are trying a new treatment on her back. If it does not improve in the next day or two we will be trying something different.

Hannah and I have had a busy two days. She is staying strong and still fighting the mouth sores and the fevers. Thank you for all the many prayers for Hannah and all the love and support from everyone. Thanks too for all the encouraging comments on the guest book and the e-mails they really do help us stay strong and shows us how much support and prayers Hannah and our family is receiving.

"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,"
Jeremiah 30:17a
Keep the Faith!

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